Programming Techniques for QUBO Compatible Processors

The main problem this internship project explores is the selection, conversion, and encoding of mathematical models that pertain to the finance industry for processing on available types of analog optimization processors. This research investigation aims to develop new algorithms and code that take advantage of an analog optimization process which acts as an “oracle” for […]

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Do viral infections cause queen failure?

Honey bee queens are the only reproductive female in a beehive – if a queen dies or is unable to lay eggs then the whole colony will slowly die. A queen’s lifetime reproductive capacity, or fecundity, is imperative for maintaining a strong, healthy colony, but declining queen quality is a growing concern among beekeepers. Beekeepers […]

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Identifying putative antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the ancient oral cavity from the Industrial Revolution

This project plans to use dental calculus (miniralised plaque) samples to acquire a better understanding of the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the human oral microbiome. This will be the first metagenomic study regarding antibiotic resistance genes dating back to the Industrial Revolution (c. 1750-1850). We expect to detect some evidence of ARGs based […]

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Can hatcheries help to conserve Interior Fraser River Steelhead?

Since 2000, interior Fraser River steelhead (IFRS) have declined to historic low abundance. Due to this, COSEWIC in 2018 designated IFRS as endangered. Hatchery propagation can reduce interannual variability in egg-to-fry survival rates and increase the freshwater abundance of juveniles. There remains controversy over the effectiveness of hatchery operation as a conservation measure. Some studies […]

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Revealing the hidden intracluster medium in a distant protocluster of galaxies

Recent telescope observations have discovered clusters of galaxies when the universe was only 10% of its current age. They formed stars vigorously at rates of up to 10,000 solar masses per year, quite the opposite of nearby galaxy clusters that are predominantly quiescent. The cause for their extreme starburst nature of the most distant protoclusters […]

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Custom NLP pipeline for information extraction in a clinical setting

State-of-the-art natural language processing tools are rapidly improving in being able to identify real-world objects in texts (e.g. person, location, organization). However, the vocabularies and document structures used in a medical setting can vary from general language corpus from which the NLP models were trained; resulting in poor performance. This project will fine-tune existing NLP […]

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Natural Language Processing (NLP) powered Clinical Documentation

Our company is developing an AI-powered clinical documentation platform. In the proposed project, the intern will assist us in improving our Natural Processing (NLP) models designed to automate clinical documentation for Orthopedic Physical Therapy clinics. These NLP models will be capable of processing text comprising medical vocabulary and terminologies. With this project, we aim to […]

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Newmont Nature-Based Decarbonization (scoping study)

Like many of the world’s largest mining companies, Newmont is voluntarily targeting net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Recent research on technical feasibility of mining operation decarbonization has shown that mining companies may be able to achieve up to 70% carbon emissions reductions through internal initiatives, but may require options to capture and store carbon (either […]

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Blood single-cell RNA profiling of interstitial lung diseases

Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are debilitating disorders that cause patients to slowly lose their lung function, resulting in shortness of breath, limited capacity for movement, and subsequent death. Over 15,000 Canadians currently suffer from some form of ILD, yet not all of them receive proper therapy, partly due to difficulties in identifying the precise ILD […]

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Machine learning classification of Canadian mammal bones

Natural history collections and the specimens stored within are vital to our understanding of biodiversity, ecology, and evolution. To both preserve and increase their accessibility, efforts are being made to digitize the world’s natural history collections. In herbariums (natural history collections for plants), machine learning is being used to assist the digitization process by classifying […]

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