This project involves an ethnographic investigation of the ongoing confrontations at the Western Wall in Jerusalem regarding Jewish women’s practices of worship. Through fieldwork and theoretical study, the aim is to examine contrasting spiritual practices and the processes by which religious and legal change is enacted. I hypothesize that prayer, for those engaged in this […]

Inhalation exposure to mercury continues to be a concern in a number of workplaces. Examples are facilities handling mercury-containing electronic waste or so-called “gold-shops” processing the amalgams from artisanal and small-scale gold mining operations. We are exploring the feasibility of using a passive air sampler recently developed for recording long term average mercury concentrations in […]

Prolonged patient waiting times for an inpatient bed in the Emergency Department (ED) is considered a global crisis and most cited reason for the ED crowding. Inability to move admitted patients from the ED to an inpatient bed due to capacity shortage and inefficiencies in patient-flow affects patient care and patient experiences. Housekeeping is crucial […]

The intention of this project is inquiry into the role of force signaling in skeletal muscle repair. Before muscle damage, muscle stems cells that are yet to be incorporated in the muscle fibers are relatively inactive, but when injury occurs they can multiply and are recruited to the site of damage. Many aspects of the […]

Xylose is one of the most abundant sugars in nature and makes up a significant portion of lignocellulose. In order to profitably use lignocellulosic biomass for sustainably producing ethanol and other chemicals, it is important that all of its sugars be efficiently co-fermented. The current organism of choice for such fermentations, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Baker’s yeast), […]

Amacathera Inc. has developed a novel, injectable, hydrogel platform technology that extends the release of drugs over time in the body. The company’s lead program is targeted at pain relief following surgery. They have combined their hydrogel with an anesthetic in order to provide pain relief for up to 72 hours. This eliminates the need […]

The number of patients suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) reached 392 million worldwide in 2015 and its prevalence is expected to increase by more than 50% during the next two decades. Currently, the best way to treat diabetes is to diagnose and prevent at the early stages. There is an urgent need for […]

The focus of this project is to screen for small-molecules that may interact with the machinery that controls the decision of life and death in the cell. Diseases can arise from aberrant control of cell life and death like cancer and neurodegeneration. By shutting off the cell death pathway when cells are injured, or stressed […]

The North Coast Innovation Lab (NCIL) is a place-based initiative for people who are invested in the future of Prince Rupert to work together on tangible projects and initiatives that build a resilient economy as a tool for community well-being. Forthcoming student Project Coordinators provide capacity to the efforts of the NCIL through action-research, project […]

Research has shown that poor sleep has been shown to result in impairments in attention, memory, reaction times and other cognitive domains along with impairments in mood. Various sleeping aids such as pillows and neck-collars have been introduced in an effort to increase the duration and quality of sleep. Though the manufacturers claim positive testimonials […]

The mammalian liver is known for its regenerative property, capable of fully restoring mass and function after injury. However, when this process is in disarray, chronic liver diseases occur, for which the current solution is liver transplantation. Transplantation remains an imperfect solution as the supply is limited and rejection can happen. Today, 25% of patients […]

Last year, the world’s leading health researchers found toxic pollution to be the greatest cause of disease and premature death in the world today. However, while the findings acknowledge that deaths caused by toxins to be most prevalent among marginalized groups, there is no mention of socio-historical structures in producing these toxic patterns. Through this […]