Improving child and youth well-being in the COVID-19 recovery phase in British Columbia

The project is a mixed-methods study with the primary aim of recommending evidence-based interventions to support child and youth mental health and well-being in BC during the COVID-19 pandemic/recovery phase. Existing data collected through three BC-based surveys will be used: Personal Impacts of COVID-19 Survey (PICS), Youth Development Instrument (YDI), and BC COVID-19 Survey on […]

Read More
Investigating Effects of Stereoisomerism on Toxicology of Entactogens by Computational Methods

PharmAla have been focusing on developing MDMA (ecstasy) like drug compounds. MDMA assisted psychotherapy for treatment of PTSD received Breakthrough Therapy designation in August 2017. It is currently being evaluated in Phase 3 clinical trials. The toxicological biochemical mechanism of MDMA and MDMA like compounds should be better understood. Because of this gap an extensive […]

Read More
Approximate Spin Processors (ASPs): an Energy-efficient Combinatorial Optimization Problem Solver for Edge Devices

Combinatorial optimization problems widely appear in various social and industrial applications, such as the vehicle routing and transportation problems. They are challenging to solve for traditional computing. Moreover, especially in edge devices, there is a high demand for in-time response and low power. However, the large energy consumption for these numerous operations and data fetches […]

Read More
Simulation and Visualization of Flood and Drought events in Urban Areas

2020 and 2021 have seen an unprecedented number of natural disasters. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, 2020 was the 5th warmest year ever recorded with a record number of tropical storms and wildfires throughout North America. Considering only 2020, the cost of these weather and climate […]

Read More
Timing perception and modulation via transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS)

Timing and time perception is found to be modulated by different brain networks. Nowadays, many non-invasive instruments are widely used to stimulate the brain and among them is transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), which is a painless and non-invasive technology that gives the ability of modulating brain networks including the ones that are involved in […]

Read More
Language Roadmaps as Policy Instruments: A Comparative Analysis Federal Language Ideology

Language plays a central role in Canadian identity and nationhood. This project seeks to uncover, map and explain the effect of political ideologies in the development of language policy instruments, specifically language road maps/action plans. We will build upon existing research which establishes the validity of the Government of Canada’s Action Plans (2003-2008 & 2018-2023) […]

Read More
Development and commercialization of an enhanced biochar production technology

The goal of this MITACS funded project is to advance existing technology for the production of biochar from sustainably harvested woody biomass. Current technology limits the amount of biochar produced from the raw wood. This project will evaluate the increase in production of biochar by some 30%. Biochar is a very resistant form of carbon […]

Read More
Investigation of group effect of large pile groups under lateral loading

At present, the understating of the lateral behavior of large pile group foundations (> 100 piles) supporting bridges, high-rise buildings, marine structures, and LNG tanks is limited. There are no definitive published design recommendations or guidance on evaluation of the lateral group effect of large pile groups. The current design standards (e.g., AASHTO, Canadian Foundation […]

Read More