Working with research partners in Brazil, my PhD research at UBC uses video ethnography and other qualitative methods to analyze perspectives of social movement participants, farmers and policymakers towards urban agriculture. The project investigates how urban agriculture may support ‘scaling up’ more sustainable food production, transportation and consumption practices both within and outside of the […]

While satellite cell (SC) activation underpins muscle repair, function requires reinnervation of new myotubes. During early differentiation in repair, SC-derived myoblasts also upregulate expression of a neural chemorepellent, semaphorin3A (Sema3A), thought to mediate axonal ingrowth toward regenerating myotubes. Recent findings indicate that disrupted timing of Sema3A expression (by early SC activation) delays the time-course of […]

The proposed project is to field test a full scale novel lightweight sandwich panel which consists of steel plate at the front, concrete panel at the back and number of helical springs in the middle. This newly proposed sandwich panel will be subjected to repetitive different ranges of blast load to ensure its blast resistant […]

L’économie de la région du Campo de Cartagena en Espagne est basée sur une intense agriculture irriguée qui alimente une grande partie de l’Europe de l’Ouest en fruits et légumes. En l’absence de suffisamment d’eau de surface, les eaux souterraines sont depuis plusieurs décennies une ressource cruciale. L’eau est pompée jusqu’à 600 m de profondeur […]

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common types of neurodegenerative disorders and the development of an effective treatment remains a challenge for researchers today. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) which are closely related with AD, especially the alpha-7-nAChR, are involved in neuroprotective effects (effects which may result in the salvage, recovery or regeneration […]

My research looks at emergent possibilities for certain democratized shared spaces and the humanizing potential of cross-cultural sharing in the context of the current refugee crisis. I will do this through a case study of a project currently underway in Munich, Germany, called Plug in Beats. Plug in Beats is a monthly dance party held […]

This project explores the use of new forms of currency and revenue models in the context of online platforms, looking for their different economic and symbolic implications. By looking at an adult website that broadcasts amateur sexcams, this research asks how money – tokens, crypto currencies and traditional currencies, are experienced there, querying their different […]

Cytochromes P450 are enzymes that add oxygen to organic molecules, to convert them to water-soluble products that can be further metabolized. These oxidative enzymes are ubiquitous (found in animals, plants and microorganisms). We are working on cytochrome P450cam, isolated from a wild soil bacterium. This enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of camphor (an organic molecule that […]

States worldwide compete in an intensifying race for talent, mainly for professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). This project investigates how government and industry actors at the level of technology clusters (Shanghai) are able to use existing regulatory frameworks to attract and retain global STEM talent. Although China has relied on ethnic returnees […]

Lubricated pipeline flows were originally proposed 50 years ago. In this method a low viscous fluid like water is used to lubricate the heavy oil flow as it has a very high viscosity. Because of density difference between these two fluids, the interface is unstable. As a result, we proposed adding another layer which is […]

A telephone call consists of two communicating channels: Person A talking to Person B, and Person B talking to Person A. The two channels need to function in turn for the two to understand each other, and it usually results in confusion when they talk simultaneously. In this latter case, we say that there is […]

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common, sustained form of irregular heartbeat. AF results in complications including heart attacks, stroke, and heart failure. Treatment approaches such as drugs and surgery do exist, but these are limited in effectiveness. The endocannabinoid system is of interest as a therapeutic target for a variety of disorders. We will […]