My doctoral research focuses on developing scientific literacy in young children. Currently, in the field of science education, there are different interpretations of a scientific literate person and this includes being knowledgeable about scientific content and developing an ability to apply this knowledge in meaningful way. Despite the importance of teaching science to young children, […]

The project aims to validate the effectiveness of “phase contrast” synchrotron (x-ray) imaging techniques in detecting very small-scale features (particularly amyloid plaques) commonly associated with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. This will be done though comparison of synchrotron-generated images of Alzheimer-afflicted brain tissue, against their optical microscopy image counterparts. The experimental process will involve five […]

The great interest of shifting towards biodiesel from vegetable oils or was fats is leading to a tremendous increase of glycerol production as an inevitable by-product. This waste sparked the need for glycerol valorization to justify biodiesel as alternative for diesel from petroleum. Our research efforts are to partially electro-oxidize glycerol into value-added chemicals in […]

Les protéines sont des nanomachines dont les fonctions, venant de leur structure tridimensionnelle, sont fondamentales à la survie de la cellule. Avec l’amélioration croissante des super-ordinateurs et des algorithmes, les méthodes informatiques deviennent incontournables à l’étude des protéines. Les interactions physiques à l’origine de la structure des protéines sont modélisées à l’aide d’un potentiel. Les […]

The current picture of structure formation in cosmology suggests that initially over-dense regions of dark matter collapse to form halos. These halos also host most of the luminous matter like galaxies. However, we cannot trace the dark matter directly since it does not interact with light. Therefore, the relationship between the underlying cosmic density and […]

La résistance aux antibiotiques continue de s’accroître à travers le monde et devient inquiétante. Clostridium difficile est une bactérie multi-résistante responsable de nombreuses maladies intestinales pouvant être fatales. En raison des graves symptômes causés par les infections à C. difficile, la qualité de vie des personnes atteintes se trouve grandement réduite. Ces infections sont complexes […]

Lignin, a carbon neutral and an underutilized feedstock, can be used to produce a variety of products, such as oils, syngas, benzene, toluene, xylene as well as high molecular weight products such as wood adhesives (binders), carbon fibers and polyurethane foams using thermal, chemical, biological and electro-biochemical processes. Globally, approximately 64 million tonnes of lignin […]

Oligonucleotides will be structurally integrated within complementary architectures in order to synthesize hybrid nanomaterials featuring biomolecular-driven behavior. We plan to synthesize nanoparticles featuring nucleic acid conjugates embedded in the structural network, so that their dynamics could be programmed for cancer therapy. We intend to make use of the biodegradable organosilica technology developed in De Cola’s […]

Since the beginning of space exploration is has become apparent that lubrication between surfaces in space would face many challenges that aren’t relevant on earth. Friction and wear testing on earth has been developed in turn to emulate the conditions that would be faced by solid lubricants in outer space. This requires specific contact geometries […]

The increase in Earth-orbiting space debris has been the cause of significant debate over the last decade. More than 29,000 objects larger than 10 cm have been detected in orbit and it is estimated that more than 170 million particles above 1mm populate the near-Earth environment. Potential collisions between active satellites and space debris are […]

This project is based on the development of a new spatiotemporal release system for combination of active principle ingredients (API) under mechanical stimuli. The therapeutic schemes for some pathologies is based on the use of combined drugs to improve the efficiency or reduce the risk of resistance (cancer, infection treatments). Moreover, the use of hydrogels […]

Proper functioning of astrocytes and of the endocannabinoid system in the hypothalamus has been strongly linked to feeding behaviour and energy balance in mice. Furthermore, a strong molecular link has been found to connect cannabinoid receptors to leptin (a hunger hormone) receptors in hypothalamic astrocytes. Specifically, deletion of cannabinoid receptors in hypothalamic astrocytes disrupted the […]