This study examines how digital tools, such as household water meters, sensors, and monitoring dashboards, are being used in urban water utilities, and whether they are actually improving everyday service delivery. Focusing on medium-sized cities in India and drawing comparative insights from Canada, the study looks beyond technology installation to understand how governance arrangements, staffing […]

This project will study how different human antibodies help protect us from viruses such as influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and RSV by working with individual immune cells and producing their antibodies in the lab. The student will grow and purify these antibodies, test how well they bind to viruses, and measure how effectively they activate important immune […]

Eye-tracking reveals otherwise invisible aspects of human attention, emotion, and social interaction, but current systems are limited by expensive hardware and complex analysis workflows that restrict use to small, controlled groups. SocialEyes is a peer-reviewed research technology that enables synchronized eye-tracking across large co-located groups by aligning multiple data streams in time and space. The […]

Mutualisms, interactions in which two species benefit one another, are universal. It is estimated that every species engages in at least one mutualism. Mutualisms play key roles in natural ecosystems–providing essential ecosystem services, like pollination and nitrogen fixation–and even influence where species live. Despite their importance, very little is known about how mutualisms influence the […]

This project will develop a flexible computer modeling tool to help wastewater treatment plants reduce nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. Currently, scientists disagree about which mathematical models best predict N2O emissions, and testing different models requires months of programming work. During a 16-week research visit to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) […]

This project will test whether growth factors produced in-house at the host institute can reliably replace commercially purchased growth factors used to grow heart and kidney cells from human stem cells. These growth factors are essential but costly, and their performance can decline when they are repeatedly warmed and cooled during routine lab work. The […]

Electrical stimulation therapy has shown significant potential for activating neural precursor cells, which can undergo activation, differentiation, proliferation, and cathodal migration under an applied electrical field. Currently, this relies on rigid metal electrodes or micro-fabricated soft electrodes, both of which require transportation to the treatment site and surgical implantation. These approaches can lead to complications […]

Avoiding collisions with other pedestrians is a daily necessity for individuals across all age groups. Unfortunately, age-related declines in older adults’ motor and sensory systems can negatively impact their ability to safely navigate the environment. For instance, decrements in muscular strength, balance, and cognitive function can impair one’s ability to adapt locomotion to environmental constraints. […]

This project aims to develop an accurate model of an industrial polymerization process using a minimal number of experiments. The approach combines basic physical understanding of the process with data-driven modeling techniques to efficiently capture process behavior. An adaptive experimental design strategy will be used, where each experiment is chosen based on results from previous […]

Prostate cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in men, and the most common complication of this cancer is metastasis to bone, particularly, to the vertebrae. Mineral ellipsoids, a recently identified structural component of bone, are largely uncharacterized at both the structural and chemical level. Although these structures have been identified in mouse and human bone, […]

This project aims to develop an animated educational video on the effects of changing ocean conditions on global disease vulnerability and displacement, with an emphasis on visualizing not only the growing burden of disease due to the climate crisis but also how this burden is inequitably distributed through mechanisms of displacement and risk exposure. Aligned […]

The Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CAST) is responsible for delivering high-quality child welfare services and supporting frontline workers who make complex, time-sensitive decisions affecting child safety and family wellbeing. While CAST has invested heavily in improving documentation practices and data systems, frontline staff still lack practical, accessible tools that help synthesize narrative case notes […]