Land-use change and invasive species are two of the three major drivers of biodiversity decline globally, however, interactions between these drivers in their impact to whole community diversity and ecosystem function are relatively understudied. This proposal serves to fill this knowledge gap through collaboration with the long-term ecological monitoring data from the Toronto and Region […]

Candida is a fungus that is often found in healthy mouths, but can also cause infection. Such infections are common in denture wearers where Candida grows on the acrylic denture surface. My PhD is determining what factors on the denture promote infection. The research will measure attachment of Candida and certain bacterial species which live […]

A common assumption about gentrification is that it displaces poor and minority residents, their local businesses, and even neighbourhood crime. However, questions remain about displacement and the social control mechanisms of gentrification–especially on non-violent crimes. Drawing on this work, we will explore what happens to illicit markets, such as sex work and drug sales, and […]

The goal of this proposed project is to increase the safety of vulnerable road users (pedestrians & cyclists) by examining factors that help or hinder the process of making changes to the built environment (BE) for this purpose. By examining data collected from municipal, transportation, police services, public health, NGOs, and schoolboard sectors in the […]

Recent progress in the development of computer algorithms for detecting pathological changes in fetal heart rate (FHR) variability (fHRV) and electroencephalogram (EEG) points to a potentially groundbreaking technology for detecting fetal acidemia and inflammation during labour. Using FHR and EEG as a diagnostic tool is an attractive option because they can be acquired noninvasively. Despite […]

Canada’s pulp and paper sector remains a vital economic engine, particularly for smaller communities. Large volumes of waste residuals, originating primarily from forest biomass and natural minerals, are still landfilled. Research has shown that application of these residues benefits agricultural land and forests, and promotes tree and plant growth in land that has lost its […]

Contemporary society faces a number of information processing challenges. As human lives and digital technology are increasingly connected, our understanding of how we process information and make decisions must keep pace. Philosophy can help with challenges like AI development or fake news by clarifying what we mean by concepts like “knowledge” or “fact”. This project […]

This project will examine the work of Scottish-Canadian experimental animator Norman McLaren through close analysis of the film production infrastructures and cultural programme of nation-building in Canada in the mid-twentieth century. Understanding McLaren as a complex figure caught between contradictory political, aesthetic and social conditions, this project will look at the strategies of complicity and […]

In the West, the arts have played a distinctive role in enabling the fiction of our current perceptions of ecology; one where human mastery of the planet has been mythologised through the production of images. These artistic myths at one level separate us from nature, while also paradoxically, seeking to establish deep, meaningful connections between […]

Prejudice against Muslims has risen in the U.K. and Canada, threatening harmonious intergroup relations and the wellbeing of Muslims. Some politicians endorse and encourage interactions among people from diverse backgrounds, whereas others discourage this. It is currently unclear what effects this has on the desires of non-Muslims to interact with Muslims. Using Canadian politicians’ twitter […]

Cancer cells can be expanded and studied alone outside of the body in two-dimensional plastic dishes. These simplistic conditions lack the genetic variation and complex signals found in human tumours that tell cancer cells to grow uncontrollably and spread throughout the body. To effectively identify the signals that fuel breast cancer spread and develop clinical […]

Recent research studies have pointed to sleeping on the back in late pregnancy as possibly increasing the risk of serious problems pregnancy such as low birth weight and delivering a baby that died in the womb (stillbirth). However, because it is impossible to completely and accurately recollect one’s body position while sleeping, these studies are […]