The development of a safety assessment model for spent nuclear fuel disposal with special emphasis on radiolytic corrosion of the copper fuel waste container

The project will involve a partnership between the Western University, where the intern is enrolled in the Chemistry PhD program, and the Surface Science Western (SSW). The SSW is a commercial organization which does contract research and problem-solving for industrial companies and is contracted to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) to support the development […]

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Evaluating an Expanding Prodrug Platform for Controlled Drug Delivery

The development of new strategies to improve drug delivery has the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes. Ripple Therapeutics has developed a new approach to developing implants based on a discovery that prodrugs (an inactive version of a drug) can be processed into an implant without the use of a polymer to hold the implant […]

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Web Page Contextual Sub-Components Recognition and Identification

The intent of this project is to build a web-page content subsection identification and analysis service. The subsections of a web-page are considered to be meaningful page components (articles, images. media blocks) that can be identified and uniquely fingerprinted. The intent of the project is fourfold: a) sub-component identification and fingerprinting b) sub-component content change […]

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Comparative Data Analysis in Political Aesthetic Strategies: The Persuasive Propaganda of the Italian Populist Right on Facebook and Twitter

This research project informs an essential part of my broader doctoral research which investigates the aesthetic and rhetoric practices developed by today’s far-right populist movements for their propaganda and communication on social media. Working along with Professor Vijay Mago and DaTALab researchers I will generate, collect, and analyse a wide range of new and original […]

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Developing and Piloting a Comprehensive Evaluation of a Community Delivered Social Communication Training Program for Families of Autistic Pre-school Children

Increasing prevalence of autism worldwide intensifies the need to identify effective and accessible supports. Speech-language therapy is one of the most frequently accessed services for children diagnosed with autism. One intervention commonly used by Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) is More Than Words®-The Hanen Program® for Parents of Children with Autism. Despite its widespread use, it lacks […]

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Robust and practical tools for imaging vascular reactivity in the brain

Vascular disease (problems with blood vessels) are a leading cause of death and disability. Stroke alone (blockage of blood vessels) is the 4th biggest killer globally (3rd in Canada), most disabling (2/3rd of survivors disabled) and costs society ~£26 billion a year in the UK. It can be hard to detect. A brain that has […]

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How do urbanization and invasive alien species interact in their impacts to native biodiversity?

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 […]

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Nanoscale interactions of Candida species with oral bacteria and surfaces

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 […]

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Vice for Sale: Neighbourhood Change and Illicit Markets

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 […]

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Health equity, road safety and the built environment (BE): Examining barriers and facilitators to BE change decision-making, the impact of Vision Zero, and COVID-19

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 […]

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Modeling Fetal Heart Rate and Fetal Circulation during Labor

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 […]

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