Developing a regional approach to urban forest monitoring and reporting

Urban forests do not conform to municipal or watershed boundaries and many of the threats they face like climate change impacts and invasive species need to be addressed at a regional or larger scale. Taking a regional approach to urban forest monitoring could be of benefit to achieving the sustainability objectives of Toronto and Region […]

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MIM Plasmonic Bowtie Structures for Infrared Spectroscopy

Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a diverse, powerful and nondestructive sensing technique amenable to a wide variety of applications. The sensitivity of IR measurements can be greatly improved by local electromagnetic field enhancements provided by nanoscale metallic structures. We propose a novel platform for enhanced IR spectroscopy, consisting of a bowtie structure composed of a nanoscale […]

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Enabling next generation cardiac therapeutics with genetic engineering and novel in vivo models for cardiomyocyte transplantation

The development of cellular therapeutics is acutely dependent on the ability to evaluate the functional characteristics of the cells in predictive animal models. This forms the basis of key pre-clinical data packages that are key for regulatory submissions preceding human clinical trials. The development of appropriate model systems, the execution of the surgical techniques to […]

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Enabling next generation cardiac therapeutics with genetic engineering and novel in vivo models for cardiomyocyte transplantation – Year two

The development of cellular therapeutics is acutely dependent on the ability to evaluate the functional characteristics of the cells in predictive animal models. This forms the basis of key pre-clinical data packages that are key for regulatory submissions preceding human clinical trials. The development of appropriate model systems, the execution of the surgical techniques to […]

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Integrating Constraint Programming Scheduling into an AI Planner

OPTIC is a state of the art piece of research software designed to allow computers to autonomously plan complex tasks, such as construction projects, rail timetables and other planning and scheduling tasks. Currently, OPTIC handles the scheduling process using a technique known as Mixed Integer Programming (MIP). In this project, the aim will be to […]

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Validation of Novel, Tumor Microenvironment-based Targets for Biological Therapeutics

ImmunoBiochem is developing novel anti-cancer therapeutics to address unmet need in intractable solid tumors. Because solid tumors are highly heterogeneous and evasive, recognizing cancerous cells, while avoiding damage to normal tissue, is a challenge. As a result, many targeted therapies quickly come up against resistance, resulting in patient relapses. ImmunoBiochem is solving the issue of […]

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Leaving the Land Before Time: The Planetary Presence of Indigenous World Literatures

My project advocates that a primary impediment to increased consciousness about Indigeneity lies in how we study the contemporary literature of Indigenous peoples. This requires a reconceptualization of Indigeneity away from its boundedness to specific lands and pasts that valorize ties to first contact, instead embracing the reality that Indigenous peoples are a contemporary presence […]

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Definitive gas migration testing – Comparative assessment of different gas migration testing techniques and field instrumentation

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contribute to a global warming trend that is associated with climate change. Methane is a potent GHG with a global warming potential 25 times that of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) over a 100-year period. Gas migration in soils from the subsurface to the surface is a well-known issue; however, characterizing the source […]

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Understanding Legionella pneumophilia Immune Evasion

The immune system has evolved a diverse array of tools to detect and eliminate foreign pathogens from the body. Bacteria too have evolved methods to interfere with the immune system’s ability to detect them. This allows bacteria to be able to replicate and cause a longer illness. Our project looks to find out how the […]

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Transparency: Qualities and Technologies of Global Gemstone Trading

In the first decade of this century, diamonds and other conflict-laden gemstones spearheaded a global trend toward transparency. Despite the growing pervasiveness of transparency in business strategies, it remains an understudied social practice. Rather than assuming that the category of transparency is itself transparent, this research is an ethnographic investigation of transparency in the diamond […]

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Compressed Air Energy Storage in Cased Wells

The project will adapt Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) to a cased well. CAES is a mature and proven energy storage technology, however it traditionally uses large salt caverns. By understanding the deformation of a wellbore due to pressure and hot air injection, one may be able to determine the operating range of the system. […]

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