“A large majority of microbes cannot be cultured. Recently, microbiome sequencing has begun to identify the genetic potential of these lineages, often referred to as microbial “dark matter”. By integrating my taxonomic profiling methods with function profiling developed by the academic supervisor, I aim to develop and apply a comprehensive pipeline for microbial dark matter […]

The collection of bacteria and archaea in an ecosystem is termed the microbiome. This microbiome is critically important to the structure and function of essentially any ecosystem, providing many ecosystem services, such as growth promotion, nutrient turnover, and impacts on organismal health. The vast majority of these organisms, however, are unknown to science for a […]

Infectious diseases ranging from avian influenza to Ebola virus infection are among the most serious health emergencies in Canada and globally. Current diagnosis methods such as cell culture, ELISA and PCR suffer from inaccuracy, high-cost and lengthy procedures. Therefore, there has been a growing trend to develop new point-of-care diagnostic tools and microfluidic devices are […]

Les infections nosocomiales sont des infections contractées dans les établissements de santé et représentent un problème de santé publique majeur. Dans les établissements de santé québécois, on évalue qu’entre 80 000 et 90 000 personnes sont atteintes d’une infection nosocomiale, ce qui correspond à 10% des admissions. Dans ce contexte, il est alors urgent de […]

Consumers are increasingly interested in how their pork is raised especially in terms of welfare (the five freedoms) and the use of antibiotics (in relation to antimicrobial resistance). This project will focus on pig behavioural traits such as aggressiveness, tail biting and social interaction and seek to develop new tools to allow these traits to […]

The overall objective of this project is to scale up and demonstrate the utility of novel bioaugmentation cultures for BTEX compounds, and associated diagnostic tools to properly deploy the technology. The intern will lead the project team to develop gene-based biomarker tools applicable to the bioaugmentation cultures and apply these tools to samples submitted from […]

Le but général est de favoriser la commercialisation de deux enzymes de type cutinase en développant des procédés de production/purification prometteurs et d’intérêt industriel. Les cutinases sont des enzymes intéressantes pour l’hydrolyse de divers corps gras et de certains plastiques, ainsi que pour la modification de surfaces. Pour chacune des cutinases, cinq (5) objectifs spécifiques […]

There is a critical need for new therapies for Parkinson’s Disease (PD), a devastating neurodegenerative disease. Current therapies for PD treat disease symptoms, but do not provide a cure. The ability to generate patient brain-derived cells may rapidly advance development of personalized therapies for PD and other incurable neurological disorders. This study will use brain […]

Ticks contain many different disease-causing bacteria and viruses, including the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Multiple infections with these other pathogens in addition to Borrelia cause more severe illness. For many of these pathogens there are no or limited diagnostic tools available to detect the pathogen. This project includes production of a new product, “a […]

The intern will conduct a research study to evaluate whether measuring insulin in saliva can be used to reflect levels of insulin in the blood. The long-term objective is to work with the industry partner to develop a non-invasive personal salivary insulin monitor using a new technology that is in development that can quickly and […]

Qu Biologics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing and evaluating an innovative immunotherapeutic approach to treating disease rooted in immune pathology/dysfunction. Qu’s proprietary technology platform, site-specific immunomodulators (SSI), act to stimulate the body’s own immune system to reverse the chronic inflammation underlying many conditions including cancer and immune-mediated diseases. For lung diseases, Qu’s platform SSI, […]

Manufacturing of consistently high quality products is the commitment of the pharmaceutical industry. To achieve this, new products must be thoroughly tested and the results meet government-approved product specifications. Improving existing and adopting improved analytical technologies for product testing ensure the production of safe and effective products. This is particularly critical for the manufacturing of […]