Mind reading emotional states of the participants will be done using FMRI machines and self report. The participants will be exposed to various stimuli to trigger an emotional response. These emotional responses will be examined using FMRI machines as well as the self report in order to help classify and locate area’s of the brain […]

In this project, we propose integrating well-known neuroimaging algorithms to model axonal integrity of the white matter over the course of a full season, in collegiate football players. Using these findings as a basis for further investigation, we intend to develop a novel imaging processing tool that will integrate information from different neuroimaging methods to […]

The challenges faced by mammals in adapting to their environment must be tightly controlled in order to ensure optimal body function. Hormones can travel in the bloodstream to reach various parts of the body and execute their biological actions on various organs. However, to reach their target the hormones must leave the bloodstream. That means […]

There has been a noticeable interest across Canada to deploy new approaches to help address our growing energy needs. Second generation bioethanol production from agricultural and forest residues (named as lignocellulosic biomass), can pave the way for achieving this sustainable bio-economy. Regardless the efforts by ethanol producer companies to develop the technologies of generation of […]

Enzymes are macromolecules that speed up the rate of chemical reactions by many orders of magnitude. Different classes of enzymes are present in a cell at different copy numbers to control and fine-tune its metabolism. The kinetics of enzymes differs depending on the physical properties of the local surroundings. Due to the high complexity of […]

Due to increasing rates of childhood obesity, it is important to investigate the relationship between motor skill development, physical activity, body composition and sleep patterns. Previous research in this area has focused on school-aged children and adults, when daily habits have already formed and are difficult to modify. The purpose of this project is to […]

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) hold promise as cell-therapy candidates for numerous diseases such as Graft v. Host disease due to their ability to influence the immune system. MSCs have been shown to be capable of a broad range of immunomodulatory effects, including the production of factors that allow them to serve as Medicinal Signaling Cells […]

Recent scientific breakthroughs have led to the development of methods to differentiate human PSCs (hPSCs) into skeletal muscle cells. This has allowed, for the first time, the development of cellular models to study muscle diseases such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and the possibility to utilize these cells for cell therapy applications. However, the reliability, efficiency […]

It remains unclear which factors drives variation in the gut microbiome across humans. Past work has taken an evolutionary perspective and compared the gut microbiome of humans on Western diets to wild primates and humans on non-Western diets and identified particular microbes which are at different abundances. However, the focus of these studies has mainly […]

The intention of this project is inquiry into the role of force signaling in skeletal muscle repair. Before muscle damage, muscle stems cells that are yet to be incorporated in the muscle fibers are relatively inactive, but when injury occurs they can multiply and are recruited to the site of damage. Many aspects of the […]

The heart beats 3-4 billion times in a person’s lifetime, making it the only part of the body that continues to work – without a break – for one’s entire existence! For this to occur, the heart must be highly regulated, so that is continues to function normally. Much of this regulation occurs within the […]

The focus of this project is to screen for small-molecules that may interact with the machinery that controls the decision of life and death in the cell. Diseases can arise from aberrant control of cell life and death like cancer and neurodegeneration. By shutting off the cell death pathway when cells are injured, or stressed […]