Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an important global health problem afflicting 384 million people and causing 3 million deaths worldwide each year. Currently, there are no effective therapies for COPD patients. In this proposal, we are developing a novel technology that will both monitor the severity of disease in COPD patients, and allow researchers […]

In photoacoustic (PA) imaging, pulsed light irradiates a sample. Light-absorbing molecules experience a pressure rise and generate an ultrasound wave, from which, an image of the sample is obtained. If the image contrast is insufficient, contrast enhancement is applied by locally introducing stronger light absorbers. In ultrasound imaging (US), shelled gas bubbles are used to […]

Down syndrome (DS) is caused by the presence of three copies of chromosome 21, leading to dementia in later life of the patients. DS patients develop characteristic Alzheimer’s pathologies, including the amyloid-beta plaque formation, tau hyperphosphorylationto form neurofibrillary tangles and abnormal synaptic function and plasticity. Growing evidence has shown that impaired insulin signaling plays a […]

The harmful effects of smoking on fetal development, child health, and maternal wellbeing are well described, making smoking cessation during pregnancy and the postpartum period a global health priority. Although a large proportion of expecting mothers will spontaneously quit smoking during pregnancy, the majority will restart smoking within 6 months post-pregnancy. Efforts to reduce smoking […]

L’application de certains types de plasma sur une surface biologique permet la stérilisation du milieu en question. Il est également possible de rendre cette stérilisation sélective par rapport au choix des cellules devant être affectées par le plasma. Ce faisant, la stérilisation sélective de cellules cancérigènes ou de pathogènes par un actionneur à plasma est […]

En 2019, environ 200 000 Canadiens seront diagnostiqués d’un cancer. La moitié de ces patients seront traités par radiothérapie. Si l’objectif est de maximiser l’irradiation de la tumeur et minimiser l’impact sur les organes sains environnants, des erreurs pouvant avoir des conséquences désastreuses se produisent. Actuellement, aucune vérification en temps réel de la dose radioactive […]

Lorsqu’une impulsion lumineuse intense se propage dans une fibre optique, des interaction non linéaires surviennent et modifient le contenu spectral de l’impulsion. De façon imagée, l’impulsion lumineuse change de “couleur” à mesure qu’elle se propage dans la fibre. Ces interactions non linéaires sont étudiées exhaustivement depuis l’avènement du laser en 1960. Cependant, l’étude de la […]

Au cours de l’inflammation, de nombreuses cellules peuvent s’activer. Dans ce contexte, les plaquettes sont reconnues pour générer des vésicules extracellulaires appelées microparticules, qui sont de petits fragments membranaires pouvant contenir des organelles comme la mitochondrie ou le protéasome. Nous avons récemment observé la présence de protéasome fonctionnel, essentiel pour la présentation antigénique, dans ces […]

Currently, self-employment is one of the non-standard and precarious work relationships internationally. Unlike regular employees in Canada, self-employed workers can expect little from the state in terms of social securities. While some self-employers may feel financially secure without supports from the state, this reality does not reflect the experiences of all self-employed workers. Despite the […]

Three in five persons with dementia will wander. This statistic however was derived from the USA, and it is unknown as to how this number was generated and what it specifically entails. The collection of Canadian-based data involving missing persons with dementia in Canada is limited. Secours.io’s initiative of collecting missing persons data generated from […]

An ongoing study in Winnipeg is investigating the possibility of using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to help treat the cognitive and memory declines in Alzheimer’s disease. The objective of this project is to analyze in detail the current results of this study. We will look for connections between MRI scans of the participants and their […]

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an inflammatory disorder of the lung, and one that affects 2.6 million Canadians and 380 million people worldwide. Although the disease affects a large population worldwide the therapies used for treatment remain imprecise. With the lack of disease modifying therapies there is a pressing need to discover novel targets […]