Airborne pathogens can easily and quickly spread respiratory diseases. Devices currently used for protection in hospitals, such as N95 respirators, rely only on filtration. Additionally, surgical masks have been increasingly used, although not effective against aerosols. This has been observed during past pandemics and epidemics of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), swine flu, and Middle […]

Glutamate, the most widespread excitatory neuromediator in the brain, plays an important role in learning and memory functions. At very high cerebral concentrations it is likely to cause pathological effects (nerve cell death), such as those encountered in ischemic stroke. To reduce the toxic concentrations of glutamate in the brain, several approaches have been developed. […]

The business partner in this application (Rna Diagnostics, Inc.) has developed a diagnostic tool to determine whether the tumour(s) of a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy before surgery is responding (dying) in response to treatment. This tool, called the Rna Disruption Assay (RDA), can help tailor chemotherapy, such that chemotherapy treatment is discontinued (along with its […]

In our vision, each human operator participating to an emergency response mission should equipped with a portable mobile command center that collects, elaborates and displays the meaningful information generated within the area of operations. In such scenario, the availability of a reliable network able to offer the required performance and reliability to an heterogeneous set […]

Last year, the world’s leading health researchers found toxic pollution to be the greatest cause of disease and premature death in the world today. However, while the findings acknowledge that deaths caused by toxins to be most prevalent among marginalized groups, there is no mention of socio-historical structures in producing these toxic patterns. Through this […]

This project aims at evaluating whether recent results in deep learning models, trained to exploit weak labels (Hwang, 2016) can serve to extract meaningful lesion localizations from image-level labels, either from individual scans or given a (longitudinal) sequence thereof. To this end, we will scale up existing models that have been shown to work on […]

L’herpèsvirus humain 6B (HHV-6B), virus de la roséole, infecte près de 95% de la population avant l’âge de deux ans. Il est connu qu’HHV-6B intègre son matériel génétique aux télomères de la cellule qu’il infecte, régions des chromosomes qui contrôlent la durée de vie des cellules. Il est anticipé qu’une insertion d’HHV-6B à cet endroit […]

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in Canada and may affect up to as many as 3 million Canadians. However, due to inadequate diagnostic tools, 50% remain undiagnosed. Furthermore, COPD patients also suffer attacks, or exacerbations, which can hospitalise the patient, worsen their condition and take weeks to recover […]

Research has shown that persons with disabilities have difficulty establishing relationships and becoming involved in their communities, which can generate barriers to generating and maintaining social capital. Microboards are small groups of people who have agreed to collaborate with an individual with a disability to form a person-centered ‘board’. Microboards have generated anecdotal attention for […]

I recently received a SSHRC for my MFA in Creative Writing thesis titled “Cold Dark Joy: Learning to Thrive in Winter.” This creative non-fiction book explores the possibility of thriving in cold, dark landscapes, particularly in circumpolar regions. To best research the possibility of cultural happiness and well-being during dark winters, I will study the […]

Current assessment tools for teamwork are based on subjective assessment forms in general, objectively assess teamwork is a challenging task in the operating room. Laparoscopic surgery is a type of surgery that requires the surgeon and assistant to work cohesively, since the surgeon’s view is provided by the assistant consistently maneuvering the camera. We used […]

The ability to read carries important implications for overall self-esteem and independence, as reading is necessary to perform many daily tasks (making grocery lists, reading prescriptions, following recipes). Rehabilitation professionals provide training and support to adults and seniors who are born with visual impairments or who acquire it later in life due to age-related conditions. […]