The natural process of terrestrial decomposition leads to the release of chemical and biological by-products into the surrounding soil. It is largely unknown how regional variations in climate, fauna and flora influence the environmental impacts experienced from the leaching of these products. The following project aims to evaluate if biogeoclimatic conditions play a significant role […]

Les empreintes digitales sont utilisées comme moyen d’identification de victimes ou de corps non identifiés. Or, il n’est pas rare dans un contexte d’enquête policière qu’une victime soit retrouvée dans un état de décomposition cadavérique. Les changements post-mortem peuvent entraver la capacité à obtenir des impressions nettes et utilisables pour une identification. Dès lors, des […]

This research mission in the Bioarchaeology Imaging Laboratory in the Department of Anthropology at Western University, under the direction of Andrew Nelson will be of unprecedented relevance for the thesis I am undertaking: Insects, mummies and funerary practices: contribution of archaeoentomology, paleoparasitology and 3D imaging to the study of pre-Hispanic mummies of the central coast […]

Giardiasis is a foodborne and waterborne disease that affects people worldwide, and it causes enteric diseases with outbreaks of diarrhea in adults and children. There are a few drugs available for treating Giardia spp. infections and they are associated with low efficacy, adverse effects, and drug resistance is spreading. Hence, there is an urgent need […]

The internship project for this Mitacs proposal will provide new data that will be added to the existing set from a 3-year standardized experiment across North and South America. The internship will be conducted in collaboration with Professor Pablo Stevenson’s research team from Universidad de Los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) and aims to determine which, if […]

Plants including Cannabis host distinct beneficial microbial communities on and inside their tissues designated the plant microbiota from the moment that they are planted into the soil as seed. Understanding the microbial partnerships with Cannabis has the potential to affect agricultural practices by improving plant fitness and production yield of Cannabinoids. Much less is known […]

This project aims to evaluate ground-dwelling arthropods which are present in restored semi-natural grasslands, preserved grassland environments, and prairie agricultural fields that contain prairie potholes. Insects and other arthropods collected with pitfall traps in these areas will be identified, pinned, and stored in an extensive collection. Specimens collected from the agricultural fields containing prairie potholes […]

My proposed Mitacs-funded research will study health and disease in the medieval (11th-15th centuries AD) population from St. Peter’s Monastery in Osor, Croatia through a study of disease patterns, biochemical analysis of diet, and mortality trends. I will use syndemic theory to frame my research, which maintains that diseases and health conditions can interact with […]

In the frame of this research project, lanthanide-doped nanoparticles will be synthesized that are able to convert low- to high-energy light in a process called upconversion. Given their outstanding optical properties, these upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) are promising candidates for applications ranging from biomedicine to optoelectronics and the energy sector. We will combine UCNPs with monolayers […]

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is an important economical crop cultivated in tropical countries. Cocoa black pod disease, caused by Phytophthora megakarya, an oomycete, is the most economically important threat of cacao in Cameroon. Upon infection, oomycetes pathogens develop various strategies to gain access to the nutrients and eventually causing the death of the tissue, including the […]

La rétine, qui tapisse le fond du globe oculaire, est composée de plusieurs types de cellules dont les bâtonnets qui ont une structure particulière. Le segment externe des bâtonnets est composé d’un empilement de disques membranaires où est localisé le pigment visuel appelé rhodopsine. La rhodopsine change de conformation sous l’effet de la lumière, ce […]

Rhythmic music naturally urges us to move. This is visible when they spontaneously move or dance with music, even without being consciously aware of aligning movements to the musical pulse. Moving to the beat of the music (Auditory-Motor Synchronization – AMS) is a widespread behavior involving the fine coordination of a motor rhythm with an […]