Infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) causes severe anemia in salmon and has mortality rates that approach 100%. Over the last 30 years, ISAV has caused major disease outbreaks in farmed salmon in Canada, the US, and Chile. In 2012, a confirmed outbreak in Newfoundland prompted the destruction of 450,000 farmed salmon. The virus has caused […]

The Rett syndrome is a progressive neurodevelopmental disorder and one of the most common causes of mental retardation in females. Because males have a different chromosome combination from females, most males with Rett syndrome die before birth or in early infancy. It was not until 1999 that it was discovered that the Rett syndrome is […]

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is thought to be caused by accumulation of protein, called “beta-amyloid” in the brain. This protein has been shown to accumulate on the surfaces of brain cells, deforming and damaging their outer surface (called the lipid membrane). There is a major open question however: what factors make brain cells sensitive to beta-amyloid? […]

L’objectif de cette recherché est de «mesurer l’influence de différents aspects de la composition corporelle et d’anthropométrie sur la force relative et absolue chez des athlètes universitaires américains.» L’hypothèse de ce projet de recherche est que l’incidence de plusieurs mesures de compositions corporelles et d’anthropométrie sur la performance sera dévoilée. Les sujets éligibles sont tous […]

Underwater visual analysis (UWVA) is a passive and non-invasive method gaining popularity in freshwater systems. UWVA uses underwater cameras and/or snorkel surveys to assess species richness and abundance. UWVA could also be used to detect endangered and invasive fishes, which is important for conservation and management of freshwater ecosystems. To determine the applicability of the […]

We will use a database of more than 30 years of scientific survey and citizen-science observations of common loon breeding on lakes in Ontario, as well as other parts of Canada, to determine whether loons now breed successfully on lakes where they were negatively affected by acid rain (and other human threats like development). Our […]

Human operators show significant variability in performance when operating in complex manufacturing systems that are usually referred to human errors. Such errors are identified as the failure to perform an action within the safe operating limit and often lead to product quality defects. Approximately 50%-80% of the incidents and accidents in safety-critical systems have been […]

Shellfish aquaculture production has been growing steadily for the past several decades, and is expected to continue to do so. Three groups of the most commonly cultivated shellfish are mussels, oysters, and scallops. This research is focused on how these three families of shellfish capture different sizes of particles (e.g. phytoplankton) for ingestion. It has […]

Undertaking this project through Mitacs Globalink will provide me with a rare opportunity for extended time with the expert scholars, specialized research institutions and archival material in England that will allow me to greatly enhance the research component of my dissertation while also forming important links to a community of international researchers. I will be […]

Bivalves (e.g. mussels, oysters, and scallops) are valued for both their economic and ecological importance. As filter-feeders, bivalves remove suspended matter (e.g. phytoplankton) from their environment to ingest. There is potential that filter-feeders change their feeding activity based on their digestive processes. This feedback between feeding and digestion would be an important link to help […]

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 […]

Synthetic polymers will be explored as a vehicle to deliver DNA to cells for potential gene therapy applications. Charge-shifting polycations with varying rates of degradation will be studied to test the effectiveness of DNA release, as well as eventual uptake and conversion of the DNA to produce a targeted protein (i.e. transfection). The varying rates […]