Can retaining wetlands in agro-ecosystems mitigate the effects of agricultural intensification on biodiversity?

Agricultural practises in the North American prairies have intensified in the last several decades to increase food production, resulting in the drainage of up to 70% of prairie wetlands in some areas. Not surprisingly agricultural intensification is associated with the loss of biodiversity. Our research aims to assess whether retaining wetlands in agro-ecosystems can mitigate […]

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Stage de recherche en biologie synthétique

Le projet consiste en un stage de recherche en biologie synthétique, un domaine scientifique émergeant reliant biologie et ingénierie afin de construire ou modifier des systèmes biologiques dans le but de répondre à certaines problématiques. Les maladies infectieuses sont des causes de pertes économiques majeures à l’échelle du globe, entre autres dans l’industrie agroalimentaire. Le […]

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Community dynamics in restored salt marshes

Salt marshes are important coastal ecosystems because they provide many services to surrounding areas. Due to the high fertility of salt marsh soil, they have a long history of being converted to farmland in Maritime Canada. In recent years, there has been growing interest in restoring salt marshes to protect against coastal erosion, mitigate sea […]

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Sex pheromone of Drosophila suzukii, an invasive fruit pest

Among Drosophila species, volatile organic compounds are key for host- and mate-finding behaviour. Recently, it was discovered that a single olfactory receptor channel (Or69a) in D. melanogaster that is tuned to both host odours and sex pheromones (Lebreton et al. 2017). Phylogenic analysis suggests this receptor is conserved across all Drosophila species; however, Or69a is […]

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High Throughput Analysis of Phytoplankton ROS Detoxification Gene Families

The Black Queen Hypothesis is a novel theory in reductive evolution that suggests while some metabolic functions must remain in the cell, others can be outsourced to the surrounding community. Phytoplankton are important members of marine ecosystems, and many exist in symbiotic relationships with co-occurring bacteria. Phytoplankton produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a by-product […]

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Testing, evaluation and development of a commercial protocol to differentiate hPSC-derived pancreatic progenitors into insulin-producing ?-cells in 2D monolayers and/or 3D culture systems

The generation of functional ?-cells from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) for cell replacement therapy and disease modeling of diabetes is a strongly investigated area. Recent scientific breakthroughs have enabled derivation of large quantities of human pancreatic ?-like cells in the laboratory, but the protocols are currently not consistent or optimized for cells of various […]

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Development of plant-based beverage with high content and quality proteins.

Plant-based beverages are inappropriate alternatives to bovine milk, due to lower protein content and not sufficient amount of essential amino acids. To produce nutritionally complete plant-based beverage with high overall acceptability, the technological interventions and fortification techniques need to be developed. Oat is one of the promising raw material for preparation of functional plant-based milk […]

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The Core Connectors Initiative

The proposed study evaluates The Core Connectors Initiative (CCI), a high school-based suicide prevention program designed to help youth gain peer support skills and mental health knowledge. CCI involves two phases, a 14-module training phase and an action phase. Facilitators who have backgrounds in counselling psychology or related disciplines will pilot the program in 5 […]

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Ecology, Conservation and Welfare of Captive and Wild Animals

Animal welfare and behaviour is a concern in captivity but is also a factor affecting conservation success. An animal ability to cope with stressors, which varies between and within species, can affect survival of individuals and compromise a population’s viability. Human-induced stressors impact individuals differently depending on their personality, which applies to captive and wild […]

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Moving to Breathe, Breathing to Move: An interdisciplinary study on the benefits of choral and dance exercise for people with neuromuscular conditions

In this collaborative project with Muscular Dystrophy Canada (MDC), we will design and run choir singing and dancing programs for people with neuromuscular conditions, in order to study whether it improves their quality of life and their ability to breathe. Both singing and dancing have been shown to have significant medical and quality of life […]

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