Our objective is to examine the physical and behavioral characteristics of severely obese patients at the Wharton weight management clinic. We will utilize the patient records at enrollment to characterize this cohort, and administer additional questionnaires that are not routinely given by the clinic that will be completed by patients on a voluntary basis. During […]

This project will profile the use of new drugs of rheumatoid arthritis, in a population-based sample. Potential differences in the use of these agents will be examined to identify discrepancies in drug use patterns across demographics, which could be addressed through targeted strategies. Our proposal is timely in terms of increasing attention on the part […]

This research will develop numerical modeling and optimization techniques for the design of radio-frequency (RF) coils used in Magntetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). These techniques will aid in the design of specific RF coils for interventional MRI procedures which impose unique and challenging demands on the RF coils's performance. The first step will be to enhance […]

The Centre for Operations Excellence (COE) at the Sauder School of Business,University of British Columbia (UBC) was asked by the Spinal Cord Injury Solutions Network (SCISN) and The Rick Hansen Foundation to carry out an evaluation of a forecasting model. SCISN and The Rick Hansen Foundation commissioned the development of the model to a third […]

The Centre for Operations Excellence (COE) at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia (UBC) was asked by the Spinal Cord Injury Solutions Network (SCISN) and The Rick Hansen Foundation to participate in the early stages of planning a Canada wide, long term, multi-year project (LT Project) that will evaluate alternative methods for […]

In 2009, an estimated 23,400 Canadians will be diagnosed with lung cancer and 20,500 will die of it. Once diagnosed, the treatment of choice is surgical resection of the tumour using Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS), in which two major problems exist: locating the tumour and an impaired ability to feel the tissue under examination. This […]

Nucleic acid analysis in forensic science is a major focus for DNA‐based identification in case‐work samples. Approximately 5% ‐ 10% of samples are known to fail as a result of contaminants carrying through the purification process, or as a result of insufficient yield in the DNA extraction step. Whereas, most crime scene exhibits produce meaningful […]

This project was in partnership with the Canadian Obesity Network. Providence Healthcare has estrablished a reputation as one of the leading centres for cardiovascular research and treatment in Canada. Providence Healthcare and AstraZeneca, a research-based pharmaceutical company, are interested in furthering science and improve patient outcomes. The purpose of this study is to determine the […]

Surgical education has changed dramatically over the last 15 years as traditional “time served” approaches have given way to objective assessments of efficiency. These assessments are very resource intensive and require a greater level of training for the educators and evaluators. Furthermore they often do not provide timely, meaningful feedback to the trainees. To overcome […]

Sample preparation for DNA extraction is labour intensive, tedious and a recognized bottleneck and impediment to high throughput automated DNA profiling. The organization sponsor, DNA Ident Inc., has a uniquely designed sample collection container (C‐POD) developed to capture DNA and to streamline sample preparation. The proposed project will develop DNA stabilization formulae for use as […]

The focus of this project will be to model and optimize the scheduling of clinics at PMH-assigning clinics to clinic areas and clinic timeslots. The objective will be to improve the current schedule with respect to key performance metrics. These metrics will include clinic overtime, the equality of the distribution of demand on shared resources […]

Falls are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly, and are the sixth leading cause of death. Often these falls result from a loss of balance due to decreased postural control; however, age related reductions in cardiovascular control during postural changes may produce light headedness and fainting (syncope) leading to fall proneness. […]