Babies who are born prematurely are at risk of developing a condition called Retinopathy of Prematurity (RoP), which if left untreated, can lead to permanent blindness. RoP causes characteristic changes in the retinal vascu-lature, which can be seen when looking into the eye. Because the infants need to be monitored regularly for this condition, and […]

Cannabis-enhanced yoga known as “Ganja Yoga” is an ancient practice that is burgeoning in North America, providing opportunities for both the cannabis industry and the yoga industry. While there is an accumulation of anecdotal reports regarding Ganja Yoga, there is yet to be research conducted on this topic. Delineating the prevalence, motives, mechanisms, risks, and […]

The plan is to research the physiology and behaviour of Ixodes scapularis, and Dermacentor variabilis ticks with and without the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi bacterium, Rickettsia bacterium, Francisella bacterium, and Bartonella bacterium to answer the overarching question: Are tick-borne bacteria that are pathogenic to humans also harmful to the tick vectors in Nova Scotia? Cold […]

This project will focus on furthering the development of a compact picosecond infrared laser (PIRL) system for use in surgical applications. This laser system, which represents a new paradigm for laser surgery, is unique in its ability to provide high-speed cutting of biological tissue without the collateral damage to surrounding tissues inherent in current surgical […]

The hormone insulin rises in the blood after consuming food. Too high of an insulin response may be a sign of dysfunctional metabolism and has also been shown to promote weight gain. Thus, if insulin levels rise too high after a meal it may indicate that someone is metabolically unhealthy or is prone to obesity. […]

The Early Intervention Program (EIP) is a family-based intervention targeting families of children who are off the healthy weight trajectory. The EIP is a 10-week program offered at community centers across BC where children and their families meet once a week for 90 minutes. Parents will be provided with healthy lifestyle content and will engage […]

COPD is a progressive inflammatory airway disease characterized by persistent and progressive airway inflammation. It is a major cause of global morbidity and mortality and is predicted to become the third leading cause of death by 2020. Biomarkers may be useful for diagnosing disease considering that the usually used lung function measures have poor correlation […]

In the military, concussions are common and many occur while non-deployed, including during cadet training exercises. For the majority of those with concussions, symptoms resolve on their own but for a “miserable minority” symptoms persist beyond the typical 3-month recovery period, impacting quality of life. Most concussion research produces group level inferences which cannot be […]

Electrocardiography or ECG is a technology that can be used to monitor the electrical activity of the heart over a long period of time. Such signals can be utilized for interpreting both the structure and function of the heart. Traditional ECG designs consist of several electrodes that need to be placed directly in contact with […]

The project is about developing a decision support tool to provide a personalized handling and treatment for Autistic Syndrome Disorder patients. This decision support tool will integrate machine learning modeling that will be used to suggest optimal and personalized guidelines for a very large spectrum of ASD patients, not available so far. Theses guidelines will […]

Heart failure is a complex cardiovascular disease with increasing global burden while the prognosis for patients remains poor. Risk factors and the type of heart failure differ between men and women. These differences can be due to sex – referring to biological differences – or gender – referring to social differences. In our project we […]

An estimated 5-10% of cancers are inherited through family members. To identify patients’ risk for developing hereditary cancers, genetic testing can be used. Communicating hereditary cancer genetic results to patients is challenging for health care practitioners. Practitioners want to ensure that patients understand and communicate their preferences for receiving information. Tools to aid patients in […]