Innovative Projects Realized

Developing Monitoring and Verifications Framework for Ocean-based Carbon Dioxide Removal in the Canadian Atlantic Waters (Bedford Basin, Canada)

In response to the current climate crisis and since the Paris COP21, there has been widespread international agreement on limiting warming to < 2°C. Two recent IPCC reports have emphasized that the most feasible pathway to limiting warming to 2°C or less is to deploy both climate mitigation (emissions reduction) and intervention (Carbon dioxide removal) to achieve “net negative emissions” by the end of this century. In this project, we will monitor and verify one method of ocean carbon dioxide removal (CDR) called Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) that in its final, tested form would be acceptable to stakeholders, governance bodies and carbon credit markets. OAE can be achieved through a variety of approaches. Most are either directly or indirectly linked to the chemical weathering of minerals, which neutralize protons when they dissolve in the ocean and increase the ocean's capacity for CO2 uptake and counteract ocean acidification, which is considered an environmental threat to a range of marine ecosystems. Benefits to Canada of such an approach would include acceleration of a highly scalable CDR pathway and kick-starting a new industry of ocean-based CDR verification and measurement technology.

Use of Advanced Customizable Leach Columns as a tool to characterize the physiochemical processes occurring in mine waste rock and tailings

Mining generates large amounts of waste (e.g. waste rock and tailings), some of which contains sulfide minerals that oxidize and produce acid rock drainage (ARD) when exposed to oxygen. Mine waste is commonly stored on-site in storage facilities which can account for > 80% of all ARD produced. Several methods exist to address ARD potential, but these tests are rarely linked to specific environmental conditions or repository designs. Using Advanced Customizable Leach Columns (ACLCs) as a way to provide laboratory scale tests that replicate site specific conditions (e.g., temperature, oxygen availability, water content) can potentially offer a better prediction of ARD potential and inform design considerations for storage facilities. The interns will lead research into improving ACLC designs by quantifying the role of different variables that will lead to improved waste storage designs at the field scale. The improvements, modifications, and discoveries made as part of this research will be implemented in the new generation of ACLCs developed by Okane to offer to clients worldwide.

Economic Burden and Socio-Ecological Determinants of Asthma and COPD in British Columbia

Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease(COPD) are the two common lung conditions in British Columbia(BC). Given the dynamic character of these two diseases and modified treatment options in recent years, this proposed study aims to assess and update the economic burden of asthma and COPD in British Columbia and determine regional differences and the impact of social-economic aspects on the burden of asthma and COPD.

A continuous observational pool of individuals with asthma and COPD will be built utilizing BC health administrative data from 1997 to 2021. We will compare the excess medical costs and healthcare consumption of COPD and asthma patients to the general BC population by comparing the overall costs of the case and control cohorts. We will examine total costs as well as related expenses. Costs will be modified to reflect current Canadian inflation rates.
Also, relying on the social-economic and disease factors available in BC health administrative data, we will perform an explanatory assessment using a predictive formula to measure the distribution of variation in (1) excess total healthcare costs of asthma and COPD and (2) asthma and COPD hospitalization that can be linked to significant social-economic and these two lung conditions.

Development and validation of treatment optimization planning software for MRI guided focal laser ablation of prostate cancer

Over 23,000 men were diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa) in Canada in 2020. Focal therapy uses high energy focused heating delivered via a laser fiber to destroy the tumour and has shown promising results in controlling prostate cancer. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows the surgeon to distinguish the cancerous tissue from healthy tissue, better customize the treatment to the patient and monitor thermal damage to the tumour. This project focuses on developing software to help the physician plan where to place the laser fibers to ensure maximal damage to the tumor while minimizing damage to the adjacent healthy tissue. To achieve this goal, improved MR thermometry, rapid imaging and communication between the scanner and a standalone PC is required. Through this project, Siemens Canada will gain potential personnel to facilitate emerging research in the field of medical robotics, and validation of a novel clinical procedure using Siemens’ products.

Is correction of malnutrition sufficient to improve low physical function before elective colorectal cancer surgery? A randomized controlled trial of nutrition vs nutrition and exercise prehabilitation

Bowel cancers and diseases are treated with surgery. But recovery from surgery is difficult. Patients can experience long hospital stays, complications after surgery, and a delay in the return of their usual daily activities. The 6-min walk distance (6MWD) is a test performed before surgery to evaluate physical fitness. If a patient is unable to walk 400 m in 6 minutes, the chance of them developing a post-surgical complication and having a longer hospital stay is high. Prehabilitation aims to facilitate post-surgery recovery by improving fitness before surgery. We propose a research project with a 4-week intervention before surgery comprised of nutrition alone or nutrition with exercise in patients with poor nutrition and who are unable to complete 400m in the 6MWD test before elective bowel surgery. The therapeutic goal will be achievement of >=400m 6MWD. The findings of this study will guide optimal treatment for patients requiring bowel surgery.

The Implicit Language of Our Bodies: Developing Immersive Technologies to Transfer Embodied Experiences

While much of how we interact with the world is grounded in the body, embodied forms of knowledge have received little attention in research and practice. The inherent difficulty in communicating embodied experiences, and the paucity of tools to do so, poses a significant barrier to sharing it—a problem which is only exacerbated by our increasingly digital and disembodied world. Here, we will develop immersive technologies to directly transfer embodied experiences. Working with the Center for Circus Arts Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer (CRITAC), we will study embodied experiences in circus acrobats, and how technological innovation may help in research, education and creation within circus. We will bring together circus artists, neuroscientists, designers and engineers to co-design immersive technologies, studying both the impact of the collaborative process on participants and the ability of the resulting technologies to convey embodied knowledge. The research findings and resulting technological tools will allow CRITAC to integrate embodied knowledge into circus research and education, and will help the circus arts adjust to the new creative demands of the digital era.

Surveillance continue des perfluorocarbures issues de la production d’aluminium

La production d’aluminium primaire est un processus produisant une quantité importante de gaz à effet de serre. Par souci de mieux quantifier et de réduire la quantité de GES émis, Rio Tinto a fait l’acquisition d’un appareil de mesure permettant de suivre un type précis d’émissions de GES, associée à plus de 25% des émissions directes de GES de l’industrie. Le projet visé permettra d’abord de caractériser le fonctionnement de l’appareil au moyen de deux bancs d’essai en condition de laboratoire. Ces essais contrôlés permettront de mieux caractériser les sources de variations du signal.
Par la suite, le projet s’intéressera aux mesures industrielles provenant de l’appareil afin d’établir des corrélations entre les indicateurs de contrôles, les performances globales et les émissions de GES. Suivant ces analyses, des solutions seront proposées et validées dans un contexte industriel pour confirmer leurs efficacités respectives en termes de réduction de GES et en termes d’efficacité énergétique.

Targeting classically intractable molecules with Quantum Computing

With the advent of quantum computing, finding applications for which quantum computers offer an advantage with respect to classical computers is crucial if this technology is to be fruitful. One of the areas where quantum computers are expected to be particularly useful is for the simulation of molecular systems, with applications in drug discovery, materials development, and energy solutions. Even though there already exists an abundance of classical methods for this problem, for a given molecular system there exist no efficient ways of knowing whether these methods will break down or not, as it is known that some regimes cannot be solved efficiently on classical computers. As such, it is of paramount importance to develop efficient protocols that allow to test both this classical simulation complexity, and the quantum simulation complexity, of a given molecular system. Our research will focus on developing these protocols, which will allow for the evaluation of technologically relevant systems and the determination of whether their simulation can be done in a classical computer, or if a quantum computer is necessary.

The Canadian Donor Milk Trial (CanDo): Pasteurized human donor milk supplementation in the well baby unit

The proposed trial will evaluate the benefit of using donor human milk versus formula as a supplement to parent milk, when the latter is unavailable, in the well-baby nursery. Although the goal for infant feeding is exclusive parent milk from birth, up to 50% of all infants in well-baby units receive a supplement for a variety of reasons including parent illness, infant low blood sugar or excessive weight loss, and in the instance of two-father families among other reasons. The current standard is for this supplement to be infant formula, however the practice of using human donor milk for this population is growing without any research-based evidence. In view of limited human donor milk in Canada, its use is prioritized to sick, hospitalized infants where there is research evidence for its benefit. It is an opportune time to determine if providing human donor milk to well newborns in well-baby units is scientifically merited. The primary outcome will be exclusive human milk feeding at 4 months as it is hypothesized that provision of donor milk will improve the duration and exclusivity of human milk feeding and the latter is associated with a multitude of health and development advantages.

Developing chemical probes for inhibition and targeted degradation of the deubiquitinase USP9X in breast cancer

Cells have developed an intricate system called ubiquitination to control the quantity of certain proteins. As this is frequently hijacked in various cancers, the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) intends to inhibit components of ubiquitination with small molecules for therapeutic benefit. Partnership of the SGC with the cell biology expertise of Barsyte-Lovejoy group will allow for cellular investigation of new and specific compounds that can manipulate the ubiquitination machinery as an anticancer therapy. USP9X is a protein component of the ubiquitination machinery that promotes breast cancer development. In this proposed project, the student will focus on the ability of SGC-developed compounds to selectivity target USP9X in cells and assess if these compounds impair breast cancer tumourigenesis. This will lead to better understanding of USP9X biology and the possible development of a new therapeutic that expands SGC’s portfolio and efforts in probing the components of ubiquitination.

Assessing Community Well-being Risk for Supporting Decisions on Investments for Social Sustainability

Community well-being is important for building housing, income, food, and health security. The COMEAI causal model is available for evaluating the risk to housing, income, food, and health security criteria. The model has a potential for improvement to account for the lack of critical practical application and evidence-based literature support. This research aims to validate the indicators of well-being criteria and improve the existing risk assessment model for evaluating projects to assist risk informed decision-making. The existing COMEAI model will be improved to incorporate uncertainty using the available literature and expert opinions on the types of indicators, and weights of criteria and indicators. The evaluated community well-being risk score will be compared with the risk level estimated using the existing model. Based on this, an improved risk assessment model will be proposed.

Development and manufacturing of functionalized oxime crosslinked hyaluronan hydrogel for sustained drug release to treat retinal degeneration

Retinal degeneration disorders are among the leading causes of blindness in the developed world. Several therapies hold promise, however widespread application is hindered due to difficulty in delivering active drug to the retina. Synakis is a company that has developed a biomaterial that can be injected into the eye to aid in retinal surgeries. This material serves as an ideal vehicle to deliver highly potent therapies to the retinal to treat retinal degeneration. This project aims to engineer Synakis’ material to deliver therapies directly to the retina. If successful, this technology will open up extensive commercial opportunities for Synakis as a platform technology to delivery critically needed regenerative therapeutics to the eye.