Innovative Projects Realized

Investigating the biophysics and structural basis for state dependent drug blockade of persistent/late sodium current (INa(P)) in the heart using photoactivatable crosslinking unnatural amino acidsYR2

Electrical activity in the heart is controlled by the concerted activity of many proteins called ion-channels that regulate the transfer of different ions across cell membranes. Recently, researchers in biomedical science have identified that a particular component of sodium carrying ion-channel activity (called the persistent or late sodium current also known as INa(P)) played a major role in controlling the electrical activity of the heart. More recent research suggests that this late sodium current may be involved in various cardiac diseases. This research project seeks to understand and define the mechanisms by which the late sodium current arises and how drugs block this current. This is of great benefit to Cardiome, our industrial partner, because it will allow them to understand the states through which ion channels must pass to generate their currents, and help guide the application of this science toward the invention and development of novel therapeutics.

Mindfulness and indigenous dance as therapeutic modality for chronic conditions

This project is about studying the effects of mindfulness and indigenous dance movement in adults with anxiety. Anxiety is a highly treatable disorder, however, less than half of people with anxiety receive treatment and the few that receive treatment, default. Social support and cultural understanding of mental illness has been identified as potential areas of intervention. Mindfulness and indigenous dance movement such as Indlamu (of South African origins) and Aboriginal (of Canadian origins) are worth investigating because mindfulness and dance have been found to improve the spirit of social cohesion and sharing. Through the proposed study, we hope to i) develop a culturally conscious, interdisciplinary, and patient-centered approach to the management of anxiety and ii) validate our indigenous knowledge systems. Furthermore, we hope to inspire the realization that we all play an important role in society, and in the words of Eckhart Tolle, “we are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important we all are”.

INVESTIGATION INTO ANTI-DIABETIC, ANTI-MICROBIAL AND HYPOLIPIDEMIC PROPERTIES OF SORBUS DECORA USED IN THE MANAGEMENT OF DIABETES – EFFECTS ON PI3-K/AKT SIGNALLING PATHWAY

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease, which is characterized by insufficient or inefficient insulin secretory response and elevated blood glucose level (Prabhakar and Doble, 2008). In 2021, 536.6 million people worldwide suffered from diabetes and this number is projected to grow to 783.2 million by 2045 (Sun et al., 2022). Sorbus decora (SD), commonly known as the northern mountain ash, is a very small tree native to northeastern North America. It occurs throughout the eastern Canadian boreal forests. With the increasing prevalence of diabetic population, there arises a need for research into more efficacious alternatives. The studies on edible plants which have a hypoglycemic effect would be of great value in the management of diabetes. The expected outcomes include: (i)Publication of our research work in reputable journals (ii) Presentation of our new research findings to an international audience (iii) Development of a new drug which is less expensive with minimal side effects.

CNC Based CO2 Foams Injection for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Post-CHOPS Reservoirs

We have looked into the CSI problem as a two-phase problem in a heterogeneous (matrix, wormhole) porous medium. If the solvent is a light hydrocarbon, this is fine. However, especially with CO2 and DME, mass transfer to and from the aqueous phase is substantial. In this project, we take advantage of our extensive experience in mass transfer operations, heavy oil EOR, core flooding capabilities, visualization and foam research and development to tackle the problem of post – CHOPS recovery in heavy oil reservoirs with active water aquifers.
• The main objective of this project is to generate a viable low-cost solvent process for post-chops and or CSI operations.
• The second objective is to divert the solvent cocktail to the desired place in the reservoir.
• The third objective is to extend the CSI process and its derivatives to reservoirs with active water aquifers.

Vitamin D supplementation to improve laying hen robustness, longevity, and egg quality

This partnership aims to improve the robustness of laying hens to better cope with nutritional, immune, and environmental stresses and thus improve their productivity and longevity in a context of lengthening of laying cycles. Indeed, successfully keeping the laying hens to 100 weeks is no longer the exception and there is a tendency for extending the laying hens cycle of commercial flocks to reach 500 eggs per cycle. The long-life laying hen are expecting helping saving costs in production, create additional value and profit, improve the welfare of the chicken, and reduce the environmental impact of egg production. However, the main reason to deplete a flock is not often related to the persistency in egg production, but because of eggshell quality that gradually goes down with age. Poor quality eggs, and especially weaker shells, can increase the costs of egg packing and customer complaints. This is probably the result of the osteoporosis that occurs with ageing that may lead to both welfare issues and financial losses. Recent results have showed an increase expression of Fibroblast Growth Factor 23 (FGF23) and a decreased plasma levels of 1.25(OH)2D3, the active form of vitamin D, with ageing (Gloux).

Quantum error correction compiler for novel quantum computing platform

Realistic quantum computers unavoidably suffer from physical imperfections, such as environmental influence and imprecise control. An imperfect quantum computer will introduce computational error, so quantum error correction (QEC) is necessary to improve information accuracy. Standard QEC assumes an implementing circuit that involves a typical set of logic gates. However, not all the standard gates can be implemented naturally in a physical platform.

In this project, we will develop a software compiler for QEC in hybrid qubit-bosonic platform. This platform has the advantage that the generation of entanglement (the resource of quantum computing advantage) can be extremely efficient. However, the practical limitations of bosonic system, e.g. energy constraint, will introduce error. This GRA project is a part of the intern’s thesis, which characterizes the logical error during quantum computation. A compiler is a tool for the automated generation of optimal combinations of platform-specific gates that increase computational accuracy. With the compiler, we can explore the accuracy threshold, which will benchmark and guide the development of the platform.

WaSave – Canadian Market for Water Leakage Detection Systems

Nearly a fifth (18%) of treated water entering Canadian water networks never reaches the end user. Many cities in Canada experience leakage rates of over 30%. Thus, there is a clear opportunity to implement new leak detection technologies, such as those offered by WaSave, to reduce water wastage. This project will analyse the Canadian water utility market and identify key barriers and opportunities for greater adoption of leakage detection solutions. The intern will first develop a total addressable market (TAM), serviceable available market (SAM), and serviceable obtainable market (SOM) analysis. Then the intern will conduct an objective survey with Canadian water utilities regarding current practices and opportunities for leakage detection and mitigation. Findings will support future marketing strategies for WaSave and more broadly highlight potential technology, management and regulatory solutions for leakage detection in Canada.

Dynamical decoupling for engineered dissipative process

Engineered dissipation is an important technique to prepare quantum resources, such as spin-squeezed states, for quantum sensing and computing. Compared with traditional coherent approach, engineered dissipation is generally less demanding in control precision and more robust against noise. However, the efficiency dissipative spin squeezing can be affected by unwanted interaction. It would be highly desirable to remove the effects of unwanted interaction to boost the performance of dissipative spin squeezing. Dynamical decoupling (DD) provides a solution to address this problem. DD is a powerful quantum control technique to suppress the effect of unwanted coupling and has been used to increase the coherence times of qubits. In this research project, we will investigate how to apply DD to boost the performance of dissipative spin squeezing. The intern will conduct numerical simulations and theoretical investigation. The results would provide new dissipative spin squeezing schemes where the obstacle of unwanted interaction is removed by DD.

Non-Viral delivery of insulin and IL-10 to the intestine for immunotherapy for type 1 diabetes Year Two

There is increasing evidence suggesting a link exists between the gut immune system and several autoimmune diseases, including diabetes. The industrial partner of this project, enGene, has developed an effective non-viral based technology for the delivery of genes to the intestine. enGene has demonstrated the feasibility of delivering IL-10, which is an anti-inflammatory cytokine, to the intestine and showed therapeutic efficacy in inflammatory bowel disease. In a collaborative project between enGene and the Kieffer laboratory, we conducted a pilot study to evaluate whether gut IL-10 production might have a protective effect on the development of diabetes. Remarkably, localized delivery of IL-10 to intestinal cells significantly reduced the incidence of diabetes. In this proposal we plan to expand these studies to evaluate the benefit of co-delivery of IL-10 with insulin in preventing diabetes at different stagesn of disease progression and to uncover the mechanisms involved.

Creating Connectivity and Facilitating Innovation in the Canadian Life Science Ecosystem

Biohubx supports the life sciences ecosystem in significant ways, but they need a way to visualize that ecosystem and its connections so that they can perform informal traffic control. This project will create a visualization of the life sciences ecosystem in Canada and around the world, and this resource will be used by Biohubx to connect clinical challenges in the ecosystem with innovative companies that have the capability to solve the challenge. Biohubx will support these startups through business development and by leveraging opportunities. Through events and programming, Biohubx will amplify innovative technology and the ecosystem itself.

Nuclear structure of 116Sn studied through 115Sn(n, ?)

A nucleus of tin composed of 50 protons and 66 neutrons, called 116Sn, is the subject of our investigation. Only certain energies are available to nuclei at any one time, and when a nucleus reaches one of these energy states, it acquires features unique to that state. To create the examined nucleus, a beam of neutrons collided with a target of 115Sn, causing the addition of one neutron to the target nucleus. The added neutron gave the nucleus more energy, but since nuclei naturally seek to be in the lowest state of energy, high-energy photons get released by the nucleus as it loses energy. Thus, as the nucleus goes from an energy state to a lower energy state, photons are released and it has different properties. The goal of this study is to draw a scheme describing how the nucleus moved from one state to another and what its properties were in each state.

Estimating the potential of mini-hydropower generation in an ungauged catchment using hydrological modelling

Hydroponic greenhouse agriculture is an excellent method of producing crops throughout the year in agro-climatologically challenging remote provinces such as Newfoundland and Labrador. However, energy requirements for heating, ventilation and light may reduce profitability of greenhouses even with high local demand for products. This pre-feasibility study investigates the potential of using mini-hydroelectric power to generate the power needed for Growing for Life’s hydroponic greenhouses HVAC systems located in Western Newfoundland.