Innovative Projects Realized

L’évolution de l’identité francophone en Bulgarie depuis 1993

Depuis son institutionnalisation en 1970, la Francophonie n’a eu de cesse de faire évoluer ses caractéristiques identitaires. Elle est ainsi passée de centrer sur la France à une multitude de centres au sein de l’ensemble des pays francophones, et de culturelle à politique et diplomatique.
Le projet de recherche s’attache alors à identifier, à travers d’entrevues semi-dirigées et une analyse du matériel scolaire bulgare, si l’évolution connue de la Francophonie s’est effectuée au sein des représentations de la francophonie en Bulgarie, et les raisons de cette évolution supposée. Effectivement, la Bulgarie a choisi la langue française en tant que langue étrangère d’excellence, et entretenait avant 1993 une relation privilégiée avec la France. Depuis son adhésion à l’OIF en 1993, il s’agira alors de savoir si cette représentation de la langue française, de la francophonie en Bulgarie n’est encore perçue qu’au travers de cette exclusivité franco-bulgare.
Les résultats de ce projet de recherche tentera ainsi d’établir un parallèle, effectif ou non, entre l’évolution de l’identité collective de la francophonie en Bulgarie et l’évolution de l’identité collective de la Francophonie.

Identifying putative antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the ancient oral cavity from the Industrial Revolution

This project plans to use dental calculus (miniralised plaque) samples to acquire a better understanding of the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the human oral microbiome. This will be the first metagenomic study regarding antibiotic resistance genes dating back to the Industrial Revolution (c. 1750-1850). We expect to detect some evidence of ARGs based on the notion that ARGs are an intrinsic element of the oral microbiome. However, it is anticipated that predecessors of today’s antibiotic-resistant bacteria will lack the same ARGs, since the antibiotic era (c. 1940) is likely to have pushed this gene acquisition. Bioinformatic techniques, such as phylogenetic reconstruction, of these bacteria aims to give further insight on when, where, and at what rate these ARGs were obtained from the Industrial Revolution to the antibiotic (modern) era. The project will entail writing a report that includes a literature review, a section on wet laboratory and bioinformatics methodology, and final outcomes. These findings will be used to inform the final data analysis for our PhD dissertations, which will be co-prepared for peer-review publication.

Muscle stem cell-niche interactions predicted in silico

Skeletal muscle, an essential organ system making up 30-40% of total body mass, is unique in that it allows for the body’s
voluntary movement. It is solicited and stressed daily and consequently possesses the remarkable ability to regenerate in
response to injury due to a special population of cells named muscle stem cells (MuSCS). At rest, MuSCs are found in a sleep
state called quiescence, which has been notoriously challenging to study due to the high risk of waking i.e., activating them with
current techniques. Our group thus developed a cell culture system that can induce this sleep state in MuSCs in a laboratory
setting. With this as a tool, our goal now is to identify, and then test, computer predicted communications between MuSCs and
other cell types during this sleep state to better understand which signals regulate it and how they become dysfunctional in cases
of diseases such as aging.

Molecular genetic analysis of a novel class of negative regulators of cell proliferation

My research focuses on understanding the mechanism of action of a new class of tumor suppressor genes using the well
established round worm (nematode) model system. Previously published data from Gupta and Chamberlin lab have shown that
deleting the function of these genes causes excessive proliferation of cells (similar to cancerous growth). To further understand
their role, I have carried out several experiments in Gupta lab. My next set of experiments involve generating transgenic strains
for which I will be visiting Dr. Chamberlin’s lab. My results will reveal the mechanistic roles of these genes which will be beneficial
in understanding how their homologs function in restricting cell proliferation in higher eukaryotes. Ultimately, the findings of my
research will lead to a better understanding of genetic mechanisms underlying cancerous growth thereby facilitating in the
development of targeted therapeutics against cancers.

Hover Business Strategy Internship

Hover is looking to hire interns to help with the testing and development of Drone Delivery in Canada. The Canadian technology industry typically lags behind the United States, and so in addition to helping with the MVP of drone delivery testing to see demand, we also are aiming to help move the Canadian ecosystem forward and help innovate within our cities. The intern would be helping to develop partnerships with businesses interested in this technology, while analyzing and strategizing the Drone Delivery MVP. Hover will benefit from the help & information received and since we are a small company, the interns will have the chance to help make decisions that will directly impact the future of the company.

Bunkie Life Manufacturing Breakthrough Creation

Bunkie life is in the custom building and manufacturing industry but we’re famous for our small log cabin kits called bunkies that can be built in a weekend with no power tools or 2nd mortgage required. Ultimately, they help families create extra space for meaningful connections. Bunkie Life recently appeared on CBC’s Dragon’s Den and secured a historic deal that allowed us to open up our own manufacturing facility. They are looking for assistance as we launch our new factory and all the challenges accompanying that process. The partner company will utilize the intern’s business knowledge to help with developing operational strategies while the intern learns throughout the summer from this experience.

Youth Education and Social Media Outreach for the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation

The Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC) currently utilizes youth-centred educational programs as ways to share the importance of wildlife conservation. Their educational programs include information about local wildlife, their rehabilitation practices and demonstrate the impacts humans can have on wildlife and actions we can take to mitigate these impacts. It is important for youth of all ages to access quality education and learning on sustainable topics, such as wildlife conservation, and this research project is interested in how to best deliver educational content surrounding wildlife conservation to youth. The AIWC utilizes social media platforms (Instagram, Facebook and TikTok) to spread awareness about their operations, fundraise and educate the public on wildlife rehabilitation and how to mitigate negative human impacts on local southern Alberta wildlife. This project aims to aid the AIWC in optimizing their social media to increase public engagement, educate the public, and increase donations.

Developing a marketing strategy to drive user adoption of financial literacy app

At Walletifai, we have spent the past couple of years building the smartest personal financial solution that helps Millenials and Gen Z overcome their financial anxiety and make financial decisions with confidence.

Who we are:
We are building a smart personal financial coach and assistant mobile app that helps Millennials and Gen Z understand their financial lifestyle and guides them to develop healthy financial habits.

Our mobile app looks into the past expenses to offer valuable insights to improve money management such as predicting future expenses, tracking spending, auto-detecting and grouping essential expenses, improving save-to-spend behaviour, and notifying users when unexpected actions happen on their bank accounts.

Our mission is to make short-term and long-term personal financial planning accessible to everyone through AI and ML. We thrive to empower our users to have a high-quality financial life without being experts.

We have received the following awards:
Founder Roya Kachooei is a Recipient of the DMZ Women of the Year Award 2022
2021 Third Most Trending Startup in Toronto – Hackernoon

Our project scope:
This project is engineered to help us increase brand awareness, develop organic customer acquisition strategies, and build a financial literacy community to help improve financial health in Canada.

Nanogram Pharmaceutical Compounding Ltd. Custom Online Platform v2

The intern will be tasked with creating a unique online platform for healthcare providers and veterinarians to be validated, and able to order custom medications. This type of platform does not exist yet. It will involve a thorough embedded validation process, user management, an advanced search and filter function, embedded
educational/regulatory/product information, a complex pricing algorithm, dynamic pricing that changes as customizations are made to the medications, checkout, tracking, and reporting history.

Eventually through the use of a unique online platform, Nanogram and other applicable providers of compounding services will be able to offer compounds efficiently, transparently, economically and provide all necessary details instantly along with an accurate price quote, delivery time and option
to pay online. This will help transform and modernize compounding within the Canadian pharmacy industry. This project will help Nanogram address the challenge of online connectivity and order access by select healthcare professionals. This will transform the process by which custom medications are accessed by providing live-time inventory management, custom reports to comply with provincial and federal health authorities. Currently custom medications are ordered via phone or fax, with no easy way to access associated documents after the product has been ordered.

Cadabra: accueil d’une stagiaire étudiante à la maîtrise en muséologie

Intégration d’une stagiaire étudiante à la maîtrise en muséologie dans la conception de projets au sein de l’équipe de Cadabra. Cadabra est un studio pluridisciplinaire situé à Montréal dont la mission consiste à transformer des récits et des contenus de toute nature en expériences collectives qui stimulent les sens, rassemblent et émerveillent. Cadabra puise dans les univers du théâtre, du cinéma et de la scène pour créer des spectacles immersifs mémorables qui suscitent l’engagement du public. L’ajout d’une personne ressource en muséologie a le potentiel d’enrichir la conception de projets, notamment par le lien direct de cette discipline avec les modes d’expositions, l’éducation, mais aussi avec tout ce qui est patrimoine, qu’il soit matériel ou immatériel.

Dreamcatcher Informatics: a Web-based and Mobile Information System to Support Land Management, Consultation, and the Preservation of History, Culture and Traditional Ecological Knowledge

The two goals of this project are to: 1. create a demonstration information system based on an existing system called Dreamcatcher for consultation, land-use, occupancy, and planning based on the archival material of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation (MNCFN); and
2. use this system and First Story to preserve and promote Aboriginal history and culture from the Aboriginal perspective.
To be useful for MNCFN, extensive research related to the Duty to Consult must be undertaking including investigation of: legal aspects of consultation processes; evaluating currently used methods related to land-use and development; legal status of First Nations; reviewing the Duty to Consult rulings of the Supreme Court; and how First Nations are represented in mainstream Canadian history. Additionally, resources such as archival documents, oral traditions, environmental assessments and land-use history must be transcribed, uploaded and annotated to create a rich asset map for the MNCFN..

Ideation and Go-to-Market Research for Relationship App

WooYourBoo is a startup based in Brampton, On. We launched in June 2020. We are a business that focuses on helping couples strengthen their relationship. Currently, we’ve built and launched an app that allows couples to discover their Love Language. After the app learns this information it suggests date ideas and things couples can do locally based on their Love Language. One of our biggest challenges is personnel. We are looking to scale our company across Canada but are limited because we don’t have the people power to market, source, and write about ideas that couples can do. This is a major issue as this component is quintessential to how our app functions as well as our brand. The student intern will support our organization is the following ways:

– A report detailing the percentage change in engagement with content on our social medial platforms at the end of every month starting with month two.
– A report detailing the average star rating for generated ideas starting in month two.
– Responsible for generating 320 (80 per month over four months) new date ideas.
– A report detailing contact with 500 places of worship and counsellors and the associated response rate.
– A report that details the social media content that best communicates with our audience based on comments, likes, and shares to both Facebook and Instagram.