Innovative Projects Realized

Caractérisation et accompagnement de la mise en œuvre d’un laboratoire managérial au sein du CHU Sainte-Justine

Le CHU Sainte-Justine (CHUSJ), centre hospitalier universitaire à vocation pédiatrique, est un acteur clé du système de santé québécois. Principal hôpital mère-enfant au Canada, deuxième plus grand centre de recherche pédiatrique et premier centre de recherche clinique en pédiatrie, le CHUSJ cherche aujourd’hui à se positionner à l’avant-garde des pratiques de gestion. Le contexte actuel post-Covid, couplé aux enjeux de pénurie de main d’œuvre et de pression à l’efficacité des établissements hospitaliers font émerger en effet des défis nouveaux pour les gestionnaires du CHUSJ. Dans le cadre d’un programme de recherche en gestion et en leadership, le CHUSJ entend devenir leader dans la gestion et le leadership au sein du réseau santé et des services québécois.

A cet effet, un des projets institués par l’Ecole de Gestion du CHUSJ concerne la conception et le déploiement d’un laboratoire d’expérimentation en management. Le laboratoire implique actuellement sur la base du volontariat neuf gestionnaires de divers secteurs du CHUSJ. Par le biais d’une action collective en innovation managériale, les participants soumettent un ou plusieurs enjeux de gestion – par exemple comment apprendre à mieux déléguer, comment développer son rôle de gestion tactique et stratégique.

Development of high yielding, Eastern Canadian hard and soft red winter wheat cultivars and germplasm with increased resistance to Fusarium head blight and leaf diseases

Development of high yielding winter wheat cultivars, resistant or tolerant to different stresses, with good agronomic and quality characteristics, is important to wheat growers and industry. Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a serious wheat disease caused by a fungus Fusarium graminearum. FHB epidemics in Ontario were reported in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2013 and 2015. Grain farmers, millers, and consumers benefit directly from improvements in FHB resistance in new wheat cultivars. The SeCan members, and wheat growers in general, will increase on farm profits by planting high yielding, Eastern Canadian hard and soft red winter wheat cultivars and germplasm, with increased resistance to FHB and leaf diseases. By partnering with University of Guelph’s wheat breeding program, SeCan will provide new and improved wheat genetics to SeCan partners, with increase yield and grain production.

Who Polarizes Whom? How Issue Type Defines Mass-Elite Linkage

Do voters become polarized because parties are polarized (top-down polarization) or do parties become polarized because voters are polarized (bottom-up polarization)? This project proposes that issue type determines whether ideological polarization follows a top-down or bottom-up trajectory. Voters adjust their positions to better match their party (top-down) on pragmatic issues such as economy because they will trust their party to adjust their policies to the changing economic reality. Conversely, polarization occurs in a bottom-up fashion (parties will become more polarized if voters are polarized) on principled issues such as environment, immigration, gay rights because these are value-laden deeply rooted attitudes. First, this project, focusing on European multiparty democracies, describes the evolution of party and mass polarization on social and economic issues in time. Second, it tests the theory across countries. Third, using panel data, it tests the theoretical argument on the British case, where the Labour Party suddenly shifted its position to further left under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. The results of this project will have implications for the democratic theory by analyzing the relation between masses and elites and the direction of influence between them.

Generation of 3D geometries and graphs aided by efficient spectral methods

The project aims to facilitate the research and development of new drugs by employing machine learning methods to generate new molecules. This includes understanding various properties about known molecules by training deep learning models for the purpose of molecular generation. The gained understanding of molecules will be used to improve existing models and generate novel molecules with high likelihood of satisfying given properties. Valence Discovery will benefit from the better molecular generation models since they can help reduce the cost and time involved with new drug-discovery or drug optimization objectives. Meaning that they can improve the quality of the drugs, reduce the cost of development and the side effects. This research will utilize expertise from graph representation learning, 3D geometries, spectral learning, generative modeling, and computational drug discovery.

Continued population assessment of Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus) in the Restigouche River estuary, New Brunswick

There are Atlantic sturgeon in the Restigouche River estuary. This species is millions of years old and it is still found in our waters today. Fishers have reported their sightings every year in the last decade. Unfortunately, this species is now considered to be a species at risk of extinction. Because their numbers are so low, we do not see them that often in the area and therefore do not know a lot about them. Our project aims to answer community members’ questions about these fish in the area, such as “what can we do to help them?”.

The Three-Body Problem, and the Great Inequality of Jupiter and Saturn

We propose to produce a self-contained analysis and reduction of the equations of motion of the much-studied three body problem, making application to the Great Inequality (GI) of Jupiter and Saturn. The GI is a result of the mutual gravitational attraction between these two planets. Their orbits are very nearly in resonance (integer ratio of periods), which greatly amplifies the effect of the perturbation away from two independent (elliptic) Keplerian orbits. We propose to present the self-contained analysis using modern mathematical notation and physical concepts, which will serve to make the topic more accessible to modern audiences, including for undergraduate lectures. The problem also readily presents itself to asymptotic techniques, and we intend to complete a multiple-scales analysis which will elucidate how the GI arises. Certain terms in the asymptotic expansions have a low frequency (related to the near-integer ratio of periods), and this gives rise to a small denominator which corresponds to the large displacements that Jupiter and Saturn exhibit away from their mean motions. This discrepancy puzzled astronomers and mathematicians for much of the 18th century.

Automated Open World Gameplay Exploration with Curiosity-driven Reinforcement Learning

Computer games are one of the main use cases for AMD graphics cards. To ensure the highest performance and quality possible, AMD has to test its graphics hardware and software on dozens of game titles and hundreds of system configurations. While some game titles provide built-in automated benchmarks, the majority of gameplay testing is manual and results in significant effort expended.
Open world games, in which players have the freedom to explore a large and expansive map in a non-linear fashion, have seen a growth in prominence in the gaming industry in recent years. Maximizing exploration in these worlds is beneficial for testing due to the wide diversity of gameplay scenes and scenarios the player may encounter. Accomplishing this through manual game-testing is a difficult and time-consuming process, so an automated solution to maximize exploration is ideal.

DNA Vaccine Development Platform

The recent covid pandemic has demonstrated the need to develop new rapid vaccine technology. Even the newest mRNA technology has limitations, including short duration of immunity, poor stability, and is relatively expensive.
Pegasus Biotech is in the process of developing a new class of DNA plasmids that are optimally designed for vaccine use, are low-cost, and highly stable. This proposal is for a project to complete the required research to benchmark Pegasus’ BPE rapid DNA vaccine plasmid technology against commercially available plasmid backbones.

Study of new structural insulated panels from the structural and building envelope performance

To evaluate the overall performance of the newly developed Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) in flexure, including deflections, stiffness and ultimate capacity, an experimental program has recently been launched. The program includes transverse bending tests of a total of 18 full-sized SIPs with various configurations using a vacuum chamber. Pressure and deflections are measured during the tests and are used to determine the flexural responses of the panels. For the comprehensive test matrix, the experimental results will be analysed systematically. The significance of individual panel configuration parameter will be rigorously evaluated. The overall objective of the proposed research is to use the test results to support new panel product development and optimize the design of the new SIPs for higher strength, lower cost, ease of fabrication and lower embodied carbon.

The identity of PiS in relation to the European Union and integration

The purpose of this research project is to analyze and understand the relationship between the European Union and the Polish political party Law and Justice (Prawo i Sprawiedliwo??, PiS) in both the party’s present and past, with an emphasis on how the party has formed an identity in opposition to “European values” and creating a narrative of Polish history beneficial to its ideological arguments and beliefs, rubbing against a counter pan-European identity and integration. The expected outcome of this research is that PiS, throughout its history as a political organization, has connected itself with various national signifiers of Polish identity, such as the Catholic Church, as a way to enforce conformity in the Polish public and political sphere, leading to concerns over a weakness in Polish democracy. This, in turn, has led to a public conflict between PiS, who upholds its right to national sovereignty, and the European Union at large, which considers itself a defender against what it views as a member state slipping into authoritarianism.

Modification des habitudes de consommation culturelle pendant la pandémie de COVID-19 : regard sur les publics des arts de la scène

Cette étude vise à mieux comprendre dans quelle mesure la fermeture prolongée des salles de spectacle pendant la pandémie de COVID-19 a eu des effets sur les habitudes de consommation culturelle des publics des arts de la scène. Alors que la reprise se fait tranquillement dans ces milieux, comment la période que nous venons de traverser a-t-elle modifiée les pratiques culturelles ? Il s’agit d’une seconde phase d’une recherche amorcée par le partenaire dès les premiers mois de la pandémie. Nous interrogerons donc des spectateurs réguliers des salles de spectacle montréalaises pour savoir dans quelle mesure la pandémie a changé à long terme la manière dont ils consomment la culture. Ainsi, les organismes culturels, par l’entremise de notre partenaire, seront en mesure de mieux adapter leurs stratégies pour la reprise des activités culturelles en salle.

Allergen Dispersion System Development in an Exposure Room

Patients can be exposed to airborne allergens in specially designed and controlled rooms for clinical studies. This research aims at improving the spatial homogeneity and temporal stability of airborne pollen concentration in a new exposure room over a period from 2 to 6 hours. Initially, the flow dynamics and particle dispersion will be also investigated using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) numerical techniques. Pollen (ragweed, birch, and grass) will be characterized experimentally using SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) and particle settling-velocity measurements. Pollen size distribution and concentration in time and space will be measured when the new testing room is completed. The results will be used to develop better monitoring and controlling of allergen levels, so that consistent and stable concentrations may be maintained within a specified range during tests. This will allow better controlled exposure during allergy studies.