Innovative Projects Realized

Evaluate the impact on transmission dynamics and cost-effectiveness of pertussis booster vaccine for Canadian adolescents and adults

Pertussis or whooping cough is caused by the strict human pathogen B. pertussis or Bordetella parapertussis and is a highly contagious, potentially life-threatening respiratory tract illness when it occurs in unprotected infants. Despite the introduction of acellular pertussis (aP) vaccines and great initial success of the immunization program, pertussis outbreaks were reported in adolescents and adults in Canada since 1993. This trend was demonstrated as shift in pertussis epidemiology from infants and young children. Further, pertussis in children associated with adolescents or adults cases have been reported in developed countries, in which siblings and adults were identified as the main source for the transmission of pertussis to young unvaccinated infants. This program represents a timely response to the urgent public health concern to understand the introduction of different aP vaccine (booster) recommendations (for <65 years old and>=65) on the transmission dynamics of B. pertussis, and cost-effectives in Canada by developing and testing the comparative age-structure and cost-effective economic models. This program is expected to provide recommendation about acellular pertussis immunization policy and practice guidelines. TOBECONT’D

Virtual sensor estimation model for turbine labyrinth seal displacements with Deep Learning technics

The objective of this research proposition is to estimate a turbine labyrinth seal displacement from the commissioning sensors using signal coming from other sensors; ideally sensors that would be keep for continuous monitoring using deep learning technics.

Feasibility Study of using Fiber Optical Sensor Technologies for Detecting Flow-induced Vibrations on Feeder Pipes

A nuclear reactor to a nuclear power plant is the same as the heart to a living human. Safe operation of the plant is directly related to the health of the reactor. Just as human heart where blood circulates through to deliver oxygen to the other parts of the body, coolant passes through the reactor core and distributes the heat to a other parts of the nuclear power plant to drive the turbine-generator for electricity generation. Similar to blood vessels (arteries and veins) in near the heart, there are many pipes connected to the reactor core. Just as our blood vessels, if there is a break or a blockage, the consequences are disastrous. In fact, it can cause a serious accident. The objective of this project is to explore new technologies based on fiber optic sensors to provide early detection of such events to improve the safety of nuclear power plants in Canada. This project will focus on literature review and feasibility studies.

Air-stable halide perovskite thin films and quantum dots for solar energy harvesting devices

The extensive use of coal-based energy sources to cater to industrialization and rising population in the last several decades is leading to global warming and severe climate changes, which has motivated researchers to harness renewable energy resources. Among the existing renewable energy resources, solar energy is the most viable candidate to reduce fossil fuels in the near future. In this aspect, metallic halide perovskite (MHP) material has seen rapid advancements both for the solar cell as well as photocatalysis application, wherein the solar energy is used for a chemical reaction that transforms water and/or CO2 into portable high-density fuels such as hydrogen, methane and methanol. However, the ambient instability of MHP materials also complicates device fabrication requiring the use of expensive and cumbersome inert ambient glove boxes to protect the MHP active layers of optoelectronic devices from moisture and oxygen. The current challenge therefore lies in improving the environmental stability of MHP. Our solvent free perovskite synthesis process could address the stability as well as demonstrates an efficient candidate for both photovoltaics and photochemical application without use of any inert glove box.

Localized node-based collection of wastewater samples for molecular monitoring of public health markers

Wastewater testing can measure levels of COVID-19 in a population that is contributing to the sewer system being monitored. This testing provides an early warning signal of the burden of COVID-19 in municipalities, independent of clinical testing. Calgary based start-up company C.E.C. Analytics (CEC) has developed a compact wastewater autosampler that enables this kind of testing to be conducted from city-wide to neighbourhood to individual buildings. CEC’s expertise in sewershed engineering is combined in this application with Mitacs interns and university researchers with the necessary expertise in microbiology and molecular biology. As a start-up company with new technology, CEC’s involvement in this project provides connection to a multidisciplinary team that can collect, test and report results using WW collected with the autosamplers. The data coming from the project will be used to improve the design and programming of the autosampler technology to improve the utility and robustness of the devices for CEC’s diverse clients.

Nanomaterials Based Electroencephalography Electrodes for Auditory Attention Decoding in Hearing Assistance Devices

This project aims to form a collaboration between Queen’s University with AAVAA Inc. AAVAA is developing hearing aids with capability of attention detection decoding by recording and analyzing brain waves, which are recorded non-invasively through the skin around the ear and within the ear canal. One of the main components of this system contributing to recording electroencephalography signals (brain waves) is its electrodes. Electrodes are interfaces between the system and skin.

The goal of this project is to develop dry soft sensors that can form stable and conformal contact to the skin from around and in the ear for reliable long-term recording of brain waves. Our goal is to address one of the main challenges in the field of biosignals recording using dry electrodes, which is minimizing and avoiding motion artifacts and reducing skin-electrode interface impedance.

Treaty 7 Women’s Research Initiative

The goal of the CFT7 Womens Research initiative is to discover labour market interests of Indigenous women within the Treaty Seven territory. The objective for the interns will be to assist the project coordinator with the development of a questionnaire that will be used to gather information from the Treaty Seven communities. The interns will also help to scan the labour market to identify employers who will provide future employment for programs created as a result of the research attained through this initiative. The benefits to the partner organization will be creating stronger relationships with indigenous businesses and communities. Helping students gain efficient skills that will further their future academic studies and careers. As well as helping collect important research information for the women’s initiative which will benefit indigenous women within the Treaty Seven territory.

Ozone nano-bubbles for improved control of meat spoilage

The muscles of animals are generally sterile, however, contamination with bacteria occurs during slaughter. Contamination occurs predominantly with microorganisms associated with the animals with microorganisms that reside in biofilm communities in the meat processing plant. Bacteria that reside in biofilm communities typically grow at refrigeration temperature and include major spoilage organisms of meats and meat products. This project aims to characterize biofilm communities in a meat processing plant and to compare bacteria from biofilms with spoilage communities that are isolated at the end of the shelf life. In addition, the project aims to assess novel sanitation protocols to improve biofilm control and to reduce bacterial contamination of meat.
Specifically, the project aims to meet the following objectives:
Characterize biofilm communities and bacteria on meat at production and at the end of the shelf life.
Assess the efficacy of ozone nano-bubbles as an alternative to conventional sanitation chemicals.

Exploring the Viability and Effectiveness of the IModel within Ontario Soccer

Ontario Soccer is a nonprofit organization whose board of directors and executive staff provide leadership and support for the advancement of soccer in collaboration and cooperation with membership, partners and other stakeholders by providing exceptional and sustainable programs and services. The Association is made up of 21 District Offices and several Associate Members namely regional and provincial leagues. The District’s membership are the more than 600 Youth Clubs and Senior Clubs across Ontario. To ensure soccer progamming is player focused and developmental in nature, the IModel concept was created as an innovative soccer program structure designed to integrate stakeholders and existing competitive structures (https://www.ontariosoccer.net/imodel). The goal of IModel is to unify the soccer community and continue moving the game forward by introducing solutions and concepts that addresses a number of difficult questions related to length of the season, self-determination, adequate level of competition, seasonal periodization, promotion & relegation, and affordability. To determine if this business strategy is viable, effective and sustainable a program evaluation is necessary.

The site for the pilot test programme evaluation is the central region (geographically central to the Greater Toronto Area) of Ontario Soccer.

Developing a system to determine the percentage of remote work hybridity for large workplaces

Statistics Canada estimates that going forward, 25% of all Canadian work hours will be completed remotely, which means that remote work will be a permanent fixture of the Canadian labour force. Increasingly, workplaces are embracing completely remote or hybrid (a combination of remote and in-office work). Regardless, often these decisions are made by the workplace without a holistic consideration of managerial expectations and the lived experience of the employee. As a sustainable commuting organization, pointA has always recommended remote work as one tool to tackle traffic congestion and to reduce the incidences of driving alone. However, in order to truly ensure that the workplace and employees can reap the full environmental, economic, and health and well-being benefits of remote work, this internship will consider how to create a system that will pointA make evidence-based recommendations on whether a job can be made remote or hybrid. This will be supplemented by pointA’s programs and services (both new and existing) to help provide support for both in-office or remote work environments.

Digitizing the Financial Advisory Process (Business) – AdvisorFlow

The goal of this project is to further digitize the financial advisory process for Canadian financial advisors and their clients. AdvisorFlow is an integrated software allowing financial advisors to streamline first-mile client discovery, document collection, report generation, and more. In its first year of operation, the focus was developing a minimum viable product and gauging market interest. Through hundreds of client discovery calls, the product was deemed valuable by many individual financial advisors, insurance brokers, and wealth management firms. Early adopters of the product were also constantly asked for feedback in order to continue enhancing and iterating the software. With AdvisorFlow developing a more user-friendly interface and entering the process of ISO 27001 certification (the international standard on how to manage information security), the product has become more appealing for enterprise firms. Upon re-engagement with many enterprise firms in the industry, they have expressed interest in signing with us.

The Power of Influence: How Canada Compares

Over the past decade, Japanese influence on North American pop culture has seen a noticeable increase. Examples can be seen from the world of street fashion, luxury goods, film/media production, and beyond. Japanese influence has, at times, even been considered the driving factor in the success of numerous North American brands/artists. Take, for example, the famous American clothing brand Supreme, which was picked up by Japanese street culture in the early 2000s, and sold for a staggering US$2.1B in 2021.

Additionally, in 2007 and 2018, American hip-hop sensation Kanye West collaborated with Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami to design the cover album art for his third and ninth studio albums: Graduation, and Kids See Ghosts. The albums achieved over 5 million sales and 90 million streams, respectively.

But what has made Japanese products and designers so popular in the North American market? What is their secret, and how can it be used to promote the Canadian fashion, media, and design industries? How can we leverage the power of big data to understand these market trends, and extrapolate valuable information for Canadian firms? These are the fundamental questions that will be answered through this internship.