Innovative Projects Realized

In vitro evaluation and understanding of fabrics interaction with skin cells and dominant skin microbiome: a concurrent material degradation and health implication

Textile industry has been revolutionized over the years with inventions and creative innovations on fabrics to improve performance, comfort and durability. Developing such high performance and durable textiles without compromising human safety is a major challenge. This project will investigate the interactions between fabric systems with human skin and major skin colonizing bacteria. In addition, durability of these fabrics when exposed to skin bacteria under moist conditions be investigated through this project. Three interns will look into these aspects in collaboration with lululemon inc. Interns will use the fabric systems (natural, synthetic, semisynthetic blends) developed by lululemon inc. towards developing biocompatible/ safe textiles without comprising its performance and durability.

Synthetic biology constructions toward bacteria-mediated cancer therapy

Development of selective drug delivery agents that target tumor cells with minimal toxicity to normal tissues is a major challenge in cancer therapy. Non-toxic bacteria can be used to target solid tumors because, within a patient’s body, they can only be active at a tumor site (where oxygen levels are pathologically low). Prior attempts at drug delivery with this approach have failed to achieve tumor eradication. We plan to use genetic engineering to modify a bacterial strain to increase its anti-cancer activity, but only when the cells are at a tumor site. The results of this research will be made publicly available in the scientific literature; the partner organization CREM Co. Labs will be in a position to develop this therapeutic approach further toward clinical studies.

Internship in (Geo)Data Science: Political Economy of Development

Raman microspectroscopy of human macrophage subsets to study cell-material-interaction

Participatory Cities Every One, Every Day: Toronto

This proposal details an approach for evaluating a planned project led by SII called Participatory Cities: a new inclusive, system-based approach to stimulating and supporting dense networks of practical ‘participation culture’ in cities around the world. With proof of concept developed and tested in London, UK, by the Participatory City Foundation, the model will now be implemented in Montreal and Halifax, as well as the community at the centre of this proposal, Regent Park in Toronto. Developmental evaluation of the kind proposed, shaped and iteratively applied through processes of co-production, is an ideal mechanism for fostering the learning needed to build connected and productive neighbourhoods in which people find novel ways to come together, share and support one another in this moment shaped by the coronavirus crisis to ultimately co-create their vision and action plan for a resilient future.

Development of a camera-based monitoring system for remote laser welding of sheetmetal assemblies in automotive applications

Individual stamped sheet metal components need to be joined to create sheet metal assemblies used in cars. Powerful laser light delivered by a robot is used to quickly weld these assemblies by making dozens of individual welds within a few minutes. For economical production, it is essential to minimize the total production cycle time. At the same time, high-quality welds must be produced. Undetected defective weld joints would lead to severe penalties if delivered to the company’s customer. Currently, all assemblies must be manually inspected. In this second phase of the project, an in-house camera-based weld quality monitoring system is being developed. The objective is to improve the reliability of the commercial inspection system currently being used. During the project, image-processing algorithm and the graphical user interface will be developed and tested in the production environment. Benefits of reliable detection systemas will be reduced cycle time and higher quality welds.

Biochemical and structural characterisation of KLCR-NET3C interactions

Improving Clinical Outcomes for Patients at the Canadian addiction treatment centres

Canadian Addiction Treatment Centres (CATC) is the largest multi-site organization devoted to treating Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) in Canada. CATC has implemented comprehensive protocols and a detail-rich model of care for patients with OUD. CATC has been generating practice summaries for each physician, comparing their outcomes to the peer group on factors that impact retention. However, they identified a need to improve the audit and feedback process to drive change and improve patient outcomes. This will use best practices audit and feedback processes to improve CATC patient outcomes using routinely collected data from the electronic medical system to satisfy the following objectives, a) Create a comprehensive database of all CATC patients to facilitate the audit/feedback process, b) Evaluate how patient, program and physician characteristics impact treatment outcomes to provide meaningful feedback to physicians and clinics using comparators and, c) Evaluate trends to make actionable recommendations for practice change.

Organosolv Lignins from Renewable Resources for Active Packaging Applications

Une démarche d’analytique RH au sein de l’UMQ afin de suivre l’état de la santé psychologique des employés municipaux en période pandémique

Les coûts annuels associés à des problèmes de santé mentale au travail sont astronomiques pour une organisation. Conséquemment, l’organisme partenaire a lancé deux sondages portant sur cette thématique Ne disposant pas d’expertise pour analyser pleinement les résultats, l’objectif du projet est donc d’analyser les sondages déployés. Qui plus est, le partenaire s’interroge sur l’efficacité d’activités mises en place pour prévenir ou soulager la santé psychologique chez les employés. Le deuxième grand objectif est de concevoir un sondage portant sur les initiatives mises en place et de les relier aux indicateurs de santé psychologique mesurés. Ce sondage reposera sur des assises provenant a) d’une recension des écrits sur le sujet et b) d’entrevues auprès de responsables RH municipaux.

Automatic Model Risk Management

Regulatory bodies, such as the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) require that financial institutions properly assess and manage risk. Regulatory bodies aim to ensure the stability of financial markets, and the economy at large, and they do so by imposing guidelines on a firm’s risk management practices. Risk management models in general, however, rely on ex-ante assumptions, which can lead to estimation errors, even if the model is “correct”, hence subjecting them to model risk (also known as model uncertainty) and conclusions can vary widely depending on the underlying assumptions. Measuring model performance of rating systems is a major task for regulated firms. This project aims to develop methodology that helps institutions assess their exposure to model risk without the need of setting up specialized in-house teams.

Arts’ Civic and Social Impact Beyond Covid-19: Researchers in Residence

Four research interns will be supported by four arts funders, five universities and four arts and culture organizations, which will come together under the leadership of Mass Culture to see how the arts and culture sector impacts society today. Together, we will look at ways to strengthen community ties and foster shared social values through the arts so that we can more capably address complex issues such as mental health, climate change, systemic racism and strategic public policy. More than the sum of its parts, this coalition of professionals, researchers and funders will use the arts as a foundation to develop and test four unique approaches to measuring cultural, business, social and civic impact. Benefits will include well-researched practical tools for the arts, health and environmental sectors, as well as documenting evolving policy, community-building and knowledge-sharing approaches.