Innovative Projects Realized

Genome-wide overexpression library in Giardia spp. for drug target discovery

Giardiasis is a foodborne and waterborne disease that affects people worldwide, and it causes enteric diseases with outbreaks of diarrhea in adults and children. There are a few drugs available for treating Giardia spp. infections and they are associated with low efficacy, adverse effects, and drug resistance is spreading. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify new drugs and understand drug mechanisms of action. The goal of this project is to generate a genome-wide gene overexpression library to identify new drug targets. In this approach, transgenic Giardia parasites will be created to express genes to high levels. These parasites will be screened against drugs (e.g., metronidazole and others) to identify new drug targets by selecting drug-resistant parasites and sequencing resistance/target genes. This innovative approach, combined with other genetic and biochemical methods, will also help shed light on drug action and resistance mechanisms.

Untangling local drivers of species interactions: a multi-elevational experiment in Colombia

The internship project for this Mitacs proposal will provide new data that will be added to the existing set from a 3-year standardized experiment across North and South America. The internship will be conducted in collaboration with Professor Pablo Stevenson’s research team from Universidad de Los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia) and aims to determine which, if any, of three local ecological mechanisms (climate, productivity, and biodiversity) best predicts geographic variation in predation and if this variation is consistent across two different trophic levels (seeds and caterpillars). The duration of this project abroad will be of about 13 weeks and will be partly executed along a steep elevational transect composed of sites located between 800 and 2300 meters above sea level near the municipality of Medina, Colombia.

Benchmarking and validation of two dosimetry software packages for radiotherapy applications.

Brachytherapy dosimetry is traditionally based on the American Association for Physicists in Medicine Task Group No. 43 report, referred to as TG-43. The TG-43 dose calculation formalism describes dose delivery around a single source centrally positioned in a spherical water phantom. Patient geometry, tissue compositions, and density heterogeneities are ignored, as are foreign objects such as radiation sources and applicators that may be present at the time of treatment. These simplifications lead to inaccuracies and inconsistencies between prescribed dose and delivered dose. The TG-43 formalism is the prevailing dosimetry standard. The American Association for Physicists in Medicine TG-186 report, released in 2012, recommends the use of model-based dose
calculation algorithms in brachytherapy. Model-based dose calculation algorithms such as the Monte Carlo method calculate dose to medium and account for heterogeneities. MC is the gold standard and the most accurate method for calculation of absorbed dose in the human body.
The research group at McGill University has developed an opensource MC-based treatment planning system for brachytherapy applications. The research group at University of Bordeaux has developed another type of model based dosimetry package built on a new deterministic method for calculating the dose distribution in external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy.

The Implications of Blockchain Technology on Privacy, Regulation, and Public Policy

The goal of this research project is to understand how private, blockchain-based enterprises best engage and understand current Canadian regulation on data privacy. Policy is created at many different levels of government and it can be difficult for companies to be aware of the specific requirements needed to comply with regulation. This project will ask how do tech companies situate themselves amid provincial and federal privacy regulations? What are the best practices for handling contradictions in regulation? This project will work in collaboration with Manyone, a company researching the creation and proliferation of self-sovereign digital identities across platforms, to tackle these questions. This research project will deliver a strategic action plan for companies on how to best interact with data privacy regulation in British Columbia and an academic paper that examines the current state of data privacy policies as well as easing the communication gap between the public and private sectors.

Evaluation of safety, efficacy and immunogenicity of a recombinant FVIII molecule: meta-analysis of the Advate Postauthorization Safety Surveillance studies

We propose a meta-analytic project which aims at summarizing Post-Authorization Surveillance Safety data on Advate, a recombinant FVIII concentrates used to treat patients with Hemophilia A. The study will involve the largest cohort of hemophilia patients on FVIII concentrates analyzed in theliterature. The project represents an attempt to sustain a methodologically strong approach in the field of Hemophilia, as paradigm of rare disease. We will accompany a classic and more common metaanalytic modeling with a Bayesian modeling, able to provide measures of efficacy and safety after repetitive simulations with a probabilistic construct resembling the physician’s decisional process. The partner organization will benefit from a state-of-the-art assessment of the safety profile of their prodict in a post-authorization context, which will facilitate plans for the development of future molecules and will be used for lobbying with the regulators in improving the registration process.

Trusted Records in TAPESTRY Approach

New America’s Future of Property Rights program aims to create a solution for people all over the world to achieve their basic human right “to own, rent, or otherwise occupy property” (Panfil & Mellon, 2019). What is denying a large part of populations their basic human right is the “lack of proper documents” (Panfil & Mellon, 2019). To solve this important issue, the program proposes using emerging technology such as Self-Sovereign Identity or SSI to harness an abundance of data that already exists in a way that is “trustworthy, secure, and privacy preserving” (Panfil & Mellon, 2019).
Peer Social, whose goal is to build a secure communication and data-sharing solution using a decentralized architecture and encrypted ledger technology to give users complete control of how they are social, is interested in learning about this approach and the rationale behind it. They are also interested in learning about what trust could mean in records created through blockchain technology and especially through self-sovereign identity and what characteristics it must have to satisfy the United Nations requirements, and whether these characteristics can be converted into a point system, similar to credit card scores.

Design and Optimization of the product platform for AIS mobile robots

AIS Inc. is at the forefront of developing practical mobile robots for various markets. Mobile robots are considered as very complex systems comprising of hundreds of interacting components in complex system architectures. Developing such complex robotic systems, particularly in large scale, requires a coherent collaboration and engagement on various specialized areas. All of the complex products which are under development in AIS, have many Common Elements (CE) both in their system anatomy (e.g. common parts, components, modules) and also in their various product development life cycle stages (e.g. requirements, design and implementation processes, testing procedures). Investing time and resources on the CEs can simplify development of products. In order to substantially reduce time and cost and increase efficiency for development of new and existing products, AIS has strategized to increase commonality, reusability, and standardization across various products and subsequently introduce product platforms which are a collection of the CEs and core technologies. The goal of the proposed research is to properly define a product platform for each of the Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) and Autonomous Vehicle (AV) product families in AIS.

Determining Canadian Healthcare Providers’ Intentions to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine and Improving Current Health Communication Strategies

Some healthcare providers have concerns, misconceptions, and reluctance to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, which puts them at risk of occupational and public exposure to the virus. This is called vaccine hesitancy, which is defined as the delay or refusal of vaccines in the presence of vaccination services. Widespread vaccination is an effective public health measure in reducing health burdens and nationwide economic restrictions associated with the disease. This project seeks to understand why Canadian healthcare providers have hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccine, and identify strategies for improving health communication on COVID-19 vaccines to healthcare providers. Results will determine key factors which explain healthcare providers’ intentions to vaccinate and contribute to the current scientific evidence on health communication, COVID-19, and vaccine hesitancy. The recommendations resulting from this study will provide public health organizations such as the Canadian Public Health Association with guidance how to effectively communicate vaccine information to support ongoing initiatives which focus on building capacity and confidence of healthcare providers.

Multidimensional feasibility assessment of Biosuccinic acid production from lignocellulosic biomass

The project work falls in the field of production of Biosuccinic acid which considered as a important intermediate chemical from woody biomass(lignocellulosic biomass). Conventionally,Succinic acid is made from nonrenewable sources i.e.crude oil. Dr.Rakshit’s lab already patented a process of biosuccinic acid from woody biomass at lab scale. The ultimate objective of this project is to provide an engineering design which facilitates the industry scale production of BSA from lignocellulosic biomass.
Process economy and environment sustainability will be perform by using process simulation software and sustainability tools available at host laboratory. Multi-dimensional assessment of Biosuccinic acid production can serve as a decision-making tool that will help the organizations and or governments in decision making pertaining to allocation of funding for the production of such products based on environment friendly route with minimal chances of failure.

Le développement du secteur de la création numérique dans les régions périphériques du Québec : une approche écosystémique par modélisation itérative

Au Québec, le secteur de la création numérique est en forte croissance et génère des retombées d’environ 1G$/année. Or, les entreprises qui y oeuvrent rencontrent de nombreux défis (accès aux ressources, gestion des opérations, valorisation des extrants, adéquation avec l’environnement de proximité). Comme la création numérique semble jouer un rôle de plus en plus central dans la transition numérique des collectivités, nous nous intéresserons au développement de ce secteur. Pour ce faire, nous concevrons un modèle d’évolution des écosystèmes entrepreneuriaux destiné à soutenir les parties prenantes des régions périphériques du Québec (entrepreneurs, organismes, institutions d’enseignement, pouvoirs publics, etc.) dans leurs efforts pour développer l’entrepreneuriat sectoriel. Notre démarche sera axée sur une intervention de terrain, soit la mise sur pied d’un hub technocréatif en Abitibi-Témiscamingue par l’organisme Les Zybrides. Nous apporterons ainsi une contribution théorique et pratique au sujet qui nous intéresse, tout en renforçant le positionnement d’affaires de l’organisme partenaire.

A decentralized peer-to-peer lending platform using blockchain-based distributed ledger technologies

A Peer-to-Peer (P2P) lending platform allows small businesses to obtain working capital funds through an online system, where individuals can anonymously pool together funds for investment.

Instead of relying on a third-party website for crowdfunding (such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo), we propose a decentralized platform for P2P. Unlike traditional P2P lending which is usually done in person, creditors and borrowers should be able to connect and agree on contract terms without requiring any trust or direct ties between the involved parties.

Our objective is to explore the potential use of blockchain technologies to realize a decentralized P2P lending platform. Blockchain technologies can be used to automate certain aspects of the contract, such as serving as an escrow account, and validating term payments. We will deliver a proof-of-concept prototype which implements P2P lending on a blockchain while maintaining confidentiality and security.

Asper School of Business- Carbon Block 2

Carbon-Block Inc. is an environmental auditing start up focused on automation of the verification requirements of carbon offsets. Carbon Block is establishing a double-sided carbon marketplace with 1) Corporations with Corporate Sustainability Goals. 2) Governments and utilities unable to bring their offsets to market due to the audit burden, and decarbonization technologies seeking access to funding that the carbon markets represent. This project will contribute to the writing of the first carbon offset methodology which will offer businesses improved environmental audits and thereby help in fostering a carbon-free community.