Innovative Projects Realized

Understanding Active Lifestyle Engagement and Active Mobility Choices Among Seniors and Shift Workers

This project aims to explore active lifestyle engagement and mobility behaviour among seniors and shift workers in Nova Scotia, with a focus on discretionary activities and the use of active modes such as walking, cycling, and micromobility. It will leverage data from the 2023 NovaTRAC survey and 24-hour travel diaries to analyze how social and temporal factors shape mobility choices. The study also considers the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel behaviour and mode preferences. Advanced modeling techniques such as mixed logit, ICLV, and clustering will be employed to uncover heterogeneity in preferences among groups, including green movers, social walkers, and passive digitalists. Findings from this project will support evidence-based planning for inclusive, healthy, and sustainable transport systems.

Cross-Ancestry Genetic Risk Scores for Predicting Antipsychotic Response

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a debilitating mental illness treated with antipsychotics (APs), but treatment is often inefficient and guided by trial-and-error. Personalized AP prescription based on genetics may improve treatment response. AP response is affected by hundreds of genetic variants which each have a small effect, and polygenic risk scores (PRS), which combine these effects, have been associated with response. Ancestry is a key factor in PRS, but studies of PRS for AP response have largely been conducted in European populations, which is not generalizable to other ancestries. To address this gap, we will study AP response in the ancestrally diverse ‘All of Us’ (AoU) cohort. We will compare standard single-ancestry PRSs to advanced multi-ancestry PRSs, to assess which is better at predicting AP response across populations. Findings will advance our understanding of how the genetics of AP response varies across ancestries, and guide strategies on accounting for this for the equitable development of personalized medicine tools. By collaborating with Dr. Lewis, I will learn advanced techniques to study genetics across ancestries, and her lab will benefit by gaining experience with the diverse AoU dataset. This will strengthen past collaborations between the two labs, and open new avenues of shared discovery.

From Insecurity to Strategy: Making Community Water Solutions Legible in Freetown, Sierra Leone

Centralized municipal water systems are a vital form of infrastructure, but they are not appropriate in all places or at all times. In many contexts, governments lack the capacity or resources to operate and maintain them. In such cases, communities must develop their own systems. These locally managed systems are often sustainable and resilient, with potential to scale cost-effectively, yet they are frequently dismissed as illegitimate because of their informality.
This research will document and analyze community-owned water systems in Freetown, Sierra Leone. It will examine the physical components of these systems and the environmental factors that shape their performance. It will then investigate the managerial practices and community organizations that sustain them. Using household surveys, interviews, and focus groups, the project will assess the social dimension by capturing the lived experiences of residents and leaders. Institutional actors will be interviewed to address concerns around communication, engineering, and policy. The findings will identify the conditions that make these systems successful and share lessons with policymakers and researchers. For both Canada and Sierra Leone, this project advances the development of a robust methodology for community-based research and policy design, focusing on human-centered water systems in contexts of severe water insecurity.

Developing Human-Centred Methods to Optimize Machine Learning Fine-Tuning for Personalized Instruction in Education

This project will explore how large language models (LLMs), such as advanced AI systems that generate text, can be adapted to support education. The intern will design and test new ways of guiding these models using structured instructions (prompts and schemas) so that they provide clearer and more helpful answers for teachers and students. By testing these methods with human evaluators, the project will help create a foundation for a web-based platform that supports learning in real time. This collaboration will benefit both Canadian and Brazilian institutions by advancing Canadian-led innovations in educational AI, while ensuring they are tested and adapted to culturally diverse contexts. The work will also help reduce digital divides by improving access to advanced learning technologies across different regions.

Les parsemeuses : Évaluation pilote de la mise en oeuvre et besoins des élèves autistes en rupture de fonctionnement

L’équipe de chercheuses menée par la Pre Argumedes Charles aidera Les Parsemeuses à évaluer la théorie du changement du programme (soit identifier les objectifs et les modalités d’intervention), mais aussi à évaluer les effets de la mise en oeuvre de leur initiative sur la qualité de vie des jeunes, sur leur participation sociale et sur leur niveau d’autodétermination. Mener ce projet de recherche permettra de valider un service en demande, pour une clientèle autiste qui ne reçoit pas beaucoup de services adaptés à leurs besoins en milieu scolaire.

Supporting perioperative patient flow

This project aims to improve the transition of patients through surgical treatment process. Many hospitals experience delays when transitioning patients from the operating room to the recovery wards. This leads to delays, higher costs, and added strain on hospital staff. By analyzing hospital data, observing workflows, and interviewing healthcare professionals, this research will identify key areas where process efficiency can be improved. The findings will help hospitals implement better scheduling, coordination, and staffing strategies, ultimately leading to greater efficiency
and improved experiences for patients.

Understanding who is using micromobility across Canada

Micromobility is filling a need for sustainable, economic transportation options (Abduljabbar et al., 2021). However, Canadian cities are struggling to adapt policies and plan for these new modes, lacking data on where, who, how many and for what purposes people are using micromobility (Robertson et al. 2025).

Vélo Canada Bikes (VCB) is a national organization providing a voice for everyday cycling. VCB advocates for using evidence-based research to inform policies that improve cycling for all Canadians. “Micromobility” describes a broad range of devices, from bikes and e-bikes, to scooters, to numerous others. Policies differ in terms of where these devices can be used. While we see a rapid rise in uptake, anecdotally the patterns of uptake vary across cities. VCB aims to fill in data gaps on micromobility with this project.

VCB has been filling in ridership data gaps across Canada using community science through their innovative count program, Pedal Poll (Winters et al. 2023). This research would adapt Pedal Poll for micromobility categories, providing an understanding of who is riding what (i.e., type of device) and where (type of infrastructure). Harnessing hundreds of volunteers from across Canada, Pedal Poll Micromobility will provide municipalities and health researchers with crucial information.

Exposing the skin to SOLIUS UVB light: Effects on intestinal microbiota and metabolome

This project will investigate the potential benefits of exposing the skin to a specialised type of ultraviolet light, known as narrowband UVB, on improving gut health and immunity. The light will be delivered using the SOLIUS device, which is designed to boost vitamin D production without causing harmful skin damage. In Canada and other countries, many people receive less sunlight than they did previously, which has led to a widespread vitamin D deficiency. Low vitamin D is linked to health problems such as inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis. Our earlier work showed that UVB light can raise vitamin D levels and change the types of bacteria living in the gut, suggesting a link between the skin and the digestive system. Using mouse models, including ones that cannot respond to vitamin D, we will test whether UVB light can also improve gut health through other pathways. The results will help SOLIUS better understand the full benefits of their technology, support future clinical studies, and open the door to new, non-invasive treatments for gut-related and immune disorders.

AI-Powered Leagues Scheduler Project Part 2

Numerous barriers exist to participating in sports, and a study by the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute has shown that 12% of respondents cited not having anyone to participate with as an obstacle (Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, 2013). With this project, we aim to leverage algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) to better connect sports players, utilizing a wide array of data. Our goal is to increase the likelihood that players will remain engaged throughout the season and return for subsequent seasons. To address these challenges, we will deliver AI-Powered Leagues Scheduler Part 2. To address these challenges, AI-Powered Leagues Scheduler Part 2 delivers practical upgrades: refine tournaments with set-based scoring and rotating partners; harden a multi-sport scheduler to support varied formats, team sizes, scoring, and uneven sign-ups while producing balanced match ups with fewer conflicts. These upgrades make it easier to place players, build fair schedules, and keep people coming back. This project goes beyond day-to-day operations by creating a standardized optimization and experimentation platform—algorithms, services, and data pipelines—that permanently upgrades OpenSports’ decision-making for placements, seeding, and scheduling across all clients and sports.

Medtech Innovation Highway Pilot Program

(1) Our primary mandate at API is to advance basic research and innovation to commercialization by providing access to world-class industry expertise, services, and infrastructure. Our activities focuses on engaging and supporting drug discovery and development initiatives, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards and driving innovation and commercialization through collaborative research and clinical studies.

(2) The Medtech Innovation Highway is a collaborative initiative between the Centre for Advanced Medical Simulation (CAMS) at NAIT, Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API), Red Deer Polytechnic (RDP), Parlee McLaws LLP, and CR Consulting (business consultant) to provide custom, streamlined, and comprehensive support for early-stage medtech innovators. Using a single intake process, the program delivers an innovation roadmap report that integrates product-market fit, business, IP, regulatory, and technical development/manufacturing guidance. The goal is to enable innovators to understand how to reach TRL4 readiness, positioning them for Alberta Innovates’ AICE Validate program and other funding opportunities. With five distinct collaborators involved, effective collaboration, coordination, and communication are critical. The program requires organizational innovation to develop standard operating procedures, streamline workflows, and ensure innovators receive a consistent experience while navigating multiple service providers. Building this operational backbone is essential to positioning the Medtech Innovation Highway as a scalable, sustainable model for medtech commercialization support in Alberta. A Mitacs intern will work at the core of the collaboration, and supervised by CAMS at NAIT, to design and test these organizational innovations. The intern will map workflows, refine the intake process, establish business development pathways, and build a sustainability and funding strategy. This work will culminate in a business plan and job description for a permanent coordinator role, ensuring the Medtech Innovation Highway transitions from a pilot initiative to a long-term, sustainable program.

(3) The Medtech Innovation Highway Pilot Program accelerates commercialization with early-stage medtech innovation through coordinated support to strengthen Alberta’s medtech sector. The Mitacs intern ensures a seamless, scalable, and sustainable program.

Voices of Palestine

Palestinians suffer from systematic under-representation in public and media discourse. Politicians and the mainstream media have under-reported on occupation, apartheid, and violence facing Palestinians who are dehumanized. The Living with Drones program, as part of the Voices of Palestine project, counter these dynamics through the mobilization of research and narratives that centre Palestinian perspectives with the goal of generating knowledge, research, and awareness about the Palestinian people and their aspirations for justice and liberation. The project interns will work on Living with Drones, a live journalism show that weaves together first-person stories and wartime diaries to narrate the use of drone technology and its impact on Palestinians’ lives, land, and livelihood. Inspired by ancient oral storytelling traditions, Living with Drones offers audiences an understanding of the impact of the sounds of war, in particular the use of drones, and their devastating, traumatic impact on the residents of Gaza. The partner organization, The Muslim Fund (TMF), provides funding for projects to enhance fair and just representations of predominantly Muslim communities, including Palestinians, across Canada. Living with Drones centers Palestinian perspectives and benefits TMF’s mandate by highlighting a social justice issue that is important to Canadian Muslims: the oppression of Palestinians.

Microrheology-informed control of flow and transport in chiral active fluids

This project explores how tiny self-propelled particles, known as active matter, can be used to control motion and transport at very small scales, such as in microfluidic devices or biomedical systems. A special type of active matter called chiral active matter moves in circular patterns and shows unusual behaviors, including producing flows or currents that do not exist in ordinary fluids. Our research focuses on understanding how these unique behaviors can be measured and harnessed by studying how small tracer particles move through such systems. Using computer simulations, we will examine how the properties of chiral active matter—such as its ability to cause sideways motion or unusual diffusion—can be controlled by changing the shape of the environment. This work will benefit the participating institutions by advancing fundamental knowledge of active materials and developing new tools for designing smart microscale transport systems, with potential applications in biophysics, nanotechnology, and materials engineering.