Innovative Projects Realized

Beyond processing waste of sea cucumber: cosmeceutical potential of North Atlantic sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa)

Orange-footed sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa) is the most common sea cucumber found in the North Atlantic Ocean. This species is mainly fished for its edible body wall and other remaining body parts are discarded as processing waste. However, all the body parts are rich in protein and production of protein hydrolysates is identified as an efficient method to upgrade the by-products. The protein hydrolysates and peptides so produced exhibit excellent functional and biological properties. These properties show great potential for utilizing as functional ingredients in the cosmetic industry. The cosmetic industry’s current interest is moving towards natural cosmetics with added health benefits, particularly, it has become the emerging trend in skincare products. Therefore, proper incorporation of sea cucumber biologically active molecules into cosmetic products will enhance the full utilization of Atlantic sea cucumber while promoting skin health.

Investigating the Role of Novel Fatty Acid-Binding Protein (FABP) Inhibitors as Treatments for Anxiety Disorders

Anxiety disorders and chronic stress represent major healthcare and economic burdens worldwide. Approximately 75% of Canadians who use health services for a mental illness present with anxiety disorders which may affect up to 10% of the population in terms of lifetime occurrence. Despite the large prevalence of anxiety-related disorders in Canada, there are currently a limited range of effective pharmacotherapeutic interventions. In addition, all currently effective anti-anxiety medications are linked to serious side-effects, including drug dependence and withdrawal, cognitive impairments and metabolic symptoms. Our project is characterizing novel pharmacological compounds that inhibit a protein called FAB-P. This can modulate the brain’s own naturally occurring cannabinoid system. This compound displays strong potential as an effective anti-anxiety medication with fewer side-effects than traditional anxiolytic drugs. Remarkably, these compounds can bypass cannabinoid receptors in the brain and produce anti-anxiety effects without the unwanted side-effects associated with other cannabis drugs and formulations.

Developing an IoT Edge Computing gateway System (IoT-ECS) to improve passenger’s journey: an intelligent mobility perspective

This research project is part of a bigger initiative driven by Tangente AI and BusPas that fits into the context of intelligent mobility within “smart cities” and is focuses on improving the urban logistics services for the transport of citizens/passengers. More specifically, by leveraging on the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and applications, within the scope of this project led our partner BusPas, we aim to contribute to the development of a multi-technology edge computing gateway (e.g. installed on bus stops, bus shelters and bus terminals) used as a connected device for automatically detecting, collecting and analyzing in real-time data about nearby passengers, in order to improve the passenger’s journey.
From a practical perspective, although various versions of “smart” bus shelter and bus stops are now available worldwide, existing solutions suffer from (a) limited functionally (b) limited connectivity options (c) poorly automated design for detecting users. From an academic perspective, although intelligent mobility and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) have been well documented within the context of smart cities, the knowledge related to the design of an IoT environment used to improve passenger’s journey is very limited.
We aim to bridge this gap by documenting our experiments and proposing our prototype.

APERTURE ANTENNAS AS MOBILE SATELLITE TERMINALS

Antennas are essential part of communication links. This project is investigating antennas for communication between a mobile terminal on earth to a satellite. The mobile terminal could be a flying craft or a vehicle in motion. These antennas should be able to transmit and receive data simultaneously in different channels. Besides, they should be capable of scanning the space to find the target satellite. Single channel antennas or antennas with mechanical tracking have been tested for this purpose and are available in market. But, this project is investigating a single antenna of dual channels with simpler structure, lower profile, lower fabrication cost and specifically electronic tracking. Electronic tracking is much faster and more reliable than mechanical tracking by step motors which are bulky. These antennas are highly in demand in market. Hence, TRTech can benefit from commercialization of this product

Bioprocessing strategies for enhanced production of heme in Escherichia coli

Ardra Inc. has sustainably produced many high-purity chemicals that are used for various flavor, perfume, and cosmetic applications. Combining industrial/business expertise provided by Ardra with academic/research skills provided by Dr. C. Perry Chou’s lab, we are aiming to effectively produce high-value heme compound using engineered E. coli host organism. Major efforts will be dedicated toward engineering of this bacterium by adopting synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and bioprocessing strategies to facilitate large-scale bio-based production of heme. As a long-term goal, it will provide innovative strategies for the production of heme in a clean, sustainable, and cheap way. Lastly, it will enhance world biomass economy and biomanufacturing capacity, leading to the improvement in the quality of life.

Influence des paramètres de forge et detraitements thermiques sur la taille de grain del’austénite primaire et les propriétés mécaniquesd’un acier forgé

L’objectif de ce projet est d’étudier l’influence des conditions de déformation ainsi que les
paramètres des traitements thermiques sur la taille de grain de l’austénite primaire, qui à son
tour influence les propriétés mécaniques d’un acier à haute résistance mécanique produit par
la compagnie Sorel Forge. La présence de plusieurs éléments d’alliage dans la
microstructure de cet alliage rend difficile la mise en évidence de la taille du grain de
l’austénite primaire.
Différents procédures seront utilisées pour déterminer la méthode optimale pour révéler de
façon précise les joints de grain de l’austénite primaire pour l’alliage étudié. Cette méthode
sera utilisée pour déterminer l’influence des différents paramètres de fabrication sur les
caractéristiques de l’austénite et son impact sur les propriétés mécaniques. La méthod
développée permettra à l’entreprise de réduire le temps de maintien dans le four pendant les
traitements thermiques réduisant son coût d’énergie et ainsi améliorant sa rentabilité.

An Integrated Renewable Power and Transportation System for the Caribbean Region – Possible COVID-19 related death reduction through reduced MP2.5 emissions

This project aims to develop an integrated wind and solar energy-based power system for the Caribbean region and show that the system will significantly reduce CO2 and MP2.5 emissions which have now been linked to higher incidence of COVID-19 deaths. It is intended to bring the potential investors to Canada out of this project to collaborate with regarding academic and partner organizations. The developed system provides carbon-free electricity production for the region. Furthermore, the system proposes an 80-HP pneumatic vehicle for the daily driving of the public. Transportation and power sectors are two main greenhouse gas emitters (25% of regional GHG emissions) of the region. Due to the nature-friendly characteristic of the developed system, it may contribute to achieving the GHG emissions target that has promised under the Paris agreement. Interns involving in this research project will have a significant opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge to the field and get an excellent experience to develop their abilities further. The partner organization will utilize this research to expand the business and have the upper hand over the competitors. On top of all, ecological problems due to GHG emissions, and possible solutions will be pointed out once again through TBCONTED

Innovating a crop assessment system using a real-time, hardware-based drone image processing system to support on-the-spot decision in agriculture

Agricultural producers are concerned about producing food, increasing productivity, and making sustainability, while drones along with governments, technology leaders, and industry are playing an important role as a part of solution of this [9]. This drone imagery is for farmers so that, they can fly their fields, and not only pinpoint issues such as, irrigation leaks, leaf color variation or pest, but also highlight where these issues are occurring. But the image processing time is often too late to remedy that solution. Accordingly, actionable intelligence can produce crop health maps for farmers by measuring the amount of biomass or live green vegetation in the crops using the Normalized Differentiation Vegetation Index (NDVI) [10]. Therefore, by combining precision agriculture technology with information and communication technologies, it is possible to provide real-time farm monitoring and faster sensor data processing to the farmers for better farm management as well as increasing food productivity.

Enhancing horticultural production through carbon dioxide enrichment and heat recovery from municipal organics composting

Vertical farming is an innovative urban agricultural practice that can efficiently use resources to supply food for communities, while high energy cost is becoming an economic bottleneck to long-term development and growth of the technology. The potential exists to capture and take advantage of by-products generated from the biological decay of the organics during the composting process, including CO2 gas and heat. This project is framed within the concept of utilizing process by-products generated during the composting of source separated organics to achieve CO2 enrichment and heat recovery in modular vertical farming systems. This project will offer opportunities for reducing the carbon footprint, better resource management, and opportunities for energy savings in Canada.

Business Development Intern

MOSAIC is a not-for-profit organization that provides settlement and employment services. The main aspects of the internship are based on conducting market research and identifying opportunities for growth. Tasks also include adapting the service delivery approach to expand current capacity, research current labour market trends and assist in identifying other opportunities for funding such as government grants. This will be beneficial for Mosaic by addressing competitors and gaps in the Social Enterprise Services, improve market visibility to create a potential client base, identify revenue streams, and positively impact human resources.

BSI: FutureVault Inc

FutureVault’s traditional client-base has been organizations working within financial services. The firm is now undertaking efforts to develop enhanced digital vaulting technology for use in consumer healthcare. The company’s first eHealth product, the Personal Health Passport, will provide Canadians with a secure and authenticated digital record of their vaccination and immune history, as well as relevant testing records and health artifacts. The product is being developed and implemented at critical time for public health the world over. This project will lay the Foundation for FutureVault’s emerging eHealth strategy and provide key guidance as to the opportunity at hand, and risks involved, in expanding the firm’s focus to health information management. The student will play a key role in the development of this strategy and have an opportunity to interface with senior leadership both within the company as well as at relevant stakeholders.

The student will join the FutureVault Product Team and help guide the development of the platform for an exciting new business vertical in eHealth. The student will serve as a business analyst in the assessment of this market opportunity, conducting in-depth analysis of the eHealth landscape and identifying key market gaps relevant to FutureVault.

Business Development Associate

Silverberry is a digital health platform that uses DNA testing to create personalized health assessment and recommendations. In response to the pandemic, we have designed and released a new service that measures the impact risk of disease on individuals based on their genetic makeup. This is a crucial factor for policymakers and managers of various organizations to identify the most vulnerable and high-risk individuals to prioritize their safety, isolation, and measures to protect them while tunneling the organization’s resources properly.

At this position, the intern will work on segments that may benefit most from this service (back to work for companies, senior housing, etc.), develop a go-to-market strategy, sales collaterals to be shared with the prospect clients, and design processes to bring customers on-board for an ongoing engagement.