Innovative Projects Realized

Dietary regulation of tissue circadian clock function in mice

The 24-hour light-dark cycle dictates the organization of life in most species on this planet. Internal timekeepers, so called circadian clocks, help to anticipate recurring daily changes and orchestrate the body’s physiological functions accordingly. In mammals, the core clock resides in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) and is synchronized by light. The SCN projects to several central and peripheral targets to ensure that within the circadian system hierarchy all tissues “tick on time”. Circadian rhythms are integrated in almost all aspects of life – from behavior to cell cycle control and DNA repair. Dietary challenges such as a high-fat diet rapidly disrupt behavioral and molecular circadian rhythms. However, data on the more long-term adaptations of circadian clocks and rhythms to dietary changes are still missing. This issue will be addressed in the planned project, focusing on tissues such as SCN, liver, adrenal, and white adipose tissue.

Array Aspect Ratio Effect on Reversible Fibrillar Adhesion

Many small insects and creatures utilize reversible adhesion to vertically scale up walls and surfaces. The adhesion mechanisms
are reliant on the tip geometry of highly dense fibrillar arrays as opposed to surface chemistry. The arrays can switch between high
strength and completely non-adhering states. I will be investigating the role of array aspect ratio and its influence on the
reversibility and controllability of bio-inspired fibrillar adhesion. I hypothesize that if the strength of an array lessens in the presence
of interfacial defects and misalignments, then implementing a more oblong shape or rectangular aspect ratio along the direction of
the misalignment will result in a lower ultimate strength. This weakening of the ultimate load bearing ability of the array is also a
gain in the controllability of the adhesion as total detachment energy and force will have been lowered.

Analysis of the Proposed Brooklyn-Queens Connector

New York City’s proposed Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX) would be the city’s first modern streetcar system and one of the only rail systems directly connecting Queens and Brooklyn – if it ever gets developed. While the BQX is yet to be implemented, plans, advertisements, and expectations for the route are already underway. As the BQX is still in the proposal and pre-planning phases, now presents a unique opportunity to analyze economic development and transportation accessibility patterns in anticipation of the proposed route before actual implementation.

This research project will therefore analyze how New York City’s proposed Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX) modern streetcar system will impact economic development and transportation accessibility patterns for areas along the proposed route and NYC overall. this proposed research project aims to assist in better determining the feasibility of the BQX’s expected benefits. Additionally, this project will enhance modern streetcar and light rail-based research by presenting analyses and predicting impacts prior to actual implementation – as opposed to most transit impact studies analyzing impacts after transit operations begin. TBC

Développement de méthodes de segmentation et de reconstructions 3D de structures rénales à partir d’images 3D CT pour leur intégration dans la plateforme ORS.

Definition et positionnement de modeles generiques de structures renales dans une volume d’images CT a

I’aide du plus petit nombre possible de poignees predefinies sur Ie modele surfacique et auto amelioration des

modeles generiques par deformations hierarchiques successives de fa<;:on a creer une region d'interet (ROI) formant un modele pre personnalise. Programmation et integration des methodes a la plateforme du partenaire ORS incluant programmation des routines en mode parallele GPU. Participation a la validation de la methode et documentation dans un cadre gestion qualite ISO 13485.

Neural Network Segmentation of Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography for Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a complication of diabetes which is the most common cause of vision loss among people with diabetes. DR damages and alters the structure of the capillary network (microvasculature) in the retina, a light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye and is responsible for vision. Clinicians can analyze the microvasculature through optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA), an imaging technique which allows for micrometer-scale examination of its structures. This project is focused on developing a fast, robust, and accurate neural network to segment the retinal microvasculature in acquired OCTA images, which will be deployed in the clinic to be used on images acquired from real patients. Segmentation of the microvasculature will allow for accurate quantitative analyses such as average vessel width and density, which will expedite patient treatment and help with research towards an early diagnosis.

Understanding Legionella pneumophilia Immune Evasion

The immune system has evolved a diverse array of tools to detect and eliminate foreign pathogens from the body. Bacteria too have evolved methods to interfere with the immune system’s ability to detect them. This allows bacteria to be able to replicate and cause a longer illness. Our project looks to find out how the bacteria which causes Legionnaire’s Disease, Legionella pneumophilia, can hijack the danger sensing signaling pathways in immune cells to avoid detection. We will see what proteins inside the cell are targeted by L. pneumophilia and how they turn off the cell’s ability to “see” this bacterium. By understanding these immune evasion methods, better tools for fighting bacterial infections can be developed.

Probabilistic Finite Element Method for the evaluation of ASR affected concrete structures

Alkali-silica reaction (ASR) in concrete can induce degradation in its mechanical properties, leading to compromised serviceability and even loss in load capacity of concrete structures. Dams and bridges have been reported to be affected by ASR which lead to expensive mitigation operations as well as demolishing of the structure in Canada and Australia. This research aims at providing reliable evaluation procedures on ASR affected concrete structures in terms of their health condition and load carrying capacity. The specific objectives of this study are (1) to reduce uncertainties and provide better approach for estimation of mechanical properties degradation and evaluation of damage level due to ASR, and (2) to develop a probabilistic based finite element model integrated with Bayesian updating for uncertainty quantification and propagation to identify ASR effects, and evaluate structural behavior, and load capacity of ASR affected concrete structures.

Definitive gas migration testing – Comparative assessment of different gas migration testing techniques and field instrumentation

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contribute to a global warming trend that is associated with climate change. Methane is a potent GHG with a global warming potential 25 times that of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) over a 100-year period. Gas migration in soils from the subsurface to the surface is a well-known issue; however, characterizing the source zone(s) for stray gases from production, injection, and observation wells is an ongoing challenge in the oil/gas industry. The proposed research project will address the complex nature of the multiple interacting variables that can affect gas migration investigations. The study will control test variables that impact soil gas flux rates for different environmental conditions.

Leaving the Land Before Time: The Planetary Presence of Indigenous World Literatures

My project advocates that a primary impediment to increased consciousness about Indigeneity lies in how we study the contemporary literature of Indigenous peoples. This requires a reconceptualization of Indigeneity away from its boundedness to specific lands and pasts that valorize ties to first contact, instead embracing the reality that Indigenous peoples are a contemporary presence throughout the world. In response to this reimagining, my research investigates: (i) how the study of Indigenous world literatures might destabilize characterizations of absence that isolate Indigenous peoples to particular places and pasts, and (ii) how these literatures can entrench Indigenous presence as planetary phenomenon. I make this intervention by modeling a cosmic methodology that recognizes Indigeneity and Indigenous peoples as omnipresent and thriving; it is, at its heart, a project that contributes to the ongoing work of decolonizing literary study itself through the minds of those who study and teach literature.

Validation of Novel, Tumor Microenvironment-based Targets for Biological Therapeutics

ImmunoBiochem is developing novel anti-cancer therapeutics to address unmet need in intractable solid tumors. Because solid tumors are highly heterogeneous and evasive, recognizing cancerous cells, while avoiding damage to normal tissue, is a challenge. As a result, many targeted therapies quickly come up against resistance, resulting in patient relapses. ImmunoBiochem is solving the issue of tumor versus normal recognition by exploiting cancer targets in the tumor environment – a collection of features that are uniquely present in tumors and absent in the environment of normal cells. This provides for an ability for broader targeting and opportunity to avoid many common resistance mechanisms. The interns will help advance the validation of novel drug candidates in models of various cancer types and subtypes, to understand efficacy and how to ultimately translate the findings to initiate clinical trials in human patients.

Management and conservation of polar bears in Davis Strait: An integrated population modeling approach to estimating population size, growth rate and Total Allowable Harvest of a priority species in Nunavut, Canada – Year two

Estimates of population size and structure of the Davis Strait polar bear population are uncertain due, in large part, to the prohibitive costs of conducting regular aerial surveys. In recent years, Inuit have indicated that increased bear abundance has resulted in public safety concerns. In addition, Inuit believe that polar bears have negatively impacted other wildlife through increased consumption of seals, and eggs in bird colonies. In an effort to address these concerns, provide better estimates of demographic parameters, and inform sustainable Total Allowable Harvest levels, we propose to use an integrated population model to describe population dynamics of the Davis Strait polar bear population. Using multiple data sets collected from the mid-1970s through 2018, we shall use capture-mark-recapture (CMR) data, capture recovery (CR) data, harvest (HAR) data, age structure (AS) data, habitat data (annual date of ice retreat and advance; ICE), and prey data (annual abundance of harp seal pups; SEAL) to implement a birth-death (BIDE) balance equation that describes the population dynamics. TO BE CONT’D

Management and conservation of polar bears in Davis Strait: An integrated population modeling approach to estimating population size, growth rate and Total Allowable Harvest of a priority species in Nunavut, Canada.

Estimates of population size and structure of the Davis Strait polar bear population are uncertain due, in large part, to the prohibitive costs of conducting regular aerial surveys. In recent years, Inuit have indicated that increased bear abundance has resulted in public safety concerns. In addition, Inuit believe that polar bears have negatively impacted other wildlife through increased consumption of seals, and eggs in bird colonies. In an effort to address these concerns, provide better estimates of demographic parameters, and inform sustainable Total Allowable Harvest levels, we propose to use an integrated population model to describe population dynamics of the Davis Strait polar bear population. Using multiple data sets collected from the mid-1970s through 2018, we shall use capture-mark-recapture (CMR) data, capture recovery (CR) data, harvest (HAR) data, age structure (AS) data, habitat data (annual date of ice retreat and advance; ICE), and prey data (annual abundance of harp seal pups; SEAL) to implement a birth-death (BIDE) balance equation that describes the population dynamics. TO BE CONT’D