Innovative Projects Realized

Examining surgeon’s eye-hand coordination during microsurgery

Are we using surgical simulation the right way? At present, the surgical curriculum uses simulation mainly to familiarize students with instruments and surgical techniques or as an objective assessment of skills performance. What if we could use surgical simulation to personalize the teaching of a surgeon in training (surgery resident)?

This research will use eye-tracking (participant’s eye movement), motion-tracking (movement of the instruments) and force-tracking (force applied to the instrument) technologies to identify the differences between board certified neurosurgeons (expert) and neurosurgery residents (novice) during simulated surgical procedures. By describing these differences, we will be able to provide instant and individualized feedback to the surgical residents so they can develop a technique similar to the expert.

I expect that the knowledge gained will help the neurosurgical community design a better training curriculum for neurosurgical residents. The ultimate goal is to eventually report the correlation between simulation and clinical benefits and hopefully prove that simulation in neurosurgery leads to an improvement in patient outcome and safety.

Strong Like Two People: curriculum development for northern creative program on Tlicho lands

This research will help Tlicho youth engage with the teachings of ancestors through art practice—addressing the need for educational opportunities that revolve around northern Indigenous culture.
In the first phase of this research the intern will gather information from Tlicho elders about what aspects of culture (such as oral stories) may be presented in the course. In the second phase, the intern, together with Tlicho elders, will deliver a course that allows young students to tell stories from the north through art practice (using drawing and animation).

la langue incarnée – la construction social des « derniers locuteurs »

Un grand nombre de variétés linguistiques disparaîtront probablement au cours des prochaines décennies. Leur documentation revêt une grande importance pour les communautés minoritaires, mais également pour la linguistique, car une théorie du langage ne devrait pas s’appuyer uniquement sur les langues majoritaires. Ce sujet reste problématique car il implique plusieurs acteurs, notamment les membres des communautés autochtones, les organisations internationales, les institutions subventionnaires, les forces politiques, les médias et le grand public. Le statut des langues étant lié aux formes de légitimité, chacun de ces groupes peut suivre des objectifs différents.
Outre les questions sensibles telles que l’éthique sur le terrain et au-delà, la propriété des données et les inégalités d’accès à la langue, on peut aussi remettre en question les échelles de disparition des langues et le compte à rebours des « derniers locuteurs » – une caractérisation qu’affecte leurs vies et celles de leurs proches de manière non négligeable.

Otolith collection from adult and juvenile Caranx caninus, Lutjanus argentiventris and Lutjanus novemfasciatus fishes in Barra de Navidad, Mexico

This project is a data collection project; the collected data will be part of a greater project that will aim to demonstrate using microchemistry that commercially important fish stocks of Caranx caninus, Lutjanus argentiventris and Lutjanus novemfasciatus that are regularly fished from Bahía de Navidad use Barra de Navidad lagoon as a nursery area. Adults fished from Bahía de Navidad will be bought from local fisherman, and juveniles will be caught from Barra de Navidad. Samples will be processed; otoliths (small bones) will be removed, and weights and measurements of the fishes will be taken. These results will eventually be used for a larger project that will analyze and compare Strontium concentrations found in the otoliths of the adults and juveniles. Saltwater contains several times more Strontium than freshwater, and this element is retained by continuously growing otoliths in the fish proportionally to the ambient level. Therefore, analyzing concentrations of Strontium from otoliths allows us to see if the fish has spent time in fresh, estuarine, and/or saltwater, and during which part of its life.

Evaluation of Cycling Education Programs

Fewer children are walking or bicycling to school than ever before. Programs promoting active transport to school may increase physical activity in children’s lives and allow opportunities for independent mobility. Programs may be funded by municipal and provincial governments, or other stakeholders, but on the whole typically lack evaluation. In this project we focus on evaluation activities for cycling promotion programs in elementary schools in two Metro Vancouver municipalities – Surrey and New Westminster. The evaluation seeks to understand how well the program succeeded in encouraging students and families to change their school travel, and how this varies across schools and settings. This internship will provide the partner organization with resources to justify to potential funders and partners the importance of supporting cycling education program across diverse settings. TO BE CONT’D

Cibler la voie de signalisation PI3K/Akt comme nouvelle approche thérapeutique lors d’infertilité associée à l’endométriose.

L’endométriose est une maladie responsable de 30% de tous les cas d’infertilités chez la femme. Elle se caractérise par la présence de tissus endométriaux à l’extérieur de l’utérus formant des lésions d’endométrioses douloureuses. Les traitements médicaux actuels sont très limités et peuvent uniquement être administrés de 6 à 9 mois en raison de leur effets secondaires indésirables dont une diminution de la fertilité, problématique pour les femmes souhaitant concevoir. Suivant l’arrêt, 50-60% des lésions sont rétablis après un an. Il est donc nécessaire de mieux comprendre les mécanismes régulant la formation de ces lésions afin de développer des traitements alternatifs. Pour ce faire, l’utilisation d’un modèle murin d’endométriose est d’abord nécessaire afin d’obtenir des résultats préliminaires intéressants. L’objectif du projet est donc de se familiariser avec un nouveau modèle développé par un laboratoire de recherche au Royaume-Uni et d’étudier le rôle de cibles d’intérêts dans l’établissement des lésions. Ces résultats permettront de mieux comprendre les mécanismes d’actions de l’endométriose et d’élaborer des traitements novateurs pour les femmes atteintes.

Ink-Jet Printing of Flexible Polymer Thermoelectric Devices

My doctoral project targets new solutions to recycle waste heat by turning it into electrical power. In particular, clean electrical power can be generated in a semiconductor when a temperature difference does exist between the hot and the cold side of said material. Our group at INRS-EMT has started a unique research line in Canada that studies semiconducting polymer inks as possible candidates for thermoelectrics. Currently, our facilities and expertise at INRS-EMT (Prof. Orgiu) can only lead to increase of fundamental knowledge about heat transport in polymers. However, in order to fabricate real thermoelectric devices, called thermoelectric generators (TEGs), one needs to deposit thick polymer layers over very small areas. Such deposition can be made, under the supervision of Prof. Piro, over different types of (flexible) substrates through polymer ink-jet printers available at Paris Diderot University. The expected outcome is the realization of polymer-based TEGs over flexible and transparent substrates.

Phylogenetic Ecology of invertebrate Communities in Bromeliads

Bromeliads are tropical plants, terrestrial or epiphytic, that grow in the shape of a rosette. Some of them form water tanks, which can harbor a variety of aquatic organisms, primarily invertebrate species, that build complex food webs.
The general goal of this project is to understand ecological and evolutionary processes that drive the assembly and determine the composition and structure of this communities.
There have been a lot of previous research on structure of bromeliad communities, an important part of it leaded by The Bromeliad Working Group, which has gathered information of them along Central and South America. However, there has not been analyses on the phylogenetic patterns of these communities.
Community phylogenetics allows us to evaluate the phylogenetic diversity and relatedness of the species in the community and associate these patterns with different processes such as the strength of environmental selection or biotic interactions at different spatial or temporal scales. We will explore these patterns by analyzing molecular information that will be obtained during the development of the project, and ecological information previously gathered by the BWG… TBC

Modeling and Control of Two Phase Cooling System

Therma management in electronic systems is a growing concern. Maintaining the battery temperature is one of the biggest challenges in electric vehicle development. The batteries in electric vehicle generate a lot of heat which, if not dissipated, may lead to an explosion. Not only electric vehicles, but with increase in processor speed and computing power there is also a need for efficient cooling of processors. Studies have shown that air cooled system is inefficient and as for liquid cooled system, there is a chance of liquid leakage which can cause a short circuit. Two phase cooling systems are much more efficient than their single phase counterparts. It is easy to maintain an isothermal condition in such systems. TO BE CONT’D

Integrated investigation of energy transition pathways for the Arctic: Application of a pan-Canadian MESSAGE model for distributed off-grid communities

This work will address the gaps of previous studies undertaken for the Arctic by developing energy model framework that incorporates uncertainty in prices, technology performance and variations in renewable resources caused by climate change. Expected results of the research might be identifying cost-effective risk hedging strategies that account for multiple and overlapping uncertainties within the energy model or from other sources. Model outputs might also inform higher-level policy analysis on implementing pan-Canadian carbon pricing among Northern communities in Canada. Further, appropriate temporal resolution can also be determined in doing energy system model optimization while addressing uncertainties that can be associated with the variability of renewable resources. Overall, I envision this project to be a platform that collaborates with Indigenous communities in their continuing aspiration to coexist with their ancestral lands while maintaining environmental and economic sustainability.

Effects of joint loading on immune cell populations at the healing ACL tendon graft-to-bone interface

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), one of the major ligaments maintaining stability of the knee, is frequently injured. Afterwards, a surgical reconstruction using a tendon graft is typically used to restore stability and allow individuals to achieve improved levels of mobility. Reconstruction involves taking a portion of tendon from elsewhere in the body and guiding/securing it through bone “tunnels” in the knee to approximate the original ACL. One of the critical factors determining the success of this surgery is the ability of the graft tissue to integrate with adjacent bone. The biology and mechanics of this process remain largely unknown. This project aims to reveal the healing process as it relates to the key cell types involved as well as to mechanical load to the joint. The results of the study have the potential to identify therapeutic targets and rehabilitation regimens that will improve graft-to-bone healing.

Women and the UN: An examination of Virginia Gildersleeve’s Contributions to the United Nations

This project will examine Virginia Gildersleeve’s role in the creation of the United Nations Charter at the 1945 San Francisco Conference. Gildersleeve was one of nine female delegates sent overall to the conference (out of 160) and the only woman on the American delegation. She significantly shaped the UN Charter and the foundation of the United Nations itself. Despite the importance of her contributions, her work remains largely unacknowledged and under-researched. Gildersleeve was a former dean of Barnard College; most primary source material on her life and accomplishments are held at the Columbia University archives in New York. This project will enable Jordan Kantypowicz to conduct original archival research on Gildersleeve’s diplomatic accomplishments that have been largely overlooked. Specifically, the findings of this project will contribute to the United Nations History Project, the leading website devoted to creating resources for teaching and researching the history of international organizations that is managed by Professor Heidi Tworek.