Innovative Projects Realized

Targeting tumour associated macrophages with vaccinia virus to promote anti-tumour immune responses

Virus based therapies represent a powerful new tool in the fight against cancer. However, to ensure their safety and efficacy, we need a better understanding of how these new therapies activate our immune system to help eliminate tumours. These studies include three internships which will: 1) investigate how the vaccinia virus activates immune cells in the tumour, 2) determine how this activation contributes to the therapeutic activity of this virus in treating cancer, and 3) develop new 3D models to investigate the mechanisms by which the physical
features of a tumor determine the effectiveness of these responses. This work will benefit Turnstone Biologics by providing important new insights into how the virus regulates immune cells in the tumour and will provide a variety of tools and systems that can used to test the effects of new candidate treatments on immune function in the tumour.

Developing machine learning methods for seafloor habitat mapping utilizing high-resolution synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) data sets.

Remote sensing technologies have changed the way we are able to map and understand our planet. For ocean floor mapping, acoustic remote sensing technologies are the only effective methods for broadscale mapping of the seabed. Acoustic mapping technologies have advanced tremendously over the past two decades, and continue to improve, offering increasingly higher data resolution through more cost-effective field acquisition approaches. Relatively new acoustic remote sensing techniques, such as Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS), are now capable of mapping the seafloor environment down to 3cm horizontal resolution, with potentially game-changing applications in understanding the seafloor environment and ecosystem processes. However, with increasing resolution and wider adoption of these tools, data volumes continue to increase, posing big data challenges for processing. Data analysis can be labour intensive, forming bottlenecks in the data processing workflow. This project will develop new machine learning/deep learning/AI methods for processing SAS data sets. A variety of machine learning approaches will be tested and evaluated to generate seafloor thematic maps (e.g. surficial geology, predicted species distribution maps) through integration of the seafloor acoustic data with ground-validation information from subsea photographs and video.

A multimodal neuroimaging database under complex naturalistic stimuli

The goal of this partnership is to develop tools for multi-modal neuroimaging acquisition and analysis. Specifically, we propose to develop a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) coil array to allow for sensitive functional MRI (fMRI) detection and minimal interferences to concurrently recorded electroencephalography (EEG). This setup will be used to record brain responses to complex and naturalistic stimuli, such as movie clips and musical pieces. Cutting-edge machine learning algorithms will be developed to extract features and to identify how behaviours, brain activity, and the exogenous inputs correlate to each other. This project is expected to positively impact Canada scientifically, clinically, and commercially by promoting the neuroimaging research, facilitating translational psychiatric as well as neurological research, and leading to spin-off companies in medical device and informatics, respectively.

Genes to affordable medicines – Stream 3-C

The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) is a not-for-profit public-private partnership research organization that aims to accelerate the discovery of new medicines through open science. This Mitacs cluster will bring together SGC’s industry and academic collaborators to work together towards new and affordable medicines for challenging diseases. Sixty-three post-doctoral fellows will spend 2-3 years developing open source tools and knowledge for previously understudied proteins, thereby unlocking new areas of biology and identifying new opportunities for drug discovery. SGC’s spin-offs, the M4 companies, will be the vehicles to translate this knowledge into new medicines for rare and challenging diseases that have been excluded from traditional pharma company programs. The M4 companies are committed to open science and sharing, and to affordable pricing to ensure patients can access the new drugs.

Marine Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence

The proposed NBIF RIF project will establish a UNB Marine Additive Manufacturing Centre of Excellence (MAMCE) in Atlantic Canada. The focus of the centre is the marine and defence sectors with vision for global marine technology trend for 2030, which includes additive manufacturing, and advanced materials. MAMCE’s mission is to accelerate the adoption of metal additive manufacturing (AM) technology in the Atlantic Region, mainly New Brunswick, through research, workforce training, and commercialization. As a capacity building project, the MAMCE will bring infrastructure, expertise and knowhow to the Atlantic region. One of the key challenges facing AM adoption is knowledge and expertise. The establishment of the MAMCE and related research activities will build a strong foundation for manufacturers in the Atlantic region to exploit the benefits of additive manufacturing. The technology is already disrupting the traditional manufacturing paradigm, and regional companies will have the opportunity to be leaders in the field.

Big Questions, Young Thinkers: Using Arts and Philosophy to Help Children Navigate Life’s Existential Challenges

This project brings together researchers from Canada and Switzerland to pilot a school-based intervention designed to support the mental well-being of elementary school-aged children. The intervention combines art-making and philosophical group discussions to create a safe space where children can explore the existential questions they naturally ask themselves — about life, death, meaning, and relationships. Over nine weeks, the Canadian research team will deliver the program to students at a Swiss elementary school in Bienne, while collecting data through questionnaires and interviews to assess how children experience and perceive the program. This collaboration benefits both institutions: the Canadian team gains access to an international population, allowing them to test whether an intervention developed in Québec translates effectively across cultural contexts, while the Swiss partners build the knowledge and capacity needed to lead future phases of the project independently within Swiss schools.

Exploring the regulatory and functional landscape of FOXG1 in 3D chromatin architecture

Suivi démographique et comportemental des mésanges bleues en Corse

Les animaux d’une même population mangent-ils tous la même chose? Si ce n’est pas le cas, pourquoi montrent-ils des régimes alimentaires différents? Les différences de personnalité, ou différences comportementales individuelles, qui persistent dans le temps et se maintiennent entre les situations, pourraient expliquer ces différences alimentaires. Par exemple, un individu qui explore généralement plus lentement et minutieusement son environnement pourrait inclure davantage de proies difficiles à trouver qu’un individu qui explore plus rapidement et superficiellement. Dans deux populations de mésanges bleues corses, les individus diffèrent dans leur façon d’explorer l’environnement et nous soupçonnons que ces différences sont liées aux proies qu’ils sélectionnent pour nourrir leurs oisillons. Ce que mangent les jeunes a un impact sur leur développement et leur survie. Entre autres, les chenilles et les araignées constituent deux sources importantes et complémentaires d’énergie et de nutriments. Considérant ces impacts importants de la diète sur les oisillons, il est vital de comprendre comment le choix des proies par les parents dépend de leur façon d’explorer l’environnement et comment cela se reflète dans les traits de leurs oisillons. Un bouleversement des communautés d’arthropodes causé par les changements globaux pourrait avoir des conséquences sur les caractéristiques des populations de mésanges.

EEG MICROSTATES AND BRAIN CONNECTIVITY IN MIGRAINE PATIENTS

Computing Covers of Elliptic Curves

Horizon Europe project WildPosh: Sensitivity of wild pollinator species to pesticides

Development of an Automated Molecular Diagnostics Platform for Controlled Environment Agriculture