Innovative Projects Realized

L2M – Selective and Accessible Water Testing Kit with Focused Microplastics Detection

This project introduces a novel, fast, and selective method for detecting microplastics (MPs) in water sources, alongside other contaminants such as heavy metals. Utilizing a cost-effective microfluidic chip, the solution aims to provide affordable water monitoring while promoting habit changes in plastic product usage to support environmental sustainability.

L2M-Long-lasting, ultra safe, and eco-friendly liposome-based sunscreen

Skin cancer, especially melanoma, is one of the most prevalent cancers worldwide, with North America experiencing particularly high rates. Despite the importance of daily sunscreen use, concerns about the safety of traditional UV filters—such as skin penetration and potential hormonal disruption—continue to grow. Additionally, these filters degrade when exposed to sunlight, reducing their effectiveness over time. My product offers an innovative solution by encapsulating UV filters in biocompatible nanocarriers, creating a safer, more stable sunscreen that provides consistent UV protection.This approach has the potential to transform the sun care industry, offering a new level of protection, safety, and eco-friendliness to meet the growing demand for better, safer sunscreen options.

L2M – Project Peace

This project aims to create engaging learning activities and a digital interface to help different groups of people understand and talk about important social issues like racism, ageism, cultural differences, and generational divides. The project will focus on four main groups: young children, high school or university students, community members, and workplace teams. By developing fun and thoughtful activities, the goal is to encourage meaningful conversations that bring people together, helping them better understand and respect each other’s backgrounds and experiences. The partner organizations, such as schools, community centres, and workplaces, will benefit by fostering more inclusive, empathetic, and supportive environments for all participants.

L2M – LinguaSens: Real-time Tongue Pressure Mapping Solution for Digital Therapy

In the field of speech-language pathology, the tongue’s role cannot be overstated. It is crucial for articulating speech sounds and ensuring the safe passage of food and liquids from the mouth to the esophagus. Yet, despite its importance, speech-language pathologists face significant challenges in evaluating tongue performance due to the lack of effective tools. This shortfall impacts the diagnosis and treatment of speech and swallowing disorders, leading to ineffective therapy sessions, tedious examinations, and consequently, low efficiency. This inefficiency not only reduces the throughput of treating and taking on new patients but also exacerbates wait times, which in Canada can stretch to over a year. Currently, 440,000 Canadians live with speech and language disabilities, underscoring a substantial demand for timely and effective therapeutic interventions. The absence of robust diagnostic tools hinders the ability of speech-language pathologists to provide early and accurate diagnoses and to implement timely interventions for those suffering from tongue muscle impairments and related health conditions. This market gap presents a significant opportunity for our device, which is designed to provide cost-effective, precise, and easy-to-use tongue strength evaluations. By improving diagnostic accuracy and treatment efficacy, our device not only promises to enhance patient outcomes but also aims to increase the capacity of speech-language pathologists to manage a larger caseload, ultimately reducing the patient backlog.

L2M- FlexMatrix: Advanced Cell Culture System with Micropatterned PDMS Substrate and Biaxial Stretching

This project addresses the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries’ need for mature, physiologically relevant cardiac models for drug discovery, cardiotoxicity testing, and personalized medicine. Existing models, such as human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs), lack the structural and functional maturity needed for reliable applications. The UBC MEMS Lab has developed a soft, micropatterned substrate and a biaxial cell stretcher that mimic the mechanical environment of cardiac tissue, promoting cell alignment, elongation, and functional maturation. By validating this innovative system’s utility and aligning it with industry needs, this project aims to create a scalable, commercial solution that benefits the partner organization by enhancing the reliability and predictive value of in vitro cardiac models.

AI & Chaos Theory-Powered EEG-Based Systems Predicting and Managing Worker Fatigue and Stress in the Mining Industry

This project focuses on developing a smart, wearable system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced brain signal analysis to help monitor worker fatigue and stress in the mining industry. Mining is a demanding job, and workers often face long hours and stressful conditions, increasing the risk of accidents. The system uses a small, non-invasive device to measure brain activity in real-time and detect early signs of fatigue or stress. The system can help prevent accidents, improve worker safety, and maintain productivity by alerting workers and supervisors to potential risks. This research not only addresses critical safety challenges in the mining sector but also provides the partner organization with innovative technology that can be applied to other high-risk industries. The results will have a lasting impact on workplace safety and health monitoring.

L2M-Image_Synthesize

Medical imaging is a cornerstone of modern healthcare, but challenges like high costs and limited accessibility hinder its potential. This project investigates the use of diffusion models—a cutting-edge AI technique—to generate synthetic medical images for targeted healthcare applications. By focusing on a single imaging task, such as cross-modal imaging or sequence generation, the project will identify practical and impactful opportunities for diffusion models in medical imaging.

The work will involve a foundational exploration of existing technologies, an assessment of stakeholder priorities, and the development of strategic insights for future application and development.

Development of rechargeable hybrid aqueous batteries for cost-effective, large scale energy storage

High capacity battery systems are becoming as important as their smaller analogues which are currently in use in mobile devices. Rechargeable lithium-ion battery packs serve as uninterruptible power supplies or energy stores in electronic vehicles (EVs) and realize the EV technology for many countries. This promotes sustainable development while addressing air quality and climate change. The main challenges are to increase the affordability, power density, and safety for such lithium-ion batteries. In this proposal, new rechargeable hybrid aqueous batteries will be developed to meet these objectives. This proposal definitely elevates the research progress in batteries as large-scale energy storage systems which could be directly interfaced with the grid. The work will contribute to a greener and more sustainable society. The advancements made by this research will be transferred to the industrial partner to further develop battery prototype and commercial energy store systems

L2M – Printable electronic material evaluation using automated experimentation platform

Innovation in domains such as organic electronic materials is driven by experimental methods that are generally limited by the speed of human intervention in all the steps of the iterative R&D cycle. The emergence of AI tools and automated systems can now help to disrupt this paradigm by empowering the researcher to efficiently leverage their domain expertise while automating the repetitive high-accuracy tasks to reduce human error and increase R&D speed. To this end, our team has been developing an AI-driven automated experimentation platform to evaluate emerging materials in the field of printed electronics with the aim of accelerating the lab-to-market timeline while minimizing raw material wastage through optimal processing. The project proposed here is to assess the commercial viability of such an automated platform and understanding its potential impact on stakeholders across industry and academia. Such an approach is expected to provide valuable insights regarding how potential clients view our innovation from an unbiased perspective which will help us make improvements in our business hypothesis.

Urban Morphology and Soundscape: Exploring the Influence of Forms and Surfaces on Noise Dynamics

Acoustic Ornamentality will study the influence that our built environment has on shaping our local soundscapes and the propagation and attenuation of anthropogenic noise pollution. Malta’s vernacular Gallarija and abundance of architecture constructed of limestone, a porous rock, and renaissance and baroque architecture defined by it’s fine ornamentality and craftmanship offer potential greater attenuation of urban noise pollution than the curtain wall, brick, and light timber construction that predominates North America. By studying the historically dense built environment in Malta this study will provide important historical context on how the different ways we build and construct our urban centers influence anthropogenic sources of environmental pollution. Comprised of a comprehensive historical acoustic study of the diverse built typologies and architectural styles and periods present in Malta. This study will provide findings and recommendations for façade design and materiality, including their materials, construction techniques, and urban greenery, necessary to mitigate the comprehensive socio-economic, health, and environmental impacts of noise pollution within urban centers. Providing an essential acoustic perspective for future construction in our rapidly urbanizing world.

Investigating the impact of same-sex sexual behaviour on male bonding and reproductive success in Rwenzori Angolan colobus

This study aims to investigate the influence of same-sex sexual behaviour on reproductive success among Rwenzori Angolan colobus, a primate subspecies characterized by a multilevel social structure like that of early humans. Despite the supposed evolutionary paradox of same-sex sexual behaviour, given its perceived costliness and lack of direct reproductive output, recent research suggests it may facilitate social bonding and coalitionary support, potentially enhancing reproductive success. By examining behavioural data and conducting paternity analyses, we seek to address whether same-sex sexual behaviour positively impacts reproductive success, and if male-male bonding is mediated by same-sex sexual behaviour or kin relationships in this subspecies. Behavioural data and fecal samples have been collected near Lake Nabugabo, Uganda, on a group of habituated, individually identified monkeys from May to August 2022 and June 2023 to June 2024. DNA was preserved in the field and shipped to the lab of Dr. Wikberg at the University of Texas San Antonio, where DNA analysis will be conducted. Through this collaboration between the University of Toronto and the University of Texas San Antonio, this project will enhance the capacity for innovative research methodologies in Canada which address complex social dynamics, both in animal behaviour and human societies.

Evaluating Arts’ Impact in Climate Inquiry

The goal of this research is to shift climate engagement by improving climate-arts practices through better alignment of underlying research processes and evaluation frameworks. Currently, climate engagement is dominated by the information deficit model, a theory of change widely understood to be more effective in raising awareness of climate challenges than supporting pro-climate behavioural change. While the turn to the arts has been widespread in recent years, without sufficient theoretical, methodological, and evaluative clarity, this turn to art often backfires, instrumentalizing arts practices by enlisting them in science and policy communication exercises. Irresistible Neighborhoods (hereafter IrN) is a multi-phase climate-arts research collaboration between the Metcalf Foundation and the National Arts Centre. This research project proposes to develop an integrated evaluation framework and apply it to investigate the impacts of IrN. The goal is to build understanding of whether/how aesthetic-led arts-based methodologies can improve public engagement efforts related to the climate crisis. The proposed methodological approach is mixed-methods, including comparative framework analysis, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and document and artefact review.