Innovative Projects Realized

Sustainable Development Goals and the Kingston In Focus Dashboard

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to many changes in our local economies. While we have seen extreme inequity and economic losses we have also seen innovations and rapid-response adaptations by businesses, institutions and social service providers. Due to the rate of constant change over multiple waves of the pandemic, the ability to track and measure these changes and losses has been varied and collected independently by organizations and businesses resulting in a knowledge and data gap. Since the first phases of addressing these challenges through the creation of a specific Kingston & the area data dashboard, including 8 categories of analysis (community health, local economy, housing, employment, environment, cultural heritage, mobility, and demographics), the project has grown to bring in additional partnerships between Queen’s University, Kingston Economic Development, City of Kingston, Centre for Advanced Computing, and Kingston and Area Association of Art Galleries, Museums and Historic Sites By providing metrics across municipal sectors, critical insight into measuring the City’s resiliency and impacts have been made. Kingston residents have been calling for more data to be represented on the dashboard, and additional information around economic data, housing, Sustainable Development Goals and other community indicators. This funding will enable interns to work with community partners to update and add additional information on the dashboard.

Multinational migrations

This research project focuses on understanding how moving between multiple countries impacts migrants’ sense of identity and overall well-being. By analyzing data collected with migrants in both Canada and Brazil, the study aims to uncover the psychological and emotional challenges they face during these transitions. The project will provide valuable insights into the complexities of multinational migrations, contributing to better support systems for migrants. For the participating institutions, this collaboration will enhance their research capabilities, foster international academic partnerships, and offer students a unique opportunity to engage in cross-cultural research, ultimately benefiting both Canadian and Brazilian societies.

Évaluer les propriétés antimicrobiennes et anti-inflammatoires d’extraits de romarin

Les tissus (peau, gencive, etc.) humains sont très importants assurant la protection du corps contre de multiples agents exogènes (produit chimique, microbes, pollution, etc.). Malheureusement, ces tissus sont fragiles et peuvent être la cible de multiples pathologies causant des réactions inflammatoires. Les principales maladies des tissus (peau et muqueuse buccale) sont fréquemment associées à une inflammation chronique (inflammation qui persiste dans le temps). Les troubles inflammatoires, tels que la dermatite de contact allergique, le psoriasis, l’acné, la sclérodermie et la dermatomyosite, ont un impact significatif sur la qualité de vie et l’estime de soi des patients. L’inflammation tissulaire est traitée par des corticostéroïdes et/ou les inhibiteurs de la calcineurine, la cyclosporine et le méthotrexate4. Même si elles sont efficaces, ces molécules sont toxiques. Notre projet est de trouver de nouvelles façons de réduire et/ou éliminer l’inflammation en utilisant un produit naturel : un extrait de Romarin combiné à des monoglycérides-oméga-3 obtenues à partir d’algues marines. La réalisation de ce projet nous permettra de trouver la bonne combinaison d’extrait de Romain et de monoglycérides-oméga-3 pour contrôler l’inflammation tissulaire. Ce projet vise à aider les millions de patients souffrant d’inflammation chaque année au Canada et dans le monde.

Development of an instant product and 3D food printed snack from traditional and novel-processed food sources (finger millet, edible cricket, and spekboom plant leaves)

Zamancwane Mahlanza is a PhD student at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa under Professor Oluwafemi Adebo’s main supervision. Zamancwane’s research focuses on the development of conventional nutritious instant and 3D food products from traditional and novel processed foods (finger millet, edible insects and wild edible plants).

High-Performance Integrated PIN-TIA System in 16nm FinFET Technology

This research project focuses on developing an advanced light detection system for high-speed communication networks. The interns will integrate a specialized photodetector (PIN photodiode) and an amplifier (Transimpedance Amplifier or TIA), using cutting-edge (16nm FinFET) technology. The photodetector quickly detects light signals at visible frequency, while the amplifier boosts these signals with minimal added noise. The photodiode’s key features include high responsivity, low dark current, and the ability to handle high-speed optical signals. The TIA complements the photodiode, offering high gain and bandwidth to support rapid data transmission rates up to 32 Gb/s. By combining these components, the project aims to create a system that handles faster data transmission rates and maintains clearer signals than current technologies. This advancement could significantly benefit the partner organization by enabling them to offer state-of-the-art optical communication products. These products would meet the growing demand for faster and more reliable data transmission in modern networks, potentially giving the organization a competitive edge in the telecommunications market. The integrated solution is expected to address current limitations in optical communication systems, paving the way for next-generation high-speed optical networks with improved bandwidth, reduced noise, and higher data rates.

Scaled Purpose – Agora Collab Incubation

Scaled Purpose is a management consultancy for not-for-profits, co-operatives, charities, co-operatives, social enterprises, and municipalities. In partnership with Miatcs BSI, Scaled Purpose is incubating a new company, Agora Collab, which offers enterprise-level products and services for distributed intelligence and organizational clarity. By bringing collaboration to the core of the enterprise, organizations can develop scaled agile frameworks, improve transparency and inclusivity, and reach consensus faster in complex scenarios.

Gryphon Theriault-Loubier (PhD Cand.) is tasked with creating conditions for an organizational strategy that allows Agora to set a direction informed by a wide spectrum of stakeholders. This will include company and product roadmapping, organizational sensemaking, and an adaptive strategy process.

Kaira Technologies : Développement d’un modèle de langage pour l’optimisation du bien-être financier

Le coach de bien-être financier de Kaira, qui prend la forme d’une application mobile, comprend le comportement et le profil financier de son utilisateur, grâce à une connexion à ses comptes bancaires, découvre et approfondit la connaissance de son profil psychologique et de son attitude face à l’argent.
La technologie Kaira permet aux entreprises d’offrir à leurs collaborateurs une prise en charge automatisée de leur bien-être financier, en apportant des conseils et recommandations personnalisés basés sur leurs objectifs et profils psychométriques, en toute confidentialité. L’objectif général du projet est l’enrichissement des solutions du coaching IA de Kaira en contribuant à l’amélioration de leur système de recommandations, par l’intégration d’un Large Language Model (LLM) pour offrir des interactions utilisateur dynamiques, contextualisées et personnalisées. Ce projet vise ainsi à augmenter la satisfaction utilisateur et permettre à Kaira de proposer des réponses et recommandations adaptées aux situations financières spécifiques de chaque utilisateur, en utilisant l’indice de bien-être financier et la littératie financière.

Understanding Risk BC Knowledge Mobilization – CSEOA

This project aims to help the Canadian Society for Education and Outreach Alliance (CSEOA) make better use of the knowledge gained from their Understanding Risk British Columbia (URBC) symposiums. The intern will assist with analyzing content, creating outcome reports, and sharing findings across various sectors. This support will enable CSEOA to expand its impact, foster innovation in disaster risk reduction strategies, and strengthen connections with other communities facing similar challenges, ultimately leading to more effective disaster risk solutions across Canada.

Healthy Aging Cohort Pilot: Stage 2

The Healthy Aging Cohort pilot study, aims to explore the relationship between medical fitness facility attendance and health outcomes as people age. This study will gather comprehensive data on health and lifestyle factors and the goal is to develop one of the largest studies on healthy aging, highlighting the potential benefits of medical fitness facilities and potentially reducing healthcare costs.

Digital Data: Linking rural innovation, access and resiliency through community hubs Phase 2

This research will focus on the experiences of 2SLGBTQ+ community members in Perth-Huron with specific attention to discrimination, access and use of services, and community integration. The research will support service providers to effectively target their efforts to the needs of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, to create a better sense of belonging and reduced discrimination for 2SLGBTQ+ community members in Perth-Huron.

Développement et mise en production d’une fonctionnalité d’offre collective pour une plateforme B2B d’approvisionnement en circuits courts

Amélioration d’une plateforme B2B d’approvisionnement en agroalimentaire afin de favoriser le circuit-court. En
particulier, l’ajout de fonctionnalités permettant de facilement créer et gérer des offres collectives à partir de la
plateforme Arrivage. Ces nouvelles fonctionnalités permettront aux régions, pôles alimentaires et autres organismes
collectif d’utiliser la plateforme pour créer et gérer une offre combinant les offres de leurs membres.

IMPACT (IMproved Pulmonary repair with Advanced Cell Therapy) for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

When people become critically ill, such as during severe infection, their lungs often fail – this is termed “Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome” (ARDS). ARDS is common, and often fatal. There is no drug therapy for ARDS and new therapies are urgently required. Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) from bone marrow offer significant hope for ARDS, and early research findings are promising. An alternative source of these cells is the tissue around the blood vessels of the umbilical cord – these umbilical cord MSCs offer potential advantages over bone marrow MSCs, including ease of isolation and enhanced therapeutic effect. Our partner organization, Tissue Regeneration Therapeutics, has developed a method for extraction of these cells. This project aims to assess the efficacy of these cells in laboratory and animal models that mimic some of the features of ARDS. In addition, this project aims to optimize the therapeutic effect of these cells by activating them to enhance their reparative potential.