Innovative Projects Realized

Validation of the diagnostic accuracy of a real-time fecal PCR test to identify Angiostrongylus vasorum infection

French Heartworm is a very real threat to the health of domesticated and wild dogs in Newfoundland. The purpose of this research project is to validate the sensitivity and specificity of a newly developed fecal test for this parasite. This will be done by collecting fecal and heart/lung samples from deceased dogs and wild canids (ie. coyotes, foxes). The results of running the fecal samples through this test alone are inconclusive. However, we examine the heart and lungs to accurately identify a positively infected animal, which gives us a confident diagnosis to compare the fecal test results to. Validating any new test for the purpose of commercialization is crucial. The company should know that it is reliable, beneficial and the limit of its sensitivity. Also, because we are investigating results for domestic dogs and wild canids, it is important to know that the fecal test has many applications.

Redefining Agri trends for a better future

BC potato industry is facing a burning problem of finding low value for its second grade potatoes. The sponsor, Heppells Potato Corp, being the largest producer of potatoes in BC is facing the same problem of finding optimized value for its second grade potatoes. Currently these potatoes are just culled. But the market value of these potatoes is equivalent to 10 – 20% of the whole farm’s revenue. Hence they are exploring other options to process and commercialize these potatoes. These options should not affect the current stakeholders of Heppell’s potato Corp and disturb its current revenue channel. The outcomes of this project can also be used to help other similar farmers in BC. The project is mainly focused to assist the industry and not just the sponsor. The topics focused in the project are:

• New product development,

• Brand development of farmers owned product and distribution channels.

• Establish a social media framework for the farms to help them focus on B2B and B2C connections.

• Renewable bio energy from agriculture wastes.

Scotiabank HRSS Operational Efficiency Enhancement

The increased demand for reliable and useful human resource information has pushed the subject to the top of the practitioners’ agenda. Accordingly, human resource and capital management is also one of Scotiabank’s core priorities. As an ever-growing multinational company that employs a large number of employees, human resource information reporting is a vital service for Scotiabank for ensuring good decisions in talent management. Yet, there is no standardization in the workflow to integrate request intake for data and reports, causing delays in request handling. This internship will tie into a research to improve request intake process, assist prioritization of information services workflow, identify the most widely-needed human resource information and services together with HR clients, and present the HR analytic metrics result to HR clients and partners. The goal is to help Scotiabank translate its company-wide HR and workforce data into workable insights that it can use and share with its business leaders.

Leading Transformational Multi-Jurisdictional Change: Managing Mental Health in the Community

Police organizations are facing increasing costs associated with an escalating number of calls to respond to persons with mental illness (PMI). The processes currently in place to manage mental health in the community contribute significantly to the costs associated with law enforcement involvement in PMIs. The existing process is driven by the Mental Health Act and requires a collaborative effort from police and healthcare services. The purpose of this project is to investigate the PMI process undertaken by the Peel Regional Police, make recommendations to the process using LEAN techniques and measure the costs and benefits associated with these changes after a one-year implementation period. Data collection will involve archival records and in-person interviews taken at three points in time (time zero, time one, one year after implementation). It is expected that Peel Police will benefit from this project by receiving a LEAN process for PMIs.

On-line solid phase extraction sample preparation for instrumental chemical analysis

The PhD student supported by this Mitacs Accelerate Grant will work in a collaborate project between Dr. David Chen’s group at UBC, Vancouver, BC and PromoChrom Technologies Ltd., Richmond, BC, to develop new instrumentations for combining novel solid phase extraction sample preparation systems (PromoChrom) with state of the art analytical technologies such as liquid chromatography mass spectrometry and capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry. These powerful analytical platforms will be used to study biomarkers relevant to ischemia reperfusion injuries during coronary artery bypass grafting surgeries. Monitoring these biomarkers in a timely and quantitative manner can provide invaluable information for developing protective pharmaceutical intervention methods by clinicians during these surgeries. The successful completion of this project will also increase the visibility of PromoChrom’s products, as well as develop high performance new products that will directly benefit biomedical research and Canadian economy.

Development of Sensors-based Driving Behavior Monitoring System

Video surveillance on mobile platforms such as school buses and public transit systems is increasingly important to ensure the safety of the public and the drivers. These systems are typically equipped with various sensors, e.g., GPS and accelerometer. In this project, the intern will develop a pattern recognition algorithm for our partner organization to fuse and analyze the data from various sensors, identify dangerous driving behaviors, give timely warning to drivers, and create driver behavior profiles, which can be used to improve drivers’ driving skills and identify candidates for re-training. The result will improve the safety of the driver and the passengers, and enhance the competitiveness of the partner’s product in the market.

Modeling of Currency Trading Markets and Pricing their Derivatives in Markov-modulated Environment

The proposed research project, undertaken by the intern, is devoted to the modeling of currency trading markets and their derivatives in Markov-modulated environment and possible creation proprietary algorithm trading software for this case with EUR/USD as a trading model. The research covered by these activities will include the development of the domestic and foreign equity and commodity markets and their prices of risk in Markov-modulated environment, and also possible creation proprietary algorithm trading software with underlying EUR/USD as a trading model. The research proposal is new and important not only from theoretical but also from practical point of views, and cover current gap in research and algorithm trading software.

Qualification and Validation of Robust Functionality of a Test-Bench for Evaluation of GDL Properties under Series-Processing Conditions

In Early 2013, an NSERC Engage grant and a Coop term project enabled collaboration between Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. Fuel Cell Division (MBFC) and Dr. Merida’s group at the University of British Columbia (UBC). A test-bench apparatus for the evaluation of fuel cell material properties during manufacturing processes was designed. The present proposal builds on the previous activities and aims to make the test-bench apparatus available for material pre-qualification. MBFC will benefit from participating in this collaboration by obtaining a functional and validate test-bench for the assessment of the current and future materials, and a developed test procedure to generate material specifications and to assure material quality during a large scale production. Furthermore, this procedure will be a base-line-test-procedure with high functional relevance for material suppliers. The outcome of these tests will speed up the material development process and the comparability of the development stages. The activities described in this proposal are of critical important and represent the first step towards the preparation of a Patent and a Standard test method for Fuel Cell Industry.

Using machine learning methods to improve image suggestion and image retrieval results

Vidigami, the sponsor company, is developing tools to create digital yearbooks for schools – organizing personal photo collections of students, parents, and staff. Current technologies have made it easy for everybody to have a digital camera or simply digitalize their hardcopy versions of their photos. However, this huge amount of data makes it hard to sort photos and extract an album based on specific criteria. The problem of managing photos becomes more complicated by the growth of social networks where people can share and see each other’s photos of an event. To address this problem it seems reasonable to have a system which tries to capture similarities in the photos and also tag photos with as much labels as we can and then select the photos based on these labels to make an album with user specific description. The main goal of this internship is to implement a system which can be used to help generate school year albums.

A Study of the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Pediatric Medulloblastoma Mediated By YB-1

Medulloblastoma is the most common form of pediatric brain cancer with a five-year survival rate of approximately 70%, yet for some children’s survival is as low as 40%. Many of the treatment options for these patients may be effective in extending the five-year survival rate, however, quality of life issues still persist for these young patients including learning and developmental deficits. These side effects arise from damage to normal tissue in the developing brain by surgery and/or drug and radiation therapy. The goal of this project is to find novel therapeutic strategies that are effective in treating this cancer yet, do minimal harm to developing normal brain tissue. A protein called Y-box binding protein 1 (YB-1) is not found in normal tissue but is found in cancer cells including medulloblastoma. This makes this protein a good therapeutic target because inhibition of it will help kill cancer calls but not destroy normal surrounding tissue.

Fabrication, characterization and modeling of novel CMOS-compatible polymer-based redox memory structures

A cross-disciplinary collaboration between investigators in Electrical Engineering and Chemistry has lead to the discovery of a promising new material system for nanoelectronics. This material system is a conducting polymer / inorganic metal oxide heterojunction, electrochemically grown onto a crossbar structure. This heterojunction produces transient current-voltage characteristics that can be controlled by electric fields and exhibits memory effects. Building on the proof-of-principle research, one concrete goal of this project is to demonstrate an 8×8 memory array based on field-modulated polymer/metal oxide heterojunctions, fabricated through CMOS-compatible processes. In collaboration with our industry partner (MOSAID), CMOS-compatible read/write circuitry will be designed for the structure and a detailed circuit model will also be developed for system-level simulation of the device. Since a key element of MOSAID’s strategy is to expand its patent portfolio through academic collaborations, this project will be beneficial to their core business mission.

Information Modeling for Facility Operations

The goal of this research is to explore the extent to which building information models (BIM) can be extended into the operations, maintenance and continuous optimization of CIRS, the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability, and the most high-performance building on the UBC campus. The project team will develop and implement a BIM of the CIRS basement to apply BuiltSpace software for tracking and interacting with key  infrastructure assets. This project intends to research and demonstrate innovative methods for operating, maintaining, and interacting with building systems to improve operational efficiency and the cost-effectiveness of facility management. Further, opportunities to engage building inhabitants in the continuous optimization of CIRS, including voting and engagement processes, will also be explored. The CIRS mandate to advance sustainability through research, partnerships and education aligns strongly with the BuiltSpace mission to enable changes to how people address the sustainability of our building stock. This study and demonstration will allow BuiltSpace to validate and improve upon its BIM capability, potentially opening up opportunities for new customers and markets.