Innovative Projects Realized

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Additive Manufacturing for Prototype Development in Prosthetic Treatment Delivery

Beacon Ortho hopes to identify and deliver additively manufactured devices to improve the patient experience, improved fit and comfort, and to reduce the extremely high amount of input waste in fabrication of prosthetic devices. This project aims to test additively manufactured trial devices against moulded thermoplastic trial devices, and composite definitive devices. Using ISO 10328 (current international standard for prosthetic device testing), we hope to validate our design workflow to ensure patient safety through destructively testing devices designed and fabricated in house over the last year.

A 3D-Printed Smart Insole for Plantar Pressure and Foot Orientation Monitoring

Imagine shoes with built-in sensors that can track how your feet move! This internship project is about developing insoles with special air pockets that sense pressure. These insoles would be 3D-printed for a perfect fit and could be worn during regular human movement. By comparing this data with existing methods like pressure plates, we’ll see if these insoles can accurately track an athlete’s movement. This could be a game-changer for sports teams and healthcare! They could use this information to design better training plans, prevent injuries before they happen, and track recovery progress. The partner organization will gain valuable data on their new technology and potentially revolutionize how athletes train and stay healthy.

Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship

The proposed research project focuses on understanding how to better prevent and respond to cholera outbreaks, particularly in impoverished areas lacking clean water and proper sanitation. Despite having the tools to prevent cholera, most efforts are reactive rather than proactive, meaning resources are often mobilized only after an outbreak occurs. The study will analyze the effectiveness of current cholera prevention and response strategies within the Red Cross and Red Crescent movements to identify best practices and areas needing improvement. The research will be conducted in three phases: reviewing existing documents and data, interviewing key stakeholders, and compiling the findings into advocacy case studies and a report. This work aims to help humanitarian organizations like the Red Cross prioritize future actions, ultimately leading to better preparedness and resource allocation to prevent cholera outbreaks before they happen.

The CRC, with its strong experience in public health and cholera response, will benefit from this project by enhancing its capacity to support other National Societies (NSs) affected by cholera. By combining in-country and remote support, CRC will provide expert WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) and health advisory services, strengthening these NSs’ capacities to eliminate cholera.

BRIGHTLANE: Creating a Home for a Community of Entrepreneurs

BRIGHTLANE: Launching an Incubator” is a research project that will explore and evaluate different traditional approaches to creating supportive environments for startup business. Co-working spaces have seen enormous growth in recent years and people seek the support and savings associated with a shared workspace. This project will provide foundational research to facilitate the launch of a new co-working environment in downtown Toronto that will have a specific focus on the creative industries. The intern will be responsible for writing a matrix of best practices for business incubators based upon a thorough literature review and interviews with incubator clients and potential clients. This project will assist BRIGHTLANE to determine best methods to create a space to meet the needs of startups in the creative industries.

Anodyne<>ECU

Anodyne clearly states in its mission statement that it exists to solve one problem: climate change. They do this by engineering scalable, modular technology that harnesses the power of nature to help industries reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The engineers and chemists who comprise the company continue to innovate and produce Anodyne’s product line. Anodyne’s ultimate message is to revolutionize the entire chemistry industry by harnessing the power of enzymes. However, as the company brings its products to market it faces its biggest challenge. How to articulate its message in a compelling, visually engaging and thoughtful way. Thus Anodyne wants to collaborate with a full stack of Emily Carr designers. These student designers will immerse themselves in the culture of the company, synthesize the message that the company wants to share and communicate it in an engaging and memorable way.

Client Success Story Campaign Marketing Innovation Project

The Client Success Story Campaign is designed to boost the marketing efforts of Penrose Partners by showcasing the real-world impact and success of their blockchain consultancy services. Through this project, the intern will gather and present detailed case studies and testimonials from clients who have benefited significantly from Penrose Partners’ expertise. This content will be leveraged across various media platforms to highlight the firm’s problem-solving capabilities and successful project outcomes. The anticipated benefit for Penrose Partners is an enhanced reputation as a trusted leader in the blockchain industry, which will attract new clients and strengthen relationships with existing ones, ultimately driving business growth.

Website Refresh for The UBC Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research (UBC-CeMCOR)

The objectives of this project are to enhance the user experience of CeMCOR’s website by implementing creative
knowledge translation strategies by refreshing the design of the current website which will contribute to enhancing the
dissemination of research findings by providing a seamless and engaging online platform for users to access
CeMCOR’s resources and information.

Development of novel isolator for seismic application

The proposed semi-active rolling seismic isolation system offers an innovative solution to address limitations in passive isolators when exposed to near-fault seismic waves with velocity pulses. Passive isolators effectively control acceleration responses against typical far-field seismic waves but can allow excessive displacement responses during near-fault events, risking collisions and structural damage.

This system integrates sloped rolling-type isolators (SRI) with magnetorheological (MR) dampers and earthquake early warning technology. Utilizing the initial acceleration time history after P-wave arrival, it estimates peak floor velocity. A predictive model then applies control laws to determine the optimal voltage for the MR dampers. This proactive approach regulates the SRI displacement response below a predefined threshold prior to intense seismic wave impacts.

Experimental shaking table validation confirms the prototype system’s effectiveness in constraining SRI displacement within acceptable limits. While Canada may experience lower seismic activity than Taiwan, this technology offers wide-ranging applications for general building seismic isolation design and critical infrastructure protection. It presents opportunities for academic collaboration between the two countries, enhancing research capabilities. As climate change impacts intensify, improving disaster resilience becomes crucial, making this system valuable for proactive preparedness. Successful development could also lead to commercial potential in global seismic protection markets.

The Connected Workplace: Private Industry

This project will focus on the use of wireless technologies in the Canadian private sector work environment. Wireless is the fastest growing area of Canadian communications. Despite enormous growth for personal use, recent market data demonstrates the workplace remains a largely underdeveloped market for wireless service providers. The overall purpose of this project is to better understand the obstacles to technology adoption in the workplace, and offer actionable recommendations on how to mitigate them. The student intern will be charged with conducting a literature review of this field, conducting interviews with management officials, creating and compiling surveys involving workers in private sector work environments, and drafting a report that will be delivered to Rogers. The intern’s work will be done in conjunction with a team from Rogers Communication. The partner organization will gain valuable insight to expanding market share in the Canadian workplace.

Oxidative stress-induced Nrf2 misfolding in Parkinson’s disease

Oxidative stress and aging are the primary risk factors for Parkinson’s disease (PD). The protein Nrf2 is particularly important in fighting oxidation and the associated damage in the brain as it activates antioxidant enzymes. Nrf2 is regulated by another protein called Keap1. These two proteins can get damaged under excessive oxidative stress conditions and thus contribute to neuronal death. In my study I will delve into how exactly Nrf2/Keap1 malfunction contributes to PD. I will study the different expression levels, localization, and activation of Nrf2/Keap1 in brain samples of PD patients using biochemical approaches and microscopy. Furthermore, by using well-established PD cell models co-expressing Nrf2/Keap1 with the PD-associated protein a-synuclein, we will study their interactions in PD. Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the main non-psychoactive molecules of Cannabis sativa, is a strong antioxidant that may mitigate the damage to Nrf2/Keap1, activate the Nrf2 pathway and thus slow down or even prevent neurodegeneration in PD. In sum, our study will elucidate the Nrf2 and Keap1 pathway in PD and assess CBD as a potential therapeutic for PD.

Investigating Parkin Oxidation and its Impact on Parkinson’s Neurodegeneration

Parkinson’s disease (PD), a devastating neurodegenerative condition, is becoming increasingly prevalent in our aging population, yet the events leading to neuron death remain unclear. Current treatments aim to alleviate symptoms, but none address the cause of neurodegeneration, leaving a cure for PD elusive. Disease progression is marked by significant neuron loss in the brain region responsible for mobility, caused by oxidative damage to the neurons’ energy-producing mitochondria. During oxidative stress in PD, the enzyme parkin prevents cell death and neuron loss. However, the structure of parkin is inherently vulnerable to oxidation, and its protective role in PD requires recruitment to a highly oxidizing environment. The objective of this research is to determine the mechanism and consequences of parkin oxidation at the molecular and cellular levels. Understanding parkin oxidation in relation to its neuroprotective activity is essential for identifying the events that link oxidative stress to the death of motor neurons. This groundwork has the potential to advance the development of new and effective PD treatments aiming to slow neurodegeneration. In partnership with Parkinson Society Southwestern Ontario, this work aims to boost community awareness of scientific findings and provide an underserved population with educational resources to strengthen support systems.