Innovative Projects Realized

Empowering Newcomer Parents as Health Advocates through Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR)

The proposed project is centred on “Empowering newcomer parents as health advocates through Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR)”. In Canada, the newcomer population and their children have an increased risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases. Empowering parents by ensuring their active participation in designing and implementation of the intervention through CBPR can lead to better identification of the facilitators and barriers of healthy behaviours in their children. This will further increase the uptake and effectiveness of the program. However, gaps exist in the current literature with the use of participatory approaches. For instance, several approaches are underused, or the most used approaches fail to adapt to the cultural norms of the community. Building on this research problem, this research project aims to investigate the different methods of participatory approaches that can be used to ensure appropriate involvement of newcomer parents. The objectives of this project are to conduct a comprehensive review of the different participatory approaches that may be used to inform SCORE! Project and CBPR projects in Canada. Further, the project aims to inform similar research in the Indian context through knowledge sharing and translation, aligning with the UN SDGs, particularly SDG 3, 10, 16 and 17.

Standardiser l’évaluation de maturité IA : création d’un cadre IA responsable pour améliorer l’accompagnement client

Mon projet sera réalisé chez UIVO-AI, une entreprise spécialisée dans l’accompagnement en intelligence artificielle responsable. Je collaborerai avec l’équipe de consultants qui soutient des organisations de différents secteurs dans leurs initiatives IA.
Les clients d’UIVO-AI présentent des niveaux de maturité IA très variables, souvent mal définis, et qui évoluent rapidement pendant l’accompagnement. L’absence d’un cadre commun pour mesurer et suivre cette maturité complique la priorisation, ralentit les projets et oblige les consultants à reconstruire l’analyse à chaque mandat.
Je développerai un cadre de maturité IA simple, évolutif et spécifiquement axé sur l’IA responsable. Ce cadre évaluera la maturité des organisations selon cinq dimensions (exploration, expérimentation, formalisation, optimisation, transformation), tout en intégrant les impacts financiers, humains et environnementaux. L’outil servira de référence interne pour orienter les décisions, structurer les projets et assurer un accompagnement plus cohérent et responsable.

Systematic analysis of health and wellbeing among war-affected Newcomer Women: Applied to Sudanese Newcomer Women in Ontario, Canada 2026.

This project explores the health and wellbeing of women who have experienced war, displacement and resettlement, with a focus on Sudanese those living in Canada. Through a PRISMA-guided secondary research approach, it synthesizes global evidence on mental health, coping strategies, access to healthcare and chronic disease prevention among vulnerable newcomer women. The aim is to highlight the social and gender-related factors that shape their resettlement experiences and to identify culturally informed strategies that support healthy integration.
The project aligns closely with McMaster University’s SCORE! Project (Supporting Communities Outside Resettlement Environments), which focuses on improving health pathways and social inclusion for refugee and immigrant populations. By providing a gender-sensitive analysis of war-affected Sudanese women, a population often underrepresented in research, this study contributes valuable insights that strengthen SCORE!’s evidence base and inform future community-driven interventions.
For Ahfad University for Women, the project expands international research capacity and deepens expertise in migrant and refugee health. For McMaster, it enhances the impact of SCORE! by bringing a new global perspective and highlighting culturally grounded solutions. Overall, the project supports both institutions in advancing equity, inclusion and health for newcomer communities in Canada.

Community Readiness and Acceptability of AI in Equity-Focused Community-Based Participatory Research with Newcomer Communities: A Global Scoping Review

This project will review global research to understand how ready newcomer communities are for the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in community-based participatory research (CBPR) and how acceptable and trustworthy AI tools are in equity-focused CBPR. By examining what is known about digital access, language needs, cultural safety, trust, and concerns about bias, the project will identify both opportunities and risks of using AI in CBPR with diverse newcomer groups. The findings will support both participating institutions (McMaster University, Canada, and Thammasat University, Thailand) by strengthening collaboration and advancing shared learning on ethical, inclusive, and innovative research practices. This review will also guide future projects that aim to use AI responsibly in community settings. In addition, the project will contribute to the SCORE! Project at the Mary Heersink School of Global Health and Social Medicine, McMaster University, by providing insights that support co-designed, culturally responsive, and community-centered approaches, helping ensure that newcomer families feel included, respected, and confident when technology such as AI is used in research.

Implémentation de réseaux de neurones à décharges (SNN) sur circuits FPGA

Ce projet développe un démonstrateur matériel basé sur des réseaux neuronaux impulsionnels (Spiking Neural Networks, SNN) implémentés sur des plateformes FPGA pour des tâches de contrôle en temps réel. Les systèmes d’IA actuels sont puissants mais consomment une quantité excessive d’énergie, ce qui limite leur déploiement dans des applications embarquées et autonomes. Notre approche s’appuie sur le calcul neuromorphique, inspiré du fonctionnement cérébral, afin d’obtenir des performances à faible consommation et à grande vitesse. Le démonstrateur intégrera l’acquisition de signaux, le traitement neuromorphique et le contrôle dans une seule chaîne. Les applications incluent l’automatisation industrielle, la surveillance environnementale et l’agriculture de précision, répondant aux défis d’efficacité énergétique et d’adaptabilité dans des environnements contraints. Cette recherche renforce le leadership du Canada en IA en complétant son excellence algorithmique par des solutions matérielles innovantes, favorisant les partenariats industriels et la formation de personnel hautement qualifié pour les technologies de demain.

Newcomers and Community Organizations in Yorkton and Area

The East Central Newcomer Welcome Centre Inc. (ECNWC) is a non-profit agency located in Yorkton, Saskatchewan that provides information and services to newcomers, immigrants, and refugees who settle in east central Saskatchewan within a 150km radius of Yorkton. The ECNWC welcomes and assists newcomers to Canada to promote successful settlement and integration into the community. ECNWC strives to foster a sense of community by working with service providers, community groups, employers, and government partners to provide settlement services across the east central Saskatchewan.? They also connect with immigrants to help them adapt to life in Canada, Saskatchewan, and in their new communities. In September of 2021, the ECNWC received support to form the East Central Saskatchewan Immigration Partnership (ECSIP). ECSIP focuses on developing more welcoming and inclusive communities throughout East Central Saskatchewan through community collaboration. ECSIP acts as an incubator for ideas, identifying newcomer needs, and mobilizing community resources to meet those needs. The ECSIP’s mandate is to partner with organizations to share newcomer perspectives and promote the characteristics of a welcoming community through collaboration, partnership, and education.

ECSIP has been in operation for 4 years and is ready to expand their mission and their impact in east central Saskatchewan. The group collaborates with community organizations in Yorkton and area believes there may be a connection between newcomer involvement with community organizations and newcomers’ ability to successfully adapt, settle, and integrate into their new life and community.

Development of high-entropy cermet coatings in high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) and suspension solution plasma spray processes

With an ever-expanding demand for critical materials and minerals, it is crucial to find sustainable material solutions to well-established industrial requirements. High-entropy materials, i.e., materials that mix 5 or more constituents in near equi-atomic proportions, could mitigate these issues by offering highly resistant and stable materials. As a result, addressing the issues of critical materials could come from the replacement of certain materials by high-entropy counterparts made of non- (or less-) critical materials.
This project aims to specifically address the issue of ceramic-metals, also called “cermets”, that are often used as high-temperature seals or for tooling applications, with materials such as tungsten-carbide (WC). These materials are sought for their high hardness, high temperature resistance and high corrosion resistance. These applications are typically achieved by developing coatings via thermal spray, a high-temperature process in which melted or heated powder materials are sprayed onto a surface.
By relying on routine preparation methods such as gas atomization or high-energy mechanical alloying, this research project aims to develop high-entropy cermet coatings in high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) and suspension solution plasma spray processes. The project will explore the processing and spraying of the feedstock powders and as well as the through characterization of the powders and coatings.

Informality for food security in China’s poverty-alleviation resettlement

This research examines the intersection of post-resettlement experiences, informality, and food insecurity in China. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing policies that support the food security and well-being of resettled populations in rapidly urbanizing contexts. This research contributes to the broader literature on informality in developing countries by adding new insights from China’s nationwide poverty-alleviation resettlement practices, which have been referenced as potential lessons for other developing economies in the Global South. By exploring how resettled populations navigate food security through informal mechanisms, this study aims to enhance the global understanding of the role of informal economies in post-resettlement adaptation. The findings from this project will contribute to both Canadian and Ukrainian supervisors’ ongoing research and help them expand their academic networks with new data and findings that are not available in Ukraine. This new research collaboration will support their teaching and future publications related to China’s governance and social programs. The project will help build a strong connection between V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University in Ukraine and University of Waterloo in Canada. Since both research teams share an interest in China’s social development strategies, this project can become the starting point for long-term cooperation and academic exchange.

Fertility Pressures and Mental Health of Japanese Women Undergoing Assisted Reproductive Technology

By systematically reviewing and analyzing existing literature, data, and public messages on fertility and mental health in Japan, this project explores how the country’s pregnancy promotion campaign, known as ninkatsu, may create significant emotional strain for women pursuing fertility treatment. The study will involve a literature review, an environmental scan of media and policy, examination of available mental health data, and meetings with reproductive and mental health experts to guide and inform the work. The project will identify how cultural expectations shape women’s mental health and sense of self and will help inform the development of mental health resources that reduce self-blame, improve reproductive care, and advance reproductive justice in Japan. The goal is to translate evidence of gendered psychological burden into targeted mental health interventions for women undergoing fertility treatment in Japan and for women in other contexts with similar cultural pressures and stigma. This collaboration will allow McMaster University to expand its global health research and provide Niigata University with new feminist and cross-cultural insights, strengthening long-term partnerships between both institutions.

Towards the development of automated wearable systems for closed-loop biologic drug delivery

Current wearable drug delivery systems are designed to deliver biopharmaceuticals in their liquid forms. However, many biologics are not stable as a liquid and must be stored in their freeze-dried, or lyophilized, form, which makes them incompatible with current wearable drug delivery systems. Although these drugs can be delivered manually, they require many steps to re-activate the lyophilized drugs, a time-consuming process prone to human error, which can lead to serious complications and even death in time-sensitive situations, such as acute hypoglycemia. Thus, this project investigates the design of a device integrated in wearable drug delivery systems to automatically and quickly administer lyophilized biopharmaceuticals to overcome these limitations. This will pave the way for broadening the set of drugs available for use in such wearable devices, thus decreasing the burden on the healthcare industry while expanding the clinical utility and personalization of wearable devices.

CadQ-3D : Prototype d’un Système d’Information Foncière 3D pour le Québec basé sur la reconstruction géométrique des parcelles

Face à l’intensification des aléas naturels induits par les changements climatiques — inondations, glissements de terrain, érosion côtière —, et à la pression croissante sur la gestion urbaine résultant des phénomènes de densification et d’étalement des villes, les territoires doivent s’adapter rapidement. Au Québec, le territoire est principalement représenté horizontalement par le cadastre. Une représentation verticale permettrait de mieux modéliser la topographie et d’intégrer des éléments liés au terrain (zones inondables ou à risque de glissements). Le projet CadQ-3D vise à concevoir un système d’information foncier alimenté par des modèles 3D de parcelle (terrain, bâtiments, limites) reconstruits à partir de données acquises par drone à faible coût, des données ouvertes et des règlementations foncières québécoises. Les modèles 3D reconstruits du territoire serviront de base à une spatialisation de réglementations foncières sous forme de limites linéaires/surfaciques dans un environnement tridimensionnel. Notre système centralisera de manière cohérente l’ensemble des modèles 3D produits (géométrique et foncier) dans une base de données géospatiales. Une interface web conviviale et interactive sera finalement mise à disposition des utilisateurs avec une visualisation combinée des modèles 3D, dans le but de faciliter la compréhension et soutenir la prise de décision en matière d’aménagement et de prévention.

Return on Investment (ROI) Analysis of Commercial EV Charger Installation in Edmonton

Develop a data-driven return on investment (ROI) financial model to transform commercial EV charger installation in Edmonton that underscores this undeniably smart investment to accelerate private-sector EV adoption. This project moves beyond the “why” of sustainability and into the “how” of business finance. The scholar would develop an ROI model that effectively communicates the justification to prioritize and allocate investment in EV chargers. This would involve both a literature review of case studies and an analysis of key variables specific to the Edmonton market.