Innovative Projects Realized

Automatic Tracking, Localization and Orientation of Hockey Players, Using Broadcast Videos

Automatic analysis of sport videos is an attractive research area in computer vision that is driving the sport analytics towards a more technological edge. By automatically analyzing sport videos, lots of information could be drawn that benefits the teams, coaches, referees, players and even the fans, such as: extracting strategy of the game, technique and performance of each individual player, performance of the referee in a competition, and etc. This area of research, although attracted many researchers in computer vision community, is still in its infancy. This project focuses on automatic analysis of the broadcast hockey videos. Explicitly, in this project, as the initial step towards higher level analysis of the hockey games, precise tracking and localization of the players on the ice-rink will be performed and the body orientation of the players will be determined, using the advanced machine learning and computer vision techniques.

Machine learning methods for automatic diagnosis, severity assessment, prognosis, and disease understanding of COPD

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a progressive, debilitating, chronic respiratory disease that affects 600 million people worldwide and is responsible for 3 million deaths worldwide each year. Given the recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and the availability of large datasets from both the public and private sectors, our project applies AI to analyze large-scale medical datasets and develops tools capable of performing accurate diagnosis, severity assessment, and prognosis of COPD. Working in parallel, our project also aims to use AI to identify relevant biological markers that can predict current disease status and future progression. Ultimately, the tools developed and experimental results obtained throughout our research period will guide our partner organization in developing protocols for drug target discovery and validation, as well as therapy evaluation.

Transcriptomics as an Adventitious Virus Detection Strategy

As an analytical platform, the Sanofi Pasteur Analytical Sciences (Toronto) Molecular Biology Centre (MBC) is applying and optimizing the use of high-throughput sequencing (HTS). The detection of adventitious viruses in biological products relies on a set of methods defined by the regulatory agencies called the compendial methods. High-throughput sequencing has the potential to improve the current breadth of detection and to remove some poorly performing compendial in vivo animal tests.

Since 2016, the Molecular Biology Centre has used HTS for the detection of adventitious viruses. An unbiased nucleic acid extraction procedure was optimized and published in 2018 by Sanofi Pasteur that can capture viral nucleic acids from a wide variety of viruses with different physical and biochemical properties. In addition to the basic extraction, a 2017 Mitacs collaboration with York University evaluated and incorporated the use of ribosomal RNA depletion and an optimized cDNA synthesis step into the sample preparation protocol.

The developed sample extraction pipeline uses a total genomics approach where all nucleic acids within a sample are extracted and sequenced. One drawback of this approach is that it detects only viral nucleic acids and cannot distinguish between infectious viral particles and non-infectious viral nucleic acids (…)

Genomic resources for cannabis research

Cannabis has been in use for a long period of time both as medicine and as well as a recreational drug. With the current legalization of the crop in Canada, cannabis industry is expanding but there is limited information on improving the medical cannabis in terms of the content of minor cannabinoids such as THCV or developing a variety that is tolerant to fungal pathogen such as powdery mildew. In this project, we propose to develop cannabis varieties that can yield high content of THCV and develop genetic information by challenging plants with powdery mildew such that the genetic information can be used to improve cannabis plant. By the end of this internship, this project will develop an improved protocol for genetic transformation and regeneration of medicinal cannabis; develop genetically modified plants that can yield high THCV; and plant that is resistant to powdery mildew.

Measurement of the physical and thermo-physical properties of molten salts and their interactions with materials of construction

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) represent the next generation in nuclear power reactor technology with the benefits of being non-greenhouse-gas emitting forms of power production and providing inherent safety, lower construction and operating costs and proliferation resistance. As part of the recently announced New Brunswick SMR Research and Development Cluster, Moltex Energy proposes to build their first-of-a-kind Stable Salt Reactor (SSR) at the Point Lepreau site in southwestern NB. Research and development activities surrounding the redox control for the SSR fuel and coolant salts are key to ensuring adequate corrosion and degradation rates for the materials of construction. This Mitacs supported project aims to develop the facilities and capabilities required to undertake molten salt properties and corrosion research at UNB and will support the education and training of three highly qualified professionals (HQPs) including a Post Doctoral Fellow, a PhD and a Masters student.

Effect of polymers on wettability of bitumen and on stability of bitumen emulsions.

The proposed research project is aimed at enhancing our understanding of interactions of several biodegradable low molecular weight polymers with the different components of aqueous oil sand suspensions. The work is designed to assess the effect of the polymers on a number of fundamental phenomena that govern several unit operations during oil sands processing and subsequent tailings disposal. It is expected that the systematic research studies proposed in this project should not only lead to new scientific knowledge but also to improvements in the current technology of oil sand processing and tailings management.
The proposed experimental program will involve analysis of the shape and size of air bubbles spreading and attaching onto bitumen surfaces while immersed in polymer solutions. This type of information will be collected using high-speed microscopy. A similar approach will also be employed to monitor the displacement and detachment of bitumen droplets from model mineral surfaces, chosen to represent typical solids found in oil sands. The ability of bitumen droplets to aggregate or disperse, and to form emulsions in the presence of polymers will be researched using laser light backscattering and transmission…To be continued.

Addressing peer-related variables in failure to comply charges of youth

In Canada, failures to comply with court-ordered conditions are one of the most common criminal charges faced by youth. Some evidence has identified factors that contribute to breaching conditions, such as the number of conditions and length of time under them, but there is currently no research addressing how peers and co-accused youth affect youths’ failure to comply. Peer delinquency is a strong predictor of other types of delinquency (e.g. violence, property offending), and peers are also important agents of ‘legal socialization,’ such that they may also influence youths’ attitudes and beliefs towards court-ordered conditions. The proposed studies will address the extent to which the presence of peers and/or co-accused youth contributes to the likelihood of young people failing to comply with conditions at the bail (pre-trial) stage. The findings may have important implications for improving access to reasonable bail and minimizing continued involvement in the youth criminal justice system.

Research, development and testing of an instrument that can monitor and detect internal failure in liquids pipelines

The ubiquity of pipeline incidences have resulted in undesirable economic, environmental and social consequences. However, pipelines are a critical element of the transportation system of most countries, and are needed to convey goods and resources from one place to the other. In this research project, a technology that can be used to monitor operating pipelines is developed and extensively tested. This technology is projected to be able to identify the onset of pipeline failure earlier than existing technologies, and contribute towards improving the integrity of operating pipelines. The project will greatly advance the research and development skills, scientific and technical expertise, and communication abilities of personnel at the partner organization. In addition, the project will provide the partner organization with significant leverage to commercialize the developed technology.

Building a National Ocean Literacy Strategy

This collaborative, pan-Canadian and consultation-based research project will develop an ocean literacy strategy for Canada with the aim of elevating Canadians understanding of the importance of ocean health and their capacity to participate in ways that promote a sustainable ocean ecosystem and economy. The interns will respectively coordinate the overall national consultation process (pdf#1), facilitate regional consultations (pdf #2; pdf #3; pdf #4; intern #5) and synthesize regional reports into a draft national strategy (pdf #1; intern #6). Partner organizations will benefit from strengthened network relations – both existing and new – as well as from the extended reach of this project across five regions of Canada. Reciprocally, the Canadian community will benefit from the collaborative partnerships in this project on account of each partner’s vested interest in strengthened public engagement in ocean conservation, citizen science, behaviour change-oriented education, industry innovation and policy efforts.

Measuring investments performance using Artificial Intelligence in impact investing and socially responsible investing

In the last few decades, Socially Responsible Investments (SRI) have growingly become a relevant issue. This trend is expected to continue and strengthen going forward. Moreover, the steady trend of rationalization and marketization of the social sector over the past four decades has set expectations and norms of rationalized practices such as Social Performance Measurement (SPM) encompassing practices such as impact evaluation, outcome measurement, and program monitoring adopted by an organization to measure its progress toward its social goals, reflecting internal influences. R I D D L, our industrial partner, is looking to develop a cloud-based software that will give investors the information and data they need to make the right investments, be able to track progress of that investment and communicate the returns. The objective of this research project is to build machine learning and deep learning algorithms for financial investment performance analysis in impact investing and socially responsible investing. Tests will be conducted on historical data provided by our partner organization and the algorithms will be optimized for the proposed context.

Platform development to assay immune cell chemotaxis in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an important global health problem afflicting 384 million people and causing 3 million deaths worldwide each year. Currently, there are no effective therapies for COPD patients. In this proposal, we are developing a novel technology that will both monitor the severity of disease in COPD patients, and allow researchers to better study potential targets and pathways for the design of new COPD drugs. Immune cells, such as neutrophils and macrophages, play important roles in the lungs of COPD patients. Our new technology will be able to measure the mobility of neutrophils and macrophages taken directly from COPD patients to assess their disease conditions. Further, this system will improve the way researchers measure these immune cells in large-scale studies for advancement of COPD diagnoses and drug discovery. This project aligns with the mandate of our partner organization, Providence Airway Centre (PAC), to enable researchers to accelerate the COPD biomarker and drug discovery pipeline.

Evidence-Based Dietary Protein Intake in Canadian Hospitals

Doctors are learning that nutrition plays a very important role in patient outcomes. Research has shown that protein is especially critical to patient health and recovery, especially for the elderly and severely ill. The quality of the protein, and the quantity of protein that patients receive makes a big difference. This project will examine how much Canadian health care centres are concerned about the protein their patients consume. The objectives involve collecting feedback from Canadian hospital staff, and reviewing protein research, including a new protein method that the partner organization has developed. The end goal is to use the work from this project to create compliance and quality improvement research trials in the Canadian health care system.