The somatic mutational processes that occur within human cancers generate novel, non-self proteins that have the potential to be detected by antibodies and therefore exploited therapeutically. Such antibodies can be generated through the stimulation of the immune system or through the synthetic generation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). The nascent ability to determine the complete transcriptomes […]

Health economic evaluation compares the associated costs and the clinical outcomes of multiple treatment alternatives and is presently used by payers as one of the many types of evidence to inform which drugs to fund. Given existing health-care budgetary constraints, payers are increasingly interested in knowing whether a new health technology will provide value (i.e. […]

The research aims to develop a device technology and software to recover surface information from a handheld scanner. The idea is to combine pre-existing object analysis technologies with a local device capable of reconstructing an objects shape from data collected by simple (shelf component) electronics as the device is passed over the object in the […]

Heart transplantation depends on being able to move a donor heart from the location of harvest to the hospital where it will be implanted, and having the heart work once it is implanted. The time between excision and implantation is called the ischemic time. The safe ischemic time is about 4 to 6 hrs; hearts […]

Over 5000 rare genetic diseases collectively affect 1 in 12 Canadians. For these disorders about 10% of patients share a common mutation type that introduces a premature termination codon (PTC) in the gene and results in truncated and non-functional protein. The previously found PTC suppressors have limited effect or unacceptable side effects. The goal of […]

This project will investigate machine learning methods to organize and discover the vast literature on biomedical science. First, it will focus on named entity recognition–the task of finding and classifying entities in text documents–on large collections of abstracts and full-text of research papers and investigate semi-supervised learning methods to leverage large collections of unlabeled research […]

Neisseria meningitidis (Nme) is a bacterial pathogen that often colonizes the upper respiratory tract of humans without symptoms, but which may also develop into rapidly-progressing sepsis and meningitis that can be fatal. Nme has evolved elegant means to specifically interact with human cells and proteins in order to colonize, survive and the evade host immune […]

Aptamer based sensor development can be challenging. While aptamer selection has provided a very useful method of producing molecules that selectively bind compounds of interest to the fields of public health, regulatory control and legal enforcement, the steps required for incorporation of aptamers into sensors are not trivial. Specifically, gaging how well aptamers bind their […]

Drug-induced dyskinesia is a debilitating side effect induced by anti-parkinsonian and antipsychotic drugs. Frequency can reach 80% in Parkinson’ disease and around 50% in schizophrenia patients treated with typical antipsychotics. Treatments for dyskinesia currently available have a very limited impact and generate important side effects. We have identified a new pharmacological target that may offer […]

The aim of the proposed research is to investigate the cellular mechanistic effects of supplementation with a hypocaloric meal replacement product (Optifast-900; Nestlé Canada) containing cysteine and glycine, which are amino acid precursors of the antioxidant glutathione. Impaired cellular glutathione redox normally occurs with aging and metabolic disorders, however, this study will focus on a […]

The proposed project is to identify and characterize bacteriophages (bacterial viruses) that can reduce presence of E. coflbacteria that are an important cause of disease and production loss to the poultry industry. The reduction of levels of E. coli that can cause disease in poultry by use of bacteriophages would be an important means of […]

Recreational water sources are important commercial resources and activity hubs. Unfortunately, any public water source is prone to bacterial and viral contamination, which is a major concern for public health agencies. InnovoGENE Biosciences has a developed a simple test that can quickly determine the level of pathogens. Although this method has been rigorously tested in […]