Grapes are an important Canadian crop. Canadian winemaking industries rely on grape growers. However, grape crops are threatened by a mould that causes downy mildew. This disease spreads onto grape leaves and if left untreated can kill much of the plant. The grape fruit becomes covered in a dense carpet of mould tissue, and the […]

Plant pathogens, including bacteria, can damage plants and cause significant crop losses. Among those Pseudomonas syringae is a major pathogen of tomato plants. It is now accepted that domesticated plant crops are often more sensitive to pathogens than their wild relatives. We aim to exploit a library of pathogens virulence factors to find new bacterial […]

Breast cancer is the fourth most frequent cancer in Canada, and affects one in X women during their lifetimes. A variety of different treatments have been tried, some of which damage cellular DNA of the quickly growing cancer cells. High-level DNA damage causes cells to die, and can shrink the tumour and arrest cancer growth. […]

Global biodiversity is declining due to habitat loss and protected areas provide an opportunity to prevent this. While governments create and manage most protected areas in the world, non-governmental organizations can also play a significant role in the acquisition and management of properties for the purpose of conserving biodiversity. We propose to measure the Nature […]

A diversity of native bee species inhabit agricultural and urban landscapes and can be more effective pollinators than the widely employed European honey bee. However, honey and wild bee communities often overlap, which means these bees compete for the same floral resources. Studies of competition between wild and managed pollinators are limited due to methodological […]

With increasingly urban populations worldwide and a growing need to ensure ecosystem service provision, managers must plan not only for the urban woodlands we have today, but also for what they might become. This project will develop indicators to detect changes urban woodland succession and its repercussions on future biodiversity. Using existing environmental monitoring data […]

Emerging therapeutic agents that function through the brain’s neurotransmitter systems have recently shown robust benefits in a number of otherwise challenging to treat neurological conditions including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The long-term changes that these agents induce within neural tissue is still however unclear. This MITSCS program aims to to use expertise in tissue […]

The progression of bacterial antimicrobials resistance (AMR) has led us to an era that urgently requires alternative antimicrobial therapies. Metal-based antimicrobials (MBA) are increasingly seen as part of the solution. Several metals are already extensively used to prevent and treatment of infections. Silver/copper ionizers are presently used to control pathogens in Canadian hospital water distributions […]

Cannabis sativa plants accumulate a suite of volatile biochemical compounds known as mono- and sesquiterpenes that determinethe characteristic scent of the plant, and contribute to its therapeutic properties in two ways. First, a 10-carbon terpene (amonoterpene) precursor makes up part of cannabinoid molecules, the key medicinal constituents of C. sativa plants. Second, someterpenes (e.g., geraniol […]

Anxiety disorders and chronic stress represent major healthcare and economic burdens worldwide. Approximately 75% of Canadians who use health services for a mental illness present with anxiety disorders which may affect up to 10% of the population in terms of lifetime occurrence. Despite the large prevalence of anxiety-related disorders in Canada, there are currently a […]

The coastal ecosystem of Prince Edward Island (PEI) represents an interface between the open marine waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the sandstone, densely populated province of PEI. It is one of the wildest landscapes remaining in PEI and hosts several species at risk (including the endangered piping plover and red knot). This […]

We are proposing to use a rapid, safe and green electroplating process to adhere antimicrobial phosphonate quaternary ammonium materials onto receptive metal surfaces. Pathogenic infections are responsible for approximately 60% of all hospital acquired infections. In order to help stop the spread, high contact surfaces such as bed rails in hospitals, door knobs etc. require […]