Traditionally, a firefighter’s primary responsibility is to fight fires; however, only a small percentage of time is actually spent on this task. Moreover, in urban centres such as Toronto, most emergency calls are non-fire related, including emergency medical responses and automotive accidents on major highways. As a result, firefighters are required to wear either partial […]

Vaccination is the most effective method for the prevention of a wide range of human illnesses.  Vaccines are currently prepared by growing live virus strains in chicken eggs.  New strategies are very much needed to improve the speed and efficiency of virus production, especially during disease outbreaks.  Recently, Chem Virion has identified new drugs which […]

In large health data sets, researchers may want to classify individuals into important groups, such as risk groups, based on multiple important variables from various different data resources.  Different groups may warrant different, targeted interventions.  Combining different data sources to classify individuals with the highest risks and needs can provide health officials an objective way […]

Current intraoperative surgical navigation techniques are time consuming, may involve radiation and most importantly, are only able to account for patient motion during surgery a few times. The research project will focus on the development of an optical imaging device capable of capturing topographical images of exposed anatomical structures within the surgical field. These images […]

There is an urgent need for developing and applying methods for analyzing longitudinal survey data. The proposed research aims to address that need with data from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Project, which is conducting parallel longitudinal surveys across 20 countries to evaluate the impact of tobacco control policies (e.g., warning labels, smoke-free laws). These […]

Amorphous selenium direct detection X-ray detectors coupled to amorphous silicon readout circuits provide the best spatial resolution and are the leading technology for the worldwide breast cancer imaging market.  However, they are relatively slow and noisy leading to higher X-ray dose requirements for the emerging and highly accurate modality of 3D breast imaging.  We plan […]

Stroke    Canada's leading cause of chronic disability   often induces a condition of significantly reduced speeds of motion. Timely movements are, however, vital to prevent falls, perform daily activities, and be able to return to work. Therefore, our objective is to characterize `stroke-related slowing' and to suggest novel therapies. Balance characteristics during perturbed standing will be […]

Membrane processes are increasingly used for the production of drinking water, representing a clean and efficient technology.  The application of membrane processes is limited by the accumulation of fouling components at/near the membrane surface and constitutes membrane fouling.  Therefore, fouling monitoring and control strategies are necessary to ensure sustainable operation of membrane processes.  In collaboration […]

In this research we will determine how the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) moves through cells of an infected host. The FIV is very similar to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and like all retroviruses moves from the cell membrane through the cytoplasm and then into the nucleus of infected cells. Once in the nucleus, the […]

Salmonella is the second most frequent cause of foodborne illness in Canada and pork is one of sources for human salmonellosis.  Salmonella has also the potential to cause clinical disease in pigs.  Salmonella is commonly found on Ontario swine farms.  Thus control strategies should be implemented.  Vaccination appears to be one of the most promising […]

Insulin controls blood sugar and is required for the entry of sugar (glucose) into blood cells from blood. Excess body fat in obesity or high fat diet makes body resistant to insulin. Due to this insulin resistance, sugar accumulates in the blood and over time this leads to an increase in blood sugar and development […]

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is an advanced technique for cancer treatment through high-precision radiation delivery. It generally requires a complex planning procedure, where the crucial step is manual delineation of the organs at risk in three-dimensional (3-D) computed tomography (CT) images, performed using simple drawing tools. It is a labour-intensive and error-prone process which, depending […]