In response to the antimicrobial resistance crisis, several nations (including Canada, U.S., and Europe) have drastically limited the use of medically important antibiotics for livestock production. As a result, alternative methods must be explored for disease prevention and treatment in animals from bacterial infections. The intern will explore the effects of using toxic proteins that […]

Medulloblastoma (MB) is the most common childhood brain cancer. Current treatment for these tumors is invasive involving irradiation of the entire brain and spine. Although some types of MB respond well, others have an abysmal prognosis, and the lack of less invasive therapies means that children undergoing treatment suffer from severe developmental defects and reduced […]

The effect of different factors in the field of view on the vestibular (balance) system including color, intensity, object motion, self-motion sensation, etc. are investigated in this study. Electrovestibulography (EVestG) is used to quantitatively measure vestibular responses from the ear canal, noninvasively. Currently, there is an ever- increasing interest among the health-related authorities to use […]

Every year in Canada over 1.7 million patients are diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis (UC), and have to go through colonoscopy procedures multiple times for disease detection and treatment monitoring. Trained clinicians use endoscopy facilities and technologies for colonoscopy procedures and unfortunately, the current error rate in disease detection is up to 20%. This project will […]

The Early Intervention Program (EIP) is a family-based intervention targeting families of children who are off the healthy weight trajectory. The EIP is a 10-week program offered at community centers across BC where children and their families meet once a week for 90 minutes as well as online. Parents will be provided with healthy lifestyle […]

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is associated with a reduced quality of life and an increased risk of kidney failure, cardiovascular events, and all-cause mortality. The goal of this project is to investigate whether the consumption of resistant potato starch (RPS) in addition to current standard care for CKD will reduce uremic toxins and symptoms by […]

While studies show that dietary fibres are beneficial in many diseases, they are not digested or absorbed directly by the host, but rather fermented by gut microbes. Fermentation byproducts (mostly short-chain fatty-acids; SCFAs) are responsible for health benefits. Only select inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) patients benefit from fibres; many patients report sensitivity to high fibre […]

Development of leaks in abdominal cavity following surgery cause acute complications that have a high mortality rate and lead to expensive corrective procedures. These leaks are mostly detected following the development of complications as currently there is no method for their early detection and hence timely intervention which can save lives is not possible. In […]

This project will assist a company with the commercialization of a system that captures anesthetic gases from hospital air emissions, to reduce their environmental impact and global warming effects. A working system is already developed, but under some conditions the anesthetic gases break down to form a hazardous hydrofluoric acid material. This acid is undesirable […]

Cancer will affect 2 in every 5 Canadians in their lifetime, with just over 25% representing new breast cancer diagnoses in women. Despite significant progress in the treatment of the most common cancer in women, resistance to chemotherapeutic agents remains a consistent obstacle in terms of the successful treatment of many types of breast cancers. […]

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are responsible for almost all cervical cancers. Current treatment available relies on chemo- or radiation-therapy or surgery. These methods have several side-effects with high morbidity and survival of just ~ 70%. Our lab, therefore, develops a more patient-centered approach based on targeting the viral E6 protein, the main culprit of carcinogenesis in […]

Mitochondria are critical producers of energy and are the platform for various metabolic reactions that support cellular health. Mitochondria suffer from a variety of damage as a consequence of housing these reactive pathways. In order for cells and organisms to survive this damage, dysfunctional mitochondria are removed from the cell in a process termed mitophagy. […]