Targeted cancer therapies have significantly improved the treatment of leukemias, but emergence of treatment resistance and subsequent cancer relapse significantly reduces patient survival. This relapse is primarily caused by the inability of current therapies to eradicate leukemic stem cells. It is currently extremely challenging to study these stem cells, due to its rarity in patient […]

Patients who suffer from severe burns require immediate wound closure to ensure survival and facilitate healing. The current gold standard in surgical practice is the use of split-surface autographs, allographs, or skin substitutes, but limitation range from the lack of layered tissue organization, the potential for immunological rejection, and the need for high quantities of […]

Ontario’s chicken industry contributes $2.72 billion to Canadian economy, and supports 19,183 full-time equivalent jobs (Ontario Chicken Industry Report, 2013). To date, 2015 has seen 309 individual outbreaks of avian influenza (AI) reported to the World Organization for Animal Health, a 147% increase on outbreaks reported in 2014. In Ontario alone, 29 farms were quarantined […]

Infectious diseases ranging from avian influenza to Ebola virus infection are among the most serious health emergencies in Canada and globally. Current diagnosis methods such as cell culture, ELISA and PCR suffer from inaccuracy, high-cost and lengthy procedures. Therefore, there has been a growing trend to develop new point-of-care diagnostic tools and microfluidic devices are […]

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) running on hydrogen are a preferred choice for on-board electricity generation in automobiles. A major challenge associated with this technology is its high cost due to the use of platinum as electrocatalyst. Implementation of inkjet printing as a fabrication tool has been investigated by the applicant and the academic supervisor […]

Using surface characterization techniques, the relationship between the surface hydrophilicity level of the positive electrode and the electrochemical performance of a rechargeable aqueous battery system will be investigated. Oxygen is generated during the battery operation due to the decomposing of water, the solvent for the electrolyte, and may cover the surface of the positive electrode, […]

Patients who suffer from severe burns require immediate wound closure to ensure survival and facilitate healing. The current gold standard in surgical practice is the use of split-surface autographs, allographs, or skin substitutes, but limitation range from the lack of layered tissue organization, the potential for immunological rejection, and the need for high quantities of […]

Solar cells which convert solar energy directly into electricity are among one of the most viable solutions to the world’s foreseeable energy crisis and global environmental issues. One key strategy to improve the efficiency of solar cells is to enhance the overlap between their absorption spectra and the solar spectrum. When two or more subcells […]

Transparent electrodes (TEs) combine high optical transparency and electrical conductivity, useful in different devices such as light-emitting diodes, displays and solar cells. A highly competitive market of electronic devices, such as phones and flexible touch screens as well as a worldwide increasing demand for energy, drives research to improve the performance of TEs. However, mass […]

Blending carbon fillers with thermoplastic materials can lead to a significant improvement of the resulting electrical, mechanical, thermal, and gas barrier properties compared with the unfilled polymer. Graphene, the name given to a material consisting of two-dimension layers of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, has extraordinary properties which make possible to produce a […]

Most colors in nature are due to the presence of pigments or dyes. Artificial colors on different materials are produced by incorporating dyes in them. However, the brightest colors in nature, e.g. the colors of butterfly wings and peacock feathers, are generated because of the micro/nano-features on their surface. Unlike the added dyes or pigments […]

Motivated by the urgent need for clean and sustainable source of energy we propose to develop structurally and chemically controllable fuel cell catalyst layers based on ultrafine nanocomposite carbon fibre catalyst support. Manufacturing parameters will be controlled and optimized to investigate the effect of microstructure on key performance factors. Ultimately, the knowledge gained from this […]