Creating Safer Cities for Salmon: A case study of how Indigenous, Federal, Provincial, and Municipal policies align with standards and objectives of the Salmon-Safe eco-certification in Vancouver, BC

This proposed research project will undertake a review of Indigenous, federal, provincial and local government policy in order to identify areas of alignment with Salmon-Safe BC’s Urban Standards and overall program goals. The Salmon-Safe Standards are designed to help mitigate the impacts of urban development to watersheds through the application of five core standards and […]

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Quantifying the Effects of Stress and Mycorrhizal Relations on the Production of Phytocannabinoids in Rhododendron dauricum and its Fungal Symbiont Albatrellus ovinus

Rhododendron dauricum produces medicinal compounds that are similar to cannabinoids (e.g. CBD). Cannabis plants are exposed to stress to increase their production of cannabinoids. The effect of stress on the production of medicinal compounds in R. dauricum is unknown. R. dauricum has a symbiotic relationship with a fungus, Albatrel/us ovinus, that produces similar medicinal compounds. […]

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Testing Potential COVID-19 therapeutics & Development of Rapid IC test

The novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus continues to challenge scientists to find therapeutic treatments to combat the virus and to develop rapid and reliable methods for detection of the virus. Our team aims to contribute to both of these research areas over the next two years. Several Canadian research groups have […]

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Development of DNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine platforms

This proposal seeks to identify the most promising lead candidate for a COVID-19 vaccine that could be rapidly and inexpensively scaled-up to meet Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine needs. In collaboration with a Canadian biotech company, Entos Pharmaceuticals, we will determine the safety and efficacy of several vaccine candidates to identify the most promising candidate to move […]

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Tracking community movements through real-time visualization and predictive analytics to manage the spread of COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic complete eradication will at least take 2-3 years, putting the country under complete lockdown is an impractical solution. Hence, Computing and Data Analytics research group at Saint Mary’s University (SMU-CDA) proposes a collaboration with Agyle Intelligence to develop a complete framework using Data Analytics and Machine Learning that can help citizen, […]

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Development of a robust armoured RNA standard for the rapid clinical diagnosis of COVID-19

COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel SARS corona virus, has been a global threat for months now. The pandemic has crippled global healthcare sectors and economies. Early, rapid, and accurate detection of the contagion is critical for isolating infected patients to prevent further community spread. Currently, most communities in Canada suffer from insufficient […]

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Standardization and validation of a point-of-care RT-qPCR test in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is the etiological agent of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic currently affecting 215 countries and territories. With the number of cases increasing exponentially in many nations, molecular diagnostics have become a critical component for informing decisions related to health. However, the availability of molecular diagnostics has suffered a bottleneck. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase […]

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Detection of PPE in healthcare settings using machine learning

We propose utilizing real-time image detection of humans (visitors and healthcare workers) using personal protective equipment (I.e. masks, gloves, and gowns) in healthcare settings. This system would ensure proper compliance of PPE use to reduce the transmission COVID and other healthcare based infections, thereby saving lives, reducing hospital stays and costs. This builds off literature […]

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Benefits and Challenges of using a Digital Health Platform for Remote Delivery of Allied Health Provider Services

The research project aims to discover the experience of two user groups interacting with a prototype developed by HealthQb. The user groups are patients suffering from anxiety, chronic pain and/or infertility, and their allied health practitioners, such as chiropractors, kinesiologists, naturopaths, osteopaths and physiotherapists. The patients will wear a wearable device that collects biometric data […]

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Assessment of compression breakage test methods for rock hardness characterization

The most energy intensive component of mineral processing is comminution (crushing and grinding), consuming, on average, about 50% of the total electric energy of a mine site . To optimize and thereby improve the energy performance, accurate measurement of the ore hardness is critical. The proposed study is aimed at developing a new test apparatus […]

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Sparse array photodetector in multiplexed confocal FLIM

Confocal microscopy is a specialized imaging technique that is used by universities and pharmaceutical companies to perform drug discovery. The research team developed a multiplexing technique that can improve the imaging speed by 1000 times. In this project, the team will develop customized versions of the instrument with different cameras to cater to specific customer […]

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