Researchers working to learn from the COVID pandemic and prepare for emerging global pathogens A $500,000 grant will fuel a project to research improvements in detecting potentially pandemic pathogens in the region of North America’s busiest border crossing. “It makes sense to be prepared” when it comes to the possibility of a new pathogen or new COVID variant infecting people in Windsor-Essex, says Kenneth Ng, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry. That is why Dr. Ng joined seven fellow UWindsor researchers from various disciplines on a project to improve the surveillance and detection of new potentially harmful pathogens and to develop a flexible framework for dealing with challenges from future pandemics. “To meet the urgent challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, our group rapidly established a surveillance-based informative framework combining saliva-based PCR screening, wastewater testing, pathogen genome sequencing and a real-time dashboard to efficiently communicate information to decision-makers and the community,” says Ng, principal investigator on the…
April think tank session to spark research collaborations in public health The April WE-Spark Think Tank is looking to hear from community partners to help address real problems. Do you like to discuss new ideas? Solve problems? Make new connections? Then WE-Spark Think Tanks are for you. The April 21 event will begin with an update on local health research activities and new funding opportunities, followed by an overview of three projects that are looking for creative input, and breakout sessions: Integrating Health Equity and Population Health Approaches in Windsor and Essex County, Darcie Renaud and Kristy McBeth, Windsor-Essex County Health Unit Predictive Modelling for Food-borne Illness in Windsor and Essex County using ACES data, Ramsey D’Souza, Windsor-Essex County Health Unit Drug Checking Services in Windsor and Essex County, Eric Nadalin and Gordon Thane, Windsor-Essex County Health Unit This discussion is looking to hear from community partners in health care, industry, public health, etc., to help address real problems needing to be solved. WE-Spark…
Next Great Big Ideas with Dr. Lisa Porter The Next Great Big Ideas (NGBIdeas) Podcast - the people, ideas and future of Canada’s Life Sciences community Who are today’s visionaries and tomorrow’s leaders in Canada’s Life Sciences sector? What are they doing and how did they get there? Jim Wilson sits down with notable leaders, innovators and disruptors who are working on the Next Great Big Ideas in Biotech, Genetics, Medtech and Life Sciences. Dr. Lisa Porter, executive director WE-SPARK Health Institute shares shares her perspective on the growing life sciences sector in Windsor Essex. "As Dr. Porter points out, if you're part of Canada's life sciences sector and you do not have Windsor on your radar, you should." Listen here.
Event to support health innovation in Windsor/Essex The April 20 “Cheers to Hope” event will raise funds for WE-SPARK Health Institute research grants to support innovation across Windsor-Essex. WE-Spark grants bring together experts from its five partner institutions — the University of Windsor, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, St. Clair College, and Windsor Regional Hospital — as well as collaborators across the Windsor-Essex region, Canada, and internationally. “Every year, we are amazed and excited at the volume of applications we receive. But each competition we have had to leave great projects without support due to lack of funds available,” says executive director Lisa Porter, a professor of biomedical sciences. “Our goal this year is to raise $300,000 in order to support the projects that are seeking funding.” Since its launch in 2020, the institute has awarded 67 grants totaling over $1.1 million with researchers across diverse disciplines and areas of expertise. Examples include improving…
Cancer knowledge subject of Don’t Be Fooled quiz night Looking to test your knowledge on cancer facts? Hosted by WE-SPARK Health Institute and the Canadian Cancer Society UWindsor Research Information Outreach (RIOT) Team, “Don't Be Fooled' is an opportunity to learn important facts in a fun atmosphere in teams of 4-6 people, and win prizes. The event is open to all ages, and is free, although donations are being accepted for the WE-SPARK grants program. Thursday April 6, 6-8pm at Rock Bottom Bar & Grill 3236 Sandwich St., Windsor. Click here to register. WE-SPARK After Dark, WE-SPARK’s monthly networking event will be combined with this special Don’t be Fooled event for April. Regular WE-SPARK After Dark networking events will resume May 4, 2023.
University of Windsor partners in pandemic peparedness research hub Biochemistry professor Kenneth Ng is a member of a multidisciplinary group of UWindsor researchers partnering in an effort to enhance Canada’s preparedness for future pandemics. The University of Windsor is a major partner in one of five new federal research hubs set to enhance Canada’s biomanufacturing capacity and preparedness for future pandemics. A multidisciplinary group of UWindsor researchers will contribute by extending their research expertise and taking advantage of the unique cross-border location of the Windsor-Essex region to boost the development of pathogen surveillance technologies, knowledge translation, and highly qualified personnel training. The UWindsor researchers include: Kenneth Ng and Yufeng Tong from chemistry and biochemistry, Kendall Soucie from psychology, Pooya Moradian Zadeh from computer science, Arezoo Emadi from engineering, Mike McKay from the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, and Lisa Porter from biomedical sciences and the WE-Spark…
Fundraiser makes health research fashionable Biomedical sciences major Teodora Taleski organized a fashion show that raised $5,000 to support the WE-Spark Health Institute. Biomedical sciences major Teodora Taleski took time out of her busy student schedule to organize a charity fashion show on March 3 in honour of International Women’s Day. The second-year undergraduate was lead organizer, as well as a model and singer, for an evening of modelling, singing, and eating at the St. Nicholas Macedonian Centre. She says most of the other models were also University of Windsor students. The annual fashion show raises funds for the community each year. This year’s recipient is the WE-Spark Health Institute, which spans areas of research from fundamental to clinical, technology and innovation, and risk factors, prevention, and outcomes. Taleski said she was inspired by everything the institute does for health research, especially cancer research. “Being in biomedical sciences I’m interested in science and how to help, I also volunteer…
Regional health institute marks three-year milestone as one-of-a-kind Windsor-Essex innovation Master’s student Tiana Visconti explores breast cancer treatment in the lab of WE-SPARK Health Institute executive director Lisa Porter. Windsor-Essex healthcare and academic institutions are marking three years since they joined using a one-of-a-kind model designed to elevate health research excellence — an innovative model that has proven to deliver exceptional results. WE-SPARK Health Institute is an official partnership of the University of Windsor, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, St. Clair College, and Windsor Regional Hospital, governed by a Board of Trustees made up of the CEOs of the respective organizations. Its six committees include representatives from across all partner organizations who inform, direct, and implement the institute’s strategic priorities of organizational effectiveness, research excellence, community engagement, knowledge translation, and building capacity. The seeds of the institute began about 13 years ago as a grassroots effort…
UWindsor researchers granted $750,000 to pursue cancer-related discovery It was a “serendipitous” discovery that could change researchers’ understanding of how a deadly form of liver cancer develops in the body. University of Windsor researchers were recently awarded $750,000 from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research to study how a protein, named Speedy, discovered by Bre-Anne Fifield promotes non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) — which can lead to Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), one of the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide. “The project will focus on determining how Speedy changes the cell biology and the fat that accumulates in the liver and it will determine how that can lead to the formation of liver cancer,” said Fifield, who is an adjunct assistant professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Windsor and a member of the WE-SPARK Health Institute. “This is an exciting project, as results from this work could reveal new ways of detecting aggressive NAFLD early and new avenues of treatment for this aggressive form…
