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WE-SPARK Annual report shows growth Annual Report Shows WE-SPARK Growth WE-SPARK Health Institute has released its second annual report indicating the Windsor-Essex research community continues to achieve more together. “WE-SPARK accelerates and strengthens collaborations, and provides tools and resources needed for health research across Windsor-Essex to excel,” said Lisa Porter, WE-SPARK Executive Director. “Despite the challenges that the global pandemic placed on all of our members, with a particular strain on our hospital partners caring for those who fell ill during this difficult time, we are proud of how our region came together to move health research forward.” WE-SPARK began its second year with 146 members with membership growing to 677 in a single year. Other highlights include: $8,881,856 in external funding – an annual increase of 44%; $340,000 to local research projects; 1,335 patients / participants involved in research. The full report is available here. WE-SPARK Health Institute is supported…
Student wins support for work on psychological interventions in chronic health conditions UWindsor psychology student Jasmine Kobrosli has received a $5,000 scholarship from Crohn’s and Colitis Canada. A $5,000 scholarship from Crohn’s and Colitis Canada will enable UWindsor student Jasmine Kobrosli further her work examining the psychological effects of inflammatory bowel disease. Kobrosli, entering her fourth year of undergraduate study, has lived experience with IBD: she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in 2013 and Crohn’s disease in 2018. “I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis during my final year of high school,” she says. “Since my illness was so severe at the time, my university career was delayed.” After regaining her health, she enrolled at the University in 2018. “I had always planned to study psychology, but since being diagnosed with both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, I have been inspired to conduct research that will have a meaningful impact on the inflammatory bowel disease community by tying my love of psychology into the…
Award to fund doctoral research into e-cigarettes PhD student Mitchell DiPasquale is using synthetic membranes to study the physical effects of vaping and e-cigarettes. Mitchell DiPasquale (BSc 2017) is taking the health debate surrounding vaping and e-cigarettes down to the molecular level. E-cigarette or Vaping use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) can range from shortness of breath to severe lung damage requiring intensive care. DiPasquale, a doctoral candidate in chemistry and biochemistry, is using synthetic membranes to study the physical effects of EVALI. For this research he was awarded the Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships Doctoral Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The award provides special recognition and support to students who are pursuing a doctoral degree in a health-related field in Canada. “Little is known about what causes EVALI, but evidence suggests it may stem from a physical interaction between toxicants in the vape and the pulmonary surfactant — a thin…
Return to normal drives contestants to vaccinate Master of management student Nfiya Osaroedey got vaccinated at a public clinic on campus Aug. 24. Second-year nursing student Andrew Hebert is ready for the pandemic to be over. “I decided to get my COVID-19 vaccine because it brings us one step closer towards being able to live a normal life again,” he says. “By getting my vaccine, I have done my part and taken my jab in beating COVID-19.” Hebert is one of this week’s winners in the Get Social about the Jab to Win! contest. He will receive a tuition voucher or Amazon e-card worth $500, as will computer science major Gabriela Peralta Milla, biomedical sciences student Timothy Igbokwe, and Linda Nguyen, a first-year student of behaviour, cognition, and neuroscience. “I believe getting the COVID-19 vaccine to reduce the risk of not only my family members who are immunocompromised but also the people that I take care of, is part of my responsibility as a healthcare worker,” Nguyen says. Five additional entrants won a #TakeAJabUWindsor…
Researchers seeking participants for COVID-19 survey A team of UWindsor health researchers is looking for volunteers to participate in a survey called Student, Faculty, and Staff Perceptions of On-campus COVID-19 Testing, Return to Campus, and Vaccination Hesitancy. “The purpose of the survey is to gather insights from the University of Windsor student, faculty, and staff population to inform effective campus health messaging,” says lead researcher Kendall Soucie, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology. “Another key objective is to determine common perceived barriers and facilitators to weekly COVID-19 screening procedures.” The survey is a collaboration between WE-Spark Health Institute’s project “Students Igniting Vaccine Confidence Program in Windsor-Essex” and its COVID Screening Platform. Dr. Soucie says the team aims to determine factors and barriers to getting vaccinated and critical demographics that will need to be targeted. “Consideration of this data may highlight opportunities to increase voluntary…
Winners share motivation for vaccination PhD student Haesung Ahn shows off the site of his vaccination against COVID-19. Protecting themselves and others from the coronavirus and hoping to speed social recovery from the pandemic are the most common reasons cited for getting vaccinated by the first week’s winners of the Get Social about the Jab to Win! contest. Typical was first-year psychology major Paige Sajtovich. “I got my vaccine to protect myself and especially others who are more vulnerable than I am in the community,” she posted to her personal Facebook page. “I want us all to be able to enjoy the things we used to enjoy again. We are all in this together.” Haesung Ahn, a doctoral candidate in civil engineering, told his Instagram followers he misses previous normal student life. “I got my vaccine,” Ahn added. “I think it could be the most effective way to prevent spreading the virus.” Sajtovich and Ahn are among five initial winners who will receive a #TakeAJabUWindsor T-shirt, a $10 Tim Horton’s…
Researcher investigates safety of vaping ingredients UWindsor professor Drew Marquardt says his research will help pinpoint which ingredients found in vapes and e-cigarettes are contributing to severe lung illness in users. His project “Vaping-Associated Lung Injury: Insight into Mechanisms of Action” received $15,000 as part of the Breathing as One Young Investigators Research Award, a Canadian Lung Association program led by the Lung Health Foundation. “Lung injury from vaping was established as an epidemic mere months before the COVID pandemic struck and since then has largely flown under the radar,” says Dr. Marquardt, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, cross-appointed to the Department of Physics. “Yet there’s been a surge in young people aged 18 to 30 who are vaping and a large number of them are getting sick, so we are interested in how ingredients like Vitamin E acetate interact with the lungs, contributing to this dangerous alveolar, or lung, injury.” Marquardt and his team are investigating…
Report details quarterly successes of WE-Spark Health Institute WE-Spark Health Institute has released its quarterly report detailing achievements along key metrics from May to July 2021. WE-Spark Health Institute has released its quarterly report detailing achievements along key metrics from May to July 2021. Highlights include: increased membership by 54 new members for a total of 731; awarded 14 grants totaling $287,000; launched a network with 20 active volunteers logging 600+ hours; expanded its health resource hub to include transgender and gender diverse, and mental health resources; piloted an app for researchers to connect using a mobile device; hosted five events, including Think Tanks and Knowledge Translation workshops; and created a medical research associate position formalizing how Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry – Windsor Campus medical students integrate with the local research community. WE-Spark Health Institute is supported by the University of Windsor, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Windsor Regional Hospital, and St.…
Windsor study finds irritability, anxiety on the rise in kids during pandemic The newly-published study from the WE-SPARK Health Institute — a partnership between local hospitals, St. Clair College and the University of Windsor — measured the mental health impact of the pandemic on 190 families with kids aged eight to 13 in Windsor and Essex. It found that 51 per cent of kids reported clinically significant irritability, as many as 34 per cent reported anxiety and 25 per cent reported clinically significant depression. “There was a lot of speculation at the (start of the pandemic) that the pandemic reflected a trauma or loss because childrenwere missing out on activities,” said Dr. Lance Rappaport, lead investigator on the study. “My goal was to shed light on and identify how is this affecting kids and what are they struggling with so we can better help them and really use that information and science to guide how we help them recover.” Dr. Lance Rappaport, the lead investigator on a new Windsor-based study that found irritability, anxiety and depression…
