Undergraduate research experience leads alumnus to lifelong dream When Sami Alrashed graduated this spring with his Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and biomedical sciences, he recalled fondly his research experiences as a UWindsor student. Entering post-secondary studies as an Outstanding Scholar with a thirst for learning, he found opportunities to engage in exploration by reading about professors’ research and attending campus presentations on their progress and discoveries. In his second year, he began working in the biology lab of Lisa Porter. “Professors want to have you on board,” Alrashed said. “And they want to train you into future stars.” By year three, he was known by science faculty and students, working as a teaching assistant and participating in community activities while holding down two part-time jobs off-campus. Alrashed’s fourth-year thesis proposed a novel targeted therapy to combat glioblastoma — an aggressive cancer that can form in the brain or the spinal cord. Research experience as an undergraduate…
Vaccination campaign encouraging students to knock out COVID “Knock Out COVID” is the theme of a campaign to encourage UWindsor students to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The University of Windsor launched a vaccination campaign Monday to encourage students not only to get into the ring and “Knock Out COVID,” but to carry the message to others in the under-25 population around Windsor-Essex County. The KO COVID effort will team the University with the University of Windsor Students’ Alliance to help students and other young people in the community get the facts and support they need to overcome vaccine hesitancy and access vaccination in the community. The University will work with WE-Spark Health Institute and UWindsor researchers to provide expertise, while student mentors will guide, engage, and empower students to protect their health and the health of others in the community. “We’re finally getting closer to the finish line in terms of vaccination, but there is still some work to do and we need that final push with…
August think tank session to spark health research collaboration A WE-Spark Think Tank will provide an overview of three projects seeking input on Friday, Aug. 6. Do you like to discuss new ideas? Solve problems? Make new connections? Then WE-Spark Think Tanks are for you. The Aug. 6 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: Re-Imagining Health Justice in Windsor Essex Tess Sheldon, University of Windsor, Faculty of Law Clinical Diagnostics using Processing, Extraction, and Detection of Biomedical Signals Esam Abdel-Raheem, University of Windsor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Developing Health Related Mobility Innovations to Build a Connected and Sustainable City Tom Schnekenburger, University of Windsor, Data and Mobility Science Matthew Johnson, Invest Windsor-Essex WE-Spark Health Institute hosts the bi-monthly sessions, open to everyone. Click here to register for the August event,…
Anxiety affects a child’s ability to read facial expressions, study finds Nicole Di Nardo, a psychology student entering her final year at the University of Windsor, has co-authored a peer-reviewed paper published in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders. There’s an association between anxiety disorders and a child’s ability to read facial expressions, UWindsor psychology professor Lance Rappaport and undergraduate student Nicole Di Nardo write in an article in the latest edition of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders. Di Nardo and Dr. Rappaport co-authored the article with researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University and the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Md. It is based on a study involving more than 600 children aged nine to 14. The children were asked to look at images of faces and identify the feelings each expressed. The study found that children with generalized anxiety disorder symptoms were able to more accurately recognize expressions of happiness and fear, among other emotions. Meanwhile, children exhibiting symptoms of depression…
Researchers devising new imaging agents to diagnose prostate cancer Lisa Porter and John Trant, shown in this 2019 photo, have received funding through the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation’s Seeds4Hope program to devise new imaging agents for the diagnosis of prostate cancer. A pair of UWindsor scientists are researching ways to better diagnose prostate cancer. Lisa Porter and John Trant are developing imaging agents to help oncologists distinguish between different types of prostate cancer. The new agents would fluoresce under near-infrared light that could be used in conjunction with colonoscopies. Diagnoses would be more precise and wait times shorter than with current imaging using positron emission tomography, commonly referred to as PET scans. “What’s cool about this is you could just use a lamp,” said Dr. Trant. “This would be much more readily available, and we could cut costs a couple orders of magnitude.” The research is being funded with a $30,000 grant from the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation’s Seeds4Hope program. Since its…
Bring your research appetite to find out what WE-Spark Health Institute is all about A video raises awareness about WE-Spark Health Institute and how it can facilitate local research collaboration.
Researchers to explore effects on volunteers of adaptive exercise programs What are the effects of adaptive exercise programs on the volunteers who help to offer them? A new study aims to find out. A study will explore the experiences of volunteers providing exercise programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, particularly during the pandemic and pre-pandemic times. The project, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), expands on more than a decade of collaboration between the UWindsor Faculty of Human Kinetics and Community Living Essex County. The team includes Sean Horton, Sara Scharoun Benson, Chad Sutherland, and Jordan Deneau of the Adapted Physical Exercise (APEX) research group, along with psychology professor Jonathan Weiss of York University. Over the years the partnership between Community Living and APEX has centred around developing inclusive community-based exercise programs to help improve the mental and physical health and confidence of people with intellectual disabilities and…
Study: listen to employees to build more resilient teams Teams become more effective and resilient when bosses encourage employees to take risks, make suggestions, and learn from the process, according to a study by business professor Kyle Brykman. Business leaders who encourage their employees to learn on the job and speak up with ideas and suggestions for change have teams that are more effective and resilient in the face of unexpected situations, according to new research from the Odette School of Business and Rice University. “A Resource Model of Team Resilience Capacity and Learning” will appear in a special issue of Group & Organization Management. Authors Kyle Brykman, an assistant professor at the University of Windsor’s Odette School of Business, and Danielle King, an assistant professor of psychological sciences at Rice University, studied what makes employees more resilient and fosters learning in the workplace. The researchers specifically examined the interactions of 48 teams from five Canadian technology startups.…
Windsor neurologist raises alarm over dip in ER visits for stroke symptoms 'Don't wait' to get treatment, says medical director of EDSC Windsor-Essex
