UWindsor researchers helping to develop COVID19 immunity test Professor John Trant is working to develop a simple test to determine whether a vaccine has effected immunity to COVID-19. After receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, you will want to know if you have gained immunity to the very contagious and potentially life-threatening virus. UWindsor professor John Trant is working with a biomedical industry partner to develop a simple antibody test that will quickly tell if the vaccine has boosted your immune system enough to create antibodies that will fight off the coronavirus. “With just a few minutes and a drop of blood, we will be able to determine if the vaccine has made you immune to COVID-19,” says Dr. Trant, a chemistry and biochemistry professor. A joint partnership grant of $75,000 from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Ontario Centres of Excellence through their Alliance VIP Partnership for Industry, along with support from the industry partner, Windsor-based biomedical company Audacia Bioscience,…
Windsor-Essex Compassion Care Community program gets major Trillium grant A $750,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Fund will help the Windsor-Essex Compassion Care Community offer support and services to 1,500 people living in isolation because of age or health related issues. The funding was awarded to the Hospice of Windsor & Essex County last November. Hospice serves as the lead sponsor for WECCC programs. New initiatives were officially launched Wednesday at the Life After Fifty centre on McEwan Avenue. The goal is to establish compassionate community supports in 60 neighbourhood environments that will benefit 1,500 people in Windsor and throughout the county. “We want to create a social network around people, a caring compassionate community that will offer the connections that people need,” said WECCC director Deborah Sattler.
Software buy “a game-changer” for local health researchers Acquiring a license for a web-based application to build and manage online research projects is a game-changer, says Lisa Porter, executive director of the WE-Spark Health Institute. The institute purchased Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap), used around the world to support clinical and translational research studies. “With the number of collaborative, cross-institutional research projects growing across our region, we needed to have shared tools available to all health research stakeholders to enhance collaboration and reduce redundant systems” Dr. Porter says. “REDCap is a game-changer and puts us on the map with other world-class research institutes.” The app will enable researchers across Windsor-Essex to collect, store, and share de-identified health research data with collaborators under one platform. Its flexibility and customization will allow users to increase the quality of their research data and increase efficiencies in the data lifecycle management. To be granted…
A Team of Volunteers - The Windsor Essex Sewing Force When the COVID-19 pandemic landed on the world with both feet, citizen volunteers immediately launched into action, creating homemade hospital facemasks, caps and gowns to make up the shocking shortfall of personal protective equipment (PPE) in our healthcare system: i.e. medical facemasks, caps, and gowns. For anyone who thinks this involved a few elderly craftspeople setting aside their doilies and Queen Elizabeth commemorative needle-point, think again. The effort, which ultimately became the Windsor-Essex Sewing Force (WESF) more resembles a military operation in its scope, recruitment of personnel and logistical challenges. Among these mask-making volunteers were Rebecca Rudman, Karen Harris (on medical leave since the summer), Kelly Mullen (left the group in mid-May), Patricia Savage, Donna Piche, Jeannie Hopkins, six Windsor-Essex women who put their sewing skills and organizational abilities to work for the community. “We started at the end of March,” Rebecca remembers, “when…
Ontario considers field hospitals for long-term care residents, cites Windsor The staffing crisis at Heron Terrace long-term care home in Windsor during the pandemic’s first wave last spring was so dire that at one point only three employees showed up to care for 140 residents. It took so long — five days — to get residents’ test results that Windsor Regional Hospital began labelling residents as hospital patients to get the results faster. These revelations are contained in a transcript of Windsor Regional’s testimony before Ontario’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission on Nov. 19. The transcript was released Monday. The commission released its second interim report Friday. The hospital was asked to testify about using its field hospital in the St. Clair College SportsPlex to care for and cohort long-term care residents infected with the virus. With more than 100 outbreaks in long-term care and retirement homes in Ontario in the last six weeks, including six in Windsor and Essex County, and 300 more deaths, Premier Doug Ford said last week the government…
Record attendance marks success of cancer research conference A record 270 registrants attended the International Cancer Research Conference, hosted virtually by the Windsor Cancer Research Group. The culmination of months of planning, the fifth Biennial International Cancer Research Conference, Nov. 19 to 21, had everything, organizers say. A record 270 registrants attended the conference, hosted virtually from Windsor by the Windsor Cancer Research Group, WE-Spark Health Institute’s flagship program. “This was a conference that brought together all the ingredients that make cancer research and innovation flourish,” said Dora Cavallo-Medved, the group’s translational research director. “From renowned researchers and surgeons to a visionary devoted to helping women with breast cancer. Inspiring patient stories to dynamic student presenters. An intimate EDI conversation where panellists shared their personal experiences to highlight how we can make healthcare and research more equitable, inclusive and diverse, to a virtual networking…
Online sessions an opportunity to spark research collaborations The WE-SPARK Think Tank will provide an overview of three research project son Friday, Dec. 4.
Local psychology professor is leading a study to assess the effectiveness of a smartphone app A psychology professor from the University of Windsor is leading a study to assess the effectiveness of a phone application to manage anxiety. Lance Rappaport is leading a team of researchers to access MindShift, a free tool developed by the experts at Anxiety Canada in order to help manage psychological distress. The free app has been available for several years, but the group of mental health professionals are now evaluating how well it is working. Anxiety Canada, the non-profit organization who developed the app has awarded Rappaport a grant of just over $21,000 to fund the research. The study asks participants to watch a short video explaining MindShift before using the app for 16 weeks. Courtesy: https://windsor.ctvnews.ca/university-of-windsor-professor-receives-grant-for-21k-to-research-anxiety-app-results-1.5190026
UWindsor COVID research gets $300,000 funding boost Mike McKay, executive director of the Great Lake Institute for Environmental Research, is leading a research team using sewage as an early warning system to determine trends in COVID-19 infection rates.
