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Online session to spark health research collaborations Researchers, students, and health care professionals in all disciplines interested in discussing new ideas, solving problems, and making new connections are invited to WE-SPARK Think Tanks. A session on Zoom scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. Friday, June 21, will ask participants for input on three presentations: Parent bias during pregnancy: The impact of dysregulated imprinting on maternal-fetus health Brian DeVeale, PhD, Faculty of Science, University of Windsor Dr. DeVeale is seeking partners to research parental bias during pregnancy, specifically focusing on the impact of imprinting, and is looking for the opportunity to work with local perinatologists and related specialists, especially those with interest and access to full-term placentas. Boosting Public Health by Adding a Mobile Lab: Collaborating on a Customized Solution for Windsor-Essex Jackie Fong, MSc - INSPIRE Program Manager, University of Windsor Funding has been secured for a mobile lab to add to the successful mobile health…
Medical research program marks 10th anniversary by funding 10 projects Fifteen medical students will pursue research supervised by UWindsor professors with the support of a grant program celebrating 10 years. The Schulich-UWindsor Opportunities for Research Excellence Program is marking its 10th anniversary with grants to 15 medical school students. The students are pursuing 10 research projects, each under the supervision of a UWindsor professor. Each project is awarded $5,000, funded jointly by the University of Windsor and Western University. “SWORP has provided a valuable opportunity to explore research within my community,” said Mihir Modi, a second-year student at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry’s Windsor campus. “Under the guidance of my research supervisor, I acquired essential skills for conducting clinical research, while also establishing connections and honing my expertise through conferences and presentations. “Clinical research is a long and lengthy process, but the program has provided me the support to make significant…
Windsor-Essex motorcyclists rev engines to help fight prostate cancer Photo Credit: Windsorite.Ca Motorcyclist enthusiasts hit the local open roads Sunday to rev their engines in support of the fight against prostate cancer. “When I started this ride, there was no prostate cancer that I was aware of in my family,” said Shane Miles, co-chair for Windsor Motorcycle Ride for Dad. “My dad is now living with inoperable prostate cancer and that is because he did not get checked. Don’t do what he did. The 18th annual fundraiser attracted more than 100 riders who travelled together through parts of Windsor and Essex County after rolling out from their starting point at Thunder Road Harley-Davidson on Huron Church Road in Windsor. The event has raised more than $1.1 million so far for prostate cancer research and awareness. This year, $30,000 is being donated to the University of Windsor research team of biomedical sciences professor Lisa Porter. The funds will help Porter’s lab investigate the prevention and treatment of an aggressive form of metastatic…
Community supports boosts prostate cancer research opportunities A motorcycle tour of Essex County will raise funds for prostate cancer research Sunday, May 26. The research team of biomedical sciences professor Lisa Porter will receive $30,000 from the Prostate Cancer Fight Foundation and the 2024 Ride for Dad for prostate cancer research. “Quality research takes time and funding, and it is not possible without significant community effort,” says Dr. Porter, a core principal member of the WE-Spark Health Institute. “Ride for Dad continues to invest in local research and the impact on improving patient outcomes is incredible.” These funds will enable Porter’s lab to investigate prevention and treatment of an aggressive form of metastatic prostate cancer called neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). “NEPC is resistant to all current therapies, but our lab has found a class of proteins that are elevated in NEPC, and we have exciting evidence to support that these proteins have the potential to drive progression to this drug-resistant form…
UWindsor Spearheads $15 Million Initiative to Boost Canada’s Pandemic Preparedness Dr. Mike McKay, shown here along the Windsor-Detroit riverfront, heads INSPIRE, a $15 million research project to help Canada respond to future pandemics by strengthening our country’s biomanufacturing sector. (Photo by UWindsor) The University of Windsor is leading a $15 million research project to help Canada respond to future pandemics by strengthening our country’s biomanufacturing sector. INSPIRE, short for the Integrated Network for the Surveillance of Pathogens: Increasing Resilience and Capacity in Canada’s Pandemic Response, brings together 43 experts from seven universities and public and private agencies in Canada and the United States. This team of microbiologists, biochemists, engineers, computer scientists, and experts in supply chains and public policy will look for ways to improve biomanufacturing and health sector supply chains, bolster cross-border trade and mobility, and explore new technologies in pathogen surveillance. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, we had…
Science students sweep research presentation contest Samra Khan took top honours in the UWindsor Three Minute Thesis competition for her presentation on creating vaccines to target immune responses against cancer. Science swept the 2024 University of Windsor Three Minute Thesis (3MT) research competition for graduate students on April 9. The 3MT is a skills development activity which challenges graduate students to present their research and its wider impact to a non-specialist audience in just three minutes using only one slide. This year, first, second, and third place all went to science students. In first place was Samra Khan, a doctoral candidate from chemistry and biochemistry, with her presentation, “Sugar-coated cancer vaccines for ‘sweet’ adaptive oncoimmunology.” “I use both experimental and computational synthetic organic chemistry to work in cancer drug discovery with my advisor, Dr. John Trant,” says Khan. “I computationally design, and then make, chemical cancer vaccines and next generation cancer drugs. My…
May networking event to bring together health research community WE-SPARK Health Institute hosts monthly networking events for members of the Windsor-Essex health research community to get to know one another through fun and casual conversations. There is no formal agenda, and all are welcome. This is an opportunity for anyone interested in health research to make connections in an informal and enjoyable atmosphere. The next event will be held Thursday May 2nd from 5-8pm at the Bourbon Tap & Grill, 1199 Ottawa St, Windsor. No RSVP is required. WE-SPARK Health Institute is supported by an innovative partnership between the University of Windsor and Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, St. Clair College, and Windsor Regional Hospital that brings together health research strengths, expertise, and infrastructure from across the WindsorEssex region.
Drug design earns honour for computational chemist The Chemical Abstracts Service has named UWindsor post-doctoral researcher Aziz Abu-Saleh one of its 2024 Future Leaders Your next treatment for anxiety or cancer may be residing right now on Aziz Abu-Saleh’s computer. As a post-doctoral researcher in the lab of professor John Trant, Dr. Abu-Saleh specializes in computational chemistry, leveraging advanced computer modeling techniques and machine learning to design drugs targeting a range of health issues, including anxiety, cancer, COVID-19, and obesity. “My research involves computer modelling of biological systems to solve challenging problems,” he says. “We want to target those health issues without affecting other functions.” The computer models simulate real-world effects of his designs. Promising solutions are handed off to partners to synthesize the materials, test them, and then provide feedback for further refinement. His work has won him notice from the Chemical Abstracts Service, a division of the American Chemical…
Funding to advance neutron research program Drew Marquardt took another step toward bringing neutron scattering to material research and cancer treatment in Windsor. Drew Marquardt took another step forward in his quest to bring neutron scattering to the forefront of material research and cancer treatment in Windsor when he received the Early Researcher Awards (ERA) program from the Ministry of Colleges and Universities. The five-year award comes with $140,000 along with an additional $50,000 funded from the UWindsor Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation. “Since Canada’s major neutron beam source facility closed down in Chalk River in 2018, researchers have had to travel to international facilities to conduct imperative research,” says Dr. Marquardt, acting head of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. “My lab is building a research program that will hopefully result in bringing a compact accelerator-driven neutron source, or CANS, infrastructure to Windsor. This funding shows that the broader community…
