Christina Heidorn / en U of T engineering and life sciences students to test how changes in gravity affect human genetics /news/u-t-engineering-and-life-sciences-students-test-how-changes-gravity-affect-human-genetics <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T engineering and life sciences students to test how changes in gravity affect human genetics</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-05/iss058e003901-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Lu2yfoNP 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-05/iss058e003901-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=ygLEi6de 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-05/iss058e003901-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=dp0-ooGX 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-05/iss058e003901-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=Lu2yfoNP" alt="Astronaut David Saint-Jacques"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>geoff.vendeville</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-08-18T13:12:39-04:00" title="Wednesday, August 18, 2021 - 13:12" class="datetime">Wed, 08/18/2021 - 13:12</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Astronaut David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency takes pictures of the Earth below from inside the International Space Station's "window to the world," the seven-windowed cupola (photo courtesy NASA)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/christina-heidorn" hreflang="en">Christina Heidorn</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/institute-biomedical-engineering" hreflang="en">Institute of Biomedical Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/aerospace" hreflang="en">Aerospace</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/life-sciences" hreflang="en">Life Sciences</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A team of ؿζSM&nbsp;students is preparing to see its research take off next week.</p> <p>They are among just six university teams from across Canada selected to conduct a study in a microgravity environment aboard the <a href="https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/sciences/parabolic.asp">National Research Council Canada’s (NRC) Falcon 20 jet</a>&nbsp;–&nbsp;the same plane used to train the Canadian Space Agency’s astronauts.&nbsp;</p> <p>As part of the <a href="http://seds.ca/can-rgx">Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge</a>&nbsp;(CAN-RGX), the team –&nbsp;called TelOmG –&nbsp;has spent the past year designing and building a unique experiment to examine the impact of space flight on astronauts’ genes.&nbsp;</p> <div class="align-center"> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/scale_image_750_width_/public/2023-05/TelOmG%20Team%20Photo-crop.jpg?itok=11jAILnR" width="750" height="643" alt="The members of team TelOmG" class="image-style-scale-image-750-width-"> </div> </div> <p><em>The members of team TelOmG, from left to right, are Erin Richardson, Anthony Piro, Miranda Badovinac in the top row; Taylor Peters, Dunja Matic, Luca Castelletto in the middle row; Samantha Aberdein, Emma Belhadfa, Nicole Richardson, Krish Joshi, and MacKenzie Campbell in the bottom row&nbsp;(photos courtesy of team TelOmG)</em></p> <p>During the flight, scheduled for Aug.&nbsp;19, the students will investigate the effects of changes in gravity on the genetic regulation of human telomeres. Telomeres are protective caps at the ends of our chromosomes that are linked to genomic stability. Shortening of telomeres is associated with aging, while lengthening can be associated with cancer.&nbsp;</p> <p>The idea for the experiment came to team lead <strong>Erin Richardson</strong>, a fourth-year student in engineering science in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering,&nbsp;while reading <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-landmark-twins-study-reveals-resilience-of-human-body-in-space/">NASA’s landmark Twins Study</a>, an investigation of spaceflight’s effects on the human body. The study focused on American astronaut Scott Kelly, who spent nearly a year in space, and his twin brother Mark who remained earthbound, and found Scott’s telomeres unexpectedly grew longer during his space flight. They returned to normal shortly after his return to Earth. In contrast, his twin’s telomeres remained stable during the same period.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p>“Our experiment investigates whether this increase in telomere length was due to reduced gravity or some other factor, such as increased radiation or stress during the space flight,” says Richardson.&nbsp;</p> <p>Flying parabolic manoeuvres on the NRC’s Falcon 20 will allow the team to isolate microgravity from the other factors present on the International Space Station. However, while Kelly spent months in space, the experiment will only undergo five, 20-second periods&nbsp;of microgravity.&nbsp;</p> <p>The students had to devise a way to test whether telomeres are affected by microgravity in under 20 seconds. “Telomere length won’t change that fast,” says Richardson. “The key was to focus on the transcription of the genes that control them. Previous studies found transcriptomes changed significantly within 20 seconds of altered gravity.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Richardson recruited other students from engineering science's&nbsp;aerospace and biomedical systems majors as well as from the life sciences. In addition to Piro, the team includes: <strong>MacKenzie Campbell</strong>, a graduate of engineering science and master's student in chemical engineering; <strong>Dunja Matic </strong>and <strong>Taylor Peters</strong>, both in their fourth year&nbsp;of engineering science; <strong>Emma Belhadfa </strong>and&nbsp;<strong>Luca Castelletto</strong>&nbsp;in year three of engineering science; year three life science student, <strong>Miranda Badovinac</strong>;&nbsp;and Grade 12 students Samantha Aberdein, Krish Joshi, and Nicole Richardson.&nbsp;</p> <p>The aerospace engineering team members focused on designing and building the physical apparatus, while biomedical systems and life science students designed and tested the experiment’s scientific methods.&nbsp;</p> <p>“One of the beautiful things that happens when you bring together people with so many different backgrounds, is the ingenuity in the questions they ask each other,” says <strong>Rodrigo Fernandez-Gonzalez</strong>, an associate professor at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and chair of engineering science's biomedical systems major. “Those questions often challenge dogmas and assumptions and can ultimately lead to amazing discoveries.”&nbsp;</p> <p>To test their hypothesis that microgravity contributes to changes in gene transcription related to telomeres, the students will “freeze cells in time” by preserving their nucleic acids before and after each short period of microgravity. They will analyze the nucleic acids after the flight for changes in the expression levels of genes that regulate telomeres.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p> <p>The experiment’s apparatus consists of a syringe filled with a stabilization solution and connected to a series of chambers containing live cells. The electronic control system will inject the solution into the correct chamber when manually triggered by the students on board the flight just before and after each period of microgravity. Some samples are frozen before any periods of hypergravity or microgravity to control for environmental conditions on board the jet.&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Screen%20Shot%202021-08-13%20at%2012.17.44%20AM.png" style="width: 750px; height: 429px;"></p> <p><em>The TelOmG injection system (graphic courtesy of team TelOmG)</em></p> <p>The entire experiment had to fit into a 50-centimetre&nbsp;cube and weigh no more than 45 kilograms, among other constraints. “Little things that you wouldn’t normally consider are much more challenging in microgravity,” says Castello, the team’s mechanical lead.</p> <p>“For example, we had to ensure everything is absolutely leak-proof and secured so that there’s no chance of small components or liquid floating around the plane’s cabin. Since we are dealing with cells, we had to create a sterile system while also minimizing bubbles that could interfere with our fluid pathways.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Team TelOmG presented their proposal at the Johnson Space Centre Astronomical Society in June and has been invited to share their findings at the <a href="https://www.iafastro.org/events/iac/">International Astronautical Congress</a> in Dubai in October.&nbsp;</p> <p>Conducting research during a pandemic presented additional challenges. Access to wet labs and lab safety training was restricted. “We’ve been blown away by the support we received from professors, researchers and private companies during this time,” Belhadfa says. “They helped us to get what we needed when public health restrictions created obstacles.” &nbsp;</p> <p>Team members also had to work on components in isolation for many months. “Normally when we work in a team and something goes wrong during equipment testing, we have a good laugh together,” Castelletto says. “It’s a lot less funny when you’re all alone in your house.”&nbsp;</p> <p>Planning and testing a complex experiment from start to finish has been an eye-opening journey for the team. “From our experiences in design courses like <a href="https://engsci.utoronto.ca/program/foundation-years/praxis/">Praxis</a>, we knew to expect things not to go as planned,” Campbell says. “We really learned to take a wide view of the project and lean on our project management skills.”&nbsp;</p> <div class="media_embed" height="422px" width="750px"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="422px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/umf5zr6ZJCk" title="YouTube video player" width="750px"></iframe></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 18 Aug 2021 17:12:39 +0000 geoff.vendeville 170065 at Exploring microgravity: U of T engineering students and their experiment to fly aboard a Falcon-20 jet /news/exploring-microgravity-u-t-engineering-students-and-their-experiment-fly-aboard-falcon-20-jet <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Exploring microgravity: U of T engineering students and their experiment to fly aboard a Falcon-20 jet</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-07-25-microgravity-students.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=TScOxFXv 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-07-25-microgravity-students.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=rno3nLie 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-07-25-microgravity-students.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=4pRjDbvq 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-07-25-microgravity-students.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=TScOxFXv" alt> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-07-24T15:06:36-04:00" title="Monday, July 24, 2017 - 15:06" class="datetime">Mon, 07/24/2017 - 15:06</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Caulan Rupke (left) and Michael Lawee (right) aboard a Falcon-20 jet (photo courtesy of Team AVAIL's Twitter account) </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/christina-heidorn" hreflang="en">Christina Heidorn</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Christina Heidorn</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/space" hreflang="en">Space</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Four U of T engineering students are preparing for the flight of a lifetime.</p> <p>They've&nbsp;earned the rare chance to take&nbsp;an experiment they designed onto a Falcon-20 jet, an aircraft similar to those used to prep&nbsp;astronauts for the feeling of weightlessness. The students&nbsp;will take&nbsp;twelve to fourteen parabolic flights of about 20 seconds each that simulate the experience of microgravity.&nbsp;</p> <p>Their goal is to better understand how liquids flow in microgravity&nbsp;and to explore how 3D printers could make long-term space missions more feasible.</p> <p><strong>Neell Young</strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Caulan Rupke</strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Michael Lawee</strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Andrew Ilersich</strong>&nbsp;make up Team AVAIL (Analyzing Viscosity And Inertia in Liquids), one of four teams chosen to participate in the Canadian Reduced Gravity Experiment Design Challenge (CAN-RGX). The competition, supported by the National Research Council and the Canadian Space Agency, tries&nbsp;to create “tangible student-led impact in space exploration and development.”</p> <p>“None of us has any experience with this kind of flight, so I’m heading to Canada’s Wonderland to ride all of the roller coasters for training,” jokes Rupke.<img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__5355 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2017-07-24-microgravity-students_0.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> <em>From left to right, Caulan Rupke, Neell Young, Andrew Ilersich&nbsp;and Michael Lawee&nbsp;make up Team AVAIL (photo courtesy of Team AVAIL)</em></p> <p>For the project, Team AVAIL, which is made up of fourth year undergrads and students in the master's program, chose to focus on a phenomenon known in physics as the “liquid rope coil” effect. On Earth, this is seen most clearly when a thick liquid like honey or maple syrup is poured from a spout or a spoon –&nbsp;the liquid flows in a way that looks like a coiling rope.</p> <p>But&nbsp;the phenomenon isn’t well understood.</p> <p>“We were surprised that this hasn’t been given the full treatment yet in the scientific literature,”&nbsp;says Ilersich. &nbsp;“It turns out to be a very complex process to describe mathematically.”</p> <p>In 3D printers, melted thermoplastics flow under pressure from nozzles before hardening to form the desired product. These plastics behave as a viscous liquid that is similar in many ways to honey or maple syrup.</p> <p>Because of this, understanding the liquid rope coil effect –&nbsp;including how it is affected by microgravity –&nbsp;is an important prerequisite to the use of 3D printers in space.</p> <p>Printing in 3D could address a key challenge for space missions: the need to minimize the space and weight of materials needed for the trip. &nbsp;Rather than bringing along all of the tools and spare parts they might possibly need, astronauts could instead manufacture objects on an as-needed basis. Because raw materials like thermoplastics can be packed much more tightly than tools of varying shapes and sizes, the approach could make long-term missions like a trip to Mars more feasible.</p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="500" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rEkuhC9eJlM" width="750"></iframe></p> <p>“We think our project was chosen because of its novelty and its applications,” says Ilersich.</p> <p>A better understanding of the physics behind the rope coil effect would also have applications here on Earth. &nbsp;With a reliable mathematical model, the effect could be controlled to create coils that could be woven together into materials with customized strength, flexibility “springiness.” New porous materials could also be created for use in tissue engineering, filtration and catalysis.</p> <p>To study&nbsp;rope coiling in microgravity, the team custom-built a self-contained experiment that had to fit inside a&nbsp;50 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm box provided by the flight organizers.&nbsp;Because existing off-the-shelf pumps did not meet their needs, the team custom-built an apparatus&nbsp;that carefully controls the flow of a viscous liquid –&nbsp;in this case corn syrup –&nbsp;through fifteen different nozzles.</p> <p>A video camera inside of the box will record the rope coiling of the liquid, and custom-built software will analyze it.</p> <p>Team AVAIL will be in Ottawa July 24 to 28 for three days of training and then the&nbsp;flight.&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Follow their progress on <a href="https://twitter.com/CAN_RGX_AVAIL">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjoFl64m08TYxxHOHUEkT7Q">YouTube</a>.</em></p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__5338 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2017-07-24-Apparatus-microgravity-embed.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> <br> <em>The team's apparatus is packed inside a box measuring 50 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm. It contains pumps and tubes that simulate the operation of a 3D printer. To simulate a molten thermoplastic, the team is using ordinary corn syrup&nbsp;(photo by&nbsp;Michael Lawee)</em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 24 Jul 2017 19:06:36 +0000 ullahnor 110720 at New $5 million NSERC network uses enzymes for greener manufacturing /news/new-5-million-nserc-network-uses-enzymes-greener-manufacturing <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">New $5 million NSERC network uses enzymes for greener manufacturing</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2014-12-02T09:26:40-05:00" title="Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - 09:26" class="datetime">Tue, 12/02/2014 - 09:26</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Professor Elizabeth Edwards heads up the new Industrial Biocatalysis Network based at U of T (photo by Sara Collaton)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/rj-taylor" hreflang="en">RJ Taylor</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/christina-heidorn" hreflang="en">Christina Heidorn</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Christina Heidorn &amp; RJ Taylor</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/engineering" hreflang="en">Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/collaboration" hreflang="en">Collaboration</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research" hreflang="en">Research</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p> Instead of using fossil fuels to make plastics and industrial chemicals, what if we could harness eco-friendly enzymes&nbsp;–&nbsp;nature’s smallest helpers&nbsp;–&nbsp;to do the work?</p> <p> On November&nbsp;28, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) announced a five-year, $5-million grant to create the Industrial Biocatalysis Network (IBN). Based at the ؿζSM and led by U of T&nbsp;Professor <strong>Elizabeth Edwards</strong>&nbsp;of chemical engineering, the network will explore new methods of using enzymes to produce environmentally-friendly chemicals, plastics and other products.</p> <p> Enzymes are special biological molecules that exist in every living organism. They act as catalysts that make nearly all of nature’s chemical transformations happen. In the most basic sense, they turn one substance into another. For example, they&nbsp;change&nbsp;cellulose into nutrient-rich glucose in a decomposing log, or break&nbsp;down fat and starch in your digestive system.</p> <p> Through the new IBN, researchers from the ؿζSM, University of British Columbia, Concordia University and several industry partners will work together to find enzymes that can convert renewable resources&nbsp;–&nbsp;such as agricultural or forestry waste&nbsp;–&nbsp;into new materials. These processes could substantially reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels.</p> <p> “Recent genomic research has revealed tens of thousands of new enzymes, many of which may have capabilities relevant to industrial manufacturing,” said Edwards. “The IBN brings together a unique and world-leading combination of expertise in bioinformatics, bioengineering and fungal, yeast and bacterial enzymology to discover greener methods for manufacturing.”</p> <p> Edwards’ team includes five professors from U of T Engineering’s BioZone, a research centre dedicated to bioengineering and applied bioscience, as well as graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. They will be strategically mining the genomics data of enzymes and testing them for specific functions.</p> <p> “Together, we’ll find the needles in the haystack,” she said.</p> <p> Edwards is a pioneer in bioremediation, a technique in which living organisms are used to clean up environmental contamination. In a recent project with Geosyntec Consultants Inc., she developed microbial cultures that can degrade chlorinated solvents and other toxic chemicals in groundwater sites that have been contaminated. This work was recognized with the NSERC Synergy Award in 2009, and it’s being used to clean up over 400 polluted sites worldwide.</p> <p> At BioZone, Edwards and her colleagues recently completed a major four-year research effort in environmental genomics funded by Genome Canada that aimed to catalog enzymes from extreme environments. The project yielded large numbers of potentially useful enzymes, some of which will be put to the test in the new IBN.</p> <p> “Under Professor Elizabeth Edwards’ remarkable leadership, the Industrial Biocatalysis Network will accelerate the manufacturing innovations we need for a more sustainable future,” said <strong>Cristina Amon</strong>, dean of U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering. “On behalf of the Faculty, I offer my deepest thanks to Elizabeth for leading this transformative initiative and to NSERC for enabling this important collaborative research network.”</p> <p> The Network was created through NSERC’s highly competitive Strategic Network Grants program, which supports large-scale, multidisciplinary research projects that require collaboration between academic researchers, organizations and companies. The program encourages research and training in targeted areas that show promise of enhancing Canada’s economy, society and environment within the next 10 years.</p> <p> The IBN has been designed to support Canada’s growth in the emerging bio-based chemical and materials sector. Industrial partners include several manufacturing, chemical and petroleum companies, such as CanSyn Chem Corp., DuPont Canada Inc., Elanco Animal Health/Division of Eli Lilly, Lallemand Inc., Monaghan Biosciences Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc.</p> <p> “Strategic Network Grants foster the kind of collaboration that allows students, established researchers, businesses and others to work hand-in-hand on the discoveries and innovations that will have impact in a reduced time frame,” said NSERC president&nbsp;Dr. B. Mario Pinto. “The transformative breakthroughs that result from this kind of collaboration help to tackle complex research questions and accelerate solutions to some of society’s toughest challenges.”</p> <p> U of T Engineering Professor <strong>Alberto Leon-Garcia</strong> was also awarded a Strategic Networks Grant in 2011 for the NSERC Strategic Network in Smart Applications on Virtual Infrastructure, intended to foster innovative application platforms, create new job opportunities in the computing and communications sectors and allow Canadians to share digital information more quickly and easily.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2014-12-02-NSERC-engineering-edwards.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 02 Dec 2014 14:26:40 +0000 sgupta 6678 at Tackling dirty water, childhood hunger /news/tackling-dirty-water-childhood-hunger <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Tackling dirty water, childhood hunger</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2014-10-08T07:06:23-04:00" title="Wednesday, October 8, 2014 - 07:06" class="datetime">Wed, 10/08/2014 - 07:06</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Mother’s Milk – the team behind an innovative new device for pumping and preserving milk in developing nations – was one of two projects that recently received Grand Challenges Canada grants (photo by Roberta Baker)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/christina-heidorn" hreflang="en">Christina Heidorn</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Christina Heidorn</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international" hreflang="en">International</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/engineering" hreflang="en">Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/awards" hreflang="en">Awards</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Engineers backed by Grand Challenges grants</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p> Canadians&nbsp;often take safe drinking water and a stable food supply for granted. But in many parts of the world, people are much less fortunate.</p> <p> Two recently-announced Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) grants will allow U of T Engineering researchers to bring their expertise to bear on some of the most urgent global health issues using scientific, technical, social and business innovation.</p> <p> The grants were included in the latest round of GCC grants, with two previous grants this year given to U of T engineers for <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/grand-challenges-canada-u-t-researchers-develop-technologies-detecting-defective-drugs-printing-skin">new methods that detect defective drugs and a 3D printer that makes skin grafts</a>.</p> <p> The latest two project teams will receive $112,000 in seed funding to implement their innovative products in the developing world.</p> <p> <strong>Fighting childhood malnutrition one bottle at a time</strong></p> <p> Breast milk is a complete meal that gives infants all they need to thrive. But millions of women in the developing world must return to work quickly – which means the end of breastfeeding and the start of malnutrition that can have life-long effects for the child.</p> <p> A new project in Dhaka, Bangladesh, called Mother’s Milk, will install hospital-grade breast pumps in factories where women work, along with a simple heating system so that breast milk can be pasteurized on site in as little as 30 seconds. Mothers will be able to safely store the milk to help feed their babies when they are away from home.</p> <p> <iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0LM1uBnvRok?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></p> <p> “Our goal is to lower the rate of infant malnutrition,” said PhD student <strong>Scott Genin</strong>, a member of the project team. “As a side benefit, we anticipate that factories with this system will also have lower worker turnover, as this will be an attractive benefit for their workers.”</p> <p> The design was created through the ‘Interdisciplinary Approach to Global Challenges’ course offered through the Centre for Global Engineering – where the Mother’s Milk project team of <strong>Scott Genin</strong>, MBA student <strong>Puja Madhok</strong> (Rotman School of Management), and master’s students<strong> Micaela Collins </strong>(Dalla Lana School of Public Health) and <strong>Marta Blackwell</strong> (Munk School of Global Affairs) first met. The group is led by Professor <strong>Joseph Wong</strong> (Munk School of Global Affairs) and Dr. <strong>Sabrina Rashid</strong> (International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh).</p> <p> <strong>Trying to clean up drinking water? Turn to the sun</strong></p> <p> <strong>Yu-Ling Cheng</strong>,&nbsp;director of U of T’s Centre for Global Engineering, is working with collaborators in Bangladesh to address one of the most serious health issues in the developing world: access to clean drinking water.</p> <p> In areas like coastal Bangladesh, large parts of the population depend on rainwater that is collected from roofs during the rainy season and stored in cisterns for use during the months-long dry season. Often this rainwater is not very clean to begin with, and nasty pathogens can multiply in the water during the long months of storage, creating an even greater health hazard for millions of people.</p> <p> Professor Cheng’s team is harnessing the sun’s UV light to improve the quality of the water as it is collected, treat it during storage and then further decontaminate it just before it’s consumed. Called Enhanced Solar Disinfection (eSODIS), the method will use ingenious cistern design and a small “just-in-time” solar-activated disinfection/dispensing module to increase the effectiveness of UV disinfection.</p> <p> <iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/J7p1YJB5LQY?rel=0" width="560"></iframe></p> <p> “I am proud of all of the projects that have come out of the Centre for Global Engineering, including the two being funded here by Grand Challenges Canada,” said Cheng. “They are examples of really important problems in the developing world where the skills and expertise of our faculty members and students can be applied to great effect.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2014-10-07-grand-challenges-water.jpg</div> </div> Wed, 08 Oct 2014 11:06:23 +0000 sgupta 6539 at