On International Women’s Day, read about these UPEI researchers working on Mitacs-funded projects
March 8 is International Women’s Day, and UPEI is fortunate to have an abundance of inspiring women who lead by example as teachers and researchers. Among them are five researchers who are working on Mitacs-funded projects:
Dr. Marya Ahmed, associate professor of chemistry, Faculty of Science
Title: Evaluation of antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory efficacies of honey and bioactives extracted from honey gummies
Dr. Ahmed is partnering with Island Abbey Foods, a leading manufacturer of honey-based lozenges, drops, and gummies, on a project to investigate the biological activities of honey and other bioactive ingredients formulated as gummies. Manufacturing gummies requires high temperatures and harsh acidic conditions that may reduce the biological activities of honey and other active metabolites such as melatonin and vitamins present in these products. Island Abbey Foods is working with Dr. Ahmed’s research group to understand the effects of gummy formation on antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activities of honey and other active metabolites in honey gummies.
Dr. Nadja Bressan, assistant professor, Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering
Title: Immersive Virtual Environment for Dental Restorative Techniques
In partnership with Bluelight Analytics, Dr. Bressan is exploring the use of immersive virtual mediums such as virtual reality and augmented reality to deliver required continuing education to dentists and dental assistants. Dentists and dental assistants are required to complete continuing education. Blue Light’s first technology introduced in 2010 was a patient simulator used for teaching hands-on light curing skills. This technology incorporates a mannequin head, expensive electronics and required an in-person course which is less desirable in the current COVID-19 landscape. Exploring other mediums to deliver required educational training will be important over the foreseeable future. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are two such immerging mediums and could be delivered directly to the user mitigating the need to travel. Since the hands-on aspect is important for developing dental skills, AR represents a step into the future of dentistry. This platform may be utilizing for didactic training and professional training at different levels of expertise transforming the practice of dentistry as we know it.
Dr. Lisa Chilton, professor of history and applied communication, leadership, and culture, Faculty of Arts
Title: Commodification of Traditional Musical Modalities and Cultural Identity on Prince Edward Island, 1980s to the Present
Dr. Chilton is supporting the work of honours student Rowen Gallant on a project that explores the commodification and marketing of traditional PEI musical culture over the past 40 years in light of the experiences and understandings of individuals who have been prominent players in the traditional music sector over that period. This process will be explored by investigating the relationships that exist between major government/government-adjacent organizations (cultural and touristic funding organizations) and the traditional musicians who apply for and receive said funding. Dr. Chilton anticipates that the outcome of the study will demonstrate the subtle ways in which funding processes like cultural or tourism grants create incentive for artists to shape their artistic expression and their own conceptions of traditionalism, as well as the ways by which artists may offer resistance to these pressures. Gallant and Dr. Chilton are working with the Federation culturelle de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard on the project.
Dr. Amy Hsiao, associate professor, Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering
Title: Continuation of Characterization and Design of Additively Manufactured Components for Materials Integrity
Rapid prototyping, or 3D printing, has inspired the imagination of the general public, from simple build-it-yourself “hobby” machines using polymer-based binder material with inkjet functionality, to portable printers that can fashion components in zero gravity on the International Space Station. The functionality is user-friendly, in that printed material is dropped onto a substrate in viscous plastic form, which solidifies to take on the designed shape. The resulting piece is a plastic prototype that may be used as is, for some applications, or as scaled models to assist the product development process. This work focuses on 3D metal printing, specifically, direct metal laser sintering (DMLS), to build three-dimensional, complex parts using metallic powders. Materials science, design of experiments, and engineering design for the purpose of manufacturing components are integrated with complex geometries and lightweight, high-strength metallic-alloy properties for aircraft applications. By investigating how process parameters affect the properties of materials, Dr. Hsiao expects that run-to-run variations in the DMLS process will be reduced, production and post-production time and costs will be reduced and they will contribute to innovation in using an additive approach to the engineering design of complex components.
Dr. Caroline Ritter, Canada Research Chair in social epidemiology for healthy animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Title: Supporting positive well-being of early career veterinarians
Dr. Ritter is partnering with VetStrategy on a project to raise awareness of mental health issues in the veterinary community. The aims of this research are to 1) assess mental health status and challenges longitudinally as veterinary students transition into working in the profession; and 2) develop a tool that is especially suitable to support positive mental health of early career veterinarians. Questionnaires will be distributed to all Canadian veterinary undergraduate students in their final year and during their transition into the workplace to assess mental health status longitudinally. Individual one-on-one interviews with recent graduates will provide additional in-depth insights. Veterinary undergraduate students and recent graduates will be involved in the development and evaluation of a resilience training tool that provides strategies to increase mental health especially during the first years as practitioners. This research will raise awareness of mental health issues in the veterinary community. Once its benefit is established, the program will be made available to all Canadian veterinary colleges, students, and recent graduates.
Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from academic institutions. It is funded by the Government of Canada along with the governments of Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Yukon; Innovation PEI; and Research Manitoba.
