Research profiles

University of Saskatchewan researchers are developing nanostructure carbon coatings for surgical implants such as artificial joints. Each year, more than 50,000 joint replacement surgeries are performed in Canada, and with an aging population, the number of surgeries is on the rise. For Canadians, these more durable, longer-lasting surgical implants will decrease the number of surgeries, improving the quality of life of patients, and reducing exposure to the toxic effects of wear.

An award-winning researcher at Concordia University is working to fill the gaps of our knowledge of HIV/AIDS, with a special focus on communities of people that have been traditionally overlooked. She has conducted needs assessments with the City of Toronto and the province of Quebec to improve preventative health services. She has also developed a series of educational materials targeted for transsexuals.

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan and the University of British Columbia have developed a vaccine that will dramatically reduce the level of e-coli in cattle. This toxic microbe, responsible for recalls of meat and water contamination, causes illness in 50,000 North Americans annually, and approximately 500 deaths.

One of the most effective natural treatments for allergic reactions is found in Caribbean coral. However the demand far exceeds the natural supply, which has prompted a researcher at the University of Prince Edward Island to synthesize this natural treatment, also known as pseudopterosins. Producing a synthetic form of this coral will ensure the commercial quantity that pharmaceutical companies require to produce more effective products that minimize allergic reactions, without depleting natural coral stocks and threatening the local ecosystem.

Through the CARTaGENE project, researchers are creating a data base, called a biobank, to unite genetic data and other biological samples together with health and lifestyle information of 20,000 people from the Province of Quebec. Under the responsibility of the Université de Montréal, CARTaGENE will make it possible for researchers to use this genetic information to develop more appropriate interventions and more accurate diagnostics and prevention tools.