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Sulawesi is a small island in the Indonesian archipelago. Its geographic location makes it a hotbed of biodiversity, and it is home to species not found anywhere else on the planet. Many biologists have looked there to solve some of the mysteries of evolution, including McMaster’s Ben Evans.

“I’ve been interested in evolutionary processes in general and this has been an arena to explore things like how species disperse across marine barriers, how they compete with one another when they arrive in a novel habitat, and how adaptation occurs and what it depends on,” said Evans, whose work over the last 15 years has focused on endemic primate and frog species exclusive to Sulawesi.

The species garnering the most attention is the fanged frog, which Evans explained has been divided into subspecies based on body size. The larger frogs are found in fast-flowing water, while small frogs are found on land. These smaller frogs spend more time on land than in water, and have undergone a unique adaptation that Evans and his colleagues believe has occurred to combat predation.

Most frogs reproduce by laying eggs that are externally fertilized. One species of fanged frogs, however, gives birth to live tadpoles, while another lays eggs with jelly coats on leaves. Evans finds these discoveries fascinating, but he claims it is not the most interesting aspect of this adaptation.

“I think the more important message offered by this new species is that there’s a lot of diversity we don’t even know about and therefore that there’s a lot more research to be done,” he explained.

The unique reproduction of fanged frogs has been compared to that of placental and marsupial mammals.

“If you look at it coarsely, it’s quite similar in that internal fertilization and internal gestation in mammals is advantageous because it increases offspring survival,” Evans said.

However, there are still important distinctions to make between the two groups. The phenomenon of fanged frogs giving birth to live young has evolved separately from mammals’ ability to reproduce in the same way.

“It uses a distinct set of genetic tools and probably someway comparable to mammals but it’s an independent evolution of a similar characteristic,” Evans explained.

He added that a female fanged frog has been observed giving birth in standing water already containing tadpoles. He admits it cannot be confirmed yet whether or not the tadpoles came from the same female, though he believes it is unlikely.

“It’s probably the case that she doesn’t provision the tadpoles, so she doesn’t come and bring them food like a mammal would.”

This discovery opens many doors in the fields of evolutionary biology and genetics. Evans discussed his desire to better understand the specific details of how female fanged frogs are able to give birth to live tadpoles as well as the larger scale of species diversity on Sulawesi.

“That’s going to involve field work, genetic work, it’s going to involve careful ecological studies and comparison to other species of frogs, and even other vertebrates.”

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In 2014, Mick Bhatia and his team discovered that adult stem cells are hardwired to remember the type of cell they were originally. His breakthrough has not gone unnoticed. In December, the Canadian Cancer Society listed Bhatia’s research as one of the top ten discoveries of the year.

“We’ve known for several years now that you can take human skin cells and turn them into [pluripotent] stem cells that are almost identical to embryonic stem cells…[if] you’re taking cells from an individual, you can transplant those cells back in without fear of rejection,” Bhatia explained.

As he and his team learned however, the practice of reprogramming adult cells need not be restricted to skin tissue.

“We found…that you can take blood cells and turn them into pluripotent stem cells, but when you do that, it turns out these blood cells remember. So the stem cells derived from blood remember that they were blood,” Dr. Bhatia said.

When this observation was first recorded, Dr. Bhatia admits it was ignored.

“But then we started to notice a pattern and we started getting patients where we asked to take some blood and then asked to take some skin,” he said. By removing the patient as a variable, the researchers discerned that the cell origin determined how the new pluripotent stem cells would differentiate.

There are many areas in the medical field that will benefit from this advance in stem cell research; however the most prominent and immediately applicable is regenerative medicine. Since this work has only been done with blood so far, leukemia will be one of the first diseases to be treated in this manner.

“You give a drug like chemotherapy to kill the leukemia, but what happens is you kill the normal blood system. So if you can get a supply of the patient’s own blood cells and keep giving that to them at the same time as the chemotherapy, that actually allows the patient to undergo chemotherapy treatment for a longer period of time, which we know improves survival,” Bhatia explained.

Researchers can easily separate leukemic cells from healthy cells and reprogram the latter to stem cells capable of producing ten times as many blood cells.

Bhatia’s research can also be applied to cystic fibrosis. He explained that the complications associated with generating enough lung tissue would inhibit the process of testing new drugs to combat the disease. However, thanks to this development in stem cell technology, healthy lung tissue samples can be taken from CF patients and reprogrammed to lung-inclined stem cells.

Despite the implications of his work, Bhatia is as excited about his colleagues as he is about the research itself.

“What I love about this particular field that we’re in now is that…we’re working with chemists, we’re working with robotics specialists—these are people who don’t do anything with cell biology, but it’s so nice to work with people in other disciplines to solve a problem,” he said. “There’s nobody in the world doing this kind of work specifically.”

By: Allison Ouellette

Two McMaster researchers have been honoured with the Movember Discovery Grant which will provide each researcher with $200,000 over a two-year term. The grant, which Prostate Cancer Canada awarded to 26 researchers this year, will go towards two projects.

The first will fund research on cancer-induced depression by Gurmit Singh, professor in pathology and molecular medicine. Another has been awarded to Khalid Al-Nedawi, assistant professor of medicine, for a study investigating hormone therapy resistance.

Singh’s research on how prostate cancer can cause depression uses an animal model, the first of its kind in Canada. The study will eventually move to clinical trials once the mechanism that causes depression in those patients is understood through animal research.

The end goal of the research is to alleviate depression in cancer patients, which Singh believes is caused not by psycho-social factors, but by biological ones.

“We decided to look at the quality of life of prostate cancer patients. Normally what happens is over time a lot of prostate cancer patients get depressed,” said Singh.

The research team discovered that many tumour cells produce a neurotransmitter called glutamate when they are under oxidative stress. In other studies, glutamate has been linked to depression, and is now theorized to be a main cause of depression in prostate cancer patients.

“This would be stopping depression at the tumour site rather than in the brain,” said Singh.

Singh began his work in cancer research when he first joined the board of governors for the Canadian Best Cancer Foundation.

“When I joined this board on the day of run for the cure I was with some survivors and they told me that it’s great they they’re living longer, but they are in so much pain that they’d rather die,” said Singh.

After that experience, Singh began studying pain in breast cancer patients with the goal to improve quality of life for those with cancer. This has led to his new project that will provide a higher quality of life for prostate cancer patients by alleviating depression caused by prostate cancer.

The project, which is now underway, is in the early stages.

“We are hoping within two years we will have an animal model for depression,” said Singh. “Once we have that then we will be screening for drugs that block the release of glutamate.”

“At the end of the day, depression is not caused by one factor – it is multi-factorial. If we can control the biology, and the psychologists can control the social aspects, we may have a better quality of life for patients.”

By: Anna Goshua

McMaster researchers have discovered that an anticonvulsant drug may be the key to fighting antibiotic resistant infections.

In Canada alone, an average of 22 hospitalized patients die every day as a result of acquiring antibiotic resistant infections. These “superbugs” are resistant to many medications and have grown increasingly prevalent. Though well over 100 antibiotics exist, their collective mechanisms of action boil down to one of the following: kill the bacteria, or stop its multiplication.

A group of McMaster scientists have discovered a potential new class of antibiotics that stop a part of the bacteria from being produced at all.

In a study led by Eric Brown, a professor of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, a vast array of drugs were tested for how they affected ribosomes in bacteria. Ribosomes are critical to the function of a cell, as they are responsible for generating proteins.

The study found that lamotrigine, an anticonvulsant, is a chemical inhibitor that stops ribosomes from being produced in bacteria.

“Ribosome-inhibiting antibiotics have been routinely used for more than 50 years to treat bacterial infections, but inhibitors of bacterial ribosome assembly have waited to be discovered,” Brown said. “Such molecules would be an entirely new class of antibiotics, which would get around antibiotic resistance of many bacteria. We found lamotrigine works.”

Antibiotic resistance constitutes one of the biggest threats to global health, and is responsible for considerably lengthened periods of illness, higher mortality rates, and excessive medical care costs.

The discovery of lamotrigine’s hidden potential and the examination of its mechanism of action has led researchers to have a better grasp of how ribosomal assembly in bacteria works and how to formulate drugs to target that process.

While this research cannot address all the facets of the pandemic, it could allow for the rise of medications that can overcome the resistances that current bacterial strains have developed.

By: Daniel Arauz

McMaster researchers are currently developing a less invasive and cost effective way of detecting early colorectal cancer – DNA enzymes that will make poop glow.

Biochemist Yingfu Li and gastroenterologist Dr. Bruno Salena proposed the idea to the Canadian Cancer Society, who have granted the pair and their research team $200,000 in funding for a two-year study.

The goal is that this test will effectively replace colonoscopies, which is currently the most accurate way of detecting colorectal cancer. Patients will simply provide a stool sample, which will be mixed with a “fluorescent signal” DNA enzyme. The stool will illuminate if the enzyme detects colorectal cancer in the sample.

This new testing method uses technologies from previously developed DNA enzymes that can detect bacteria such as C. difficile and E.coli; projects that Li has had first-hand experience in developing.

A less invasive and simpler testing process would encourage more people to get screened. When colon cancer is caught in its early stages, it is 90 per cent treatable.

Colorectal cancer is the second most prevalent cause of death in males,. and it is the third-leading cause of death among women, behind lung and breast cancer according to Canadian Cancer Statistics 2014.

“The reason we actually got this project funded is that there is a significant need for this [kind of testing],” Li said. “We have the data with other systems for bacterial detection, we provided some sort of proof of concept – people can actually see this can happen.”

Li feels that collaboration between the scientific and medical fields is far too uncommon.

“I think it’s a challenge. Everyone is busy, I run a research lab and I have a lot to do, so on a daily basis I wouldn’t think about these kind of things.” Li admitted that without that chance meeting with Salena while playing golf, the ideas and necessary samples for this project would not have been possible. “I was actually quite surprised that colorectal cancer, for men, is the second leading cause of cancer death.”

Li attributes much of the success of this project to the collaboration between the fields of science and medicine. “You need a partner before you can really succeed,” said Li. “In this case if you didn’t have biological samples, you couldn’t devise a real test for colorectal cancer patients…I think if we really want to solve a lot of medical problems, we need to get people together, one way or another.”

Photo credit: Mike Lalich/Canadian Cancer Society

J.J. Bardoel
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McMaster University has revealed a new five-year, $18.2 million partnership with Chrysler, along with additional funding from the Canadian government, with the intent to develop new advanced energy efficient electrical vehicles.

Greg Rickford, Canada’s Minister of State for Science and Technology, revealed the agreement Oct. 25 during an event held at the McMaster Automotive Resource Centre. Chrysler will invest $9.25 million to the program, with an additional $8.93 million provided by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, an agency within Automotive Partnership Canada, which supports the initiative of increased industry research at Canadian universities.

"Our Government is investing in automotive research and development to put greener, better-performing vehicles on the road to create jobs, strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life of Canadians," said Rickford.

“Today's announcement allows Canada's knowledge and know-how to be shared with even more people and businesses from around the world and provides us with even greater opportunity for growth."

The agreement follows Chrysler Group’s various endeavours into the electrical market, notably the launch of the 2013 Fiat 500e, a battery-electric vehicle, and extensive research into vehicle-to-grid technologically.

All work will be done at McMaster, where 80 graduate and undergraduate engineering students, 20 Chrysler engineers, 16 faculty members and seven McMaster research engineers will team up, having access to Chrysler group laboratories and test vehicles.

“This cheap real viagra england project harnesses the kind of intellectual capital and collaboration required to respond to such challenges,” said Bob Lee, Chrysler Group Vice President and Head of Engine, Powertrain and Electrified Propulsion Systems Engineering. “The result – superior technology developed from efficient new processes.”

The project came about through Chrysler’s push for further advances in energy efficient powertrains (vehicles) in their product line. In order to do so, numerous prototypes will be developed based off of varying concepts of vehicular electrification; power electronics, electric machines, motor control, energy management systems, embedded software and electrified powertrain architecture and optimization

Rickford also revealed a three-year agreement with a $3.9 million investment, with $2 million from NSERC and $1.4 million from four different industrial partners, one of them Chrysler. Remaining funds will come from CANMET, a part of Natural Resources Canada that works with the energy industry.

“Proliferating the use of strong, lightweight materials such as aluminum and magnesium is among the most promising avenues to reduce the energy demand on vehicle powertrains. Reductions in energy demand are key contributors to improved fuel economy,” said Tony Mancina, Head of Chrysler Group’s Automotive Research Development Centre.

The project looks to research potential ways to incorporate weight-saving alloys. Work will take place predominantly at McMaster, with research support coming from Ryerson University and University of Trento in Italy. The partnership will also have access to Fiat’s Italian based arm, Centro Ricerche Fiat S.C.p.A., for research.

A primary goal of the technology being developed between the McMaster and Chrysler partnership is affordability, due to the high production cost often associated with electrical vehicles. Reliability, durability, weight, size and energy storage will also be key focuses during development.

Although Chrysler will acquire varying technological advances courtesy of the project, McMaster students involved will gain vital experience in a rapidly growing development in the automotive industry as well as potential job opportunities for graduate students.

The five-year plan will be split into three phases, with the final phase set for 2018.

 

Avrilynn Ding
The Meducator

Although antibiotic resistance has been identified as a problem since the first introduction of penicillin, it has recently emerged as a serious public health concern.

Currently, one in 12 adults in Canadian hospitals are infected with bacterial microbes that are immune to most or all available sildenafil antibiotics. A report released by the Ontario Medical Association in March recommended governments to establish regulations to combat antibiotics overuse in medicine and agriculture. Ironically, while antibiotic resistance is a growing threat, the pharmaceutical industry largely abandoned antibiotics development in favour of researching treatments for other diseases. The majority of antibiotics used today were discovered before 1960, and target limited pathways in bacteria.

To address the issue, researchers at McMaster University recently developed a novel approach to screening for new antibiotics. Dr. Eric Brown, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, led the study, published in Nature Chemical Biology. Rather than searching for antibiotics under conventional nutrient-rich conditions in the laboratory, researchers targeted bacteria growth under nutrient-limited conditions that closer resemble conditions in the human body that bacteria face during infections.

“Convention says you try to kill bacteria under the richest growth condition that you can create in the laboratory,” Brown said.

“And yet we know that life is not that kind to bacteria when they are infecting the human body. They actually struggle quite a bit.”

The study focused on antibiotics against Escherichia coli, a common bacterium used in research. The researchers used a medium containing four salts, supplemented by 0.4% glucose and 20mM ammonium chloride, to create a growth environment lacking the vitamins and amino acids the bacteria require. They then screened for antibacterial compounds by shifting through a library of 30,000 synthetic molecules and testing for chemicals that can block E. coli’s ability to synthesize its own essential nutrients.

Using the method, the research team discovered and characterized three new antibacterial compounds, designated as MAC168425, MAC173979 and MAC13772. Each chemical acts on a different pathway in E. coli to disrupt its ability to create or use a particular nutrient. MAC168425 interferes with the metabolism of glycine, a major amino acid used to build many proteins. MAC173979 prevents E. coli from making vitamin B9 by decreasing the biosynthesis of an intermediary molecule, while MAC173979 prevents the biosynthesis of vitamin B7 by inhibiting a key enzyme. In addition to the three molecules, researchers also identified 68 other chemicals that showed active antibiotic properties in nutrient-limited medium.

Brown’s findings have great implications in pharmaceutics by demonstrating the possibility and feasibility of a new method for antibiotic development. Not only does it suggest an alternative process for identifying antibiotic chemicals, it also opens research to a new class of antibiotics that target the nutrient synthesis mechanisms of bacteria. Although further research is required to transform the three antibiotic compounds into antibiotics, the study’s approach to discovering antibiotic chemicals has great potential to address antibiotic resistance.

 

A day that celebrated the achievements of Forward with Integrity initiatives left the overall state of the academy largely undefined.

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David Wilkinson, Provost and Vice-President (Academic), gave his State of the Academy address on Oct. 10 after presentations and receptions of various Forward with Integrity had taken place throughout the day.

"Forward with Integrity," an open letter by McMaster President Patrick Deane in 2011 was turned into an initiative allowing students to apply for funding to complete projects that would make Deane's vision a reality. 78 projects have been funded since, including the Learning Portfolio on Avenue and a psychology project studying how people can be perceived differently when conducting job interviews over Skype.

Beginning at 11:30a.m., presentations of numerous FWI projects filled the schedule at CIBC Hall, leading up to the State of the Academy. Wilkinson called his own address “window dressing” to a day of celebration.

“We decided this year’s State of the Academy Address, as it was originally called, to turn it into a whole day event of celebration,” said Wilkinson.

Wilkinson’s address, to a room filled with faculty and staff, highlighted academic research issues and remained vague regarding the overall state of McMaster University.

The Provost highlighted a few FWI projects with positive fanfare and video presentations. The Learning Portfolio received strong attention and was touted as a growing success.

“It really is an opportunity for students to integrate their learning into one place,” said Wilkinson.

With the address, Wilkinson said that he hoped to develop an identity for McMaster as both a research-intensive and student-centred school.

“Strong linkage between student centered-ness and research focus is really how we intend to define ourselves as an institution," Wilkinson said.

When it came to more technical matters, Wilkinson left a few questions unanswered.

He chose not to speak to the school’s budget in his address, instead referring the audience to the University Factbook for details.

“The State of the Academy can be all about budgets and numbers. I didn't want to do that last year and I’m not going to do it this year either. So we won’t talk a lot of budgetary situations,” said Wilkinson.

“The University Factbook…was released a couple days ago. It has an update of all of the numbers.” The document is available on the Office of Institutional Research and Analysis website.

Wilkinson was also vague with when it came the Ontario government’s push to have post-secondary institutions specialize further.

On the matter, he said “The government pays the freight, and when they want to change something, we have to pay attention to that.”

Wilkinson explained that McMaster will have to negotiate with the provincial government over the course of this academic year.

He was relatively unclear in what the school will be doing to prepare for this, saying, “One of the key things for us to do as an institution is to get our ducks in order and be prepared to state how we wish to be seen as a differentiated organization compared to other universities in the province.”

“I think, actually, we’re in pretty good shape to develop that process.”

With regards to McMaster’s internationalization, Wilkinson said, “This is the one area of Forward with Integrity that hasn't received the attention it deserves.”

 

Nearly 30 ‘forward with integrity’ projects have been funded by McMaster University, with a total of  $122,245 awarded to successful applicants.

In September, a call for proposals went out for projects that would enhance the student experience. The call was answered by 54 applicants, which included students, staff and faculty from a number of departments.

“We wanted to encourage students, faculty and staff to think about what we can do to improve and how we could work together,” said Laura Harrington, Forward with Integrity project director.

The budget for the projects was originally $100,000, but was increased after the proposals were received.

Harrington said each of the 54 proposals was reviewed by three different members of an advisory group, which commented on each proposal and made funding recommendations.

After the first round, 27 projects have been funded primarily by the President's Fund. Two were endorsed and will seek funding from other sources.

While some projects will start immediately, some will take a bit of time to get started while the applicants conduct research and search for participants.

Later this month, a call will go out for proposals for the second wave of projects, which will focus on interdisciplinary research and development.

“There are a lot of people out there with great ideas. This is one way to stimulate those conversations,” said Harrington.

 

Forward With Integrity projects endorsed or funded (December 2012):

 

Title: iMMERSE (Integrated McMaster Engineering Real‐world Supplementary Experience)

Applicant: Kelton Friedrich Faculty/Area: Engineering

Summary: iMMERSE is intended to facilitate unpaid extra‐curricular activities for students who do not participate in co‐op experiences. Students would work independently or in groups on a project defined by local or global partners. A cohort of Engineering alumni will serve as mentors. Funding will support the development of this initiative through research conducted by a summer student

 

Title: Validation of Reflection: A proposal to investigate how to enhance an Engineering student’s Learning Portfolio

Applicant: Lynn Stewart Faculty/Area: Engineering

Summary: The project will investigate ways to create opportunities for reflection among Engineering students, particularly those who are not part of a structured co‐op experience. The project will also consider how reflection can address the specific learning requirements of an Engineering education. Funding will go toward research existing tools and rubrics to support reflection in Engineering, as well as means to validate reflection and to demonstrate the value of reflection to the students.

 

Title: Neighborhood Action Plans Informing Campus‐Community Engaged Scholarship

Applicant: Catherine Tompkins Faculty/Area: School of Nursing

Summary: The applicant will organize a three‐day “think tank” with community partners that will explore ways for the University to engage and foster collaboration with priority Hamilton neighborhoods. The aim is to identify opportunities for enhancing the student experience through participating in community‐engaged education and research, with a particular focus on the Neighborhood Action Plans.

 

Title: CreativeEnterprise and the Social Entrepreneur

Applicant: John Ford Faculty/Area: School of the Arts/Humanities

Summary: The project focuses on the establishment of an International Artist/Designer in Residence, beginning with Jennifer Price fromEngland. The Artist will engage students at all levels in the School of the Art, and participation will also be sought from other Departments/Faculties. She will work with students and staff to create a large‐scale participatory project, and public events will be held in collaboration with Hamilton Artists Inc. and other partners. The start date for this project is not yet determined.

 

Title: Pilot Performance Cycle on Student Success

Applicant: Catherine Graham Faculty/Area: School of the Arts, Student Success Centre

Summary: The proposal builds on an existing collaboration between the SOTA and SSC which supports the creation of a dramatic production intended to welcome first year students to campus and facilitate their thinking on student success. A series of workshops will be held with students to learn about the varying definitions of success at the University. The results will provide material for use in the next cycle of dramatic productions. Funding will be used to hire a research assistant to help in the development of the program.

 

Title: MappingParadise: an Environmentally Responsible Art Initiative

Applicant: Judy Major‐Girardin Faculty/Area: School of the Arts

Summary: The project supports student creativity in collaboration with the Cootes to Escarpment ParkSystem Initiative. Students will be exposed to leaders from the Arts, Engineering, History and from within the community (RBG). Students will be preparing a map that is linked to a focus on environmentally responsible art practices which will be displayed during an exhibition and public reception in February. Funding will support an undergraduate assistant and the workshop/reception.

 

Title: Student Activism Projects in Women’s Studies 1AA3: Women Transforming the World

Applicant: Karen Balcom Faculty/Area: Humanities

Summary: Students registered in the course can choose to participate in activism projects related to what they learn in the classroom. The projects are designed in collaboration with stakeholders such as the Anti‐Violence Network, OPIRG and community partners, and students are involved in the design. Funding will support a research project that will enhance the connections between the projects and course components and to develop a more sustainable and efficient model for coordinating the projects themselves.

 

Title: A Framework for Supporting Experiential Learning atMcMasterUniversity

Applicants: Elkafi Hassini, Jeannie An, Mandeep Malik Faculty/Area: Business

Summary: This project involves developing a web presence that will facilitate communication about existing and potential experiential opportunities for students. This group will coordinate with other University stakeholders to compile and share information about the opportunities that are available.

 

Title: Sustainability Office Strategy

Applicant: Kate Whalen Faculty/Area: VP Administration

Summary: The project is a continuation of the work performed by the Sustainability Office. This group has developed a range of opportunities for students to learn about and participate in projects related to sustainability at the University and elsewhere. The funds will be used to support the salary of a manager who will oversee an expanded Internship Program and foster the incorporation of sustainability issues and challenges into teaching and learning.

 

Title: Undergraduate Research Mentorship Program (Endorsed, not funded)

Applicant: Allison Sekuler Faculty/Area: Graduate Studies

Summary: The proposal outlines a mentorship program in which a graduate student will serve as a mentor to the undergraduate students that are participating in Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) projects during the summer. The students will use the learning portfolio to track their progress and this pilot will compare the experiences of the mentored students with those that did not participate in the mentorship.

*The project was endorsed by the advisory group but will be supported through other funds.

 

Title: A multi‐phase proposal to introduce an academic learning portfolio into the life sciences program

Applicants: Kimberly Dej, Lori Goff Faculty/Area: Science/CLL

Summary: The project will introduce an e‐portfolio to students in the Life Sciences program in order to help the students demonstrate skill development (including degree level expectations), develop an academic plan and learning goals as well as reflect on experiences. The implementation will occur gradually over several terms. Funding will be used to hire students who will develop and test the online learning materials that will be used, and to evaluate the success of the project through interviews and surveys.

 

Title: Learning Portfolio Pilot Project

Applicants: Philippa Carter, Jennifer Nettleton, Robert Revington Faculty/Area: Social Sciences

Summary: The applicants propose to develop an interdisciplinary course that will involve using a learning portfolio. The students will assess the suitability of the existing e‐portfolio in Avenue and cultivate mentorship and reflective capabilities. Funding will be used to hire a student to assist in launching of the course, tracking the results and evaluating success.

 

Title: Ethnography of the McMaster Community and University

Applicant: Petra Rethmann Faculty/Area: Social Sciences

Summary: The project involves developing a course that will assist students in carrying out projects on the ethnography of the larger McMaster community. The projects will involve participant observation and hands‐on engagement with the community. Students will develop the project, conduct the study, and share the results. The applicant intends to submit an application to SSHRC following the project. Funding will be used to hire a student to develop the course, and for a video camera and other resources for the students to carry out their projects.

 

Title: Laying the Groundwork for Student Portfolios in Economics

Applicant: Bridget O’Shaughnessy Faculty/Area: Social Sciences

Summary: The project will fund the hiring of a summer student to investigate the potential use of the learning portfolio in Economics, which tends to utilize traditional teaching techniques and relies heavily on empirical evidence. The study will consider ways to market the portfolio to economics students, how it would be valued by students and future employers, and how it could enable continued dialogue with graduates of the program.

 

Title: Collaborative, Interdisciplinary Health Professions Education Research

Applicants: James Lyons, Lawrence Grierson Faculty/Area: Science & Health Sciences

Summary: The long term goal of the project is to facilitate connections between undergraduate thesis students across the University, and in particular, to build a program of research that will offer broad opportunities in health professions education. The application outlines a pilot project in which Kinesiology students will interact with Health Sciences students; future opportunities could be more widely distributed across the University for students who are interested in applying their knowledge to health professions education.

 

Title: Building an international undergraduate research network via videoconferenced activities within a student‐led research program

Applicant: Sarah Symons Faculty/Area: Science/iSci

Summary: This proposal requests funds to purchase equipment that will be used to videoconference with students in a similar program in the UK. Students at both sites will participate in a research symposium that spans several days – the equipment will be used to share research and educational experiences and to participate in joint research activities. Funds will also be used to support student leaders who will assist in arranging the symposium, run a trial activity and track participation and feedback.

 

Title: Creating a fundamental connection between research and undergraduate education

Applicant: David Venus Faculty/Area: Science

Summary: The Department of Physics and Astronomy is considering ways to enhance the research connection with undergraduate education. The project will investigate the design and implementation of project‐based courses in fourth year Physics to replace traditional lecture‐style courses. A test case for two courses will be conducted to determine the feasibility and impact of the initiative.

 

Title: Student Placement Facilitator for the MacWheelers Program

Applicant: Audrey Hicks Faculty/Area: Science

Summary: MacWheelers provides specialized and individualized exercise programming to individuals with spinal cord injuries and relies on 200 student volunteers to serve its 75 participants each year. The proposal requests funds to support the creation of a part‐time student placement coordinator who will assist with recruitment, training and supervision of the volunteers, and seek ways to improve the experiential learning opportunity for the students. Case management and evaluation systems will be developed, and the coordinator will initiate links between students and current research initiatives.

 

Title: Experiential Learning Coordinator

Applicant: Lisa Barty Faculty/Area: Science

Summary: The Science Career and Cooperative Education office is seeking opportunities to develop a framework based on best‐practices in experiential learning that will benefit students within the Faculty. Students that choose not to participate in co‐op activities can still participate in experiential opportunities, and there is currently great demand for this type of program.

Funding uses: To support the salary of a coordinator who will facilitate current offerings, develop new opportunities and establish a framework for a formal internship program.

 

Title: Graduate Student Peer Success Project

Applicant: Nathan Cooper Faculty/Area: Student Wellness Centre

Summary: This project is intended to extend an existing support program for undergraduate students to graduate students. The program focuses on increasing degree completion rates by training a number of peer support facilitators that will run peer support groups in the Faculties to identify and mitigate issues that arise as part of a graduate student’s time at McMaster and could potentially interfere with degree completion.

 

Title: The McMaster Social Innovation Lab

Applicants: Michael Hewlett & Brianna Smrke Faculty/Area: Arts&Science

Summary: This student proposal focuses on the development of an Innovation Lab that will foster interdisciplinary collaboration and discussion among students. The lab is intended to stimulate creative thinking to find innovative solutions to interesting problems. Funding has been awarded to bring together faculty, local and regional leaders at a workshop to investigate the feasibility and sustainability of such an initiative.

 

Title: CORE Student Centre for Learning and Research

Applicants: Gina Browne, Patricia Gough, Lindsey George Faculty/Area: Health Sciences

Summary: CORE (Community Organizations Reaching Everyone) is a program focused on helping at‐risk high school students obtain credit for projects involving the arts. University students participate in the program as part of an interdisciplinary practicum or internship by mentoring the high school students. The focus is on strength‐based learning for the students involving creative interventions facilitated by the University mentors.

Funding uses: To help sustain the program, enhance opportunities for student experiential learning and provide sustenance for the high school students who require this support to succeed.

 

Title: Online Learning Contract: A Pilot Project for PNB

Applicants: David Shore, Joe Kim, Ann Hollingshead, Irina Ghilic, Lisa Barty Faculty/Area: Science

Summary: Many students in Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour (PNB) participate in independent study courses both on‐ and off‐campus. This project focuses on developing an online system for administering learning contracts to enhance the experience of the students. The contract will allow students to develop learning goals and allow for feedback and oversight from faculty members. It will also inform the development of the learning portfolio.

 

Title: Healthy Cognitive Aging: Taking the Laboratory to the Community

Applicants: Karin Humphreys, Scott Walter Faculty/Area: Science

Summary: This proposal requests support to extend the learning experiences of the students beyond the classroom and laboratory into the community. Undergraduate students will travel to retirement residences to conduct research on cognitive development through the lifespan. There is a plan to establish permanent relationships with these residences so that there can be continual exposure of the students to this research environment.

 

Title: Helping Hamiltonians through Occupational and Physiotherapy Engagement (H2OPE)

Applicants: Sarah Wojkowski, Lori Letts, Vanina Dal Bello Haas, Genevieve Hladysh, Lorie Shimmel, Julie Richardson Faculty/Area: Rehabilitation Science

Summary: The proposal outlines the formation of the Mac H2OPE Clinic which will provide Hamiltonians with direct access to occupational and physical therapy services within the community. Students will gain practical expertise working with community residents, and the Clinic will also foster research partnerships with the YMCA and other community partners. Funding will be used to support the development of e‐Portfolios on Avenue as well as staff training and therapy equipment.

 

Title: McMaster Conservation Corridor Teaching and Research Facility

Applicants: Susan Dudley, Chad Harvey

Faculty/Area: Science

Summary: The Conservation Corridor is a plot of land owned by McMaster at the corner of Wilson St. E.and Lower Lions Club Rd. The applicants propose to use the land as a site for teaching, research andecologically sensitive recreation. The project will create a spatial grid of the site, and create paths and signage; students will be involved in the implementation of the project plans.

 

Title: McMaster Capabilities and Collaborations (Endorsed, not funded)

Applicant: Gay Yuyitung, MILO

Faculty/Area: VP Research & International Affairs

Summary: The project involves the creation of a website that will match community/industry needs with expertise at McMaster. The project is supported by community and industry partners, and the overall objective is to make it easier for existing or potential partners to identify relevant expertise at the University, and to build the necessary connections to move forward.

*This project has been endorsed by the advisory group and will be funded through alternative sources.

 

Title: International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition

Applicants: Ben Scott, Fiona Whelan Faculty/Area: Science

Summary: The proposal describes an international competition for students in synthetic biology. Student groups work together on a research project then present their findings at the competition. The project is intended to be interdisciplinary and collaborative. Funding will be used to support laboratory costs for the student groups.

 

Title: The Global Health Research Learning Portfolio

Applicant: Lisa Schwartz Faculty/Area: Health Sciences

Summary: The proposal is intended to enhance the learning and participation of students in GlobalHealth Research. The group will conduct research on the use of e‐Portfolios among students in Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, particularly for those participating in global outreach activities.

 

Project details were provided by the President's Office.