Saba Asaad, EECS, Lassonde (NSERC)

Asaad’s research project, titled “Over-the-Air Federated Learning via Benchmark Wireless Network,” develops algorithmic and analytic frameworks to address essential issues arising in the implementation of federated learning (FL) in practical wireless networks. Asaad’s project proposes an alternative method, over-the-air FL, which leverages the superposition property of multiple access channels to realize the predefined aggregation policy directly over-the-air.

“Federated learning was first designed for ideal communication networks. However, in realistic edge-learning scenarios the edge-devices, connected to the parameter server via wireless links, face several challenges due to uncertain wireless conditions and limited resources,” explains Asaad.

The approach that is taken by the project can be leveraged in the development of a large variety of services that deal with the concept of distributed learning.

_{A picture of Dr. Saba Asaad}

Stephen Melly, Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde (NSERC)

Melly’s proposed research, titled “Development of the computational constitutive model for super-soft 4D bioprinted materials,” aims to formulate computational models that capture the complex mechanical characteristics of super-soft materials. This research has the potential to enhance our understanding of super-soft materials in 4D bioprinting using virtual experiments, facilitating advancements in the field and the development of reliable and customized artificial tissues that match the specific needs of individual patients.

“Successful design and fabrication of engineered tissues necessitate a comprehensive grasp of the mechanical characteristics of super-soft materials. This guarantees the efficacy of biomedical applications, as differences in mechanical properties between the engineered tissues and the surrounding biological tissues may result in complications like rejection,” shares Melly.

The cutting-edge project fills the growing demand for accurate computational models that describe the complex mechanical behaviors of super-soft tissues.

_{A picture of Dr. Stephen Melly}

Lynn Yu Ling Ng, Department of Politics, LA&PS (SSHRC)

Ng’s project, titled “Care for All is Care that Pulls Us Through,” employs an advanced critical intersectional approach to analyze care work and the presence of distinct forms of structural inequality (e.g. age, race, gender, class, nationality), which influence migrant care workers (MCWs) and their capacity to care for elderly persons. The project’s guiding questions are: 1) How do MCWs make sense of caring for the elderly and for themselves, and how do they strive to protect these visions of care?; and 2) How can these imaginaries of care be accounted for and integrated into care and labour migration policy?

“Eldercare is rarely framed from the perspective of MCWs beyond the common identity debates of race, gender, and class. Neither has much attention been given to their rich migratory experiences and expert knowledge of care work,” reveals Ng.

The anticipated outputs can be a valuable source of information for policy development in the field of eldercare.

_{A picture of Dr. Lynn Yu Ling Ng}

Chiara Camponeschi is a postdoctoral fellow conducting research at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research. Her project, “Turning Moments of Crisis Into Moments of Care,” aims to rethink our approach to resilience and recovery in an age of systemic crises. By applying this model to the study of urban climate change, Camponeschi’s research provides practical solutions that can be leveraged in a variety of settings from offering policy prompts for the design of infrastructures of care to making contributions to capacity-building and community practice.

“The lens of crisis has continued to be invoked to reinforce a reactive stance to change, one driven by narratives of enclosure, disconnection, and austerity that are harmful to society--especially to already vulnerable groups,” says Camponeschi. “Crises, however, can be richly generative moments of rupture that reveal contradictions, incite action, and stimulate new visions. They present us with the opportunity to turn moments of crisis into moments of care.”

_{Chiara Camponeschi}

Ashlee Christoffersen is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Politics. Her proposed research aims to increase our understanding of how intersectionality can be applied in both policy and practice, with a unique focus on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Titled “Operationalizing Intersectionality: Equality Policy and NGOs,” the project has great potential to achieve positive change by highlighting the limitations of some existing NGO approaches and by impacting Canadian policymakers’ growing interpretations of intersectionality.

“The question of how to apply ‘intersectionality’, the Black feminist theory that social inequalities shape one another, is one that many across different fields have long struggled with,” explains Christoffersen. “This is because the predominant approach to inequalities has been to address these separately and thus ineffectively.”

Christoffersen underscores the importance of her research in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, which both deepened pre-existing inequalities and raised awareness of how they are intersecting. 

_{Ashlee Christoffersen}

Naderi’s project investigates the impact of early-life exposure to environmental chemicals in the development of autism spectrum disorders. Identifying a dramatic increase in incidents of autism in Canada (from one in 94 children in 2008-10 to one in 66 children in 2018), Naderi’s research focuses on one of its possible causes, the chemical compound bisphenol, widely used in the production of plastic and packaging materials.

Titled "Understanding the role of environmental contaminants in the development of autism using the zebrafish model," Naderi’s study focuses on uncovering the mechanisms through which bisphenol may contribute to the pathogenesis of autism. Recognizing the high level of genetic and physiologic similarities between humans and zebrafish, Naderi’s work uses zebrafish as a means of modelling relevant autistic behavioural characteristics.

“This project can be a crucial step towards identifying the role of environmental contaminants in the etiology of this brain disorder,” says Naderi, thus offering both governments and private institutions a means of redefining regulations while searching for safer alternatives.

_{Mohammad Naderi}

Panferov’s study proposes an innovative technology for the diagnosis of sepsis, one of the major causes of death in hospitals worldwide. Combining a test strip (similar to those used in home pregnancy tests) with a smartphone, Panferov’s research focuses on developing an inexpensive diagnostic tool that can be widely accessed, thus expanding the opportunities for prevention of this life-threatening condition across the globe.

Titled "Technology for Rapidly Diagnosing Sepsis at the Bedside," Panferov’s device monitors the blood levels of several inflammatory biomarkers capable of confirming a diagnosis of sepsis even before the onset of symptoms. In the form of a 10-minute test to be performed by nurses at the bedside, this technology would eliminate the current need for expensive laboratory equipment and time-consuming practices.

Privileging “early-stage diagnosis and long-term prognosis,” says Panferov, this reliable yet cost-effective tool will inevitably “benefit patients’ health worldwide.”

_{Vasily Panferov}