Research Week

To celebrate and highlight excellence in research and innovation at Laurentian University in 2019, the Office of Research Services (ORS) is inviting faculty members, students and staff to nominate their choices for the most significant research and innovation achievements from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2019.

To nominate a researcher or an achievement, please read the nomination instructions. 

Put your knowledge and creativity to work and sign up for the Voyageurs' Innovation Challenge, a unique competition featuring teams of faculty members and students!  We are excited to announce Desjardins as the student prize sponsor for the Voyageurs’ Innovation Challenge!  The winning team will be awarded a prize of $8,000 to be shared between faculty members ($4,000 in the form of research funding) and students ($4,000 Desjardins Innovation Challenge Award). New this year, a $1,000 prize will be awarded to the “People’s Choice”.

For details on how to participate, click here. 

 

The Innovation Award is a $1,000 prize awarded to a faculty member whose research has resulted in an innovative technology, process or product that benefits both the university community and society at large. Nominate a colleague and help showcase the outstanding creativity at Laurentian University.  Self-nominations are also accepted.  

For details on how to submit a nomination, click here. 

Click on image to access program

Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony of Research Week 2019 featured the launch of volume 8 of The Key, the release of the Research Week 2019 video and updates on Outcomes 16-20 of the Strategic Plan. Following the Opening Ceremony, Mr. Alfred Leblanc of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council gave the keynote address.

 

Symposium and Activities 

Five professors took on the challenge of presenting their research in 3 minutes! They were judged by a panel of graduate students who themselves participated in the 3MT competition. The participants were, from left to right, Guangdong Yang, Isabelle Côté, Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde (winner), Michèle Minor-Corriveau and Eduardo Galiano-Riveros.

Last year's Research Excellence Award (2017-2018) recipient, Jackie Litzgus, gave a talk highlighting her research on conservation and turtles, including the successes and challenges (pictured here with Sean Parsons from the Office of Research Services). 

Five teams competed in the Voyageurs' Innovation Challenge! 

A large and lively group ate poutine and participated in this year's Research Trivia Night, hosted by professor Michael Emond!

ACFAS-Sudbury held a round-table discussion on the challenges of publishing academic research in French in Northern Ontario! The panelists were (left to right) Denise Truax (Prise de parole), Julie Boissonneault, Simon Laflamme, Line Tremblay and Raoul Étongué-Mayer.

The Faculty of Education invited Nicholas Ng-A-Fook (University of Ottawa) to give a talk on Restorying Teacher Education!

Sadequl Islam and the Department of Economics invited Nusrate Aziz (Algoma University) and Livio Di Matteo (Lakehead University) to talk about income inequality.

Members of the Association of Retired Academics at Laurentian University presented some of their active research projects! Pictured, Professor Emeritus Joe Shorthouse.

CNFS-Laurentienne held a full-day on mental health in Northern Ontario!

The Laurentian Research Institute for Aging held two events during Research Week, including this event on design and age-friendly environments. 

SNOLAB researchers gave 3-minute updates on their research!

Students from the Sciences infirmières program held poster presentations of their research projects. 

Research Excellence Award 2018-2019

 Dr. Amadeo M. Parissenti was awarded the 2018–2019 Research Excellence Award for his outstanding research in monitoring tumour response to chemotherapy and its potential to help patients. Dr. Parissenti is a tenured Full Professor with the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Laurentian University, a tenured Full Professor with the Division of Medical Sciences at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM), a Principal Investigator at the Health Sciences North Research Institute (HSNRI), and Chief Scientific Officer at RNA Diagnostics, Inc. Dr. Parissenti has an impressive publication record, including six co-authored book chapters and fifty-five peer-reviewed articles. He holds several patents, some of which were granted in many jurisdictions, and has received a number of awards, including the Best Intellectual Property Award from The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE) as part of the Quest Business Competition in Toronto. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Innovation Award

 

Dr. Joël Dickinson, Dean for the Faculty of Arts, and Anik Dennie, master's student in Human Kinetics, received the Innovation Award for developing the Safe Space Training.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Voyageurs' Innovation Challenge Winners

 

The Voyageurs' Innovation Challenge winning team led by Drs. Ashley Scott and Nathan Basiliko with post-doctoral fellow Gerusa Senhorinho, and PhD students Miranda Gauthier, Merritt Kennedy and Sabrina Desjardins. Their innovation will help remote northern communities capture carbon dioxide from diesel-powered generators, and use that captured gas to grow microalgae.                                                                                                            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3-Minute Thesis Competition

 

Master's of Science Communication student Chelsea Pike won the Laurentian 3MT competition and represented the University at the provincial 3MT competition in April 2019.          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3-Minute Research Competition

Dr. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde from the Department of Biology won the faculty competition for summarizing their research in 3 minutes using only one slide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SciArt

 

Gillian Schultze (pictured with SciArt organizer Dr. Thomas Merritt) won the Staff/Faculty Best in Show prize for her piece “Northern Roots”.   

Other SciArt winners:

LUL Student (1st) - Adam Greasley, “Model Organisms”

LUL Student (2nd) - Teagan Neufield, “A Little Slice of Coronal”

LUL Student (3rd) - Pritha Banerjee, “Epigenetics and Aging”

Community Artist Awards - Isabelle Ratte, “Industrial Ballerina”, Hadyn Butler, “Jocelyn Bell”, Suzanne McCrae, “BIG and Itty-Bitty”

School Awards - R.LBeattie, “Dr. Milk-Bot”, Julia Oystrick, “Dance to Titanium”, R.L Beattie, “Biodiversity Tree”, Emily Thomas, “Meltdown”, Kara Lynn Edgar, “Earth on Fire”

People’s Choice - Gene Solomon, “Water is Life”

To visit the Laurentian 2019 SciArt Exhibition website, click here!

 

 

 

 

 

Top 10 Research and Innovation Achievements of 2018 Awards

A description of the winning achievements can be found here.

 

Architecture students accepted the 1st place award on Dr. Émilie Pinard's behalf.       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Ming Cai received the 2nd place award.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Jennifer Walker received the 3rd and 6th place awards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drs. John Gunn and Nathan Basiliko received the fourth place award.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Tammy Eger received the 5th place award.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Luckny Zéphyr received the 9th place award.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drs. Anne-Marise Lavoie and Sylvie Larocque received the 10th place award on behalf of the Sciences infirmières program. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 2019 Top Ten trophies were designed and made by 4th year Architecture students David Gagnon and Alexander Scali, featuring a piece of slag in the middle.     

Top Row: Gillian Schultze, Ki-Youn Kim, Andrée Noiseux (co-chair), Lise Carrière, Lynn Leclerc and Sean Parsons

Bottom Row: Robin Craig, Kristyna Ripley, Stacy Sathaseevan, Stephanie Harris, Gisele Robert, Daniel Archambault (co-chair) and Rizwan Haq

Thank you to our Research Week 2019 sponsors!

 

 

 

 

 

Click here to view and download the 2018 Research Week program.

Watch the Research Week 2018 video!

Filmed Presentations

Dr. David Julius: 2017 Canada Gairdner International Laureate Presentation

Filmed March 22, 2018 ​
Click here to watch

Dr. David Julius, Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology, University of California, is the 2017 Canada Gairdner International Laureate. In his research, Dr. Julius has used distinctive molecules from the natural world – including toxins from tarantulas and coral snakes, and capsaicin, the molecule that produces the “heat” from chili peppers – to understand how signals responsible for temperature and pain sensation are transmitted by neural circuits to the brain.

Our Research, Our Community, Our Indigenous Sovereignty

Filmed March 22, 2018 in the Indigenous Sharing and Learning Centre
​Click here to watch

Panel – Our Research, Our Community, Our Indigenous Sovereignty.
The following panelists joined Dr. Dylan Miner, Director of American Indian and Indigenous Studies at the University of Michigan:

• Dr. Jennifer Walker, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Health, Laurentian University
• Dr. David Fortin, Director of McEwen School of Architecture, Laurentian University
• Dr. Laura Hall, Assistant Professor, School of Indigenous Relations, Laurentian University
• Ms. Justice Seidel, MIR Graduate Student, School of Indigenous Relations

 

A Word from the Vice-President Research

Research Week 2018 was a fantastic demonstration of this year’s theme of Our Research, Our Community! Laurentian University’s best Research Week yet showcased the wide variety of research and innovation activities by our faculty and student researchers and its significance for and connection to our community.  

The week was filled with compelling symposiums, presentations, celebrations, and network activities, starting with our Health Research Day and keynote address by Mr. Simon Kennedy, Deputy Minister of Health Canada. We also had the pleasure of having the 2017 Canada Gairdner International Laureate, Dr. David Julius, as our keynote speaker. 

During Research Week 2018, faculty, students, community partners and the organizing committee held 29 unique symposiums and activities. The SciArt exhibition had nearly 100 pieces that link art and science in the Atrium of the Parker Building. Three teams composed of faculty and student members pitched their innovative business ideas to a panel of judges at the Voyageurs’ Innovation Challenge. 21 graduate students presented their research themes during the Graduate Symposium’s 3-Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®). For the first time in Research Week celebrations, nine faculty members took on the challenge of presenting their researching in three minutes during the Three Minute Research (3MR). And in another Research Week first, two symposiums were organized and facilitated by student-researchers; a trend we hope will continue next year!

Our weeklong celebration of research at Laurentian was capped off by an Awards Gala and Celebration where this year’s Laurentian University Research Excellence Award recipient was announced, the renewal of two Tier 1 Canada Research Chairs was fêted, the Top 10 Research and Innovation Achievements of 2017 were revealed and many other achievements of our faculty and students were recognized.

Thank you to all who participated in Research Week 2018, and to the staff of the Office of Research Services, Office of the Vice-President Research, the Faculty of Graduate Studies, Marketing and Communications for your help in organizing a memorable week.

Dr. Rui Wang, Vice-President Research

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Opening Ceremony

Research Week 2018 officially launched on March 19, 2018, starting with an opening prayer by traditional knowledge keeper Mr. Rob Spade and the reading of a proclamation from the City of Greater Sudbury by Mayor Brian Bigger. The 2018 edition of The Key was launched, as was the Laurentian Research Success 2017 video made by Dr. Hoi Cheu. Funding for Dr. Nancy Young’s research program from the Health System Research Fund to evaluate children’s health in 8 indigenous communities was announced and the Centre for Rural and Northern Health Research’s (CRaNHR) Director Dr. Alain Gauthier marked the Centre’s 25th anniversary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Opening Ceremony
Pictured: Sonia Del Missier, Dr. Claire Perreault, Dr. Alain Gauthier, Dr. Rui Wang, Dr. Nancy Young, Mayor Brian Bigger, Dr. Pierre Zundel, Laurentian Elder Rob Spade, Dr. Daniel Archambault 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keynote Address
Pictured: Dr. Pierre Zundel, Mr. Simon Kennedy (Keynote Speaker), Mayor Brian Bigger, Dr. Rui Wang

 

 

 

 

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Health Research Day

The first day of Research Week highlighted the variety of health research being done at Laurentian, starting with presentations for the Louise Picard Public Health Research Grant, a joint research program between Public Health Sudbury & Districts and Laurentian University. The eponymous Mrs. Picard was in attendance to explain the origin of the grant, and funding for six new collaborative research projects was announced. CRaNHR celebrated 25 years of rural health research excellence, starting with a keynote address by Dr. James Rourke, director of the Centre for Rural Health Studies at Memorial University; current CRaNHR researchers gave overviews of their ongoing projects and past directors talked about the research accomplishments of their tenures.

Louise Picard Public Health Research Grant Presentations  

 

 

 

Pictured: Louise Picard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured: Dr. Daniel Archambault, Julia Russell, Dr. Diana Urajnik, Michelle Lim, Paula Ross, Shannon Dowdall-Smith, Stephanie Hastie, Karen McCauley, Dr. Janis Goldie, Dr. Heather Jessup-Falcioni, Dr. Suzanne Lemieux, David Groulx, Louise Picard, Renée St-Onge, Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, Dr. Shelley Watson, Dr. Kelly Harding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating 25 years of Rural Health Research Excellence; CRaNHR 1992-2017

 

 

Past and current CRaNHR Directors: Dr. Elizabeth Wenghofer, Dr. Wayne Warry, John Hogenbirk, Dr. Raymond Pong, Dr. Alain Gauthier 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Graduate Symposium

The Graduate Symposium took place on March 19th, 20th, and 21st. Over 10 prizes were awarded in the categories of: Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Health, Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Architecture, French and Indigenous content. 

 

 

 

Pictured: Alex Freedman, Dr. Janis Goldie, Anik Dennie, Amy Henson, Jasmine Veitch, Markus Schwabe, Erik Slade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Faculty Symposiums

Research Week 2018 provided a venue for faculty members to share their research and research results with the greater Laurentian community. This year, we are proud to have welcomed numerous symposiums, each having an impact on Laurentian’s research successes.

 

Hidden Homelessness and Reconciliation  
Organized by the Centre for Research in Social Justice and Policy

 

 

 

Photovoice exhibit illustrating forms of homelessness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured: Keynote Jesse Thistle, York University, PhD candidate and resident scholar on Indigenous homelessness, Canadian Observatory on Homelessness 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shastri Indo-Canada Institute Funding Opportunities 
Organized by the Department of Marketing and Management of the Faculty of Management 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured: Patricia Orozco, Dr. Rana Haq, Dr. Veronica Chevasco, Dr. Ivy Kyei-Poku, Dr. Natalya Totskaya  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zoos and Aquariums Moving Forward: History, politics and science 
Organized by the Centre for Evolutionary Ecology and Ethical Conversation (CEEEC)

 

 

 

Presenter: Alannah Biega (Simon Fraser University)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Research, Our Community, Our Indigenous Sovereignty
Organized by the Maamwizing Indigenous Research Institute 

 

 

 

Pictured: Ghislaine Goudreau and Eladia Smoke

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work on Wood 
Organized by the McEwen School of Architecture

 

 

 

Pictured: Dr. Patrick Harrop 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SNOLAB Cookies and Cloud Chambers

 

 

 

 

Pictured: Dr. Oleg Chkvorets, Dr. Serge Nahorny, Dr. Pierre Gorel and Blaire Flynn 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3-Minute Research (3MR): Faculty Presentations

 

 

 

 

Presenter: Dr. Albrecht Schulte-Hostedde 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SciArt Exhibition
Organized by Dr. Thomas Merritt

 

 

 

Pictured: Piece by Dr. Erica Caden (winner of SciArt) called "Super-Kwilt". Erica is a scientist at SNOLAB working on the Super-Kamiokande experiment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rencontres express : À la recherche de partenaires pour améliorer l’accès et la qualité des soins de santé des francophones
Organized by CNFS-Laurentienne

 

 

 

Pictured: Léo Therrien, Boroma Sanou, Gaëtane Pharand, Patrick Timony, Dr. Mélanie Perron, Marie-Josée Charrier, Pierre Mafunda Mahuma, Dr. Suzanne Lemieux, Dr. Manon Robillard, Monique Beaudoin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Student Symposiums and New Initiatives

Student Symposium: Lose the Tube: Early Discontinuation of Urinary Catheters in Medical Inpatients 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pascale King, Nadia Omri, and Jeff McLellan, students at NOSM, presented a research proposal discussing their ‘Lose the Tube’ proposal, exploring the early discontinuation of urinary catheters in patients at Timmins and District Hospital. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Student Symposium: LGBTQ2+ Youth Homelessness in Ontario 

 

 

Vincent Bolt, student in the School of Indigenous Relations, presented research and then held a discussion about issues related to LGBTQ2+ Youth and Homelessness in Ontario.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research Trivia Night

 

 

      

    

Pictured: Lynn Leclerc, Dr. Lingyun Wu, Dr. Rui Wang, Bill Sanders, Chris Gore, Nirav Pandey, Thomas Gore, Gillian Schultze, Dr. Daniel Archambault, Kayla Jones, Nathalie Chaput, Dr. Sean Parsons, Laura Williams, Andrée Noiseux, Stephanie Harris   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Breakfast of Excellence

 

 

 

Pictured is the 2016-2017 Research Excellence Award winner, Dr. Harold Gibson. A full professor in the Harquail School of Earth Sciences, Dr. Gibson is seen giving a presentation about his career path in geology, how it has led to his current research interests, and where he thinks his research is headed in the future.

Research Excellence Award 2017-2018

The Research Excellence Award is given out every year to the faculty member who has over the last five years shown outstanding achievements in their research program. Given out during Research Week, this award is considered one of the most prestigious awards that Laurentian bestows upon a member of its faculty, and recipients must be nominated by their colleagues. Dr. Jacqueline Litzgus was the recipient of the 2017-2018 Research Excellence Award. Dr. Litzgus is a full professor in the Department of Biology, and was nominated by colleagues and students for her outstanding work in the field of conservation, particularly focusing on reptiles and turtles. 

 

Pictured: Lila Merritt, Dr. Jackie Litzgus and Dr. Pierre Zundel

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Awards Gala and Celebration

The Awards Gala and Celebration is one of many pinnacle events during Research Week.  Every year, this event highlights and celebrates research successes at Laurentian.  This year, the Awards Gala welcomed over 100 guests including members of industry and university partners. Congratulations, once again, to each of the award recipients. 

 

Voyagers’ Innovation Challenge  

 

 

 

 

Pictured: Winners Dr. Nadia Mykytczuk (left) and Varun Gupta (right), with Gisele Roberts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Top 10 Research and Innovation Achievement Awards - 1st Place Winner

 

 

 

 

Pictured: Winner Dr. Ming Cai (middle), with Craig Fowler and Sonia Del Missier 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Top 10 trophies were designed and made by third-year McEwen School of Architecture students David Gagnon, Alexander Scali and Gabriel Luis Gaviola.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SciArt Show Winners and Judges

 

 

 

Pictured: Dr. Thomas Merritt, Gene Solomon, Adrian Hutchinson, Katie Fennerty, Dr. Thierry Bissonnette and Dr. Tammy Gaber 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graduate Studies Symposium Winners

 

 

 

 

Best Masters Presentation from the Graduate Symposium Winner: Pooja Woosaree (pictured with Stacy Sathaseevan), Physics, Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Architecture 
Project: Rn Concentrations Within the Water Phase of the SNO+ Experiment 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3MT Winner: Jasmine Veitch (pictured with Stacy Sathaseevan), Presentation: Behavioural and Physiological Responses to Ectoparasites: Effects of Parasites on Stress Hormones and Maternal Care in Small Mammals 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best PhD Presentation from the Graduate Symposium
Winner: Bright Opong Afum (pictured with Stacy Sathaseevan), Natural Resources Engineering, Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Architecture
Project: Strategic Evaluation of Mineralized Waste Rocks as Future Resource

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group Photo of All Research Week Award Winners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured: Pooja Woosaree, Jasmine Veitch, Varun Gupta, Bright Oppong Afum, Dr. Ming Cai, Dr. Nadia Mykytczuk, Dr. Pierre Zundel, Dr. Jackie Litzgus, Craig Fowler, Dr. Daniel Archambault, Mayor Brian Bigger, Dr. Kobana Abukari, Sonia Del Missier, Dr. Claire Perreault, Dr. Tammy Gaber, Dr. Carol Kauppi, Suzanne Lemieux, Dr. Chantal Barriault, Dr. Nancy Young, Dr. Tammy Eger, Dr. Sandra Dorman, Dr. Rui Wang   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured: Lynn Leclerc, Dr. Rui Wang, Dr. Daniel Archambault (co-chair), Gisele Roberts, Dr. Sean Parsons, Kayla Jones, Nathalie Chaput, Gillian Schultze, Catherine Crawford-Brown, Lise Carrière, Pauline Zanetti, Stephanie Harris (co-chair), Andrée Noiseux 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictured: Stacy Sathaseevan and Sierra Goetz

A big thank you to our Research Week Sponsors for their generous contributions! Click the logos to visit our sponsors' websites.