Ecology &amp; Environmental Biology / en Consider long-term effects before employing 'genetic welding' in natural populations: U of T expert /news/consider-long-term-effects-employing-genetic-welding-natural-populations-u-t-expert <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Consider long-term effects before employing 'genetic welding' in natural populations: U of T expert</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-05/GettyImages-1191006978-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=FG136c39 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-05/GettyImages-1191006978-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=YS8zYn19 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-05/GettyImages-1191006978-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=mAgl1Qmi 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-05/GettyImages-1191006978-crop.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=FG136c39" alt="a gloved hand using tweezers takes a piece out of a papercraft DNA helix"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-04-25T12:33:57-04:00" title="Tuesday, April 25, 2023 - 12:33" class="datetime">Tue, 04/25/2023 - 12:33</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>(photo by CRAFTSCI/Science Photo Library/Getty Images)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/faculty-arts-science-staff" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science Staff</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-environmental-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology &amp; Environmental Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/genetics" hreflang="en">Genetics</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>With CRISPR-Cas9 technology – a specific and versatile gene editing technology that can be used to modify, delete or correct precise regions of DNA – humans can now rapidly change the evolutionary course of animals or plants by inserting genes that can easily spread through entire populations.</p> <p>In&nbsp;an <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/genetics/fulltext/S0168-9525(23)00036-7">opinion paper published recently in the journal&nbsp;<em>Trends in Genetics</em>,</a>&nbsp;Ƶ evolutionary geneticist&nbsp;<strong>Asher Cutter</strong>&nbsp;says we must scientifically and ethically scrutinize the potential consequences of this&nbsp;“genetic welding” before we put it into practice.</p> <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media align-left"> <div> <div class="field field--name-field-media-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-04/Asher-Cutter_0.jpeg" width="337" height="395" alt="Asher Cutter"> </div> </div> <figcaption><em>Asher Cutter</em></figcaption> </figure> <div class="image-with-caption left"> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <p>“The capability to do genetic welding has only taken off in the last few years, and much of the thinking about it has focused on what can happen in the near term,” says Cutter, a professor in the&nbsp;department of ecology and evolutionary biology&nbsp;in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science.</p> <p>“Ethically, before humans apply this to natural populations, we need to start thinking about what the longer-term consequences might be on a time scale of hundreds or thousands of generations.”</p> <p>In classical Mendelian genetics, genes have a 50-50 chance of getting passed from parent to offspring – but this isn’t always the case. In a natural phenomenon known as “genetic drive,” some genes are able to bias their own transmission so that they are much more likely to be inherited.</p> <p>Genetic welding is the human-mediated version of this: introducing genes that have an unfair advantage when it comes to heritability in natural populations. Because these genes spread easily and rapidly through populations, they result in much faster evolutionary change than the usual slow plod that we see from natural and artificial selection.</p> <p>In contrast to natural selection, genetic drives and genetic welding can perpetuate genes that don’t necessarily benefit the organisms that carry them – making them an attractive potential method to control problematic and invasive disease-bearing species.</p> <p>For example, genetic welding has been proposed as a tool to control disease-bearing mosquito populations and invasive species. It could also be used to genetically engineer endangered species to be resistant to infectious pathogens that threaten them with extinction.</p> <p>“It raises the question of how much should humans intervene into processes that are normally beyond our control,” Cutter says.</p> <p>“If ethicists, medical practitioners&nbsp;and politicians decide that it is acceptable in some cases to edit the ‘germline’ of humans – the population of cells that pass on their genetic material to offspring – then that would open the possibility that genetic welding could be used as a tool in that regard. This would open a much bigger can of worms by virtue of the fact that genetic welding could change the entirety of a population or species&nbsp;– not just a few individuals that elected to have a procedure.”</p> <p>Though it might be difficult to experimentally assess the long-term implications of genetic welding, Cutter says that thought experiments, mathematical theory, computer simulations&nbsp;and conversations with bioethicists could all play important roles, as could experiments in organisms with short lifespans and rapid reproduction.</p> <p>Cutter’s research is supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.</p> <p><em>With files from Cell Press</em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 25 Apr 2023 16:33:57 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 301415 at U of T Trash Team finds masses of plastic, 'fatbergs' and other waste in Toronto’s harbour: Toronto Star /news/u-t-trash-team-finds-masses-plastic-fatbergs-and-other-waste-toronto-s-harbour <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T Trash Team finds masses of plastic, 'fatbergs' and other waste in Toronto’s harbour: Toronto Star</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/trash-team.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=9ejvWYdd 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/trash-team.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=3_JkNCB1 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/trash-team.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=xspnUTjr 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/trash-team.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=9ejvWYdd" alt="large pieces of plastic collected from the waterfront at lake ontario"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2023-02-09T17:23:06-05:00" title="Thursday, February 9, 2023 - 17:23" class="datetime">Thu, 02/09/2023 - 17:23</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(Photo supplied)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-environmental-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology &amp; Environmental Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sustainability" hreflang="en">Sustainability</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>New findings by the&nbsp;<a href="https://uofttrashteam.ca/trappingtrash/">Ƶ Trash Team</a>&nbsp;and PortsToronto are raising awareness about Toronto harbour’s pollution problem, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2023/02/08/hundreds-of-greasy-fatbergs-along-with-100k-pieces-of-plastic-trash-removed-from-toronto-harbour.html">according to&nbsp;<em>the Toronto Star</em></a>.</p> <p>Over a four-month period, <a href="https://www.portstoronto.com/portstoronto/media-room/news/seabins-in-portstoronto-trash-trapping-program-net.aspx">specially engineered seabins</a> – think floating trash collectors – removed 100 kilograms of plastic waste, or almost 100,000 pieces of plastic from Lake Ontario.</p> <p><strong>Chelsea Rochman</strong>, assistant professor in the&nbsp;department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and head of operations at the U of T Trash Team, told the Star that 2022 was a “big year” for pollution.</p> <p>“Our trash trapping season included the highest number of trash traps yet,” said Rochman.</p> <p>The report also noted the collection of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/fatbergs-seabin-toronto-program-1.6739637">several “fatbergs</a>,” which are masses of household grease, baby wipes and toilet paper.</p> <p>With this discovery, the U of T Trash Team is reminding everyone to, “only flush the three Ps! (pee, poop and paper).”</p> <h3><a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2023/02/08/hundreds-of-greasy-fatbergs-along-with-100k-pieces-of-plastic-trash-removed-from-toronto-harbour.html">Read more in <em>the Toronto Star</em></a></h3> <h3><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/fatbergs-seabin-toronto-program-1.6739637">Read more at CBC</a></h3> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 09 Feb 2023 22:23:06 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 179880 at U of T students return to the field for 2022 Research Excursion Program /news/u-t-students-return-field-2022-research-excursion-program <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T students return to the field for 2022 Research Excursion Program</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/koffler-students-655-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=5RRSkjLt 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/koffler-students-655-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=W5zFebfB 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/koffler-students-655-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=btgrVXFo 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/koffler-students-655-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=5RRSkjLt" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2022-09-14T09:22:07-04:00" title="Wednesday, September 14, 2022 - 09:22" class="datetime">Wed, 09/14/2022 - 09:22</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Abigail Wagner and Lily Peters at the Koffler Scientific Reserve north of Toronto where they spent the summer conducting research on the parasitic goldenrod gall fly (photo by Kemeisha McDonald)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/chris-sasaki" hreflang="en">Chris Sasaki</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/student-experience" hreflang="en">Student Experience</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-environmental-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology &amp; Environmental Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/st-michael-s" hreflang="en">st. michael's</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/victoria-college" hreflang="en">Victoria College</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When the pandemic halted in-person instruction at the Ƶ in the spring of 2020, it also paused valuable experiential learning opportunities like the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science’s&nbsp;Research Excursions Program (REP).</p> <p>But with pandemic restrictions now easing and students back&nbsp;in the classroom, the&nbsp;program is once again providing&nbsp;undergraduates with a chance to take part in a faculty member’s research project off campus.</p> <p><strong>Lily Peters</strong> and <strong>Abigail Wagner</strong> spent the summer taking part in a study of the parasitic goldenrod gall fly and the common goldenrod plant at U of T’s&nbsp;Koffler Scientific Reserve at Joker’s Hill&nbsp;(KSR), located north of Toronto in a region of the province known as the Oak Ridges Moraine. The site comprises 350 hectares of wetlands, pastures and forests – and the wildlife that calls those habitats home – and is used by the university for research, training and public outreach.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div class="media_embed" height="422px" width="750px"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="422px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qWPyCCsLX34" title="YouTube video player" width="750px"></iframe></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>A member of&nbsp;Victoria College, Peters is entering her second year in an ecology and evolutionary biology specialist program with a genome biology major. Wagner, meanwhile, is entering her fourth year in a genome biology and physiology program and is a member of&nbsp;St. Michael’s College.</p> <p>“This has been my first real experience doing research,” says Peters. “I'm planning to do a master’s degree or PhD, so I wanted to see if research was for me and see what type of research I liked. I wanted to get a feel for how this type of research is done.”</p> <p>Wagner, for her part, says she is interested in genomics and wants to pursue a career in genetic counseling.&nbsp;“Our project is related to uncovering how different characteristics correlate with different gene variations and how common these variations are in a population – so it was just what I was looking for,” she says.</p> <p>The students’&nbsp;REP supervisor is&nbsp;<strong>Arthur Weis,</strong> a professor in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science’s&nbsp;department of ecology and evolutionary biology. Weis studies natural selection – one of the mechanisms by which species evolve – in particular, when evolution occurs over a short period of time.</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/wagner-629-crop.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;"></p> <p><em>Abigail Wagner “bags” a gall to protect it from parasitic wasps&nbsp;(photo by Kemeisha McDonald)</em></p> <p>The goldenrod fly is a parasite that lays its eggs on goldenrod plants. After about 10 days, a larva emerges from the egg and burrows into the plant’s stem, triggering the growth of a gall – a round, tumour-like sphere measuring a half-inch to an inch in diameter. The larva survives the winter inside the gall and in the spring, the adult fly emerges, ready to start the cycle over.</p> <p>Peters and Wagner are helping Weis in his research into the genetic connection between individual flies and the size of the galls their larvae produce.</p> <p>Gall size is important. Larvae in small galls are vulnerable to parasitic wasps that lay eggs in galls which then hatch into larvae that prey on the fly larvae. Larger galls offer protection from wasps but larger galls are preyed upon by woodpeckers for the larvae within. The researchers’ goal is to shed light on the natural selection forces that favour a gall that is neither too small nor too large – and the genes that may be the basis for determining size.</p> <p>The students began by finding goldenrod plants with galls. Their next step was to protect the fly larvae from wasps by wrapping the galls in mesh. Over the summer, Peters and Wagner “bagged” over 700 galls.</p> <p>The students then collected galls and sorted them by size.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt src="/sites/default/files/peters-609-crop.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;"></p> <p><em>The students collected goldenrod flies that have emerged from galls&nbsp;(photo by Kemeisha McDonald)</em></p> <p>“Next, we’ll sequence all the flies to figure out whether all the big-gall flies have a similar section of their genome,” says Wagner. “Then, we’ll look to see if some of the genes in this section play a role in causing a specific size of gall.”</p> <p>For Weis, the program&nbsp;is rewarding as both an instructor and a scientist.</p> <p>“This is what it's all about – working with students in the lab or in the field,” he says. “Students who are curious, enthusiastic and want to learn. And in the process, it extends my own research and helps me answer the questions I'm curious about.”</p> <p>For Wagner and Peters, the experience has provided them with much more than an opportunity to do research.</p> <p>“It’s really added context for me for when I’m reading a research paper,” says Wagner. “Because now, I've experienced the entire research process, hands-on.”</p> <p>Peters, meanwhile, says she’s planning to pursue a PhD,&nbsp;“so, it's been cool seeing and talking with other researchers up here and learning about what they're doing for their masters and PhDs.</p> <p>“And working outside in the field all day has been amazing. I’ve seen so many things – like my first porcupine! It’s been a really great experience that’s shown me how amazing field work is. It’s really solidified in my mind that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 14 Sep 2022 13:22:07 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 176556 at Massive new animal species discovered in half-billion-year-old Burgess Shale /news/massive-new-animal-species-discovered-half-billion-year-old-burgess-shale <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Massive new animal species discovered in half-billion-year-old Burgess Shale</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Titanokorys%20Reconstruction-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=b2zB7e3- 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Titanokorys%20Reconstruction-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=IgWyeUMk 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Titanokorys%20Reconstruction-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=-H0_vJ1r 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Titanokorys%20Reconstruction-crop.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=b2zB7e3-" alt="&quot;&quot;"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-09-29T15:22:51-04:00" title="Wednesday, September 29, 2021 - 15:22" class="datetime">Wed, 09/29/2021 - 15:22</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Titanokorys gainesi was a giant compared to most animals that lived in the seas during the Cambrian period, most of which barely reached the size of a pinky finger (illustration by Lars Fields/Royal Ontario Museum)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/romas-news-staff" hreflang="en">ROM/A&amp;S News Staff</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/earth-sciences" hreflang="en">Earth Sciences</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-environmental-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology &amp; Environmental Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/royal-ontario-museum" hreflang="en">Royal Ontario Museum</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Ƶ palaeontologists based at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) have uncovered the remains of a huge new fossil species belonging to an extinct animal group in half-a-billion-year-old Cambrian rocks from Kootenay National Park in the Canadian Rockies.</p> <p>Named&nbsp;Titanokorys gainesi&nbsp;and described in&nbsp;<a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.210664">a study published in <em>Royal Society Open Science</em></a>&nbsp;earlier this month, the new species is remarkable for its size. With an estimated total length of half a metre,&nbsp;Titanokorys&nbsp;was a giant compared to most animals that lived in the seas at that time&nbsp;– most of which barely reached the size of a pinky finger.</p> <div> <div class="image-with-caption left"><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/P8184884-crop.jpg" alt><em><span style="font-size:12px;">Jean-Bernard Caron sits above a fossil of Titanokorys gainesi at the quarry site located in Kootenay National Park&nbsp;(ohoto by Joe Moysiuk)</span></em></div> </div> <p>“The sheer size of this animal is absolutely mind-boggling&nbsp;– this is one of the biggest animals from the Cambrian period ever found,” says&nbsp;<strong>Jean-Bernard Caron</strong>, an associate professor in the departments of&nbsp;Earth sciences&nbsp;and&nbsp;ecology and evolutionary biology&nbsp;(EEB) in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science at U of T&nbsp;and the&nbsp;Richard M. Ivey Curator of Invertebrate Palaeontology at the ROM.</p> <p>Evolutionarily speaking,&nbsp;Titanokorys&nbsp;belongs to a group of primitive arthropods called radiodonts. The most iconic representative of this group is the streamlined predator&nbsp;Anomalocaris, which may itself have approached a metre in length. Like all radiodonts,&nbsp;Titanokorys&nbsp;had multifaceted eyes, a pineapple slice-shaped, tooth-lined mouth, a pair of spiny claws below its head to capture prey and a body with a series of flaps for swimming. Within this group, some species also possessed large, conspicuous head carapaces, with&nbsp;Titanokorys&nbsp;being one of the largest ever known.</p> <p>“Titanokorys&nbsp;is part of a subgroup of radiodonts, called hurdiids, characterized by an incredibly long head covered by a three-part carapace that took on myriad shapes. The head is so long relative to the body that these animals are really little more than swimming heads,” added <strong>Joe Moysiuk</strong>, co-author of the study, and a PhD student in EEB based at the ROM.</p> <div> <div class="image-with-caption right"><em><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Andrew%20Gregg%20_Joe%20and%20JB_8793%5B1688%5D-crop.jpg" alt><span style="font-size:12px;">Jean-Bernard Caron and Joe Moysiuk in the ROM palaeontogy lab room examining Titanokorys gainesi and Cambroraster falcatus (photo by Andrew Gregg/© Red Trillium)</span></em></div> </div> <p>Why some radiodonts evolved such a bewildering array of head carapace shapes and sizes is still poorly understood and was likely driven by a variety of factors, but the broad flattened carapace form in&nbsp;Titanokorys&nbsp;suggests this species was adapted to life near the seafloor.</p> <p>“These enigmatic animals certainly had a big impact on Cambrian seafloor ecosystems. Their limbs at the front looked like multiple stacked rakes and would have been very efficient at bringing anything they captured in their tiny spines towards the mouth. The huge dorsal carapace might have functioned like a plough,” added Caron, who is Moysiuk’s PhD adviser.</p> <p>All fossils in the study were collected around Marble Canyon in northern Kootenay National Park by successive ROM expeditions. Discovered less than a decade ago, this area has yielded a great variety of Burgess Shale animals dating back to the Cambrian period, <a href="/news/paleontologists-u-t-and-rom-discover-fossils-new-predatory-species-canadian-rockies">including a smaller, more abundant relative of&nbsp;Titanokorys&nbsp;named&nbsp;Cambroraster falcatus</a>&nbsp;in reference to its Millennium Falcon-shaped head carapace. According to the authors, the two species might have competed for similar bottom-dwelling prey.</p> <p>These and other Burgess Shale specimens will be showcased in a new gallery at the ROM, the Willner Madge Gallery, Dawn of Life, opening in December 2021.</p> <p>The Burgess Shale fossil sites are located within Yoho National Park and Kootenay National Park&nbsp;and are managed by Parks Canada. Parks Canada works with leading scientific researchers to expand knowledge and understanding of this key period of earth history and to share these sites with the world through award-winning guided hikes. The Burgess Shale was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 due to its outstanding universal value and is now part of the larger Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site.</p> <p>Support for the research came from a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant to Caron and a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship to Moysiuk. Additional support for the research and fieldwork came from the Polk Milstein Family, the ROM, the National Geographic Society, the Swedish Research Council, the National Science Foundation and Pomona College.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 29 Sep 2021 19:22:51 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 170582 at Studying guppies, researchers find ADHD drugs can affect later generations /news/studying-guppies-researchers-find-adhd-drugs-can-affect-later-generations <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Studying guppies, researchers find ADHD drugs can affect later generations</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/University%20of%20Toronto%20PhD%20candidate%20Alex%20De%20Serrano-crop_0.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=MRyTeuBe 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2023-04/University%20of%20Toronto%20PhD%20candidate%20Alex%20De%20Serrano-crop_0.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=rudDh6rU 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2023-04/University%20of%20Toronto%20PhD%20candidate%20Alex%20De%20Serrano-crop_0.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=zUcwEaET 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2023-04/University%20of%20Toronto%20PhD%20candidate%20Alex%20De%20Serrano-crop_0.jpeg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=MRyTeuBe" alt="U of T PhD candidate Alex De Serrano"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2021-06-03T12:12:45-04:00" title="Thursday, June 3, 2021 - 12:12" class="datetime">Thu, 06/03/2021 - 12:12</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>U of T PhD candidate Alex De Serrano is the lead author of a study that found the effects of drugs such as Ritalin and Concerta could be detected in multiple generations of guppies, including those with no direct exposure (photo by Helen Rodd)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/sean-bettam" hreflang="en">Sean Bettam</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/drugs" hreflang="en">Drugs</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-environmental-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology &amp; Environmental Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>By studying guppies, scientists at the Ƶ and Florida State University found that behaviours affected by methylphenidate hydrochloride (MPH) –&nbsp;the active ingredient in stimulants such as Ritalin and Concerta used to treat ADHD –&nbsp;can be passed along to several generations of descendants.&nbsp;</p> <p>“We exposed male and female Trinidadian guppies to a low, steady dose of MPH and saw that it affected the anxiety and stress-related behaviour of males, but not females,” said <strong>Alex De Serrano</strong>, a PhD candidate in the&nbsp;department of ecology and evolutionary biology&nbsp;(EEB) in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and lead author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-83448-x">a study published recently in&nbsp;<em>Scientific Reports</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>“Because of this male-specific effect, we investigated the effects of MPH through the paternal line and observed the same behaviours in several generations of their descendants not directly administered the drug.”</p> <p>The findings add to growing knowledge about paternal effects on offspring, as well as the capacity for those effects to span multiple generations – of which even less is known.</p> <p>From one month of age and through adolescence and into adulthood, first-generation guppies were exposed to MPH via the water in which they lived. The researchers then compared their behaviour against a control population exposed to non-treated water and observed that the males exposed to Ritalin were less cautious when placed in a new environment, compared to those not treated with the drug.</p> <p>“The Ritalin-treated males showed less inhibition than expected when moved to a new environment,” said De Serrano. “Under natural conditions, guppies would be expected to freeze if they found themselves in such a situation, as this allows them to assess their new surroundings for predators and other threats.”</p> <p>De Serrano then produced three generations of offspring from these individuals&nbsp;to see if the behaviour of their descendants differed from descendants of those not exposed to the drug and observed behaviours similar to those of first-generation males exposed to the drug.</p> <p>“It suggests that Ritalin has the potential to cause changes that persist across several generations,” De Serrano said.</p> <p><img alt="Female and male guppies" class="lazy" loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/2023-04/Female%20%2B%20male%20guppies-crop_0.jpeg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px;"></p> <p><em>The study’s findings contribute to a growing understanding of paternal effects on offspring, as well as the capacity for those effects to span multiple generations (photo by Alex De Serrano)</em></p> <p>The researchers say the paternal effect of behavioural change may be transmitted to descendants via non-genetic modifications to the sperm of male ancestors exposed to Ritalin. Such molecular changes that don’t affect DNA are a potential mechanism for males to transmit information about their environment –&nbsp;including exposure to drugs or pollutants –&nbsp;to future offspring.</p> <p>“In many species, including guppies, males do not interact with offspring beyond contributing sperm, so it was traditionally thought that paternal effects would be limited to species where fathers provide some type of care to offspring or other resources to mothers,” said <strong>Helen Rodd</strong>, a&nbsp;professor in the&nbsp;department of ecology and evolutionary biology who is De Serrano’s supervisor.</p> <p>“As of now, most known examples in animals of paternal effects and transgenerational effects – effects that span several generations – come from rodents, so our findings add to the handful of studies that have found paternal, transgenerational effects in other species, though the actual mechanism remains unclear.”</p> <p>It has been suggested that Ritalin could cause transgenerational effects because MPH has been shown to affect the sperm cells of male rodents. Further, paternal effects have been observed in descendants of rats exposed to drugs with a similar mode of action. Despite these concerns, the transgenerational effects of paternal exposure to MPH in humans are unknown.</p> <p>“I was surprised to learn that no studies had investigated whether a drug so commonly prescribed to adolescent boys to treat ADHD affects the behaviour of their offspring,” said De Serrano. “Because reduced caution in new situations has been associated with increased drug-seeking behaviour in rodents and humans, our results suggest that long-term exposure to Ritalin&nbsp;could&nbsp;increase the propensity for drug abuse and other affective disorders in males and their descendants.”</p> <p>However, the researchers note that, as with all comparative studies, their results only hint at general processes that might be occurring in humans and are not directly translatable to human populations.</p> <p>“More research is required to determine the mechanism that caused this altered behaviour to persist across generations,” said De Serrano. “And in order to extend these results to humans, longitudinal studies following individuals taking Ritalin and their offspring are needed.”</p> <p>Support for the research was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 03 Jun 2021 16:12:45 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 301347 at Six ways U of T researchers – and the Royal Society of Canada – are working to make our lives better /news/six-ways-u-t-researchers-and-royal-society-canada-are-working-make-our-lives-better <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Six ways U of T researchers – and the Royal Society of Canada – are working to make our lives better</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/rsc.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=88W9Lv_x 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/rsc.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=BxszTFss 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/rsc.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=TIogXjAw 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/rsc.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=88W9Lv_x" alt> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2020-11-19T12:22:31-05:00" title="Thursday, November 19, 2020 - 12:22" class="datetime">Thu, 11/19/2020 - 12:22</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Clockwise from top left: Aimy Bazylak, Chelsea Rochman, Kelly O’Brien, Kevin Lewis O’Neill, Marc Cadotte and Diana Fu</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/rahul-kalvapalle" hreflang="en">Rahul Kalvapalle</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/temerty-faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Temerty Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/earth-sciences" hreflang="en">Earth Sciences</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-environmental-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology &amp; Environmental Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/political-science" hreflang="en">Political Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/religion" hreflang="en">Religion</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/royal-society-canada" hreflang="en">Royal Society of Canada</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ted-sargent" hreflang="en">Ted Sargent</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>From clean energy and water to urban biodiversity, disability in HIV patients and labour activism in China, the next generation of researchers at the Ƶ is engaged in tackling some of the most difficult – and pressing – questions of our time.</p> <p>Six of those researchers were recently recognized for their leadership, talent and the transformative potential of their research by being elected to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC)’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.</p> <p>Their appointment makes them members of an exclusive group who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary productivity at an early stage in their career, and whose perspectives and expertise will strengthen the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists’ mission of harnessing interdisciplinary approaches to generate ideas and solutions.</p> <p>“Our researchers’ strength across the full breadth of areas of scholarship fuels an extraordinary range of cross-disciplinary collaborations – work that is vital to developing creative and sustainable solutions for the challenges facing Canada and the world,” says <a href="https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/awards-funding/university-professors/">University Professor</a> <strong>Ted Sargent</strong>, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.</p> <p>The new members of the college will be honoured at the Royal Society of Canada’s <a href="https://rsc-src.ca/en/events/coee2020">2020 Celebration of Excellence and Engagement</a>, a week-long exploration of scholarly, scientific and artistic topics. They will be recognized alongside <a href="/celebrates/twelve-u-t-faculty-members-appointed-fellows-royal-society-canada">12 leading U of T researchers, across a diverse array of disciplines, who were named fellows of the society this year</a>, as well two faculty members who won Royal Society of Canada medals: <a href="/celebrates/barbara-sherwood-lollar-receives-royal-society-canada-s-2020-willet-g-miller-medal"><strong>Barbara Sherwood Lollar</strong></a> of the department of Earth sciences and <a href="/celebrates/marla-sokolowski-receives-royal-society-canada-s-flavelle-medal"><strong>Marla Sokolowski</strong></a> of the department of ecology and evolutionary biology – both in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science.</p> <p>U of T is a presenting sponsor of the event, which runs from Nov. 23 to Nov. 29 <a href="https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/insulin-the-legacy-of-insulin-discovery-origins-access-and-translation-tickets-125202404763">and includes a virtual symposium examining the impact and legacy of the discovery of insulin by U of T scientists 100 years ago</a>.</p> <h3><a href="/news/our-very-first-biotech-win-how-u-t-s-discovery-insulin-made-it-research-and-innovation">Read more about the legacy of U of T’s insulin discovery</a></h3> <p>“These researchers contribute to a culture of curiosity, creativity and collaboration across the university that is driving discovery and innovation,” Sargent says. “I’m confident they will bring that same energy and dedication to the Royal Society of Canada and that their leadership will have a significant impact on the lives of Canadians – both now and well into the future.”</p> <hr> <p>Here is a quick guide to U of T’s newest members of the Royal Society’s&nbsp;College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists:</p> <h4>Aimy Bazylak</h4> <div class="media_embed" height="500px" width="750px"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="500px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E41casgqvtY" width="750px"></iframe></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Aimy Bazylak</strong>, a professor in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, is advancing the development of clean energy technologies such as fuel cells, batteries and electrolyzers. These technologies, Bazylak says, “will help everyone have a cleaner society.”</p> <p>A fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Bazylak holds a Canada Research Chair in Thermofluidics for Clean Energy and was named <a href="https://news.engineering.utoronto.ca/mclean-award-recipient-aimy-bazylak-is-creating-new-technologies-for-sustainable-energy/">this year’s winner of the McLean award</a> for her contributions to fuel cell and electrolyzer technology.</p> <p>She attributes her passion for green technologies to the enthusiasm and drive of her students.</p> <p>“What inspires me to do what I do is the students I work with every day – from undergraduate to graduate students – at the Ƶ,” says Bazylak, “The students I work with are so driven for a clean energy society.</p> <p>“That inspiration really permeates through everything that they do and inspires me as well.”</p> <h4>Marc Cadotte</h4> <div class="media_embed" height="500px" width="750px"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="500px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Au0kbkNwXUw" width="750px"></iframe></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://utsc.utoronto.ca/news-events/our-community/growing-among-nature-shaped-career-utsc-ecologist-elected-royal-society-canada">U of T Scarborough ecologist <strong>Marc Cadotte</strong></a> is a prolific researcher. Having published more than 150 articles and accumulated over 11,000 citations, he has been listed among Web of Science’s most cited environmental scientists since 2017.</p> <p>For Cadotte, appointment to the college represents an opportunity to share his expertise on an issue of universal concern: how human activity affects the ecosystems around us and how biodiversity can be preserved and its benefits maximized.</p> <p>“I grew up as a child in northern Ontario and then I moved to southern Ontario as a teenager,” says Cadotte, a professor in the department of biological sciences. “I went from seeing bears and moose in my backyard to moving to a place where the landscape was fundamentally transformed by human activity. I used to be able to find nature outside my back door, and then I had to go searching for it.</p> <p>“So, what inspired me was this fundamental change I saw in the environment around me. I wanted to understand why we have these impacts.”</p> <h4>Kevin Lewis O’Neill</h4> <div class="media_embed" height="500px" width="750px"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="500px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Zz_7Rc4B1B4" width="750px"></iframe></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Kevin Lewis O’Neill</strong> is a cultural anthropologist who, working principally in Guatemala City, explores “questions of religion and politics with a philosophical interest in matters of belonging in exclusion.”</p> <p>O’Neill, a professor in the department for the study of religion in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, says his research is inspired and driven by two key factors. “One is the politics of the research – I study matters of deportation and citizenship and matters of security throughout the Americas and the political stakes of these issues have never been higher,” says O’Neill, who is also director of the Centre for Diaspora &amp; Transnational Studies.</p> <p>“The other part is that there is a pleasure to ethnographic field work. I have found something exceedingly pleasurable about the intensity of the research, the kinds of relationships I’m able to establish local stakeholders and the kinds of questions I’m able to pursue.”</p> <h4><strong>Diana Fu</strong></h4> <div class="media_embed" height="500px" width="750px"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="500px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mzq4V4m6lOU" width="750px"></iframe></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Diana Fu</strong>’s professorial career has involved considerable overseas field work. An associate professor in the department of political science at the Ƶ Scarborough, Fu spent two years studying informal labour organizations in China. Her research examines various aspects of politics and activism in China, generating important insights for the discourse around Canada-China relations.</p> <p>“Canadians need China competency now more than ever, and this is what I hope my research contributes to,” says Fu, who is director of the East Asia seminar series at the Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy.</p> <h4>Chelsea Rochman</h4> <div class="media_embed" height="500px" width="750px"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="500px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sHH0kA41jTI" width="750px"></iframe></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="/news/sea-troubles-chelsea-rochman-explores-how-plastic-breaking-down-and-where-it-s-ending">The work of <strong>Chelsea Rochman</strong></a><strong> </strong>focuses on an environmental issue of national and global importance: <a href="/news/unacceptable-plastic-future-u-t-ecologists-sound-alarm-new-study-global-waterways">plastic pollution and its impact on marine and freshwater ecosystems</a> and wildlife. Rochman, an assistant professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science, has studied the effects of microplastics – <a href="/news/u-t-researchers-examine-effect-microfibres-toronto-s-wastewater-citynews">such as the billions of tiny fibres laundered from our clothing</a> – on our water and has <a href="/news/microplastic-pollution-everywhere-scientists-are-still-learning-how-it-harms-wildlife-u-t">written about the dangers of this pollution</a>.</p> <p>She notes that the Canadian government has increasingly been prioritizing programs to build a more sustainable plastic economy and mitigate existing plastic pollution.</p> <p>“For me, this is exciting,” she says. “I’ve been inspired by the idea or issue of waste for a long time – since I was a child – and I’m really excited to have a career being able to both research it as well as work within our own community locally, but also globally, on tackling this issue.”</p> <h4>Kelly O'Brien</h4> <div class="media_embed" height="500px" width="750px"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="500px" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LjInNqDHO3Q" width="750px"></iframe></div> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Kelly O’Brien</strong> is an associate professor in the department of physical therapy in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Her research focuses on episodic disability and rehabilitation in the context of chronic disease and HIV.</p> <p>She is cross-appointed to the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute as well as the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.</p> <p>“Over the years,” O’Brien says, “I’ve had the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with a number of mentors and colleagues – both academic and community-based experts – including people living with HIV, clinicians, researchers and representatives of community organizations who are dedicated to identifying new and emerging research priorities in the field and advancing research in practice to improve health outcomes and access to rehabilitation for people with chronic disease.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Thu, 19 Nov 2020 17:22:31 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 166509 at U of T experts receive $9.5 million in funding for research infrastructure /news/u-t-experts-receive-95-million-funding-research-infrastructure <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T experts receive $9.5 million in funding for research infrastructure</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/UofT44775_ESCB-Traces-15.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=0asnM6zq 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/UofT44775_ESCB-Traces-15.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=yiD8wWZv 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/UofT44775_ESCB-Traces-15.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=IUHSBnlk 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/UofT44775_ESCB-Traces-15.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=0asnM6zq" alt="A tray of test tubes in a lab"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>rahul.kalvapalle</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2020-08-26T12:52:29-04:00" title="Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - 12:52" class="datetime">Wed, 08/26/2020 - 12:52</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(photo by Ken Jones)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/rahul-kalvapalle" hreflang="en">Rahul Kalvapalle</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/institute-biomedical-engineering" hreflang="en">Institute of Biomedical Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/resarch-innovation" hreflang="en">Resarch &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/anthropology" hreflang="en">Anthropology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/chemistry" hreflang="en">Chemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/computer-science" hreflang="en">Computer Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/earth-sciences" hreflang="en">Earth Sciences</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-environmental-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology &amp; Environmental Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/electrical-computer-engineering" hreflang="en">Electrical &amp; Computer Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-dentistry" hreflang="en">Faculty of Dentistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-information" hreflang="en">Faculty of Information</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hospital-sick-children" hreflang="en">Hospital for Sick Children</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/immunology" hreflang="en">Immunology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/laboratory-medicine-and-pathobiology" hreflang="en">Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/leslie-dan-faculty-pharmacy" hreflang="en">Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mechanical-industrial-engineering" hreflang="en">Mechanical &amp; Industrial Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ontario-institute-studies-education" hreflang="en">Ontario Institute for Studies in Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/physics" hreflang="en">Physics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/psychology" hreflang="en">Psychology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/st-michael-s-hospital" hreflang="en">St. Michael's Hospital</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sunnybrook-hospital" hreflang="en">Sunnybrook Hospital</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ted-sargent" hreflang="en">Ted Sargent</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-health-network" hreflang="en">University Health Network</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utias" hreflang="en">UTIAS</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Thirty-three research projects at the Ƶ, spanning fields from artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing to cancer detection and neurodegeneration, are set to benefit from more than $9.5 million in federal funding that will support research infrastructure needs and expenses.</p> <p>The grants, which range in amount from more than $76,000 to $800,000, are being awarded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund. Named for the late U of T President Emeritus <strong>John R. Evans</strong>, the fund aims to empower researchers with the equipment and technology they need to move their projects forward and maximize their impact.</p> <p>The funding also helps universities remain competitive in global research and technology development by helping to attract top researchers in their fields.</p> <p>“The crucial support provided by the Canada Foundation for Innovation underpins the important research that takes places every day across our three campuses,” said <strong>Ted Sargent</strong>, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.</p> <p>“Researchers at U of T are addressing some of the most complex and interesting challenges of our time, in fields ranging from the humanities and social sciences to medicine and engineering, and they depend on facilities, equipment and technology to help realize their discoveries.”</p> <p>The largest award destined for U of T – $800,000 – goes to an active learning research lab project being led by <strong>James Slotta</strong>, professor and President's Chair in Knowledge Technologies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.</p> <p><strong>Goldie Nejat</strong>, professor in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering, will receive $440,474 for her work on robotics infrastructure for smart manufacturing.</p> <p><strong>Bianca Schroeder</strong>, an associate professor in U of T Scarborough’s department of computer and mathematical sciences, will use her $120,000 award for her work in the area of computer systems support for machine learning and artificial intelligence.</p> <p>Other funded projects at U of T include the Sleep and Human Evolution Lab led by Assistant Professor <strong>David Samson</strong> of the department of anthropology at U of T Mississauga, which will receive $151,714 in support.</p> <p>In total, CFI awarded more than $96 million in funding to 377 research infrastructure projects at 55 institutions across Canada. That includes more than $22 million under CFI’s Infrastructure Operating Fund, which helps pay for the incremental operating and maintenance costs of new infrastructure.</p> <p>“Support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation ensures researchers are equipped for success at every stage of their career,” Roseann O’Reilly Runte, president and CEO of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, said in a statement.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The John R. Evans Leaders Fund helps Canadian universities, institutes and research hospitals create the conditions necessary for their talented researchers to excel.”</p> <hr> <p><strong>The following 33 U of T researchers and projects received funding through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund:</strong></p> <p><strong>Christine Allen</strong>, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy: Next generation polymeric microparticles for the treatment of osteoarthritis</p> <p><strong>Alán Aspuru-Guzik</strong>, departments of chemistry and computer science in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science: Chemspeed automated chemical synthesis system</p> <p><strong>Michael Best</strong>, department of psychology at U of T Scarborough: Psychosis research lab – &nbsp;assessment of biological, psychological, and behavioural factors associated with psychosis</p> <p><strong>Matthew Buechler</strong>, department of immunology in the Faculty of Medicine: A research program to study the role of fibroblasts in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis</p> <p><strong>Jessica Burgner-Kahrs</strong>, department of mathematical and computational sciences at the U of T Mississauga: Immersive interaction and morphological control for continuum robot systems</p> <p><strong>Jean Chen</strong>, department of medical biophysics in the Faculty of Medicine and Baycrest Centre: Linking neural and vascular aging in the brain: from biophysics to cognition</p> <p><strong>Leo Chou</strong>, Institute of Biomedical Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering: DNA nanotechnology for spatially programmed immune receptor activation</p> <p><strong>Xu Chu</strong>, department of Earth sciences in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science: Mass transport in Earth’s lithosphere revealed by in-situ LA-ICP-MS micro-analyses</p> <p><strong>Miriam Diamond</strong>, department of physics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science: Detector prototype units for long-lived particle searches</p> <p><strong>Peter Dirks</strong>, department of surgery in the Faculty of Medicine and the Hospital for Sick Children: A non-invasive approach to visualizing tumour growth <em>in vivo </em>through space and time</p> <p><strong>Claudia dos Santos</strong>, department of medicine in the Faculty of Medicine and Unity Health: A shift in paradigm – a novel stratification system for critical illness</p> <p><strong>Siew-Ging Gong,</strong> Faculty of Dentistry: Infrastructure for Canadian National Caries Network</p> <p><strong>Björn Herrmann</strong>, department of psychology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and Baycrest Centre: Sensory-cognitive listening assessment to transform hearing loss outcomes</p> <p><strong>Jane Howe</strong>, department of materials science and engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering: Advanced scanning electron microscope for in situ and liquid-phase electron microscopy studies</p> <p><strong>Nikolina Ilic</strong>, department of physics in the Faculty of Arts and Science: Readout the answers</p> <p><strong>Rutsuko Ito</strong>, department of psychology at U of T Scarborough: Neural circuit changes in decision-making across the lifespan – relevance to mental health disorders</p> <p><strong>Gabor Kovacs</strong>, department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Faculty of Medicine and University Health Network: Tracking down neurodegeneration in the human brain – from functional systems to the subcellular level</p> <p><strong>Cara Krmpotich</strong>, Faculty of Information: Recovery and recuperation – mobilizing the next generation of GRASAC</p> <p><strong>Hon Sing Leong</strong>, department of medical biophysics in the Faculty of Medicine and Sunnybrook Research Institute: Extracellular vesicle and patient avatar technology cores for translational and clinical research</p> <p><strong>Goldie Nejat</strong>, department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering: Robotics infrastructure for smart manufacturing (RISM)</p> <p><strong>Nicolas Papernot</strong>, department of electrical and computer engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering: Trustworthy machine learning</p> <p><strong>Tomas Paus</strong>, department of psychology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital: Charting diversity in brain maturation</p> <p><strong>Trevor Pugh</strong>, department of medical biophysics in the Faculty of Medicine and University Health Network: Defining cancer and immune landscapes in multiple myeloma using single cell transcriptomics and ultra-deep DNA sequencing</p> <p><strong>Chelsea Rochman</strong>, department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science: Microplastic sources, fate and effects research laboratory</p> <p><strong>David Samson</strong>, department of anthropology at U of T Mississauga: Sleep and Human Evolution Lab (SHEL) – testing evolutionary hypotheses in a clinical, controlled space</p> <p><strong>Bianca Schroeder</strong>, department of computer and mathematical sciences at U of T Scarborough: Computer systems support for machine learning and artificial intelligence</p> <p><strong>Florian Shkurti</strong>, department of mathematics in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science: Autonomous mobile manipulation in human environments – learning algorithms and robot systems</p> <p><strong>John Sled</strong>, department of medical biophysics in the Faculty of Medicine and the Hospital for Sick Children: Advanced imaging of mouse development – early adversity and brain health</p> <p><strong>James Slotta</strong>, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education: Active learning research labs</p> <p><strong>Hoon-Ki Sung</strong>, department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Faculty of Medicine and the Hospital for Sick Children: In-depth 2D and whole tissue 3D detection of tissue fibro-inflammation in metabolic diseases</p> <p><strong>Jacqueline Sztepanacz</strong>, department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science: Mapping genotypes to phenotypes and phenotypes to fitness</p> <p><strong>Sara Vasconcelos</strong>, department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Faculty of Medicine and University Health Network: Cardiac regeneration and in vitro disease modeling</p> <p><strong>Steven Waslander</strong>, U of T Institute for Aerospace Studies in the Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering: Autonomous docking and active perception for unmanned aerial vehicles</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 26 Aug 2020 16:52:29 +0000 rahul.kalvapalle 165509 at Microplastic pollution is everywhere, but scientists are still learning how it harms wildlife: U of T experts /news/microplastic-pollution-everywhere-scientists-are-still-learning-how-it-harms-wildlife-u-t <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Microplastic pollution is everywhere, but scientists are still learning how it harms wildlife: U of T experts</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/file-20200124-81341-1gxmzr0weblead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=xDFt0QuF 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/file-20200124-81341-1gxmzr0weblead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=HggcX_Xv 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/file-20200124-81341-1gxmzr0weblead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=MMmpG-ZD 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/file-20200124-81341-1gxmzr0weblead.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=xDFt0QuF" alt="Photo of plastic pieces floating in the ocean"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Christopher.Sorensen</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2020-01-28T14:57:51-05:00" title="Tuesday, January 28, 2020 - 14:57" class="datetime">Tue, 01/28/2020 - 14:57</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item"><p>Large plastics break up into tiny particles called microplastics that can persist in the environment for hundreds of years (photo via Shutterstock)</p> </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/chelsea-rochman" hreflang="en">Chelsea Rochman</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/kennedy-bucci" hreflang="en">Kennedy Bucci</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-environmental-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology &amp; Environmental Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/oceans" hreflang="en">Oceans</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/plastics" hreflang="en">Plastics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sustainability" hreflang="en">Sustainability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/conversation" hreflang="en">The Conversation</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p class="legacy">Plastic pollution is a growing global concern. Large pieces of plastic have been found almost everywhere on Earth, from the <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/10/greenpeace-beach-cleanup-report-highlights-ocean-plastic-problem/">most visited beaches</a> to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/16/414-million-pieces-of-plastic-found-on-remote-island-group-in-indian-ocean">remote, uninhabited islands</a>. Because wildlife are regularly exposed to plastic pollution, we often ask what effects plastics have on the animals.</p> <p>Over time, macroplastics (plastic debris larger than five millimetres in size) break up into tiny particles called microplastics (smaller than five millimetres), which can persist in the environment for <a href="https://www.wwf.org.au/news/blogs/the-lifecycle-of-plastics#gs.qa4oh2">hundreds of years</a>.</p> <p>Macroplastics are known to cause detrimental effects for wildlife. Individual animals can <a href="https://www.nwf.org/Home/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2019/June-July/Conservation/Ocean-Plastic">ingest large pieces</a> or <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/insight/entanglement-marine-life-risks-and-response">become entangled in plastic items</a>, such as fishing gear, and suffocate or starve to death. Although there is no question that macroplastics are harmful to wildlife, the effects of microplastics are not as straightforward.</p> <p>While many studies find microplastics can affect the gene expression, growth, reproduction or survival of an animal, others conclude that microplastics have no negative effects. The lack of clear consensus makes it more difficult for decision-makers to enact effective policies to mitigate plastic pollution.</p> <h3>Not all plastics are the same</h3> <p>We recently took a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2044">deep dive into the research that has looked at how plastic pollution affects aquatic and terrestrial wildlife</a>.</p> <p>We found that while macroplastics continue to cause detrimental effects to individual animals, they are also causing larger-scale changes to populations of animals, communities and ecosystems. For example, plastic pollution can <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2018/08/news-invasive-species-ride-plastic-across-ocean">introduce invasive species to new habitats by transporting organisms hundreds of kilometres from their native range</a>, changing the composition of species in a community.</p> <p>The effects of microplastics, however, are much more complicated. Of the studies we included in our review, nearly half (45 per cent) found that microplastics caused an effect. Some studies saw that microplastics caused animals to have shorter lives, eat less or swim slower, and others saw changes in the number of offspring produced, and changes in the genes being expressed. Yet, 55 per cent of the studies didn’t detect any effects.</p> <p>Why do some studies detect effects while others do not? There are several possibilities. For one, the researchers used different experimental designs in their lab experiments.</p> <p>There’s also the issue of using the term microplastics, which refers to a complex mixture of plastics that vary in material (such as polyethylene, polystyrene or polyvinyl chloride), the chemicals associated with them (including additives, fillers and dyes), as well as their size and shape. Each of these characteristics, along with how much plastic the animal is exposed to in the experiment, could affect their potential to detect an effect.</p> <h3>Microfibres and microbeads</h3> <p>For example, we saw that when studies exposed crustaceans to polystyrene, a type of plastic used to make disposable containers, lids and cutlery, the crustaceans generally produced more offspring. But when they were exposed to polyethylene or polyethylene terephthalate, which is used to make plastic bags and beverage bottles, the crustaceans produced fewer offspring.</p> <p>We also found that studies using smaller particles are more likely to detect an effect. This may be because smaller particles are more easily consumed by small organisms, or because they can move across the cell membrane and cause harmful effects such as inflammation.</p> <figure class="align-left "><img alt sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311884/original/file-20200124-81395-1r2bior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311884/original/file-20200124-81395-1r2bior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=1012&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311884/original/file-20200124-81395-1r2bior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=1012&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311884/original/file-20200124-81395-1r2bior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=1012&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311884/original/file-20200124-81395-1r2bior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1272&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311884/original/file-20200124-81395-1r2bior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1272&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311884/original/file-20200124-81395-1r2bior.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=1272&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w"> <figcaption><span class="caption">Microbeads are found in exfoliating products such as face cleansers and toothpaste. Several countries have banned their production and sale (photo by Shutterstock)&nbsp;</span></figcaption> </figure> <p>When it came to the shape of the plastic, microfibres (from clothing or rope) and fragments were more likely to have a negative effect on the organism compared to spheres (from facial cleansing products). For example, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28594093">one study</a> found that microfibres were more toxic to a species of marine shrimp than microplastic fragments or spheres.</p> <p>Finally, one might expect animals to be more harmed when they are exposed to higher concentrations of microplastics. While it’s true that crustaceans were more likely to die when exposed to increasing doses of microplastics, the effect on reproduction was more complex. The number of offspring increased with extremely high doses, but decreased at lower doses, similar to what is seen in the environment.</p> <h3>Many types, many outcomes</h3> <p>Based on our review, we believe future research needs to recognize the complexity of microplastics and scientists need to design their tests strategically so that we can really understand how the different types, sizes, shapes, doses and the duration of exposure to microplastics affect wildlife.</p> <p>Several countries, including <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/chemical-substances/other-chemical-substances-interest/microbeads.html">Canada</a>, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/01/09/health/microbead-ban-uk-intl/index.html">the United Kingdom</a> and <a href="https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-laws-regulations/microbead-free-waters-act-faqs">United States</a> have recently banned plastic microbeads – the spherical beads and fragments in face wash, body scrubs and toothpaste – because they were contaminating the environment and could cause negative effects in aquatic animals. Although this legislation reduces one type of microplastic in the environment, it is irrelevant to countless others.</p> <p>Only if we have a better understanding of how the different types, shapes and concentrations of microplastics affect wildlife can we make better policy decisions. If, for example, microfibres are indeed found to be more harmful than spheres, we could focus our attention on keeping these fibres from entering our waterways from known sources, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/26/vicious-cycle-delicate-wash-releases-more-plastic-microfibres">such as from washing machines</a>.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/129882/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important" width="1" loading="lazy"><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/chelsea-rochman-172733">Chelsea Rochman</a>&nbsp;is an assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the&nbsp;<em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-toronto-1281">Ƶ</a>.&nbsp;</em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/kennedy-bucci-459121">Kennedy Bucci</a>&nbsp;is a PhD student in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the&nbsp;<em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-toronto-1281">Ƶ</a></em>.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/microplastic-pollution-is-everywhere-but-scientists-are-still-learning-how-it-harms-wildlife-129882">original article</a>.</em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 28 Jan 2020 19:57:51 +0000 Christopher.Sorensen 162140 at U of T students who crushed it in 2019 /news/u-t-students-who-crushed-it-2019 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">U of T students who crushed it in 2019</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/0P8A0290.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=z_I-YQCm 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/0P8A0290.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=8nKbo-ct 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/0P8A0290.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=S9XOkJr9 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/0P8A0290.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=z_I-YQCm" alt="Elspeth Arbow in her graduation robe with sunglasses on and finger pointing in front of University College"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>geoff.vendeville</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2019-12-17T10:12:56-05:00" title="Tuesday, December 17, 2019 - 10:12" class="datetime">Tue, 12/17/2019 - 10:12</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a baby, Elspeth Arbow graduated with a degree in cinema studies in June after overcoming a double-lung transplant – the second time she had undergone the procedure (photo by Lisa Lightbourn)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/geoffrey-vendeville" hreflang="en">Geoffrey Vendeville</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/student-experience" hreflang="en">Student Experience</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/munk-school-global-affairs-public-policy-0" hreflang="en">Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/accessibility" hreflang="en">Accessibility</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-environmental-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology &amp; Environmental Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/entrepreneurship" hreflang="en">Entrepreneurship</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/factor-inwentash-faculty-social-work" hreflang="en">Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-applied-science-engineering" hreflang="en">Faculty of Applied Science &amp; Engineering</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-kinesiology-physical-education" hreflang="en">Faculty of Kinesiology &amp; Physical Education</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-law" hreflang="en">Faculty of Law</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/graduate-students" hreflang="en">Graduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/indigenous" hreflang="en">Indigenous</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/innis-college" hreflang="en">Innis College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/near-and-middle-eastern-civilizations" hreflang="en">Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sustainability" hreflang="en">Sustainability</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/trinity-college" hreflang="en">Trinity College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-libraries" hreflang="en">U of T Libraries</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-mississauga" hreflang="en">U of T Mississauga</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-scarborough" hreflang="en">U of T Scarborough</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-college" hreflang="en">University College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/victoria-college" hreflang="en">Victoria College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/woodsworth-college" hreflang="en">Woodsworth College</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Convocation season is a time when many students at the Ƶ reflect on their accomplishments. But U of T students are&nbsp;doing and achieving things on a daily basis that make the university an outstanding place.&nbsp;</p> <p>This year alone,&nbsp;students have gone to Ottawa to advocate a better, co-ordinated strategy to prevent concussions. They have researched news ways to fight dangerous, antibiotic-resistant superbugs.&nbsp;They have saved lives amid an opioid epidemic and used library books to pinpoint the identity of a lost Mesopotamian queen – all while overcoming the many challenges, big and small, that life threw at them along the way.&nbsp;</p> <p>And that's just the start.</p> <p>Here's <em>U of T News</em>'s annual – if far from exhaustive&nbsp;– list of students who crushed it in 2019:&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/first-year-student-takes-big-step-head-female-dancer-u-t-powwow">The first-year student who served as head dancer at U of T’s powwow</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/miyopin-lead_0.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)</em></p> <p>Although she was only in her first year at U of T,&nbsp;<strong>Miyopin Cheechoo&nbsp;</strong>was asked to take on a big responsibility: being the head dancer at the U of T powwow.</p> <p>The Cree student from Moosonee rose to the occasion. Wearing red polka dot print and an eagle feather, she danced her heart out and got a large section of the crowd in the Goldring Centre up on its feet.</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/how-u-t-researcher-discovered-lost-mesopotamian-queen-without-leaving-library">The PhD student&nbsp;who located an ancient queen’s remains using only books</a></h3> <h3><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/0J5A9907.jpg" alt></h3> <p><em>(photo by Perry King)</em></p> <p><strong>Tracy Spurrier</strong>, a PhD student in the department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, helped track down the remains of a long-lost Mesopotamian queen&nbsp;– all without lifting a shovel or brush.</p> <p>Queen Hama is said to have lived 3,000 years ago in Assyria. But the whereabouts of her body were a mystery until Spurrier, using a paleopathology report and book in her department’s rare book collection, managed to pin down the identity of her remains.&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/twin-sisters-go-lab-legislature-their-fight-against-concussions">The twin sisters who went from lab to legislature in a campaign against concussions</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/sisters-lead_0.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>(photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)</em></p> <p><strong>Sandhya Mylabathula</strong>, a PhD student, and her twin sister <strong>Swapna</strong>, doing a MD-PhD, have been interested in concussions since their undergraduate years. They spoke to legislators on Parliament Hill about the need for a culture shift within sport and offered other recommendations to reduce concussions.&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/law-and-medicine-twins-and-soon-be-u-t-graduates-advocate-indigenous-representation">The Indigenous twins in law and medicine who called for greater diversity in their fields</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/sobchak-embed_0.jpg" alt="Brothers Patrick and Curtis Sobchak"></p> <p><em>(photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)</em></p> <p>No, you’re not seeing double. Brothers <strong>Patrick </strong>and <strong>Curtis Sobchak</strong> are another set of twins who crushed it this year. Patrick, who studied law, and Curtis, in medicine, were among the few Indigenous students in their classrooms.&nbsp;</p> <p>Before graduating in June, they both took steps to call for&nbsp;greater representation of Indigenous Peoples in their respective&nbsp;fields.&nbsp;</p> <p>Patrick championed the inclusion of Indigenous values and law in the curriculum, while Curtis wrote about the lack of diversity in medicine on the<em> Canadian Medical Association Journal’s </em>blog.&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/seen-tv-u-t-grad-changing-channel-representation-film-and-television">The theatre and drama major who amped up the conversation about diversity and disability on TV</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/George-1140-x-760_1.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)</em></p> <p><strong>George Alevizos</strong> had no lines in his debut on <em>Star Trek: Discovery </em>as a Starfleet engineer, but his appearance was widely acclaimed for an important reason: Alevizos, who uses a wheelchair, was one of the few actors&nbsp;on the show&nbsp;– indeed television&nbsp;– with a visible disability.</p> <p>He graduated from a U of T Mississauga-Sheridan College joint program in June and hopes to continue pressuring his industry to show greater diversity on the stage and screen.</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/you-cannot-defeat-me-u-t-grad-noura-al-jizawi-leader-syrian-uprising-takes-new-challenge">The Syrian activist and master’s student who wouldn’t give up</a></h3> <h3><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Noura-al-jizawi-weblead_0.jpg" alt></h3> <p><em>(photo by Lisa Lightbourn)</em></p> <p><strong>Noura Al-Jizawi</strong>, a Syrian activist who was detained and tortured in her home country, came to U of T through the Scholars at Risk program. She was seven months pregnant when she started a master’s degree in global affairs, also known as an MGA, at the Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy.&nbsp;</p> <p>It was her first time taking lessons in English rather than Arabic.&nbsp;</p> <p>In the summer, she completed her studies and celebrated her convocation with her daughter, whom her classmates call the “MGA baby.”</p> <p>“I imagine the moment I hold my diploma,” Al-Jizawi said before graduating. “It’s going to be the moment I defeat the dictators in Syria&nbsp;because it’s going to send the message: ‘You cannot defeat me.’”&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/too-stubborn-stop-u-t-s-elspeth-arbow-graduates-after-overcoming-second-double-lung-transplant">The student who was ‘too stubborn to stop’&nbsp;</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/elspeth-arbow-lead_0.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>(photo by Lisa Lightbourn)</em></p> <p><strong>Elspeth Arbow</strong>, diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as a baby, kept up with her studies for a full nine months as her health spiralled and she waited for an organ donor. She then spent 2018 recovering&nbsp;from a double-lung transplant&nbsp;–&nbsp;the second time in her young life that&nbsp;she had undergone the procedure.&nbsp;</p> <p>Her gutsy resolve paid off: She graduated from Innis College with a degree in cinema studies in June and landed a job at the Toronto International Film Festival.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It’s this huge sense of accomplishment because I wanted to give up all the time,” she said.</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/u-t-entrepreneur-s-startup-put-reliable-power-hands-nigeria-s-people">The student whose award-winning startup empowers people in Nigeria</a></h3> <p><strong><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/0W7A1142.jpg" alt></strong></p> <p><em>(photo by Rahul Kalvapalle)</em></p> <p><strong>Olugbenga Olubanjo</strong>,<strong>&nbsp;</strong>a master's degree student in engineering, often called his friends and family back home in Nigeria&nbsp;– only to have his conversations be interrupted by frequent power outages. So he decided to help his fellow Nigerians – some 70 million of whom live without electricity –&nbsp;gain access to a stable and safe power source.</p> <p>Enter Reeddi, a startup Olubanjo runs with two fellow U of T students,&nbsp;<strong>Osarieme Osakue</strong> and&nbsp;<strong>Joshua Dzakah</strong>. The company provides portable, clean-energy capsules that are charged at solar-powered stations in local communities. It was a big year for&nbsp;Reeddi, which won a US$10,000&nbsp;award and secured a provisional patent.</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/be-community-member-and-be-determined-u-t-grad-seeks-improve-education-indigenous-youth">The Indigenous student whose&nbsp;grandfather inspired her to act</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/diane-hill.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>(photo by Tina Adamopoulos)</em></p> <p>Diane Hill's grandfather&nbsp;–&nbsp;or <em>laksotha,&nbsp;</em>as he was known to his grandkids&nbsp;–&nbsp;was forbidden from speaking his native Oneida language in school during his childhood.</p> <p>That injustice is one of the reasons Hill came to U of T Scarborough to study health policy and socio-cultural anthropology, with the long-term&nbsp;goal of supporting her community through education.</p> <p>In her undergraduate years, she served as president of the Indigenous Students Association and as Indigenous program developer in the campus’s department of student life. She also traveled to New Zealand for an internship and received a Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award.</p> <p>Hill graduated in June and isn't losing any time in pursuit of her dream. She returned to U of T this fall to begin a master’s degree in social justice education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/piecing-together-puzzle-undergraduate-students-travel-brazil-document-and-preserve-indigenous">The undergraduates who helped to preserve endangered&nbsp;languages in Brazil</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/boat-embed_0.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>(photo courtesy of&nbsp;uoftbrazil.blog)</em></p> <p>Three undergraduate students travelled to Boa Vista, a city in the northwestern Brazilian state of Roraima, last spring to document and help preserve some of the region’s Indigenous languages: Macuxi, Ye’kwana and Taurepang.</p> <p>The students – <strong>Octavia Andrade-Dixon</strong>, <strong>Guilherme Teruya</strong> and <strong>Gregory Antono</strong> – and their faculty supervisor <strong>Suzi Lima</strong>, in the department of Spanish and Portguese, met with native speakers to study the languages by translating simple nouns and&nbsp;discussing more complex linguistic concepts.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/scale-grief-and-loss-terrible-meet-u-t-student-fighting-prevent-opioid-overdose-deaths">The PhD student&nbsp;who is fighting to prevent overdose deaths</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/0528TentSavesLives001_0.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)</em></p> <p>By some estimates, the opioid crisis in Canada has claimed more than 9,000 lives in just three years. <strong>Gillian Kolla</strong>, a PhD student at</p> <p>the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, is a fierce advocate for street-involved drug users and has worked with other volunteers to establish supervised injection sites.</p> <p>Stocked with naloxone kits, oxygen tanks and sterile injection equipment, they have saved 251 lives.&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/u-t-phd-student-wins-global-scholarship-combating-antibiotic-resistant-superbugs">The student researching how to fight antibiotic-resistant superbugs</a></h3> <h3><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/0J5A0695_0.jpg" alt></h3> <p><em>(photo by Perry King)</em></p> <p><strong>Chidozie Ojobor</strong>, who grew up in Nigeria, lost his older sister Ginika to typhoid fever 20 years ago.&nbsp;</p> <p>Her death prompted him to study microbiology at the University of Nigeria in order to understand the mechanisms of disease and develop treatments. As a PhD student at U of T, he has identified novel bacteria-killing entities known as tailocins that have been shown to kill antibiotic-resistant superbugs&nbsp;in the laboratory.&nbsp;</p> <p>Ojobor’s research received support from&nbsp;MPower Financing, a Washington, D.C.-based fintech company that provides loans to international students. He is the first university student in Canada to win an MPower Global Citizen scholarship worth US$5,000.</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/making-champion-u-t-s-kylie-masse-sets-her-sights-tokyo-2020">The swimmer who’s still on top of the world</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/0119_Masse008_0.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)</em></p> <p><strong>Kylie Masse</strong>, a star of U of T’s varsity swim team and Olympic bronze medalist in Rio, <a href="/news/still-no-1-kylie-masse-retains-world-title-100-metre-backstroke-world-aquatic-championships">defended her world title in the 100-metre backstroke last summer</a> at the world aquatic championships in South Korea.&nbsp;</p> <p>It was a bold statement by the 23-year-old kinesiology student ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.&nbsp;</p> <p>Masse appeared to have a point to prove after another swimmer previously beat her world-record time in the 100-metre backstroke.</p> <p>&nbsp;“Obviously I was a bit disappointed,” she recalled after her record was broken. “But I think it just gave me more motivation and lit a fire under me, like, ‘I want it back.’”</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/paleontologists-u-t-and-rom-discover-fossils-new-predatory-species-canadian-rockies">The PhD student who was part of team who discovered a prehistoric species</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/JM%20and%20JBC_0.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>(photo courtesy of Joe Moysiuk)</em></p> <p>More than a billion years ago, <em>Cambroraster falcatus </em>must have been a fearsome predator, with its rake-like claws and pineapple slice-shaped mouth. It reached up to a foot in length when most other animals in the Cambrian Period were smaller than your little finger.</p> <p>PhD student <strong>Joe Moysiuk</strong>, in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology, was the lead author of a study documenting the newly discovered species&nbsp;based on fossils uncovered in the Burgess Shale in B.C.&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/u-t-student-wins-full-scholarship-phd-cambridge-university">The student who will pursue her research on housing inequality with a full Cambridge scholarship</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/Hafsah-1140_0.jpg" alt="Portrait of Hafsah Siddiqui"></p> <p><em>(photo by Romi Levine)</em></p> <p><strong>Hafsah Siddiqui</strong>, a geography and planning master’s degree student, landed a full scholarship to study at Cambridge University.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Gates Cambridge Scholarship recognizes students with leadership potential, outstanding intellectual ability and a commitment to improving the lives of others.&nbsp;<br> She planned to continue focusing on housing inequality as a PhD student across the pond.&nbsp;</p> <p>Her research focuses on Pakistan and the informal settlement communities in Islamabad known as <em>katchi abadis</em>, which are home to many refugees and other marginalized people.&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/i-don-t-have-depend-anyone-else-u-t-s-symone-peltier-how-she-found-empowerment-education">The first-year student who wants to use her education to help her c</a><a href="/news/i-don-t-have-depend-anyone-else-u-t-s-symone-peltier-how-she-found-empowerment-education">ommunity</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/0P8A7901.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>(photo by Lisa Lightbourn)</em></p> <p><strong>Symone Pelletier</strong> made her dreams of studying psychology at U of T come true. She came to campus from Manitoulin Island, a six-hour drive from Toronto, where she was top of her high school class. “I chose psychology,” she said, “because I’m coming from an Indigenous community and a single-parent family.”&nbsp;</p> <p>“We have experienced a lot more unfortunate situations than most people have.”&nbsp;</p> <p>After graduation, she has set her sights on eventually returning home to work with the Wiikwemkoong First Nation community.</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/prize-winning-undergraduate-research-takes-stock-u-t-s-sustainability-related-courses-groups">The students who screened 8,000 U of T courses for sustainability-related content</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/green-roof_0.jpg" alt="Nicolas Côté, Rashad Brugmann and Nathan Postma in Trinity College's rooftop garden "></p> <p><em>(photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)</em></p> <p>Climate change represents arguably the single greatest challenge&nbsp;of our times. It's a problem of such magnitude that students who want to make a difference may wonder where to start.&nbsp;</p> <p>Five undergraduates took the guesswork out of the equation by screening about 8,000 courses for sustainability-related content and creating an inventory of those courses for current and future students. They also catalogued sustainability campus groups, projects and initiatives. They published their work in an open-access journal so that other universities and large organizations can learn from their approach.&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><a href="/news/social-work-s-indigenous-trauma-and-resiliency-program-focuses-personal-and-professional">The mature student who&nbsp;made her mark on the univesity</a></h3> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/UofT83973_1105JulieBlair003_0.jpg" alt></p> <p><em>(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)</em></p> <p><strong>Julie Blair</strong> went out on a limb when she decided to return to university after a 20-year hiatus to take Indigenous studies. Blair, who is of Anishinaabe and Dutch ancestry and a member of the Serpent River First Nation, said she wasn’t part of the Indigenous community in Toronto until she learned more about her culture and roots in university.</p> <p>She graduated with a master’s degree in&nbsp;social work this fall.&nbsp; She not only excelled in her studies, but also became a pillar of the community. In 2017, she was part of the team that organized the first campus powwow in two decades, an event that has since become a fixture on the U of T calendar.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 17 Dec 2019 15:12:56 +0000 geoff.vendeville 161084 at Three U of T faculty appointed members of the Royal Society of Canada’s college for new scholars /news/three-u-t-faculty-appointed-members-royal-society-canada-s-college-new-scholars <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Three U of T faculty appointed members of the Royal Society of Canada’s college for new scholars</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Untitled-1_12.jpg?h=3fcbca33&amp;itok=XdxlU6L9 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/Untitled-1_12.jpg?h=3fcbca33&amp;itok=qefH7aj5 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/Untitled-1_12.jpg?h=3fcbca33&amp;itok=_vMuAzmj 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/Untitled-1_12.jpg?h=3fcbca33&amp;itok=XdxlU6L9" alt="From left to right Daniel de Carvalho, david evans, and jean-philippe julien"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>perry.king</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2019-09-10T12:31:36-04:00" title="Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 12:31" class="datetime">Tue, 09/10/2019 - 12:31</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">From left to right: U of T researchers Jean-Philippe Julien, David Evans and Daniel De Carvalho are being recognized for demonstrating a high level of achievement in their careers to date (all photos by Perry King)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/perry-king" hreflang="en">Perry King</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/awards" hreflang="en">Awards</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/biochemistry" hreflang="en">Biochemistry</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/ecology-environmental-biology" hreflang="en">Ecology &amp; Environmental Biology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hospital-sick-children" hreflang="en">Hospital for Sick Children</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/immunology" hreflang="en">Immunology</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/princess-margaret-hospital" hreflang="en">Princess Margaret Hospital</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/royal-ontario-museum" hreflang="en">Royal Ontario Museum</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>One researcher wants to beat cancer. Another is developing a better malaria vaccine. Yet another is one of Canada’s leading paleontologists.</p> <p>The three Ƶ faculty members –&nbsp;<strong>Daniel De Carvalho</strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Jean-Philippe Julien&nbsp;</strong>and&nbsp;<strong>David Evans</strong> – have been named to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.</p> <p>The college recognizes up-and-coming researchers who have demonstrated a high level of achievement in their careers to date.</p> <p>“Daniel De Carvalho, Jean-Philippe Julien and&nbsp;David Evans are leaders in their respective fields who exemplify the important work that takes place at the Ƶ every day across a wide range of disciplines,” says&nbsp;<strong>Vivek Goel</strong>, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.</p> <p>“We’re extremely proud of their admission to the college and look forward to seeing their research make an impact in Canada and beyond. U of T congratulates them for this impressive appointment.”</p> <p>Established in 2014, the college seeks to recognize and foster academic leadership and collaboration among those who have received their PhD within the last 15 years. The appointment honours excellence and appointees are granted a seven-year membership. Up to 80 members may be elected each year.</p> <h3><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/0J5A0964.jpg" alt></h3> <h4>Daniel De Carvalho</h4> <p>An associate professor in the department of medical biophysics at the Faculty of Medicine and a senior scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, De Carvalho is being named to the college the same year that he becomes a Canadian citizen.</p> <p>“It’s a big honour,” says De Carvalho, who joined U of T in 2012. “I feel like it’s a really exciting welcome to Canada. I’m really happy.”</p> <p>The Brazil-born researcher’s work focuses on epigenetics, or the changes brought on by modification of gene expression, and better understanding the mechanisms behind tumour growth and translating this knowledge into more efficient approaches for therapy.</p> <p>Some of his research has&nbsp;<a href="/news/research-uncovers-possible-drug-treatment-incurable-brain-cancer">uncovered possible cancer treatments</a>.</p> <p>“When we’re thinking about cancer in general, [we’re thinking about] how can we beat cancer – make new therapies and so on,” De Carvalho says.</p> <p>His lab is focused on early detection since cancers evolve, cell mutations occur within patients and, in some cases, can become metastatic. His team wants to get ahead of such threats.</p> <p>“If you detect early, it’s much easier to treat. But&nbsp;it’s very difficult to detect. Later on, it’s very easy to detect but it’s very difficult to treat,” says De Carvalho. “We’re trying to break this in a way that can be more useful to the patient.”</p> <p>The opportunity to work with researchers across multiple disciplines, from immunology to computational biology, helps keep De Carvalho motivated.</p> <p>“I have to trust and believe everyone here,” he says. “I’m really hands off so it gives space to trainees – post-docs, visiting scientists, PhD students – so they’re all working together.”</p> <p>As he joins the Royal Society of Canada, De Carvalho wants to spread the idea that curiosity-driven research like his needs broad support.</p> <p>“We need to figure out ways … to create an ecosystem in Canada where science can move faster from basic science to the clinical side.”</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/0J5A0974.jpg" alt></p> <h4>Jean-Philippe Julien</h4> <p>Julien, an assistant professor in the departments of biochemistry and immunology in the Faculty of Medicine and a scientist at the SickKids Research Institute, studies how the immune system works and harnesses that information to design interventions, including vaccines.</p> <p>In particular, Julien investigates B cells, which produce antibodies that neutralize invading pathogens like bacteria, viruses and parasites.</p> <p>With a focus on infectious diseases – in recent years, his team has been unpacking the complexities of malaria and HIV – his lab seeks to understand health at an atomic scale.</p> <p>“We think that if you understand the molecular basis of immune responses, you can intervene more precisely,” says Julien.</p> <p>His lab, which has recently been leading several research fronts toward the development of a malaria vaccine, partners with numerous collaborators. They include research sites with unique samples from individuals exposed to infectious disease, and from clinical trial sites that offer opportunities for researchers to learn how humans respond to vaccine candidates.</p> <p>“We learn from the human response as much as we can – natural settings, but also in testing new technologies and interrogating them at the molecular level,” says Julien, who received his PhD from U of T in 2010.</p> <p>Julien says his membership in the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists is a reflection of his team’s success – not only his own. He also sees it as an opportunity to grow as a thought leader.</p> <p>“The biggest aspect to it, for me, is the ability to be part of an organization that mentors junior colleagues – not just in science and research but also in leadership and outreach,” he says. “I really look forward to that.”</p> <p>As for the future, Julien says he’s focused on gaining a better understanding of the molecular basis of disease to guide the development of next-generation biomedical interventions.</p> <p><img class="migrated-asset" src="/sites/default/files/0J5A0982.jpg" alt></p> <h4>David Evans</h4> <p>An associate professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts &amp; Science who oversees dinosaur research at the Royal Ontario Museum, Evans studies the Cretaceous Period to understand Earth’s biodiversity crisis today.</p> <p>The paleontologist is trying to build the fossil record from that “data-rich” period – the one before the mass extinction event 66 million years ago wiped out over 75 per cent of species on Earth, including all the non-avian dinosaurs.</p> <p>Speaking at his office at the ROM, Evans says his work focuses on fundamental questions about life on Earth at that time. In turn, the data contributes to ecological models that test the resilience of different organisms to extinction, and ecosystems to collapse.</p> <p>Such work will help us understand the “causes and consequences of mass extinctions,” Evans says. His work takes into account what makes a robust ecosystem, what species are more likely to survive an extinction event and what happens to ecosystems as a result of habitat destruction and sea level and climate change.</p> <p>“We have a lot of these particular scenarios that have played out in Earth’s history that we can go back to and study to see what the particular consequences of those types of changes have been on the Earth’s biota through time,” says Evans, who joined the ROM in 2007.</p> <p>From “boots on the ground” fossil digs to collaborations with global research teams, Evans has personally been involved with the discovery of 11 new dinosaur species in the last six years, including&nbsp;<a href="/news/u-t-paleontologists-uncover-76-million-year-old-armoured-dinosaur-skull">a 76-million-year-old armoured dinosaur in 2017</a>.</p> <p>But there is still work to be done. Only about 900 dinosaur species have been verified in the 150 million years of recorded dinosaur history, says Evans. That pales in comparison to the number of known bird, mammal and reptile species in the present day.</p> <p>“That’s what I tell a lot of the up-and-coming young paleontologists that I see here at the museum and around the world – that dinosaur discoveries are not running out anytime soon,” Evans says.</p> <p>“There will be generations and generations of new discoveries to be made and they can make them. We’re not even close to knowing everything.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 10 Sep 2019 16:31:36 +0000 perry.king 157944 at