The Dalhousie University researcher is looking to create synthetic versions of spider's silk that have the potential to help heal damaged nerves and damaged hearts. Researcher Jan Rainey’s curiosity about synthetic fibres began during an undergraduate work term with DuPont. Years later, he heard stories from a fellow researcher that alluded to the amazing properties of spider’s silk. Now he's studying the unique characteristics of spider fibres in hopes of generating synthetic versions that are stronger than bullet-proof Kevlar and body restorative.  Drop in, stick around and get trapped in a great science story from a cutting-edge bio-lab.Want to know more?* Jan Rainey’s biography from Dalhousie University* Learn about the fascinating history of Lycra* Explore the history of a most extraordinary textile fibre, spider silk* Cicada recording courtesy of Songofinsects.com

(Available only in French)Can our critical infrastructure withstand the effects of climate change? Pooneh Maghoul and her research team are working to make our bridges, roads and other critical infrastructures more resistant to climate change and extreme environments on Earth and in space. She founded the Sustainable Infrastructure and Geoengineering Lab at Polytechnique Montréal. In this podcast, she explains the complexities of permafrost engineering and shares the most important lesson life has taught her. Some of the additional content for this podcast is only available in French. Read Pooneh Maghoul's biography (https://www.polymtl.ca/expertises/en/maghoul-pooneh) on the Polytechnique Montréal website;  Read the La Presse article: Du permélisol... jusqu'à la Lune! (https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/portfolio/2023-01-25/genie/du-pergelisol-jusqu-a-la-lune.php)  Read the blog post from the school of engineering at Polytechnique Montréal: An earthworm robot ... for the Moon! (https://www.polymtl.ca/carrefour-actualite/en/blogue/earthworm-robot-moon);  Awards and honours:  Winner of the prestigious ISSMGE (International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering) award (https://www.polymtl.ca/carrefour-actualite/nouvelles/la-professeure-pooneh-maghoul-de-polytechnique-montreal-laureate-dun-prestigieux-prix-de-lissmge);  Recognized by the Canadian Geotechnical Society (https://www.polymtl.ca/carrefour-actualite/en/news/professor-pooneh-maghoul-recognized-canadian-geotechnical-society)   

In 2002, German researcher Volker Gerdts relocated to Saskatoon. Cutting-edge vaccine research was the attraction. Now he is at the helm of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) World-renowned infectious disease specialist Volker Gerdts calls himself a “builder” who is carefully assembling a passionate team working to stop disease outbreaks in their tracks. His passion is infectious as he strives to keep people in Canada safe from future pandemics.  The Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO), working out of the University of Saskatchewan, is at the frontline of Canada’s pandemic preparedness initiatives.Want to know more?* Learn more about VIDO  and how it’s helping to build a healthier world  * Click here  if you’re interested in knowing more about immunology and vaccinology * Find out how VIDO  is working to identify future diseases in order to control and contain initial outbreaks* Visit VIDO’s profile on the Research Facilities Navigator  to learn more about research and business opportunities

(This podcast is only available in French) Nafissa Ismail focuses on the effects of hormones on the brain to pin down the interactions between our organs and our emotions Epidemiological data shows that the roots of depression form during puberty or adolescence for 75 percent of adults experiencing it. Nafissa Ismail is a professor at the University of Ottawa's School of Psychology and a leading figure in mental health research. Her work is making a significant contribution toward understanding the causes of mental disorders and how to treat them. Want to know more?* Visit the websites of the NISE Laboratory  (neuroimmunology, stress and endocrinology) and the LIFE Research Institute . Nafissa Ismail is director of both. * Nafissa Ismail received the Governor General's Award for her research on women's health . * Get mental health support :  this Government of Canada site tells you how to find help. 

The University of Waterloo’s Suzanne Kearns is a global leader in sustainable aviation, but her flight path wasn’t without turbulence.Suzanne Kearns grew up in Wiarton, Ont., where she would lie in the grass and watch airplanes from the local airport take flight overhead. Her dreams of flying led to a fixed-wing licence at 16 and helicopter licence a year later. At 24, she was a full-time university lecturer on aviation. Today, as the founder of the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics, she is helping curb the environmental impacts of flight and inspiring the next generation of aviation professionals in the process.Want to know more?* Suzanne Kearns biography  (https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainable-aeronautics/profiles/suzanne-kearns) from the University of Waterloo.* More about the history, mission and vision  (https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainable-aeronautics/about-wisa) of the Waterloo Institute of Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA), its research studies   (https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainable-aeronautics/research-and-partnerships/research-studies)and its flight simulator lab.   (https://uwaterloo.ca/sustainable-aeronautics/about-wisa/wisa-sim-lab)* Pipistrel Aircraft   (https://www.pipistrel-aircraft.com/), a light aircraft manufacturer aiming to provide sustainable and environmentally-friendly solutions to the aircraft industry.* Read about University of Waterloo alum Jeremy Wang and his company Ribbit, an innovator in pilotless planes.   (https://www.flyribbit.com/)

(This podcast is only available in French.)This is a podcast about curious researchers, leading-edge science, and the joys of discovery.Céline Surette embodies both the chemistry of living things and interdisciplinarity to serve the real needs and questions of communities. And to achieve this, and ensure that critical thinking triumphs, she'll pull out all the stops. Céline Surette is Dean of the Faculty of Science and Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Université de Moncton. She has a unique perspective on natural ecosystems as well as New Brunswick’s research community, including mentors and students, for whom she is a guiding light. And she isn’t easily thrown off course, even in the face of attempts to criticize science. Listen to Céline Surette talk about all the dimensions of her work in the field and in the lab. Want to know more?Biography: Dr. Céline Surette, Environmental Scientist Group of Shediac, N.B. residents calling for bylaw to ban pesticides - New Brunswick | Globalnews.ca Tracadie- Sheila looking at by-law to ban the use of glyphosate Manganese in water tied to kids' low IQ | CBC News Protecting the health of our oceans: Fisheries and Oceans Canada  

This podcast is about curious researchers, leading-edge science and the joys of discovery. Researcher Kelsey Leonard, member of the Shinnecock Nation and founder of the Wampum Lab at the University of Waterloo, delves into ocean, water and climate justice.Shinnecock is a dialect derived from the Algonquian language. It means “people of the stony shores.” It’s along the stony shores of the Shinnecock Nation, on the Atlantic-facing eastern coast of New York’s Long Island that Kelsey Leonard developed her passion for the water. Undergraduate studies took her to Samoa and graduate studies brought her to the University of Waterloo, where she is now the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Waters, Climate and Sustainability.WANT TO KNOW MORE?Kelsey Leonard’s website (including her popular TEDTalk: Why lakes and rivers should have the same rights as humans)WAMPUM lab: An Indigenous framework to advance water security in the face of sea level riseFind out more about the heritage of the Shinnecock Indian Nation and their connection to the sea

(Available only in French)This is a podcast about curious researchers, leading-edge science, and the joys of discovery.Ocean science research is at a pivotal moment according to Guillaume St-Onge, Dir...

This podcast is about curious researchers, leading-edge science and the joys of discovery.York University’s Pirathayini Srikantha studies power grid systems with the aim of keeping Canada’s infrastructure safe from fluctuations and hackers. Find out why she’s passionate about power.Our power grid is vulnerable. For one thing, it’s aging. For another, it’s prone to hackers. In the meantime, climate change means we need to find ways to integrate renewable energy sources that are intermittent with the shining sun or blowing wind. To avoid the crippling cost of replacing this infrastructure, jurisdictions must find ways to adapt. Pirathayini Srikantha, from York University’s, Lassonde School of Engineering, is an award-winning engineer who is confronting these multiple challenges. Want to know more? York University bio (http://bio/) for Pirathayini Srikantha Ontario Professional Engineering Awards (https://blubrry.com/) 2022 – Pirathayini Srikantha, P. Eng. (Engineering Medal – Young Engineer Electricity Canada – The Grid (https://blubrry.com/) Effects of Externally Mediated Rewards On Intrisic (http://intrisic/) Motivation – Edward L. Deci 1971 The Motivation Paradox: Why Is A Carrot-and-Stick (https://digilib.k.utb.cz/bitstream/handle/10563/21339/petrikovi%C4%8D_2013_bp.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y) Approach Contra-productive – Igor Petrikovic 2013 Commencement address delivered by the late Steve Jobs (https://news.stanford.edu/2005/06/12/youve-got-find-love-jobs-says/), CEO of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios on June 12, 2005  

(This podcast is available only in French) This podcast is about curious researchers, leading-edge science and the joys of discovery. Alexandre Langlois is passionate about all aspects of his job. As a researcher in Northern Canada, he studies the fastest-warming place on the planet and presents data on the issues that await us in terms of climate change.Like a high-level athlete, Alexandre Langlois has been training since the age of nine to live in extreme cold conditions. Today, his research in physical geography provides him with a unique understanding of the evolution of the Earth, past and future and his observations on the relationship between man and nature leave him with clear insights about the impact of humans on the climate and environment.Want to know more about Alexandre Langlois?Langlois' Université de Sherbrooke profile .Langlois' profile  from the Centre d'applications et de recherches en télédétection (CARTEL) at the Université de Sherbrooke.April 9, 2021 article from the CARTEL website  announcing new CFI funding for Langlois’ research project.A video of a conference presentation  about his CFI-funded project.A video from Université de Sherbrooke  that asks three questions about studying the Arctic to understand climate change.An April 3, 2021 article in La Tribune  about Langlois’ research.

(Ce balado est uniquement disponible en anglais.)On a cold March 2, 2004, Carla Prado arrived on the doorsteps of the University of Alberta. She left behind her native Brazil to fulfill a dream of studying abroad.  Today, she is an academic leader in body composition research who passionately shares the benefits of protein-rich diets in the treatment of cancer. She uses social media and classic movies like The Wizard of Oz to help explain the science behind by her research. Want to know more about Carla Prado?Read Carla Prado’s profile (https://apps.ualberta.ca/directory/person/cprado) at the University of AlbertaVisit the PradoLab website (https://www.drcarlaprado.com/) where you can download the cookbook called The High Protein Cookbook for Muscle Health During Cancer TreatmentWatch the video called “The importance of nutrition to prevent and treat low muscle mass (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDSX_jaDCDM)”Learn more about Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 2019 recipients (https://canadastop40under40.com/honourees-2019.html), including Carla PradoWe would also like to know more about you!Would you like to help us get to know our audience?Our survey (https://surveys.blubrry.com/cfi_fci) will only take a few minutes of your time and as a participant, you will help influence future episodes!

(This podcast is available only in French) This podcast is about curious researchers, leading-edge science and the joys of discovery. Simone Dalla Bella of Montréal’s International Laboratory for BRAin, Music and Sound Research asks “How can music help us in our daily tasks? And how can it slow down the deleterious effects of diseases such as Parkinson’s?”Why is it that some people who are perfectly capable of hearing a beat still can’t dance? Researchers at the International Laboratory for Brain, Music, and Sound Research are trying to establish a correlation between music and cognitive skills such as speech, memory, attention span and a host of other executive functions. Their research findings could lead to major breakthroughs for people with cognitive impairments.Want to know more about Simone Dalla Bella?Psychology Department of the Faculty of Arts and Science at the Université de Montréal  (French only)International Laboratory for BRAin, Music and Sound Research (BRAMS) Want to know more about Isabelle Peretz ?Read “Musique et dopamine ”, an interview (French only) with the acclaimed researcher conducted by Acfas Magazine editor-in-chief, Johanne Lebel (March 11, 2021).Listen to this beautiful rendition of Brahms’s Waltz Op. 39, No. 15  performed by The Canadian Brass (album Brahms on Brass).

(Ce balado est uniquement disponible en anglais.)Leyla Soleymani is Canada’s Research Chair in Miniaturized Biomedical Devices. Her passion for the miniature world of nanotech and her commitment to collaboration have led her and her colleagues at McMaster University (https://www.mcmaster.ca/) to inventions ranging from rapid tests that use pig saliva to disease detection to a plastic wrap that repels pathogens like rain drops off a lotus leaf.Want to know more about  Leyla Soleymani? Read her McMaster University bio  (https://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/msbe/people/faculty/leyla-soleymani#biography)Learn how rapid tests developed at McMaster are fighting infection in Canadian livestock (https://brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/stopping-the-spread-mcmaster-researchers-create-rapid-test-for-deadly-infections-in-livestock-starting-with-pigs/)Find out how the next iteration of rapid tests will use chip readers and smartphones (https://vimeo.com/558103571)RepelWrap works using a self-cleaning surface design microscopically “tuned” to shed everything that comes into contact with it, down to the scale of viruses and bacteria.  Read how the design mimics the water-shedding properties of the lotus leaf (https://brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/mcmaster-inventors-repellent-wrap-shown-to-shed-all-viruses-and-bacteria/)Read the Tech Briefs story about award winning RepelWrap (https://www.techbriefs.com/component/content/article/tb/stories/blog/38102)

(Ce balado est uniquement disponible en anglais.)For many, RNA vaccines seem to have appeared out of nowhere. The curious and the hesitant have wondered how a vaccine to fight COVID-19 could have been brought to market so quickly. In fact, messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines have been in development for over three decades. Here is the story about a persistent RNA vaccine pioneer and her socially connected admirer, University of British Columbia researcher, Anna Blakney. Want to know more about Anna Blakney? Read her University of British Columbia bio (https://www.bme.ubc.ca/person/anna-blakney/)Find her at the Michael Smith Laboratories (https://www.msl.ubc.ca/people/dr-anna-blakney/)Check out her TikTok page (https://www.tiktok.com/@anna.blakney?lang=en)Curious about Team Halo?teamhalo.org (https://teamhalo.org/)Looking for a more detailed account of Kati Karikó’s journey of persistence and discovery?Listen to The New York Times' The Daily (https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-unlikely-pioneer-behind-mrna-vaccines/id1200361736?i=1000524932973) podcast.CFI-funded researcher Pieter Cullis is considered the “Godfather of RNA delivery”Read his University of British Columbia bio (https://biochem.ubc.ca/person/pieter-cullis/)Saanich News story on Anna, Pieter and TikTok (https://www.saanichnews.com/news/video-ubc-prof-finds-tiktok-fame-debunking-1-covid-19-lie-at-a-time/)Curious to know more about the VinFuture Award?Read the UBC press release: “Dr. Pieter Cullis and colleagues win VinFuture Foundation’s first global sci-tech award (https://www.med.ubc.ca/news/dr-pieter-cullis-and-colleagues-win-vinfuture-foundations-first-global-sci-tech-award/)”What is Poliomyelitis?Connaught Labs, Polio Research & Conquering “The Crippler” (https://connaught.research.utoronto.ca/history/article7/)

This podcast is only available in French.Une chercheuse à l’Université de Montréal se concentre sur le sommeil des femmes.Julie Carrier (http://www.ceams-carsm.ca/en/julie.html) of the Université de Montréal (http://www.umontreal.ca/english/index.html) has devoted her academic career to the fascinating world of sleep, using equipment she received from the CFI to monitor the slumber patterns and sleep disorders of her test subjects. When she began her studies more than 20 years ago, little was known about women and sleep. Now, an aging population and the effects of menopause on sleep make Carrier’s research more relevant than ever. In celebration of International Women’s Day, Carrier has pledged to focus her research more on women and sleep. She begins this podcast by telling us why women weren’t considered ideal candidates for these kinds of studies when she first started her research.This podcast is part of an International Women’s Day podcast series called Groundbreakers (https://www.innovation.ca/story/groundbreakers-podcast-series).

This podcast is only available in French.A researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre explores ways to improve drugsStéphane Laporte (https://www.mcgill.ca/endocrinology/facultydir/laportestephane), a researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (https://muhc.ca/research/dashboard), became interested in pharmacological research when he noticed just how often drugs were associated with harmful side effects. In his lab at the Centre for Translational Biology, Laporte and his team are working to understand how pharmaceutical drugs work on the body in order to find ways to minimize unwanted side effects.READ: Research institute puts Canada at the forefront of health care (https://www.innovation.ca/story/research-institute-puts-canada-forefront-health-care)

This podcast is only available in French.One of the co-founders of LensVector talks about the origins of their molecular lens.Tigran Galstian (http://www.copl.ulaval.ca/no_cache/en/members/member/professeur/13/45/), professor in the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Optics at Université Laval (http://www2.ulaval.ca/en.html) and co-founder of LensVector (http://lensvector.com/), explains the invention of a molecular lens that could, among other things, improve our cellphones.Tigran Galstian received the David E. Mitchell Award of Distinction at the Ernest C. Manning Innovation Awards ceremony on October 22, 2014. 

This podcast is only available in French.A researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre studies the link between genetics and cardiovascular disease.In the 1980s, when Jacques Genest (http://rimuhc.ca/web/research-institute-muhc/-/jacques-genest-md-frcpc) was starting out in the Faculty of Medicine, cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death among Canadians. Dr. Genest and his team built on advances in molecular genetics to discover multiple genes that predispose people to early cardiovascular disease and tested many drugs to fight them. At the McConnell Centre for Innovative Medicine of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (https://muhc.ca/research/dashboard), Dr. Genest continues to study familial hypercholesterolemia using genetic screening to identify other family members at risk of this asymptomatic disease and give them medical treatments to mitigate the danger.READ: Research institute puts Canada at the forefront of health care (https://www.innovation.ca/story/research-institute-puts-canada-forefront-health-care) 

Ce balado est uniquement disponible en anglais.Ian Clark (http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/idclark/), professor of Earth sciences at the University of Ottawa (https://www.uottawa.ca/en), explains how radiocarbon dating using an accelerator mass spectrometer can help resolve significant issues surrounding contaminated environments.This podcast is part of an in-depth report on the Advanced Research Complex (https://www.innovation.ca/story/how-build-arc).

Ce balado est uniquement disponible en anglais.Constantin Polychronakos (https://www.mcgill.ca/endocrinology/facultydir/polychronakosconstantin) has devoted his career to studying the genetics of juvenile diabetes and treating children afflicted with the disease. As head of the Child Health and Human Development Program at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (https://muhc.ca/research/dashboard), he is working towards new interventions to replace the need for painful daily insulin injections.READ: Research institute puts Canada at the forefront of health care (https://www.innovation.ca/story/research-institute-puts-canada-forefront-health-care)