My project involved the development and testing of a simulation which models the signals produced by the detector, and will allow the precise trajectory of high-energy particles to be reconstructed from the real signals. Specifically since this past fall, I have worked on validating my simulation against a similar one written at CERN (which is too slow and lacks one key feature of mine).

This project has drawn on skills acquired in many of my classes, but primarily in kinematics, electromagnetism, and computer programming, and has given me experience in using these skills in a much more complicated setting. I would highly recommend that any student who is interested in doing research get involved with the I-CUREUS project, as early research experience gives an interesting and useful context for future studies.

Callan Jessiman

My role included recording daily weight, food & water intake measurements for a group of mice, administering injections, running the three behavioural tests mentioned above, video scoring and some basic data analysis.

It is great to experience research first-hand which is very different from classes. In addition, seeing the scientific process in action is very interesting! I would highly recommend an I-CUREUS project for any student interested in learning more about research, and what it鈥檚 like to work in a lab setting, especially for students interested in pursuing grad school or work on 4^th year thesis.

Anne Wilson

My ICUREUS project directly relates to the design and implementation aspects of my course work. During the duration of the project, I created a framework for our group to interface key lab instruments. This solved problems of automation and coordination for instruments that were tasked to acquire data in sequence. I also implemented software to create better workflow by transforming acquired data so it could be analyzed with our algorithms.

The goal of this research is to classify various types of cancerous tumors to guide patient treatment in a clinical setting. The research work focuses on collecting spectral data from cancerous patient cells that respond differently to treatment, and finding classification models for these cells to determine the inherent causes of the varying treatment response.

During my聽time as an ICUREUS participant, I gained experience in a collaborative research setting, and improved my software and hardware skills. I have gained a strong set of analysis skills as a result of the responsibilities I was given in this group.

I would tell aspiring ICUREUS students to work effectively, and be confident in their own abilities. This is a great opportunity to gain a strong set of skills and experience in your field

Abrar Ahmad

I-CUREUS has allowed me to learn and experience new things at school outside of the typical classroom setting!

My project was based on extracting and identifying certain antimicrobial compounds produced by various beneficial bacteria in controlling many harmful plant pathogens. The goal of my project was to test various strains of bacteria against four of the most commonly found destructive mould species involved in significant Canadian crop loss. These are聽Verticillium dahliae, Rhizopus stolonifer, Fusarium sambucinum and Alternaria solani.

My role in Dr. Avis鈥� lab involved growing each of the moulds with a hypothesized beneficial bacteria strain to determine if the bacteria produced any antagonistic compounds. After precipitating and drying these compounds, they were run through an LC-MS (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer) to quantitatively determine the presence of these antimicrobial compounds.

I-CUREUS has allowed me to learn and experience new things at university outside of the typical classroom setting. This project has reinforced and put into practice the theory I鈥檝e learned from my chemistry, microbiology and analytical chemistry courses. I鈥檝e also gained experience with typical equipment found in a microbiology laboratory such biosafety cabinets, incubators, centrifuges and rotary evaporators.聽 My organizational, time-management and critical thinking skills have also been improved upon during this new experience. I am truly grateful towards I-CUREUS and Dr. Avis for this valuable opportunity!

This internship allowed me to learn how research questions are approached as well as techniques used in research labs such as transformation, transfection, cell maintenance, western blotting, and much more. Research internships relate back to what is learned in class and I found give a deeper understanding of the scientific process as well as teach you a new way of approaching scientific questions.聽 In course work or labs – having research experience allows you to critically evaluate what you are learning and doing. Often you may find that you now have the knowledge to find a better way of accomplishing a specific task or a deeper understanding of what is being taught.

To anyone who is considering applying for an I-CUREUS grant I highly recommend it. Find a researcher on campus who is doing something that you find interesting and don鈥檛 be afraid to try something different; when you pass your comfort zone is often when you learn the most.

Emily Brown

Please outline your role as an I-CUREUS participant (what research support were you providing?)

I was tasked with finishing and documenting a program which uses a suite of software called EEGLab for the Neuroscience of Imagination Cognition and Emotion Research (NICER) Lab. EEGLab is an open source package to clean, process and analyze Electroencephalogram (EEG) data from a variety of acquisition systems.聽EEG systems are widely used in neuroscience and human behaviour research to analyze brain activity, in order to determine which brain regions are active while participants are performing various tasks. A variety of聽neuroscience studies examine things like the effect of music training on children鈥檚 attention. EEGs have very good temporal resolution and can record activity in the brain down to the millisecond, but can only record from broad regions of the brain, due to the limited number of electrodes that can cover the head and the fact that millions of neurons are contributing to the signals received by an electrode.

What problem is this research trying to tackle?

The ERP data provides information which informs hypotheses about which brain regions are involved in various cognitive processes. The problem is that while the brain itself produces electrical signals when active, the data is often littered with 鈥渁rtifacts鈥� 鈥� when a person blinks, squints, moves their head, or clenches their jaw, the signal is distorted by the electrical activity produced by physical movement.

The program I was tasked with completing is designed to essentially improve data collection and processing.聽New lab members often have little or no prior background in EEG systems, so I was also tasked with writing documentation and an initial guide to EEG data processing.

What skills have you gained from the experience?

In order to complete the project, I had to learn how to use the EEGLab system. This system is very popular in the neuroscience community and a very valuable skill to have if I go on to do human behavior research in graduate school, and is great to put on my resume for my graduate school applications.聽I also had to learn聽how to use and program in Matlab, which is a very valuable tool for researchers, for both its built-in capabilities for statistical analysis of data, and for developing custom functional tools to manipulate data.

What would you tell future students considering participating in I-CUREUS?

This is a great program to provide a bit of extra income for textbooks and tuition, while developing real skills that you wouldn鈥檛 get in a classroom setting. Through this program, you can broaden your horizons and get hands-on experience in new research areas that you may want to pursue in future. The program exposes you to the real challenges faced during real research studies prior to working on your honours thesis. It emphasizes the necessity for a detailed timeline prior to beginning a project and the benefit of having this timeline to achieve your goals.

As an I-CUREUS participant I have helped support the research of Dr. Robert Coplan, who is interested in the activities children do both at and outside of school. I do this through helping prepare packages for participants and inputing data that the lab receives. Although these tasks are important and give me valuable knowledge with programs such as SPSS, my favourite experience by far has been interviewing children. Having the experience of being able to interact with young children in a research setting has only solidified my passion for developmental research.

The I-CUREUS program has given me the opportunity to have hands-on involvement in a field that I had previously only been exposed to on a theoretical level. Being involved in Dr. Coplan鈥檚 lab has equipped me with not only the essential skills of time management and organization, but also instilled a new-found confidence within myself. I would tell future students who are considering participating in I-CUREUS to go for it, for there is nothing to lose and so much to gain!

As an I-CUREUS participant, I have provided support to Dr. Alex Wong鈥檚 research. As a part of this research, I have been gaining experience working as a research assistant in a microbiology laboratory. I鈥檓 responsible for setting up and running an experiment for Dr. Wong.

Part of Dr. Wong鈥檚 research involves studying antibiotic resistance genes in E. coli. I鈥檓 a second year biology major and so this project relates strongly to my course work here at 杏吧原创, and it also relates to the part-time position that I hold outside of the school. I鈥檓 aware that antibiotic resistance is a problem that scientists are facing. The bacterial world is fascinating in terms of evolution and E. coli makes a great model for studying the predicament that resistance causes.

I have been put into a position of responsibility and it has provided me with an amazing hands-on experience to experiment on a topic that is of importance to me. I have gained valuable time management skills from this experience. As is the case with most university and college students: I have a busy schedule. At first I had some doubt as to whether or not I鈥檇 be able to harmonize everything 鈥� it felt a little overwhelming. But I鈥檓 passionate about the research, and I figured out a way to make it work. I may not get as far into the experiment as I would have liked, but this made me realize that experiments take time.

I would tell future students considering I-CUREUS that it has been a very positive experience for me. I met a great group of people 鈥� all so smart and talented. I would encourage future students to consider participating in I-CUREUS because it offers students invaluable experience. I鈥檓 very grateful to the Discovery Centre, and to my supervisor and Department.

Throughout my experience, I have learned how to construct lateral flow devices, practiced the synthesis of gold nanoparticles, and learned how to perform ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. My I-CUREUS project has been an ideal opportunity for me to gain essential laboratory skills while making connections within the Faculty of Science. I recommend participating in the I-CUREUS program to any student who is interested in gaining real-world experience or seeking an opportunity to get the most out of their time here at 杏吧原创.

As a second-year Bachelor’s in Information Technology (BIT) Interactive Multimedia & Design student, Taryn Laurendeau is engaged with research for Professor Audrey Girouard on flexible displays (which are bendable display prototypes that currently have sensors but no screen).

Role as a Researcher:

Her role has involved evaluating bend gestures in the flexible displays to understand the direction the displays are bending and how much they are able to bend. Her newest role has involved helping another researcher in the lab with text manipulation using bend gestures with the displays. 聽All the prototypes and programming take place through an open-source electronics prototyping platform known as聽. She has also had the opportunity to work on the lab website.

Relating it to her classes:

Now she has a background in Arduino and Processing, which is very important for her upcoming classes and research work. She will also have a human-computer interaction course soon, and her work in the lab will tie in well with this.

Most valuable skill gained:

Taryn finds that the top skill she has gained is being comfortable asking for help when she is lost. She has gained the comfort and familiarity needed to ask for help from her supervisor, which is especially important since her department is small and she will work with her supervisor a great deal in future classes.

For her future career, the skills of independent learning and problem solving are definitely her most important take-aways.

Need-to-knows for people considering doing I-CUREUS in this setting:

鈥淚 think one of the coolest things for me has been the insight I have gained about human-computer interactions. I came into university with an interest in animation and visual effects for film, but now I have had an opportunity to experience a new side of the same field.聽Also, I got into it because I got to know the prof beforehand. You might not think to establish a relationship with a prof when you first start school, but it is has been really beneficial and has shown me a great deal.”

Final thoughts:

“Overall, this has been a great learning experience. For people who are planning on trying I-CUREUS, they should be prepared for exposure to a lot of new content. However, it is great to see the hands-on side of things, because instead of learning in a class, you get to experience it. And I know a bit 聽about the life of a Master’s student because I have seen them preparing for conferences and writing papers, which gives me a great preview!”

To learn more about I-CUREUS, visit:听丑迟迟辫://肠补谤濒别迟辞苍.肠补/诲颈蝉肠辞惫别谤测肠别苍迟谤别/耻苍诲别谤驳谤补诲耻补迟别-谤别蝉别补谤肠丑/颈肠耻谤别耻蝉/