Friday, November 19, 2021

Steacie Fellowship winner pushes the potential of ultrasound

By Brian Caldwell. This article was originally published on Waterloo News.

For now, Alfred Yu is focused on two distinct lines of research as he works to develop the next generation of ultrasound technology – one involving diagnosis and the other involving therapy.

But when he looks ahead, the University of Waterloo biomedical engineer can see a day when the two converge in a single, powerful tool to guide and deliver medical treatment at the same time.

“Ultrasound is unique because it has both diagnostic and therapeutic potential,” Yu says. “We could use the same modality to both look and poke, to stimulate cells.”

A next-generation ultrasound image created in Alfred Yu's lab shows blood travelling through a femoral artery at different speeds.

To help reach his ambitious goal, Yu got a boost today when he was announced by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) as one of six nation-wide winners of 2021 E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowships for highly promising researchers.

Winners of the prestigious award receive $250,000 in grants over two years and, via payments of up to $90,000 a year to their universities, are freed from teaching and administrative duties to focus full-time on research.

Yu, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and a research scientist at the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging, plans to make good use of the time and money to expand his research team, buy equipment and advance both lines of his high-risk, high-reward work.

“It is an important opportunity to make our current research agenda transformative,” he says. “I also look forward to bringing our latest research advances back to the classroom later to teach the most updated knowledge in ultrasonics to our students.”

Information in addition to images

One aspect of his work involves the development of new ultrasound techniques to obtain valuable quantitative information, in addition to images, on the stiffening of arteries as people age. That diagnostic data, yielded through the use of innovative ultrasound imaging strategies and the analysis of pulse echoes by new algorithms, could help prevent strokes, for instance.

The other research focus in Yu’s lab, the Laboratory on Innovative Technology in Medical Ultrasound (LITMUS), is the interaction between ultrasound waves – sound waves at a frequency range beyond human hearing – and human cells.

There is now only a general understanding that ultrasound can help regenerate damaged tissue by stimulating cells. Yu wants to learn how and why it works, the key to development of much more precise, effective treatments.

How physics interacts with biology

“How this actually happens, to be honest, nobody knows,” he says. “We want to study how physics interacts with biology to get a foundational understanding.”

Ultimately, it might be possible, for example, to use new ultrasound imaging technology to pinpoint cancerous tumors for treatment with ultrasound waves.

“We could combine the applications of ultrasound to come up with theranostics, the integration of diagnostics and therapeutics,” Yu says.

The two-year fellowships are named after Edgar William Richard Steacie, a chemist and a researcher who made major contributions to science in Canada during and immediately after World War Two. He also led NSERC from 1952 to 1962.

Waterloo earns Silver STARS sustainability rating

A message from the Sustainability Office.

The University of Waterloo has earned a “Silver” rating through the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS), a third-party sustainability reporting framework specifically for post-secondary institutions.

Hosted by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, STARS is a transparent and democratically developed platform for campuses from around the world to report on the many ways that sustainability is imbedded into campus planning, practice, and performance. Institutions respond to 63 different credits which span efforts to imbed sustainability in academics, operations, engagement, and coordination and planning. Over 670 institutions have submitted more than 1000 reports through STARS, enabling ongoing benchmarking and development of best practices as a sector.

“Our submission to STARS covers a wide breadth of campus activity,” says Mat Thijssen, Director of Sustainability. “I would like to thank the many departments who helped compile the information for this effort, and, more importantly, who are taking action in many different ways to enable the progress we are making.”

This is Waterloo’s second submission to STARS, and it improved its score over the 2018 submission with additional action in campus engagement, teaching and research, and some improvements to operational practices. Waterloo has a goal of reaching STARS Gold by 2025.

Concept $5K finalists named

Each term at Concept, students get their pitches ready and apply to the Concept $5k Pitch Competition. This term, 20 teams were selected to pitch over the span of two evenings. Concept's panel of judges included: 

• Mila Banerjee of Pronti AI and Business Advisor at Velocity; 
• Darian Zigante of Wittington Ventures; and
• and Brandon Zhao of Two Small Fish Ventures. 

After each team presented their 3-minute pitch, the judges engaged in a 2-minute Q&A session with the students, providing valuable feedback and advice for all the teams.

The Fall 2021 Concept $5k Finalists

• SethSquash, a digital sport training platform to allow squash players and coaches to leverage data analytics to provide more insightful feedback for their game;

• PERCare, creating logistics software for unit charge nurses in hospital emergency departments;

• MicroBuild Masonry, which uses a biological method to manufacture masonry units with a carbon and waste negative procedure and a unit that is stronger, more durable, and customizable.;

• Learnlist, a new way to save, curate, and share knowledge online. Like playlists but for resources;

• Hydro House, an electrical utility company that offers energy security to off grid residences by installing home power stations with solar generation and hydrogen mediated storage;

• HipPO, a smart hip brace that promotes pain relief and mobility for patients with hip osteoarthritis through heat therapy, compression, and adaptive mechanical support;

• Bebaha Virtual HealthCare, a virtual clinic connecting women to women doctors in India; and

• Beam Commerce, which helps eCommerce merchants boost their revenue by creating a better post purchase experience.

The Fall 2021 Concept $5K Finals will be held on November 25.

Wrapping up International Education Week

By Anna McWebb.

International Education Week (IEW2021) is wrapping up today after a week of celebrating diversity, culture, and internationalization abroad and at home at the University of Waterloo. IEW recognizes the contribution of students, staff, and faculty in strengthening international connections and the importance of partnerships with others around the world in advancing impactful higher education.

A massive thank you goes out to the event hosts this year that showcased internationalization at Waterloo and informed participants on topics such as intercultural effectiveness, the future of public education, international cuisine, internationalization and artificial intelligence, and student experiences abroad, among other items. Today will be the last day to check in on the activities that have been available all week – the “Where in the World” Co-op Photo Contest, “Around the World in 5 Days LITerally”, and the “International Education Week Exchange Art Gallery”, will be online until the end of the day, with this year’s “Exchange Photo Contest” also running all week, for which a winner will be announced in December.

Though IEW and internationalization in general have looked differently than before the global pandemic, Waterloo’s commitment to celebrating diversity and culture abroad and at home continues to be strong, while an increased emphasis on virtual engagement has opened doors to new possibilities. IEW allows for students, staff, and faculty to recognize the ongoing efforts of the University of Waterloo to connect with the world and provide advanced research for global impact towards strengthening sustainable and diverse communities. On behalf of Waterloo International, we would like to express our appreciation and thanks to our stakeholders - Waterloo colleagues and friends – for their support. Thank you all for a wonderful IEW. See you next year.

New funding available for Ontario's Virtual Learning Strategy; other notes

"The Ontario government recently announced an additional $8 million of Virtual Learning Strategy (VLS) funding for the post-secondary sector that builds on the initial $50 million investment made in January 2021," says a message from the Centre for Extended Learning (CEL.) "The second round of funding is again administered through eCampusOntario."

The Centre for Extended Learning is coordinating Waterloo’s submissions. An information session is being held on November 22 at 12 noon if you would like to learn more or have questions. Please email extendedlearning@uwaterloo.ca by Nov 19 to register for the session.

Find out more about the funding and Waterloo’s submission process.

After relaxing capacity restrictions in the majority of University athletics spaces, Athletics and Recreation has announced a number of open recreation opportunities that do not require a reservation, including:

• Open Rec Skate;
• Open Rec Studio;
• Open Rec Field House;
• Open Rec Basketball; and
• Open Rec Volleyball.

Check warrior.uwaterloo.ca for other open rec opportunities. The open recreation times are open to UWaterloo students with a valid Watcard and current Athletics and Recreational members only.

Finally, a reminder that registration for the upcoming WatITis conference ends on November 25, so sign up while you still can. The 19^th annual WatITis conference will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday, December 8, 2021.