Blog

Emma Brandt

In my research, I seek to understand the relationships between information, media, belief, and the social world. In my current project, I examine youth news consumption in Serbia to understand the political stakes of media literacy and how people find information in a context where distrust of official institutions is more the rule than the exception.

Weiao Xing

My research respectfully involves and engages with Indigenous communities. Focusing on Indigenous encounters with English and French settlers, it examines narratives about translingual exchanges and linguistic knowledge in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Recently, cultural historians have underlined the communicative facet of encounters, and literary scholars have investigated Indigenous roles in the origin of Canadian and American literature. Offering cultural and literary insights, my research aims to connect the practical and intellectual facets of translingual encounters.

The end of the constitutional protection of abortion rights in the United States has catalyzed a re-examination of the role of the state and international organizations in the regulation of abortion.

Newly-imposed restrictions have drawn attention to self-managed abortions (SMA) — the termination of pregnancy outside of medical settings — and recently, this practice has largely taken place using abortion pills (e.g., mifepristone and misoprostol) through the support of telehealth services, the use of which is recommended by the World Health Organization (2022). SMA activism has mitigated the negative effects of anti-abortion laws and has proven that illegal abortions can be safe, offering important lessons for the provision of abortion care.

Creating painless, minimally invasive, and rapid techniques for identifying biomarkers like antibiotics and cancer-related indicators holds significant importance in the fields of personalized medicine and clinical utilization. In the course of my research, I am dedicated to the innovation of microneedle-based patches with the capability to discern the existence and levels of diverse biomarkers. This approach enables the simultaneous monitoring of multiple biomarkers through these patches. Additionally, we are actively engaged in pioneering methodologies for detecting biomarkers by converting their presence into an electrical signal.

In my research project, I delve into the health and safety consequences related to digital labour platforms for domestic workers engaged in direct or indirect caregiving tasks. The global surge in demand for paid care services has triggered the swift emergence of digital labour platforms, acting as intermediaries between various users like businesses, workers, and consumers. My objective is to examine how the work organization within the digital platform-based care economy influences the safety, health, and overall welfare of domestic workers

The project is focused on the development of point-of-need bioanalytical methods for the quality control of food and water.  Currently, quality control is performed in laboratories using sophisticated and expensive methods. The high cost of testing, extended analysis time (2-3 hours), the requirements of bulky stationary equipment, and qualified personnel restrict the applications of these methods only to professional laboratories.  Our goal is to bring quality control of food and water to the users at point-of-need.

My research sets out to examine adaptation among first-year students at the University of Waterloo. Providing a better understanding of successful adaptation to postsecondary life is key to Canada’s future competitiveness on both a local and global stage. This work is equally critical from an equity perspective as certain segments of the population have greater difficulties adapting relative to others. Findings from my research can inform programs and policies that can be tailored to better support those in need to facilitate a sustainable and diverse community at UW. As a result, this research can disrupt historical patterns of inequities evident in higher education.

I will investigate how bacteria that grow on methane (a potent greenhouse gas) are able to do so in the absence of oxygen. Traditionally, methanotrophic bacteria (bacteria that oxidize and grow on methane) are known to depend on oxygen; but recently, scientists have encountered evidence of methane consumption by bacteria in methane-rich but anoxic deep waters of lakes (i.e. in the absence of oxygen). Current predictions indicate that lakes will get warmer and less oxygenated, leading to the question of how methane consumption and thus methane emissions will be affected in these ecosystems. Therefore, the findings from my work could help understand how methane emissions to the atmosphere will be affected in future ecosystems.

The main societal impact of my work relates to its intended attempt at raising broader public awareness of the violence committed on Indigenous communities through settler-colonial fossil fuel extractivism in Canada. To secure long-term societal impact, I will organize a workshop, a public lecture series, produce podcasts and develop several other modes of public engagement, which should help to create and expand such public awareness. Part of my work aims to make and facilitate recommendations regarding (Indigenous) energy policy in settler-colonial nations and beyond.

Working with Dr. Neufeld and the urban Indigenous communities within Katarokwi (greater Kingston area) and Wellington-Waterloo Region offers a unique opportunity to bring people together to strengthen new and growing Indigenous food sovereignty initiatives. Our project is an opportunity for Indigenous Peoples to tell stories and take action in support of land and each other.