York immunologist’s work recognized as standout achievement in arthritis research
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By Corey Allen, senior manager, research communications
A York University researcher’s work on blocking inflammation in gout has been named one of the most significant advancements in arthritis research in 2023 by Arthritis Society Canada.
Ali Abdul-Sater
Ali Abdul-Sater, an associate professor in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science in the Faculty of Health, alongside his research team, discovered that a protein called TRAF1 can help limit the body’s production of a substance called interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), which is a main cause of gout.
“It is a great honour to see that our work is recognized for its impact, and all the credit goes to the trainees that did the research,” said Abdul-Sater, who is also a York Research Chair inRegulatory Mechanisms of Inflammation. “In the future, we are developing new methods to target TRAF1 in a way that improves its ability to lower IL-1 β and reduce joint inflammation.”
The research team’s findings were published last year in the Journal of Immunology, detailing how adequate levels of TRAF1 in the body can alleviate the severity of gout.
Gout, a type of inflammatory arthritis, is a disease that typically affects the feet and can include symptoms of joint pain, stiffness and swelling, among others. According to Arthritis Society Canada, six million Canadians – or one in five adults – live with arthritis.
“Given the impact on patients, the health-care system and society at large, research is critical to transforming how arthritis is diagnosed, treated and prevented, and ensuring people receive the best possible care to improve the quality of their lives,” said Siân Bevan, chief science officer at Arthritis Society Canada, who helped fund the work.
For a full list of the top 10 research advances of 2023 recognized by the non-profit organization, visit Arthritis Society Canada’s website.
Osgoode prof named Woman of the Year by Canadian Italian business community
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By Corey Allen, senior manager, research communications
Pina D’Agostino, an associate professor at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, has been named Woman of the Year by the Canadian Italian Business & Professional Association of Toronto (CIPBA).
Pina D’Agostino
“I am incredibly humbled and honoured to be recognized by the very community that I have deep roots in,” said D’Agostino. “My parents were both immigrants from Italy to Canada and, like many others seeking a better future for their families, came without speaking a word of English and with nothing but their dreams for a better future. I dedicate this award to them for all their sacrifices.”
She added: “As a woman, I stand with so many other women who continue to face barriers in their personal and professional lives. I join an impressive group of female recipients of this award and am grateful to CIBPA for shining the spotlight on our many successes.”
Last week, D’Agostino assumed her new role as scientific director of Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society, the $318.4-million, York-led research program focused on socially responsible technologies, supported in part by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
In addition to her role with Connected Minds, D’Agostino is the founder and former director of IP Osgoode and the co-director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence & Society. Her research explores issues related to artificial intelligence through a legal lens, including data governance and ownership, intellectual property, emerging technologies, and innovation law and policy.
Since 2010, D’Agostino has also been the founder and director of the IP Innovation Clinic based at Osgoode Hall Law School, where she has helped startups across the University and beyond by engaging law students and leading intellectual property lawyers to provide help pro-bono amounting to more than $2 million in otherwise billable fees.
“Her remarkable contributions to law, technology, and education have set her apart as a leader in her field and an inspiration to us all,” said CIBPA President Tony Cocuzzo.
D’Agostino and her work will be honoured at a CIBPA event on March 20.
York University professors help shape national pandemic strategy
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Earlier this month, two York University professors – Mathieu Poirier and Susan Rogers Van Katwyk – joined Canadian experts and government representatives at the Pandemic Agreement Regional Engagement Series. Organized by the Government of Canada, this series of meetings held across the country were intended to facilitate productive discussion about Canada’s role in pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
Mathieu Poirier
“With the COVID-19 pandemic, it became clear that there were real inequities that emerged, and there were issues with the International Health Regulations, which are the main international law we use to deal with pandemic threats,” said Poirier. “So when we see medical countermeasures, vaccines that were extremely inequitably distributed, it became clear that we need a new agreement – a Pandemic Agreement – to deal with these pandemic threats.”
Attendees at the meetings, which built on the Pandemic Instrument Partner and Stakeholder Engagement Forum that took place in Ottawa last March, were encouraged to share their input on and updates to the development of the Pandemic Agreement (previously referred to as the Pandemic Instrument). The agreement seeks to address policy gaps in preventing, preparing for and responding to pandemics, and is scheduled to be presented to the 77th World Health Assembly in May of this year.
Poirier, an assistant professor in York’s School of Global Health, a Tier II Research Chair in Global Health Equity and co-director of the York University- and University of Ottawa-based Global Strategy Lab (GSL), participated in a Toronto-based meeting focused on enhancing capacities to detect, understand, and act on public health threats through improved global co-operation on data standardization and interoperability.
“It’s important to remember that Canada is less than one per cent of the world’s population, and that means that there’s something like a 99 per cent chance that a future pandemic will emerge outside of Canada,” said Poirier. “And in the likelihood that occurs, we have to have strong international co-operation between countries so that we are prepared to detect, understand and act on those pandemic threats, and that other countries are as well.”
The session he attended, he said, brought widespread support for creating a committee to facilitate the adoption of international data standards and interoperable systems. Participants emphasized the importance of supporting low-and middle-income countries in strengthening their systems and advocating for a decolonized approach that learns from best practices globally while minimizing potential harms to countries that choose to participate in data sharing.
Rogers Van Katwyk, an adjunct professor at York and managing director of the AMR (Antimicrobial Resistance) Policy Accelerator at the Global Strategy Lab, participated in the Vancouver-based session, which focused on equity within the pandemic agreement.
The Global Strategy Lab’s previous research on the pandemic treaty has gained significant recognition. A comment in The Lancet, by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body spearheading negotiations on the pandemic agreement, cited GSL’s research on what makes for an effective international treaty, and a symposium issue of the Journal of Law, Medicine, and Ethics (JLME) on the inclusion of AMR in the Pandemic Agreement, co-edited by Rogers Van Katwyk and GSL Director and York Professor Steven J. Hoffman, has greatly contributed to the discussion. With GSL members taking part in high-level discussions like the recent Pandemic Agreement Regional Engagement Series, the lab’s international influence is sure to continue its trajectory of growth.
To hear more from Poirier about his participation in the meetings and their potential impact on our global health future, watch the video below:
Experts unite for third annual Climate Change Research Month
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This March, York University and its Organized Research Units (ORUs) are hosting the third annual Climate Change Research Month, which features a range of activities, including panels, lectures and workshops.
The month-long event series spotlights the University’s expertise in climate change-related research, the interdisciplinary work of its faculty, and the York community’s commitment to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
“From the work of political scientists helping to shape government policy to equity scholars tackling issues of climate justice to environmental scientists and engineers exploring pathways to decarbonization and sustainability, climate research is one of York’s great strengths,” said Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. “Climate Change Research Month reflects York’s big-tent approach to addressing the climate crisis through knowledge sharing, collaboration and community engagement.”
Some of the planned events include several sessions by the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, including a March 6 event on building community-engaged emergency response systems for extreme weather events, including in rural Indigenous communities. The City Institute at York University (CITY) will host a panel discussion titled “Greening the Grey,” exploring infrastructural solutions to the climate crisis. And the Institute for Research on Digital Literacies and the Institute for Technoscience & Society will hold a showcase for graduate students whose research is related to technology and climate change, among other events from multiple ORUs.
“Climate Change Research Month is an opportunity to have faculty, staff and students come together as a uniquely qualified collective to engage in critical and thoughtful dialogue on an existential issue impacting us all,” said Professor Elaine Coburn, director of the Centre for Feminist Research, who has led the organizing efforts for the yearly event series for the past three years. “This annual series exemplifies the kind of work that York’s Organized Research Units engage in year-round.”
Climate Change Research Month is hosted by York’s ORUs, centres of research excellence that bring together diverse experts from across the University to conduct inter- and trans-disciplinary research on some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
York prof leads groundbreaking research on green hydrogen
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York University’s commitment to sustainability and innovation takes a significant leap forward with Professor Hany Farag’s pioneering work on green hydrogen integration.
As a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science at the Lassonde School of Engineering, Farag is spearheading efforts to revolutionize Ontario’s energy landscape.
The newly created Hydrogen Innovation Fund, a funding initiative administered by the Independent Electricity System Operator, will invest more than $15 million to help integrate hydrogen into Ontario’s clean electricity system over the next three years. Farag is among the first group of researchers to successfully attain this funding.
A York Research Chair in Integrated Smart Energy Grids, Farag will use government support to advance the work he does at York’s Smart Grid Research Lab, which aims to seamlessly integrate green hydrogen resources into electricity systems to decarbonize not only the power grid but also hard-to-abate sectors such as heavy-duty vehicles, fertilizers and steelmaking.
In collaboration with Alectra Utilities, Bruce County, York University Facilities Services and other industry partners, Farag plans to investigate the implementation of green hydrogen plants (GHPs) across Ontario. Addressing the lack of infrastructure to support electricity and hydrogen integration, his research project will look to optimize GHP design and integration into Ontario’s power systems.
Farag’s scientific inquiry dovetails with York University’s brand message of shaping a sustainable future. York’s leadership in sustainability and its focus on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) find resonance in Farag’s quest to lead the charge in decarbonizing energy production and utilization, particularly advancing SDG 7, which looks to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.”
It’s an important initiative.
Although the production of green hydrogen is currently expensive, with estimates ranging from $4 to $6 per kilogram, it remains pivotal in the quest for achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Across the globe, nations such as Canada and the U.S. are unveiling ambitious hydrogen strategies and investment goals for the forthcoming decades. In a significant move in 2020, the federal government released a hydrogen strategy with the aim of solidifying hydrogen’s role as a cornerstone tool in reaching the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.
But while hydrogen holds promise as a potential game changer in combatting climate change, the shift toward “green” hydrogen faces significant hurdles. A 2021 report by the International Energy Agency highlighted a staggering statistic: global hydrogen production emitted 900-million tonnes of carbon dioxide, exceeding emissions from the aviation industry by roughly 180-million tonnes.
This alarming figure underscores the pressing need for a transition away from fossil fuel sources, as highlighted in a recent CBC report.
Although currently not recognized as a low-emissions fuel, there is optimism that hydrogen will emerge as a pivotal player in the fight against climate change. Its potential lies in serving as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels in various sectors such as power generation, home heating and transportation – an area where Farag’s expertise shines through.
“In the Smart Grid Research Lab, we aim to develop new solutions that facilitate seamless and cost-effective integration of green hydrogen to decarbonize the power grid and hard-to-abate sectors/industries,” Farag says.
“This vision is aligned with York’s efforts to decarbonize our campus, where hydrogen could replace – either fully or partially – the existing natural gas–based co-generators.”
Student Support Certificate launches new course offerings
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Since its launch in January 2023, over 120 York University staff and faculty members are on track to complete the Student Support Certificate, a series of YU Learn workshops offered by experts across the University who share insights on student resources and how to make informed and effective referrals to York’s available student services.
York tapped into the wealth of knowledge across the University to create a professional development opportunity for faculty and staff to support York’s diverse student population in reaching their goals and dreams. With new courses added for 2024, and more to come, the impact of the program is expected to continue to grow.
The Student Support Certificate program involves a series of self-paced and instructor-led courses, which can be completed within about 10 hours. To receive the certificate, participants must complete three core courses covering topics including conflict mediation, effective communication and student referrals, as well as additional electives that offer insights into more specialized populations, such as international student advising and immigration, and working with students with disabilities.
“By learning about student supports available across the University and how to help students access them, we strengthen our collective capacity to respond to student needs and to foster a more caring and positive community,” says Nona Robinson, vice-provost students.
Participants learn how to respond to student issues and concerns, helping to strengthen York’s student-service focus. They are encouraged to apply this knowledge in their interactions with students, to help promote and foster a caring and supportive environment for learning at York.
“Delivering the practical, student-centred, ‘appreciative advising’ approach demonstrates York’s commitment to providing an excellent quality of care and service to our students, but also ensures that our community is united, aligned, and committed to supporting the unique needs of our diverse student body and meeting them where they are,” says Derrick Fairman, director academic advising, student petitions and student relations in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies and an instructor for the certificate’s course on appreciative advising. “Everyone has a role in advising – students, staff, faculty and administration.”
Additional courses will continue to be added, and all staff and faculty are invited to take part. Those interested in registering can visit YU Learn to find out more. Once completed, the certificate will appear on the employee’s learning record.
“My experience with the workshops has been positive, as they are engaging and focused on many aspects of the student experience,” says Mazen Hamadeh, an associate professor in the School of Kinesiology & Health Science and associate dean for students. “The workshops support student success and I recommend them to any staff, faculty and administrators who interact with students regularly.”
Continuing Studies Building earns gold for sustainable design
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Further solidifying York University’s place as an international leader in sustainability, York’s School of Continuing Studies Building has achieved LEED Gold certification from the Canadian Green Building Council. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is the global building industry’s premier benchmark for sustainability.
School of Continuing Studies Building exterior.
The six-story, 9,012-square-metre, 50-classroom building, which opened last spring at 68 The Pond Road on York’s Keele Campus, was designed by global architecture firm Perkins&Will, led by architects Safdar Abidi and Andrew Frontini. Its twisted design is said to symbolize the school’s twist on the traditional mission of continuing studies – that is, to solve Canada’s most pressing labour challenges by connecting employers to a highly skilled talent pool through innovative program offerings.
“Our stunning, architecturally twisted learning facility emphasizes sustainable practices, safeguards the environment and lowers operating costs,” said Christine Brooks-Cappadocia, assistant vice-president, Continuing Studies. “This purposeful design, with its abundant natural light and other innovative features, is welcoming and promotes a healthy atmosphere so we can focus on what matters most: excellence in programming and a vibrant community for student interactions.”
Some of the building’s most notable environmental features include: a self-generating heat recovery system; an infrastructure-ready, solar-powered water heater; a high-performing façade system for weather resistance; and daylight harvesting to offset electric lighting requirements. The building is believed to be well positioned to achieve net-zero emissions in the future due to its low energy consumption and ability to accommodate solar photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight into electricity.
School of Continuing Studies Building front view.School of Continuing Studies Building side view.
But contrary to popular belief, LEED is not only about energy-efficient design. It also considers occupant wellness, an area where the School of Continuing Studies Building focused much attention. Designed with the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion in mind, the building houses a lactation room for nursing mothers and a payer room, plus guide rails, automated doors, standing desks, screens for the visually impaired, elevators and large, wheelchair accessible hallways.
“LEED is a comprehensive sustainability objective,” explained Norm Hawton, director of design and construction for Facilities Services at York, “ranging from site selection and recycling of materials to designing for energy performance, minimizing waste, encouraging wellness – from daylighting to healthy commuting, by providing bicycle racks and showers – and thinking holistically about how this building will contribute to a sustainable lifestyle.”
According to Hawton, the LEED Gold certification could not have been achieved without the contributions of the School of Continuing Studies students, instructors and staff who were instrumental to both the scoping and design phases of the project, the University administrators, consultants, and construction and design teams.
“It was the collaborative participation by all throughout the project, from the initial building concept through to successful operations supporting continuing education, that led to LEED quantify the success of the School of Continuing Studies Building in this way,” he said.
In addition to this new sustainability certification, the building has also been recognized for its interior design achievements. Last October, the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO) named it one of the most vibrant, innovative and inspiring educational spaces of the year – a true testament to York’s visionary leadership in the higher-education building space.
York conference inspires next generation of environmentalists
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With news of environmental crises coming at us at an increasingly alarming rate, it can be easy to dwell on the doom and gloom of it all. York University’s Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change (EUC) is doing its part to prevent that with its annual conference, Change Your World, which aims to empower Ontario’s youth to be the next generation of global changemakers.
Last week, some 500 Ontario high-school students and their teachers from more than 25 schools gathered in Vari Hall on York’s Keele Campus for the conference, where they spent the day learning how they can make a sustainable and equitable difference in the world – and its future – through a series of activities and workshops hosted in partnership with environmental and community partners from across the province.
Change Your World conference attendees gathered in Vari Hall. Photo by Daniel Horawski.
“At a time when there is a great deal of despair and ‘eco-anxiety’ concerning the state of the planet, it was inspiring to see young people coming together as active citizens to envision a different future,” said Philip Kelly, interim dean of EUC. “Connecting schools and environmentally-focused organizations for thoughtful discussions through events like Change Your World is an important role for the Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change in our wider community.”
Pictured, left to right: keynote speaker Joanne Huy, EUC Interim Dean Philip Kelly, keynote speaker Alicia Richins. Photo by Daniel Horawski.
Students began the day by hearing from the conference’s keynote speakers, beginning with Interim Dean Kelly and ending with alumna Alicia Richins, director of strategy and governance for youth sustainability leadership organization Leading Change Canada and creator of multimedia platform the Climateverse.
Richins challenged the audience to consider their passions when choosing what change they should focus on and encouraged them to boldly share ideas, work collaboratively and never give up on their goals to make positive change.
“This annual event is all about showcasing ways youth can lead the change we need in our communities and around the world,” said Lily Piccone, strategic enrolment and communications officer at EUC and Change Your World conference co-ordinator. “Through inspiring keynote speakers, like our very own YU alumni Alicia and Joanne, and our community partners, the students can see local citizens that have turned their passion into a profession and are making positive change for people and the planet”
Toronto-based singer-songwriter and climate activist Brighid Fry performed at the 2024 Change Your World conference.
The students were then able to let their interests guide them by choosing two breakout sessions to participate in from a variety of offerings, including: a workshop on how to build resiliency in the face of anxiety about the future; a giant, immersive board game about power, peace and the planet; hands-on time with wind turbine models and solar panels; a tree identification walk; talks on green infrastructure, climate futurism, the importance of wetlands; and much more.
Following their lunch break, participants were treated to a special guest performance by Toronto-based singer-songwriter and climate activist Brighid Fry, recognized as one of the Top 25 under 25 by non-profit organization the Starfish Canada for her work on sustainability in the music industry. Students wrapped up their day of immersive learning with another workshop and enjoyed one final keynote address by community engagement professional and York alumna Joanne Huy, who shared her passion for transforming lives and communities through learning experiences and making local change in the York University and Jane-and-Finch communities.
Centre for AI & Society announces inaugural advisory board
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York University’s Centre for AI & Society (CAIS) unites York researchers who are collectively advancing the quickly evolving, impossible-to-ignore world of artificial intelligence (AI), with a particular focus on AI systems that address societal priorities in health care, smart cities and sustainability.
To help guide their groundbreaking work, CAIS co-directors Pina D’Agostino and James Elder have established the centre’s inaugural advisory board and named its members, who will generously donate their time and expertise to help CAIS conduct research that aims to improve lives and lead to a healthier and more just society.
Pina D’AgostinoJames Elder
“The members of the inaugural CAIS Advisory Board are leaders in Canada’s broad AI & Society community, with deep experience in the technological, entrepreneurial, legal and governance foundations of AI, as well as key application areas of health, mobility and sustainability,” says Elder. “CAIS is very fortunate to have their support.”
Johanne Bélisle, innovation policy advisor, formerly at World Intellectual Property Organization and former CEO of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office;
Casey Chisick, partner and Chair of intellectual property and entertainment, media and sports law at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP;
Sven Dickinson, vice-president/head of Samsung AI Research Center and professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto;
Konstantinos Georgaras, commissioner of patents, registrar of trademarks and CEO of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office;
Uma Gopinath, chief information officer at Metrolinx;
Nadine Letson, head of corporate, external and legal affairs at Microsoft Canada;
Aaron Rezaei, CEO at STIM Canada Inc. and general partner of Archangel Network of Funds;
Allison Sekuler, Sandra A Rotman Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience at the Rotman Research Institute; president and chief scientist at the Baycrest Academy for Research and Education; president and chief scientist at the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation; professor of psychology at the University of Toronto; and professor emeritus in the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour at McMaster University;
Altaf Stationwala, president and CEO of Mackenzie Health;
Elissa Strome, executive director of pan-Canadian AI strategy at CIFAR;
Graham Taylor, faculty member and Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute for AI; academic director of Next AI; professor and Canada Research Chair at the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph; and
Julia Zhu, executive vice-president and chief digital and innovation officer of Alectra Utilities.
“I am so excited that we have assembled a stellar inaugural advisory board as we launch CAIS,” says D’Agostino. “With their guidance, CAIS is certain to lead in tackling the AI challenges we now face, and to play a constructive role in helping to shape the future of our society.”
To learn more about the centre, its members, and upcoming conferences and seminars, visit the CAIS website.
Creating accessibility through both research and training
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By Elaine Smith
If the Lassonde School of Engineering wants to illustrate Empowering our People with Perspectives, Tools and Knowledge, a theme from its new academic plan, they have a perfect example close at hand: the research lab run by Melanie Baljko, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science.
Melanie Baljko
Baljko’s Practices in Enabling Technologies (PiET) Lab and her students – undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral – focus their research on making life more accessible for people facing barriers and involve the users in designing assistive devices to ensure their needs are met. Many of her researchers actually are the very people who face barriers.
“We hire only students with lived experience, if possible, and find a way to let the research be led by these folks,” Baljko said. “All of us without disabilities can only be allies and create space.”
Although she knows of only one North American research lab led by a neurodiverse researcher, Baljko hopes the students who train with her will help increase those numbers.
“I’m taking the long view,” Baljko said. “This isn’t a five-year plan. If I train an undergraduate and they go on to graduate school and postdoctoral work, it will take time for them to become part of the system, and the system also has to be ready to receive them.
“There is a lot of ableism built into the system and it may require us to unsettle things and change the status quo.”
As she provides valuable training to students, they become immersed in designing solutions for disabled people, but they don’t simply jump in and pursue research they decide is a good idea. Such an approach, Baljko says, leads to a disability dongle – well-intentioned solutions that were never requested by clients and don’t actually address the problem at hand. Instead, they ask clients which problems they would like to see solved.
Foad Hamidi (photo credit: Research Graphics UMBC)
Baljko’s lab focuses on value-based digital media and digital technology design, paying particular attention to inclusion and social belonging. In one of the lab’s accessibility projects, Baljko and her students formed a partnership with a community-based organization in Kenya. Foad Hamidi, who completed his PhD research under Baljko’s supervision and is now an assistant professor in information systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, was one of the researchers on the study.
“We wanted to see what factors would impact a do-it-yourself communication device for non-verbal children outside of Europe and North America,” Hamidi said.
The team used open-source technology-building kits and fashioned a simple device that could be used to create vocalizations for these non-verbal children. They brought the device to the community and had families work together to build similar units for their children.
“There were positive impacts,” Baljko said. “The children could use the devices at a special education school and the community came together to talk about the special education stigma, too.”
A major ongoing project, funded by the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada and done in collaboration with Iris Epstein at the School of Nursing, Karen Swartz at Student Accessibility Services and external colleagues, is Accessibility in Educational Placement for Students with Disabilities. The researcher team is creating a toolkit that will enable people involved with student placements to find what is needed to support the inclusion of students with disabilities in placements.
“Students may face certain barriers in the classroom, but there are different challenges that come with going to a work site for placements, co-ops and work-integrated learning terms,” Baljko said. “Unfortunately, although people mean well, it often falls to the students themselves to raise awareness.”
Sarah Akhavan Kazemzadeh
Sarah Akhavan Kazemzadeh, a York computer science instructor, did her master’s thesis with Baljko in 2022 and has also been a collaborator on a number of PiET Lab’s research projects, including the design of assistive technology for a person with motor disabilities who is largely blind and deaf.
“It is basically a large screen that shows the letters of the alphabet,” said Akhavan Kazemzadeh. “The system scans through the letters and the person can press a button to stop it and choose a specific letter. It is a switch-activated writing system that this person has now been using for 10 years. She has gone to school with it and is now using it to write a book.”
Projects of this type have drawn interest from researchers elsewhere in the world. In 2023, for example, Baljko hosted an education event for her students and members of De Leidsche Fleisch, a study association for physics, astronomy, mathematics and computer science based at Leiden University, Netherlands, that aims to share knowledge and expertise with wider scientific communities.
No matter how many prototypes the PiET Lab creates, its motivation is sharing through open scholarship, not commercialization.
“The focus is on knowledge production, and the main outcome is papers and reports and open-source software,” said Hamidi. “However, if someone wants to take one of the ideas and turn it into a product, that would be wonderful. Unfortunately, with assistive technology, you often need government support.”
Akhavan noted, “Melanie’s significant impact shines through her development of a switch-activated writing system, utilized consistently for over a decade by an individual with motor disabilities and sensory impairments. This prolonged use underscores the essence of true accessibility. By involving individuals in the design process, Melanie’s approach ensures practical, enduring solutions. Unlike costly assistive technologies that often fall short of users’ needs, Melanie’s methodology advocates for sustainable, collaboratively driven innovation.”
Indeed, for Baljko, the process is as important as the research outcomes.
“I want to create conditions to bring people with lived experience of disability to projects as co-designers,” she said. “It’s a participatory method that erases barriers and lessens power imbalances.”
The final word about Baljko and the PiET Lab goes to Akhavan Kazemzadeh.
“When you think about this, it’s amazing. Melanie has realized that neglecting accessibility is a global issue and there’s a lot of work yet to be done.”
