First Canadian UN leadership training centre opening at York

Markham Centre Campus FEATURED image

As a leader in the effort to build a more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable world, York University and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) are proud to announce the establishment of Canada’s first Centre International de Formation des Acteurs Locaux (CIFAL).

CIFAL centres provide innovative training throughout the world and serve as hubs for the exchange of knowledge among government officials, the private sector, academia and civil society.

York’s Markham Centre Campus will be the proud home of CIFAL York
York’s Markham Centre Campus will be the proud home of CIFAL York

York Region was selected as the new home of this global initiative. York’s Markham Centre Campus will be the proud home of CIFAL York when it is open and operational. This new partnership with UNITAR recognizes York’s leadership in advancing fundamental and applied research, innovation and ability to work across traditional boundaries in pioneering new approaches that will help meet society’s most urgent demands.

CIFAL York will be uniquely positioned to help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals around emergency and disaster management, diversity and inclusion, economic development, health and entrepreneurship. The new centre will be a catalyst for positive change and extend York’s global reach that already includes more than 300 university, industry and NGO partners in more than 70 countries.

“The world is facing complex global problems – from the climate crisis to inequality to rapid technological change to the pandemic – that call for collaboration across sectors and across countries to solve,” said York University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton. “The creation of this CIFAL Centre, in partnership with UNITAR, will enable us to bring leaders from governments, not-for-profits, and industry together with researchers and educators to share experiences and expertise, and to train new generations of global leaders. We are proud to host CIFAL York as part of our commitment to building a healthier and more just, sustainable and prosperous world.”

In addition, CIFAL York will provide a platform for dialogue and a forum for the development of new ideas by providing public servants, decision-makers and academics in the Western Hemisphere learning opportunities that facilitate knowledge sharing and improve decision-making processes.

“York University’s outsized reputation made it an obvious choice when the United Nations, through UNITAR, started thinking of partnering with an academic institution in Canada to share knowledge and best practices,” said Nikhil Seth, UN assistant secretary general and executive director of UNITAR. “I count academic institutions as one of UNITAR’s most indispensable allies, without whom we cannot hope to achieve the 2030 Agenda.”

Idil Boran
Idil Boran
Ali Asgary
Ali Asgary

York also announced that Professor Ali Asgary has agreed to become the new director of CIFAL York. In collaboration with the associate director, Associate Professor Idil Boran, the important work of establishing strategic partnerships to advance the vision will begin June 1 in temporary offices at York’s Keele Campus.

“York Regional Council and the Regional Municipality of York are proud of the strong partnerships shared with York University and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, which have led to a more welcoming and inclusive community for all who call York Region home,” said Wayne Emmerson, York Region Chair and CEO. “In welcoming a CIFAL Centre to York University, we are further expanding collaborative opportunities between all levels of government, international organizations, the business community and the public sector to continue building strong, caring, safe communities where everyone can develop to their full potential.”

CIFAL York is one of 22 training centres for government authorities around the world and will facilitate face-to-face or online training activities such as seminars, courses, national and international events. It will also seek to empower local, regional, and international authorities to promote intersectoral partnership and co-operation and improve the well-being of their citizens. Since its inception in 2003, the CIFAL network has reached more than 30,000 beneficiaries through over 400 learning events.

Schulich launches George Weston Ltd Centre for Sustainable Supply Chains and announces its research Chair

Schulich Professor David Johnson
David Johnston

York University’s Schulich School of Business has officially launched the George Weston Ltd Centre for Sustainable Supply Chains and announced the research Chair during the Centre’s inaugural research forum called “Supply Chain Problems: Practical Insights from Emerging Research.” The forum brought management researchers and industry together to find practical solutions and explore new opportunities.

Schulich Professor David Johnston
Schulich Professor David Johnston will be the Centre’s inaugural director (image: Gordon Hawkins)

Building on Schulich’s unique Master of Supply Chain Management (MSCM) program, its deep relationships with industry and George Weston Ltd’s world-class expertise in supply chain management, the new centre is poised to be a global leader in supply chain education. David Johnston, program director of the MSCM, will take the role of the new George Weston Ltd Chair for Sustainable Supply Chains and be the centre director.

“Our goal is to harness the desire for change emerging in a post-pandemic economy and engage industry, academics, NGOs and government in a dialogue,” says Johnston. “One that leads to an actionable agenda that modernizes critical infrastructure, lowers greenhouse gas emissions and provides environments where people can thrive.”

Johnston is a professor of operations management and information systems at Schulich, as well as acting director of both the Master of Business Analytics and Master of Management in Artificial Intelligence programs.

“Supply chains are the heart of Canada’s economy and provide the food, medication and other items Canadians need by connecting communities from coast to coast to coast,” said Galen Weston, Chair and CEO of George Weston Ltd. “We are delighted to partner with the Schulich School of Business to deepen our country’s expertise and develop sustainable supply chains that will contribute to a stronger, more resilient Canada.”

For more information, watch this video or visit this website.

A statement on National Indigenous Month and the discovery at the Kamloops Indian Residential School

Flag at half mast Keele campus FEATURED
Flag at half mast Keele campus FEATURED

The following is a statement that was issued on Monday, May 31 from President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton, Vice-President Equity, People and Culture Sheila Cote-Meek, and the Indigenous Council at York University on National Indigenous History Month and the discovery last week of the mass grave of 215 Indigenous children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School:

Each June, we mark National Indigenous History Month to celebrate the history, heritage and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. National Indigenous Peoples Day is June 21 every year. It is a day to recognize the outstanding contributions, unique heritage and cultures of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.

The discovery last week of the mass grave of 215 Indigenous children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School – located on the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation – is a tragic reminder that this history is still felt today through intergenerational trauma and that there is still a long road towards reconciliation.

York University offers condolences to the Indigenous community. Beginning today, flags will be lowered to half-mast for 215 hours to remember the 215 children who never returned home from Kamloops Indian Residential School and all victims and survivors of the Residential School system. We also encourage members of the York community to observe a moment of silence at 2:15 p.m. today, Monday, May 31, to reflect on the impacts of Residential Schools on Indigenous communities and the actions we can take towards reconciliation.

Increasing understanding and awareness is one step we can all take. We know the work of reconciliation is ongoing and requires a concerted effort. We encourage York community members to learn more about the history of Residential Schools and its impact, as well as take up the Indigenous Framework for York University: A Guide to Action, which helps guide us as we move forward.

There are a variety of supports available to the York community listed on the Mental Health and Wellness site and through the Employee & Family Assistance Program.

Supports specific to the York Indigenous community are also available through the Centre for Indigenous Student Services. Additionally, a 24-hour National Indian Residential School Crisis Line is available to provide support for former Residential School students at 1-866-925-4419.

Members of the York community can show their support by:

  • circulating talk lines;
  • holding solidarity vigils; and
  • joining the Anishinabek Nation by placing a teddy bear on their front porches at 6 p.m. tonight and leaving porch lights on.

We encourage all members of the York University community to take pause – at the beginning of National Indigenous History Month – to reflect on the ongoing impact of the Residential School system and the resulting trauma. Anyone wishing to make a donation can find information at the Indigenous Residential School Survivors Society.

We share sincere condolences and heartfelt wishes for reconciliation and healing with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, and especially the York Indigenous community.

Sincerely,

Rhonda Lenton
President and Vice-Chancellor

Sheila Cote-Meek
Vice-President, Equity, People and Culture

The Indigenous Council at York University

York PhD’s research opens important conversations about men’s sexuality after spinal cord injury

Many health care providers lack confidence in their skill and ability to discuss sexuality and intimacy concerns with men who have experienced a spinal cord injury. This is one of the key findings of a comprehensive study of sexuality in men with spinal cord injury undertaken by newly minted York PhD Jacqueline Kathnelson.

Jacqueline Kathnelson
Jacqueline Kathnelson

Working under the supervision of Faculty of Health Professors William GageChristine Kurtz Landy and Hala Tamin, and Brock University Kinesiology Professor David Ditor, Kathnelson interviewed men between the ages of 18 and 50 who have experienced a spinal cord injury to learn more about the kinds of supports they need to move forward with their lives. Informed by insights gained from the interviews, Kathnelson developed a survey to further assess 65 different aspects of sexuality identified in the interviews.

Using the Delphi Method, multiple rounds of the survey were completed by men living with a spinal cord injury to reach a consensus on those aspects. A similar survey was then delivered to health care providers treating men with spinal cord injury who also completed multiple rounds of the survey to reach a consensus on those aspects. She used the findings from the surveys to develop an agreement on what is needed to effectively address concerns of both patients and their health care providers on the topic of sexuality following spinal cord injury.

Through this comprehensive approach, Kathnelson established a much-needed 360-degree view of what men and their health care providers need to consider in order to have an open, thoughtful conversation about sexuality and intimacy following a spinal cord injury. Her work has effectively removed taboos around the topic and revealed important considerations that will help men with this devastating injury lead full and vital lives.

“The men who participated in the research said that their health care providers are not talking to them about sexuality,” said Kathnelson, who recently defended her dissertation on the subject. “So, it is easy to assume that health care providers don’t think that sexuality is a priority for these patients.

“However, it has been established across the literature that sexuality and intimacy are priorities for patients. I would say that based on the research that health care providers aren’t addressing sexuality because they don’t have the skills to discuss sexuality after spinal cord injury. They don’t know how to discuss it or tackle intimacy concerns because they haven’t been trained.”

Kathnelson says that for many health care providers, it is difficult for them to know whose role it is to address sexuality with men after a spinal cord injury and they are not confident enough to have those important conversations with their patients. Uncertainty is amplified as treatment and support of patients with spinal cord injury requires a vast, multi-disciplinary team. “There needs to be health care education for all members of the health care team working with these patients, it is not a role for just one health care provider,” she says.

A man sits in a wheelchair
Jacqueline Kathnelson’s research will assist in developing an improved protocol for clinicians and researchers to use when discussing sexuality and intimacy following spinal cord injury

A psychologist, says Kathnelson, might discuss body image issues and how that affects sexuality after a spinal cord injury. A fertility specialist could talk to a patient about certain aspects of sexual function after a spinal cord injury and how it relates to having children, while a medical doctor should look at giving patients medications and guidance on how to safely use the medications. An occupational therapist, physiotherapist or nurse could discuss positioning during sex and different adaptive things that men can undertake. “Everyone needs to play a role and have sexual health included in their education and training,” says Kathnelson. “It also needs to be a part of their job description to talk about sexuality as it relates to their health care specialty.”

Another important finding that came out of her research was that for many of the men who took part in the surveys, there was a deep and impactful shift in the perspective and meaning of sexuality from being a physical act to an evolved significance where it was more important to be connected emotionally and psychologically with their partners. “It was important to the men to experience the intimacy, psychological and emotional aspects of sexuality,” she says, noting that this shift needs to be included in health care provider training.

“It is extremely difficult to look at sexuality holistically when dealing with spinal cord injury because in a sensory perspective, the brain is literally disconnected from the body,” she observes, adding that this aspect has changed her perspective.

Any protocol or recommendations for multidisciplinary teams treating men with spinal cord injury should be developed in partnership with the patients, says Kathnelson. “Many of the results from the men’s Delphi surveys in comparison to the health care providers’ Delphi surveys revealed that aspects of sexuality that health care providers considered to be very important were not really important to the men.

“When we are developing education plans and delivering programs, both the materials and programs need to be co-created with the patients so that they are receiving useful information,” she says. By comparing the results of the surveys, Kathnelson was able to identify the gaps that need to be filled so that there is an alignment between health care providers and patients. “Health care providers will be able to support their patients because they will have a better understanding of their needs.”

Over the past year, Kathnelson has published her findings in three separate papers in leading journals. Each of papers addresses a different aspect of sexuality and intimacy concerns in men with a spinal cord injury. “Examining the psychological and emotional experience of sexuality for men after spinal cord injury” was published in Cogent Psychology. The paper “Supporting sexual adjustment from the perspective of men living with spinal cord injury” was published in Spinal Cord, a publication available on nature.com. “Utilizing the Delphi Method to Assess Issues of Sexuality for Men Living with Spinal Cord Injury” can be found in the journal Sexuality and Disability.

By Jenny Pitt-Clark, YFile editor

Invitation to Glendon’s FSL Hub Open Forum June 5, 12 and 13

Featured image for the Academic Innovation Fund call

La version française suit la version anglaise.

Conceived as a community-driven project, Camerise is a user-centred digital platform piloted by York University’s Glendon Campus that is designed to bring together students, educators, administrators, parents and French as a second language (FSL) organizations. It aims to create a collaborative effort to synthesize information and communication on existing initiatives and knowledge to address systemic challenges and find solutions that will facilitate access to FSL programs across the country in order to sustain Canadian bilingualism.

Camerise is supported by a grant from Canadian Heritage and the Ontario Ministry of Education. As the initiative is entering into its second year of development, Camerise is inviting the FSL community to participate in an open forum to allow all stakeholders to play a central role in reflecting on the project foundations and goals, as well as in setting up the agenda for the next six to 12 months.

Extensive environmental surveys and stakeholder consultations conducted throughout 2020 and since the beginning of 2021 indicated a need for a transformational tool that would progressively aggregate information, research, resources, and initiatives existing in the field and offer centralized access to data, insights, reports, community-driven projects and curriculum-aligned resources. Camerise is being developed to fill this need and is intended to be a space where pan-Canadian FSL initiatives are showcased, where learning, mentorship and development opportunities are supported, and where modalities fostering the movement of information from practice to research are enabled.

As the optimization of Camerise continues with these various objectives and audiences in mind, the FLS community is invited to participate in a free, online pan-Canadian open forum planned for June 5, followed by an ideathon/hackathon event on June 12 and 13.

The two events in June will present an opportunity to:

  • collaboratively assess the potential Camerise will afford all audiences;
  • launch the co-development phase by drawing on the experiences and expertise of the FSL community at large and building on the existing frameworks;
  • allow the FSL community to propose next steps for the evolution of the project; and
  • bring together teams working on finding solutions to challenges that hinder the success of FSL teaching and learning programs and that could be implemented through Camerise.

The contribution of the FLS community is invaluable in making Camerise a truly useful tool. Camerise hopes to expand its team with motivated contributors who are committed to sustaining FSL education and bilingual development in Canada.

To find out more information and register, click here.


Invitation au Forum ouvert sur le pôle FLS de Glendon – Les 5, 12 et 13 juin 2021

Conçu pour être un projet impulsé par la communauté du français langue seconde, Camerise est une plateforme numérique centrée sur l’utilisateur, qui a été créée pour rassembler étudiants, éducateurs, administrateurs, parents ainsi que des organisations dédiées au français langue seconde. Camerise est un effort collaboratif visant à synthétiser l’information et la communication de connaissances et d’initiatives existantes dans le but de relever ensemble des défis systémiques et trouver des solutions qui faciliteront l’accès aux programmes en FLS partout au pays afin d’assurer la pérennité du bilinguisme au Canada.

Camerise est une initiative pilotée par le Collège Glendon de l’Université York, qui a reçu une subvention de Patrimoine canadien et du ministère de l’Éducation de l’Ontario. Au moment où Camerise entre dans sa deuxième année de développement, la communauté du FLS est invitée à participer à un forum ouvert et à y jouer un rôle central en partageant ses réflexions sur les fondements et objectifs du projet et en contribuant à établir ce qui constituera le programme des six à douze prochains mois.

Des études approfondies de l’écosystème du FLS ainsi que de nombreuses consultations auprès de parties prenantes menées au cours de l’année 2020 et depuis le début de 2021 confirment le besoin d’un outil transformationnel qui permettrait de progressivement rassembler l’information, les résultats de recherche, les ressources et les initiatives qui existent dans le domaine du FLS et d’ainsi offrir un accès centralisé à des données, constats, rapports et projets émanant de la communauté ainsi que des ressources adaptées aux programmes d’études. De fait, Camerise a été créée pour répondre à de tels besoins et fournir un espace de diffusion aux initiatives pancanadiennes portant sur le français langue seconde et soutenant l’apprentissage, le mentorat et le développement d’opportunités, et dont les modalités permettent la transmission de l’information, de la pratique à la recherche. Parallèlement à son travail d’optimisation, dont le but est d’atteindre les objectifs précités et joindre différents publics, Camerise invite la communauté FLS à participer gratuitement, en ligne, à un forum ouvert pancanadien qui aura lieu le 5 juin prochain, suivi d’un événement idéathon/hackathon les 12 et 13 juin.

Ces deux événements de juin permettront également de :

  • Collaborativement évaluer le potentiel de Camerise auprès de tous les publics
  • Lancer la phase de codéveloppement en tirant profit des expériences et de l’expertise de l’ensemble de la communauté du FLS et en s’appuyant sur les cadres existants
  • Permettre à la communauté du FLS de proposer ce que devraient être les prochaines étapes à l’égard de l’évolution du projet
  • Rassembler les équipes afin de travailler à trouver des solutions aux défis qui entravent le succès des programmes d’enseignement et d’apprentissage du français langue seconde, et qui pourraient être mises en place par l’entremise de Camerise.

La contribution de la communauté du FLS est essentielle pour faire de Camerise un outil qui lui sera véritablement utile. Camerise est enthousiaste à la perspective d’accueillir au sein de son équipe des contributeurs motivés et engagés envers le maintien de l’enseignement du français langue seconde et du développement du bilinguisme au Canada.

Pour en savoir plus et vous inscrire, cliquez ici.

York University Archivist Katrina Cohen-Palacios awarded the 2021 AAO Emerging Leader Award

Image announcing Awards

Archivist Katrina Cohen-Palacios of the Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections at York University has been awarded the 2021 Emerging Leader Award by the Archives Association of Ontario (AAO). The award was presented to Cohen-Palacios at the AAO’s annual general meeting, which took place virtually on May 14.

Cohen-Palacios joined York University’s Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collection in 2017 as an Adjunct Archivist, becoming the Media Archivist in 2019, and promoted to Archivist in 2020. Her work and contributions as an archivist at York University is described as exemplary not only in its collaborative nature but also for its outreach impact. Cohen-Palacios has made important contributions in the discourse and workflows related to Canadian archives and linked data, an emerging area of archival outreach and collaboration.

She also has played a key role in the Home Made Visible project, a collaboration of the Regent Park Film Festival, Charles Street Videos and the York University Libraries, which preserves and celebrates the important memories captured in home movies created by members of Indigenous, Black and People of Colour communities in Canada. This project was awarded the Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation in 2020 and was also shortlisted for the Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Community Programming.

Cohen-Palacios has presented at library and archival conferences across Canada and has been involved in various national and local professional organizations since 2013, serving on numerous committees and leadership positions within the Archives Association of Ontario (AAO) and the Toronto Area Archivists Group (TAAG), including as Chair of AAO’s Professional Development Committee (PDC) since June 2019 and on the 2021 AAO Conference Program Committee. She began serving as a mentor in the Association of Canadian Archivists’ Mentorship program this year.

Her nominators highlighted the important to the role Cohen-Palacios’ mentorship has had: “It is integral that racialized young professionals and students have other racialized leaders that can champion them through the early stages of their career. Katrina is an ideal example of this vital role model.”

The Emerging Leader Award was created in 2018 to mark the 25th anniversary of the Archives Association of Ontario. The award recognizes early-career archivists (who have been in the profession between two and 10 years), whose work and service demonstrate consistent growth, leadership, and promise to the archives profession in Ontario. The award is intended to recognize cumulative contributions rather than any single activity.

A statement from President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton on the Israel-Gaza conflict

Drone image shows Vari Hall and the Ross Building on Keele Campus

The following is an important message to the University community from President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda L. Lenton:

La version française suit la version anglaise.

The conflict in Israel and Gaza has caused concern and distress for many members of the York community, including concern for their own safety and that of their loved ones, with increasingly charged and polarized rhetoric proliferated online and through social media.  

York University unequivocally opposes all manners of hate and discrimination, including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, and does not tolerate racist expressions in any form. The acts of violence we have witnessed – abroad and here at home – affect us all deeply and we remain committed to protecting the safety and well-being of our community members. 

The issues in this conflict are complex and long-standing. We must take care to ensure that the criticism of the governing bodies of Israel or Gaza does not become an excuse to demonize the Jewish community or Palestinians.   

At York, we are committed to cultivating spaces – both physical and virtual – where people are safe to express their opinions and participate in productive and respectful debate. With work such as our Initiative on Open and Respectful Dialogue, we continue our efforts to ensure that York is a community free of harassment, intimidation, threats, disruption or acts of violence. We can be passionate about our views while respecting the dignity and humanity of those with opinions that differ from our own. 

As members of this community, it is up to all of us to demonstrate the leadership needed to create a safe and inclusive teaching, learning and work environment that values debate over division, and education over confrontation. Universities provide an increasingly rare forum where difficult issues can be explored and solutions to the world’s complex issues can be found. We cannot fulfill that role unless everyone can feel secure expressing their views. 

Sincerely,

Rhonda L. Lenton
President and Vice-Chancellor


Déclaration de la présidente et vice-chancelière Rhonda Lenton au sujet du conflit Israël-Gaza

Le conflit qui déchire Israël et Gaza est une source de préoccupation et de désarroi chez de nombreux membres de la communauté de York qui s’inquiètent pour leur sécurité et celle de leurs proches, tandis qu’une rhétorique de plus en plus chargée et polarisée prolifère en ligne et sur les médias sociaux.  

L’Université York s’oppose catégoriquement à toute forme de haine et de discrimination, y compris l’antisémitisme et l’islamophobie, et ne tolère aucune expression de sentiments racistes. Les actes de violence dont nous avons été témoins – à l’étranger et dans notre pays – nous affectent profondément et nous restons déterminés à assurer la sécurité et le bien-être des membres de notre communauté.  

Les enjeux de ce conflit sont complexes et remontent à longtemps. Nous devons veiller à ce que la critique des instances dirigeantes d’Israël ou de Gaza ne devienne pas une excuse pour diaboliser la communauté juive ou les Palestiniens.

À York, nous nous engageons à créer des espaces – tant physiques que virtuels – dans lesquels tout le monde peut exprimer son opinion en toute sécurité et participer à des débats productifs et respectueux. Grâce à des actions comme notre Initiative pour un dialogue ouvert et respectueux, nous poursuivons nos efforts pour faire en sorte que York soit une communauté exempte de harcèlement, d’intimidation, de menaces, de perturbations ou d’actes de violence. Nous pouvons avoir des opinions passionnées tout en respectant la dignité et l’humanité de personnes ayant des perspectives différentes des nôtres.

En tant que membres de cette communauté, il nous appartient de faire preuve du leadership nécessaire pour offrir un environnement d’enseignement, d’apprentissage et de travail sécuritaire et inclusif qui donne la priorité au débat plutôt qu’à la division et à l’éducation plutôt qu’à la confrontation. Les universités représentent un forum de plus en plus précieux pour explorer des questions difficiles et trouver des solutions aux problèmes complexes de la planète. Nous pouvons seulement remplir ce rôle si chaque personne se sent en sécurité pour exprimer son point de vue. 

Veuillez agréer mes sincères salutations,  

Rhonda L. Lenton
Présidente et vice-chancelière 

How immune are you after one or two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine?

Doctor holding vaccines

What level of immunity against COVID-19 do you have after being vaccinated or contracting the virus? York University Professor Jane Heffernan is receiving a $200,000, one-year grant from the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) to understand the rate of immunity in both of these scenarios. 

Jane Heffernan
Jane Heffernan

The project is part of the NRC’s Pandemic Response Challenge program, designed to bring the best Canadian and international researchers together to fast-track research and development aimed at specific COVID-19 gaps and challenges as identified by Canada’s health experts. 

Heffernan, Inaugural York Research Chair (Tier II), Multi-Scale Methods for Evidence-based Health Policy in the Faculty of Science, is leading the study with colleagues James Ooi, the NRC’s Pandemic Response Challenge program project lead, and M. Sajjad Ghaemi, NRC research officer, both from the NRC-Fields Collaboration Centre. 

“Different vaccines elicit an immune response using different pathways, which affects the level and type of immunity you build,” says Heffernan of the Canadian Centre for Disease Modelling. “With this research, we’re tracking the activation of the immune response that’s been excited by vaccines, looking at the generation of antibodies, as well as memory B cells and T cells. Clinical trials can measure the number of antibodies, but they don’t measure B cells and T cells.” 

To do this, the researchers will combine mathematical models of immunity development (mechanistic models) with machine learning algorithms to better understand the outcomes of immunity to the SARS-CoV-2 virus after one- and two-dose regimes of adenovirus (AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson), mRNA (Pfizer and Moderna) and protein subunit (Novavax) vaccines. They will model the effectiveness and immunity response to the virus, including pathogen mutations and variants, when vaccines doses are given days or weeks apart or, as is the case in Canada currently, four months apart. 

The researchers hope the mechanistic models will enrich the dataset upon which the machine learning framework is trained. By combining new datasets that are being released publicly, this approach can potentially advance the accuracy of the machine learning framework. This will allow the researchers to classify outcomes of vaccinations as emerging evidence becomes available. 

The idea is to uncover the complex interactions between interferon signalling pathways and the adaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. 

“When you model outcomes in antibodies, it’s important to try to model the development of these memory cells in the background. Antibodies protect you from being infected and if they fail, it’s the memory cells that give you that activate factor that allows you to have a milder infection,” says Heffernan.

One of the goals of this research is to tailor vaccines to people’s body chemistry. “This is well into the future, but the goal eventually is to develop in-house models for mRNA, adenovirus and protein subunit vaccines that can be used to inform what type of vaccine a person should get depending on the characteristics of their immune system,” says Heffernan.

In the short term, the researchers hope to predict the outcomes in children of various vaccines, even without the results of a clinical trial. Based on the differences in immune response of children versus adults, the idea is to change the machine learning and mechanistic models calibrated for adults so that they fit the characteristics of children.

The modelling can also be expanded in the future to test other types of vaccines for COVID-19, in addition to vaccines for other viruses. 

The data will be provided to public health agencies, such as the Public Health Agency of Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization and the Canadian Immunization Research Network, and academic researchers to inform vaccine design and policy, and predict safety and efficacy of different vaccine types.

Lassonde and Schulich students pitch their BEST business ideas in course

Female climber on a wall
Female climber on a wall

In early April, nine groups of students from the Lassonde School of Engineering and the Schulich School of Business at York University pitched their business ideas as part of the Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science & Technology (BEST) Certificate’s Entrepreneurship and Technology Ventures course (ENTR 4500).

Each group presented their original ideas to a panel of judges. In the end, team WeBoard came out on top, winning $500 and spot in the BEST Lab to work with Lassonde Professor Andrew Maxwell to turn their idea into a viable startup. The group was made up of  Schulich students Aidan Davis, Ali Akbary and Benjamin Tsui, and Lassonde students Stefan Sion and Tak Gurnek.

Team WeBoard presented a DIY at-home climbing wall system that offers climbers an opportunity for varied training by connecting them to ever-growing, community-sourced boulder problems. The board will have a standardized layout of climbing holds and LEDs that connect via Bluetooth to a mobile application where users can both create new boulders and select boulders that others have created. When a boulder is selected, the LEDs will light up, indicating which holds can be used.

With the rock-climbing community growing faster than ever and the sport officially being recognized in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, there has never been a better time to launch a climbing business.

While similar products exist, such as the Moonboard, for many they are out of reach due to the high price point and the cost of the materials involved. WeBoard’s value proposition was to offer this community-based, convenient climbing solution at a price that many climbers can afford by catering to the DIY crowd that often goes hand-in-hand with the rock-climbing community.

The other groups that took part in the pitching were MyeFit, HUBB, DroneWay, Skills4U, Vlife, UniFind, WeBoard, Home Touch and Instabar.

Lassonde grad student using AI to predict flooding in major urban centres

car flooding
car flooding
Usman Khan
Usman Khan

Usman Khan, assistant professor in Civil Engineering, and Everett Snieder, a PhD candidate in Khan’s lab, are working on machine learning techniques to predict when floods may occur, one of the best methods to mitigate flood-related damage and costs.

Snieder was the project leader on a study published in 2019 that developed models using artificial neural networks (ANNs), a type of artificial intelligence (AI), to predict flooding. The study focused on the Bow River in Alberta and the Don River in Ontario – two of the rivers that overflowed and caused significant damage in 2013. After completing this paper, Snieder identified that in some cases, the ANNs were unreliable in some of their predictions.

Everett Snieder
Everett Snieder

Floods are a challenge for models, as they’re extremely rare and traditional predictive mechanisms tend to rely on the persistence of typical conditions. However, when dealing with flood prediction, researchers are dealing with a rare case where anomalies are the focus.

“In general, models are trained to ignore outliers. In the case of flood forecasting, only about one observation in 1,000 is an actual flood. Therefore, we need to make sure that model training algorithms don’t ignore these points; they’re the ones we’re most interested in,” said Snieder.

To counteract this effect, Snieder proposed and evaluated the use of various resampling and machine learning algorithms to boost the performance of ANN models on these infrequent flood flows. He found that modelling techniques that emphasized the flood data points improved the predictive capacity of ANN models. This work was recently published in Hydrology and Earth Systems Sciences in a paper titled “Resampling and ensemble techniques for improving ANN-based high flow forecast accuracy.”

Developing these modelling techniques was not always an easy task for the civil engineering grad student. Snieder completed his undergraduate degree in water resources engineering and did not have a strong background in computer science or mathematics prior to joining Khan’s group in 2017 as a master’s student.

“I ended up spending the majority of my master’s just learning the code and material necessary to set up these machine learning models,” said Snieder. “I knew I wanted to come back to do my PhD. It was unfinished business. Additionally, Usman and I have a great relationship. He lets me pursue topics and research questions that interest me.”

Urban flooding can have catastrophic effects on the environment, urban planning, development and the economy
Urban flooding can have catastrophic effects on the environment, people’s lives and the economy

Khan decided to create a graduate-level reading course to help facilitate Snieder’s ascension to ANN and flood forecasting expert. This gave Snieder the opportunity to pursue a deep dive into various AI algorithms and methods that could be utilized in his work. Snieder worked together with Karen Abogadil, an undergraduate research student supported by the Lassonde Undergraduate Research Assistant program, who had begun working in Khan’s group and expressed interest in AI-based applications.

Many AI-based techniques are popular in computer science research, with limited applications in hydrology, and Abogadil was instrumental in finding techniques that could be applied to the flood prediction models. Abogadil will be returning to Khan’s group as a master’s student in the Fall 2021 term.

One of the costliest natural disasters in Canadian history occurred in 2013 when southern Alberta was flooded. Due to heavy rainfall, the Bow, Elbow and Highwood rivers quickly overflowed, resulting in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Canadians, several lives lost and billions of dollars in damages. The stress placed on the cities was enormous and, to this day, many Albertans are left dealing with the aftermath of the event.

In 2013, Toronto was also faced with a significant flooding event when, in early July, significant rainfall overflowed waterways, backed up drains and flooded the Don River. Flooding causes immense damage to cities, businesses and homes, which is why there is an increased focus on and investment in improving flood mapping and flood forecasting.