November 2020 - Issue 34 In this issue: New quantum tech partnership funded, jigging for health and well- being, masks don't impede excercise, wastewater data predicts COVID case trends, studying cannabis smoke impacts on fetuses, and more!

Every month, USask Research Profile and Impact highlights research from across campus. Discovery Digest is a glimpse into how USask research, scholarly and artistic work is making a difference for , Canada, and the world. Feedback welcome!

Get the latest in COVID-19 Updates online.

Paper accepted for publication? Get in touch!

Contact USask’s Research Profile and Impact unit when you have a newsworthy publication about to come out. We need at least one week lead time to properly support your work, so don’t wait–get in touch early! Email: [email protected]

Top Stories

USask physicist teams up with U.K. partners in world- first program of quantum technologies As part of a new U.K.-Canada collaboration, a USask quantum physics team led by USask physicist Dr. Michael Bradley (PhD) will develop a highly sensitive and precise sensor for measuring magnetic fields, a technology with potential benefits for geological prospecting, medicine, and quantum computers. Bradley is one of eight winners of the U.K.-Canada Quantum Technologies Competition run jointly by the U.K. Research and Innovation and the federal agency NSERC. Bradley’s $90,000 project involves an academic partner at University of Nottingham and industrial partners M-Squared Lasers Limited in the U.K. and Saskatoon-based Dias Geophysical Ltd. Bradley’s “magnetometer” for detecting magnetic fields would be more compact, cheaper and easier for geophysical companies to use in taking measurements of ore bodies in remote environments than the bulky liquid-helium-cooled devices currently available. Read the details.

USask researcher and Métis partners collaborate to jig away cardiac woes In a first-of-its-kind Canadian study, USask Indigenous Early Career Women’s Heart and Brain Chair Dr. Heather Foulds (PhD) will assess the physical, mental, cultural, and social benefits of performing traditional Métis social dances—with the aim of narrowing the health gap between Métis and non-Indigenous people. With more than $1 million from CIHR, Foulds will study recreational and professional dancers performing traditional Métis square dances to assess cardiovascular fitness demands, physical activity (step count), and mental wellness benefits, as well as broader community impacts. Watch dancers perform the Red River Jig and Orange Blossom Special. Read the full story.

USask researchers find masks don’t hinder breathing during exercise A USask research team led by kinesiologist Dr. Phil Chilibeck (PhD) and including alumni Keely Shaw and John Ko, Dr. Scotty Butcher (PhD) from the School of Rehabilitation Science, and Dr. Gordon Zello (PhD) from the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, has found that exercise performance and blood and muscle oxygen levels are not affected for healthy individuals wearing a face mask during strenuous workouts.

Published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the results from testing the type of three-layer cloth mask recommended by Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer did not find evidence that mask wearing during vigorous exercise compromises oxygen uptake or increases the rebreathing of carbon dioxide. The research was also featured in Runner’s World Magazine. Read the details.

USask launches first study on effects of smoked cannabis on brain development USask pharmacologist Dr. Robert Laprairie (PhD) will use a Brain Canada research grant to determine how a mother’s use of cannabis during pregnancy affects the brain of the fetus she’s carrying.

Laprairie is one of 20 Canadian neuroscientists each awarded $100,000 as part of Brain Canada’s “Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research” program. Read the details. New wastewater surveillance tool provides COVID-19 early warning system Often even before showing COVID-19 symptoms, infected people shed virus traces through their feces. A USask team has analyzed wastewater samples from Saskatoon’s municipal treatment plant and found that changes to the total amount of SARS-CoV-2 virus circulating in the city’s wastewater happen about one week ahead of changes indicated by case counts at COVID testing centres. The new tool, developed by the USask team, has been validated through the Canadian Water Network and is attracting interest from around the world. With partners at the City of Saskatoon and the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the team includes USask researchers Dr. John Giesy (PhD), Dr. Markus Brinkmann (PhD), Dr. Yuwei Xie (PhD), Dr. Kerry McPhedran (PhD), Dr. Jafar Soltan (PhD), and engineering graduate student Shahab Minaei. The research is funded by the USask-led Global Water Futures program. Read the details of the story. The research was covered widely by media including by The Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Global News, CBC Radio, Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine, Water Canada Magazine, Medical Xpress, ProcessWest, Education News Canada, The Battlefords News-Optimist, and Yorkton This Week.

NSERC-funded researchers partner with industry to make food and pipelines safer, agriculture smarter Five USask research teams led by Dr. Jerzy Szpunar (PhD), Dr. Matthew Loewen (DVM, PhD), Dr. Cheryl Waldner (DVM, PhD), Dr. Lifeng Zhang (PhD), and Dr. Angela Bedard-Haughn (PhD) have been awarded a total of $1.08 million from NSERC to lead Alliance Grant research projects covering subjects ranging from making Arctic pipelines stronger and safer, to protecting the food supply, to improving crop processing with cutting-edge technology. As well, partner organizations are contributing a total of $600,000 in cash and $340,000 in in- kind contributions to the projects. Read the details.

International team tracks record-setting smoke cloud from Australian wildfires The smoke cloud pushed into the stratosphere by last winter’s Australian wildfires was three times larger than anything previously recorded. Measuring 1,000 kilometres across, the cloud remained intact for three months, travelled 66,000 kilometres, and soared to a height of 35 kilometres above Earth. These are key findings of a global team that included researchers with USask’s Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies: Dr. Adam Bourassa (PhD), post-doctoral fellow Dr. Landon Rieger (PhD), and research engineer Dr. Daniel Zawada (PhD).The findings were published in Communications Earth & Environment, Read the full story.

COVID-19 Research

New CT scanner gives USask’s VIDO-InterVac scientists a window on COVID-19 disease New imaging equipment to help understand COVID-19 infection will soon be coming to USask’s VIDO-InterVac, thanks to a Canada Foundation for Innovation grant announced Nov. 6 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

A team led by VIDO-InterVac Director Dr. Volker Gerdts (DMV, PhD) and VIDO-InterVac scientist and College of Medicine biochemist Dr. Scott Napper (PhD) will use the special CT (computerized tomography) scanner to image animals infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19. This will enable comprehensive, real-time analysis of the disease’s progression and assessment of the safety and effectiveness of treatments. Read the full story.

COVID-19 vaccine work highlighted at VIDO-InterVac Community-Liaison Committee online public meeting At an online event on Nov. 12, Dr. Volker Gerdts (VMD, PhD), director of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization–International Vaccine Centre (VIDO- InterVac) at USask, discussed COVID-19 vaccine development. The event was hosted by Community Liaison Committee chair Susan Lamb. Watch a recording of the livestreamed talk.

Extending the lifespan of N95 masks Through a collaboration between the Canadian Light Source (CLS) and the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO- InterVac), scientists hope to understand the structural changes happening inside N95 respirator masks after being sterilized for reuse.

CLS Industrial Scientist Toby Bond is using synchrotron X-rays to see the microscopic fibers of N95 respirators after exposure to various decontamination protocols. The results will enable manufacturers to design more resilient masks and help the medical industry move towards reusable personal protective equipment. VIDO-InterVac supplied three styles of N95s subjected to vaporized hydrogen peroxide decontamination, a method VIDO-InterVac has been using to decontaminate over 13,000 masks for the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Read the full story. Adapting your research in a time of COVID Have you been adapting your research program in innovative ways to pivot to our current pandemic reality? Have you changed your focus to study something COVID-specific? Have you found a new way to conduct your research remotely? Research Profile and Impact wants to tell that story. Send brief examples of how you have been coping to [email protected]

Federal emergency research support funding available – DEADLINE NOV. 16 Researchers who have been incurring extraordinary and exceptional direct research costs as a result of COVID-19 are invited to apply to the Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund. USask has been allocated up to $3.2 million to help researchers address costs related to maintaining or ramping up their research programs during the pandemic. Applicants are encouraged to consider the broad range of factors, including non- traditional and unconventional ways research is undertaken, that could result in maintenance and ramp-up costs.

Applications are due Nov. 16th. Visit the website for additional information and application procedures.

USask researchers in a wide range of fields are undertaking critical research to help combat COVID-19. Read other stories.

Accolades

Wilson, Dadachova honoured as Distinguished Researchers USask has honoured radiopharmacist Dr. Ekaterina Dadachova (PhD) and Indigenous educator Dr. Alex Wilson (EdD)—both internationally recognized for their groundbreaking research and scholarship—as Distinguished Researchers for 2020. Wilson’s groundbreaking research on land-based education, two-spirit people, and anti- oppressive education, along with contributions to addressing social issues such as homelessness and health disparities affecting Indigenous communities, has garnered national and international recognition. Dadachova’s pioneering work in the combined use of radiation and immunotherapy to fight cancer and other diseases has helped enhance USask’s reputation as a leader in nuclear sciences and imaging. Read the details.

OVPR Research Support Specialist wins 2020 University Staff Excellence Award Nicole Benning, research support specialist in the Research Acceleration and Strategic Initiatives unit of the Office of the Vice-President Research, is the 2020 recipient of the University Staff Excellence Award. The award recognizes staff members who have achieved excellence while demonstrating dedication and commitment to the university’s mission, vision and values and support of the University Plan 2025. Read the details.

Publicly engaged research

Developing a strategy for enhanced social innovation at USask

Irena Creed, associate vice-president in the Office of the Vice-President Research (OVPR), is leading an initiative to identify publicly engaged research priorities and develop an associated action plan of activities to enhance social innovation at USask.

The initial concept note for this initiative is available on the OVPR website (under Initiatives). Feedback, comments or questions can sent to [email protected].

Health research VIDO-InterVac’s senior leadership team has two new members USask’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization- International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) has appointed two associate directors to its senior leadership team: Dr. Andrew Van Kessel (PhD) -pictured on the right- is the new associate director of research responsible for discovery research activities in both animal and human health. Dr. Trina Racine (PhD) is the associate director of vaccine development, a new position responsible for advancing technologies towards commercialization, including integrating the new vaccine manufacturing facility to drive technology advancement. Both leaders started in October. Water security

USask-led Global Water Futures announces 12 new projects to advance water security across Canada The USask–led Global Water Futures (GWF) program— the world’s largest university-led freshwater research program —is launching the second phase of its seven-year mission with a $2.5-million investment in 12 new critically important water security projects. The new projects—which include research into climate projections, water-borne diseases, and metal release in thawing permafrost environments—are led by investigators from USask and its partners McMaster University, Wilfrid Laurier University, McGill University, and the University of Waterloo, as well as the University of Quebec at Montreal. Read here the details about the projects. Read the full story.

International collaborations

USask visiting professor part of research team using drones to gather new data from unexplored volcanoes Visiting professor Dr. Jim Freer (PhD), who is working with the USask Global Water Futures program in Canmore, is part of an international team that has developed special drones to gather data from unexplored volcanoes, enabling local communities to better forecast future eruptions.

The team’s findings, published in Science Advances, show for the first time how it is possible to combine air, earth and space measurements to learn more about the world’s most inaccessible, highly active volcanoes such as the Manam volcano in Papua New Guinea. The researchers hope to improve understanding of how volcanoes contribute to the global carbon cycle, key to sustaining life on Earth. Read the news release from the University of Bristol.

Energy and mineral resources research

Enter the IMII’s Alternative Energy Systems Innovation Challenge – DEADLINE NOV. 20 The International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII) has launched an inaugural Alternative Energy Systems Innovation Challenge to advance development and adoption of new technologies to reduce energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions. If you are working on USask research that demonstrates technology readiness, cost effectiveness, and ease of implementation, apply here until Nov. 20, 2020. Find more information about the Challenge here. Synchrotron sciences

Identifying the best chickpea crops for cattle feed In a recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Program Chair in Feed Research and Development Dr. Peiqiang Yu (PhD) and colleagues showed that the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at USask can effectively image the molecular structure of chickpea seeds to determine which varieties have the highest nutritional value and would best serve as a feed for beef and dairy cattle. The research team studied CDC Cory, a new chickpea cultivated by the Crop Development Centre at USask, with seed samples provided by breeder Dr. Bunyamin Tar'an (PhD). The results could help inform which crops not suitable for human consumption can be most effectively recycled into cattle feed as a partial replacement for soybean meal and cereal grains. Read the full story.

Hydrogen gas can power vehicles and has potential to provide electricity to homes Using USask’s Canadian Light Source (CLS), University of Toronto researchers have been working to improve the efficiency of hydrogen production through a promising new technology that can store energy generated from renewable resources (like the sun and wind) as renewable hydrogen, which can then be used to provide on-demand power with fuel cells. The “electrolysers” might one day replace gasoline in gas stations to refuel hydrogen-powered vehicles. The results were published in ACS Applied Energy Materials. Read the full story.

Telling your research story Young Innovators

New USask artificial intelligence makes “smart” apps faster, more efficient Tired of Siri or Google Assistant draining your phone battery? A new USask artificial intelligence computer model holds promise for making “smart” apps such as Amazon, Apple, and Google’s virtual assistants safer, faster and more energy efficient. The model has been developed by USask post-doctoral fellow Dr. Hao Zhang (PhD) during his PhD at USask under the supervision of Dr. Seok-Bum Ko (PhD), a USask electrical and computer engineering professor. Read the details. USask tackles pre-teen male infertility with stem cells New USask stem cell research may help endangered animals reproduce and may one day be key to curing infertility in boys that is sometimes caused by cancer treatments. The research, led by USask PhD graduate Dr. Awang Hazmi Awang-Junaidi (PhD), has been published in Reproduction, Fertility and Development and the Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology. Awang-Junaidi was supervised by USask veterinary biomedical sciences professor Dr. Ali Honaramooz (PhD). Read the story.

ESB partners with Mitacs to launch student internship program aimed at pandemic recovery In partnership with Mitacs, Edwards School of Business (ESB) has launched a new “Mitacs Business Strategy Internship" program that offers undergrad and graduate students a four-month internship with a business or not-for- profit organization experiencing challenges due to COVID-19. The 28 students selected will provide strategic support to help organizations adapt and grow their businesses during the pandemic. Undergraduate intern Jenna Kachur is assisting Dress for Success Saskatoon—which empowers women to achieve economic independence by providing a support network and professional attire—in designing a retention program to help the organization communicate better with its clients and understand their needs. The program has awarded $10,000 to each student, contributions split between the businesses that host the internship and Mitacs, a national not-for-profit organization that designs and delivers research and training programs in Canada. Read more about how to apply for the internship here.

In the news

Featured media coverage:

VIDO-InterVac’s COVID-19 vaccine research has been featured in Radio Canada, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, Technology Networks.com, the YXE Underground Podcast, and The Sheaf. Dr. Carrie Bourassa (PhD), professor in Community Health & Epidemiology and thescientific director of the CIHR Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health hosted by USask,was a guest on CBC’s The Current speaking about COVID-19 in northern Saskatchewan.

In

Write about your own research in The Conversation USask is a founding member of The Conversation Canada, an online academic journalism hub/newswire where researchers write plain-language editorials and explainers articles about their research. Articles written by USask researchers have been read more than 2.15 million times since the university entered into a partnership with the SSHRC-funded Conversation Canada in June 2017.

Writing is easier than you think!

Watch a video from Conversation Canada Editor-in-Chief Scott White.

Want to reach a broad audience with your research? Consider submitting an item to the Conversation. Wondering where to start? Read a short explainer on how to write for The Conversation Canada. Read previous USask articles here and get in touch with Research Profile and Impact.

Arts and artistic work

USask alumnus and international Picasso expert curates Remai exhibition In a recent Shaw Community TV interview on YouTube, USask alumnus and honorary degree recipient Fred Mulder discusses the new exhibition of ’s linocuts now on display at the Remai Modern. The exhibition, on view until June, is guest curated by prominent London art dealer Mulder and his colleague and Picasso expert Anne-Françoise Gavanon. The exhibition follows the various stages of Picasso’s creative process with linocut prints, which are presented alongside ceramics Picasso created in the same period. The ceramics were donated by Mulder to the gallery.The Remai Modern, with whom USask has a collaboration agreement, holds the world’s most extensive set of Pablo Picasso’s linocuts in the world—a collection formerly owned by Mulder.

USask artists featured at Remai Modern Art professor Lisa Birke and sessional lecturer Laura St. Pierre participated in a Nov. 6th conversation with Remai Modern Curator Sandra Fraser about their work as part of the Remai Modern exhibition borderLINE: 2020 Biennial of Contemporary Art, a collaboration with the .

Birke’s work focuses on themes of femininity, the body, and the cyclical nature of time through an interactive 360 video installation. St. Pierre explores our relationship with the natural environment through her installations, sculptures, and photography. USask and Remai Modern have a Memorandum of Understanding that promotes collaboration for mutual benefit.

Opportunities

Make your research stand out with ORCID Join the rapidly growing network of USask academics setting up their own ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) identifier. Open to faculty, lecturers, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows—anyone who researches—ORCID is free to use and takes less than a minute to set up. Your ORCID ID is a career- long, unique-to-you, 16-digit identifier that ensures you are more consistently and accurately credited for your work, and helps to advance the university's reputation. With more than 1,000 member organizations worldwide including USask, ORCID is the international standard for making your work and research activities distinguishable from that of other academics.

Register now for your ID make sure to link it to your USask NSID. For more information on ORCID and how to get started, visit library.usask.ca/orcid

Enter NSERC’s Science Exposed Image Competition by Jan. 18 If you have eye-catching images from research projects from any scientific or engineering field, submit your photos to the Science Exposed competition by January 18, 2021. Individuals or groups that have most successfully combined creativity and science will be eligible for a total of three $2,000 Jury Prizes and a $2,000 People’s Choice award. The contest is organized by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and Association francophone pour le savoir (Acfas). Submit your image here.

Biogenius wants you! The Sanofi Biogenius Canada (SBC) science fair is back for 2020-21 with a reimagined online format. As a longstanding partner, USask is proud to help nurture the researchers of tomorrow. SBC is seeking volunteer health science and life science researchers to mentor high school students as they develop their projects. Mentorship will take place virtually, with students working with mentors in the same field and assisting in research methodology, critical thinking, and problem-solving. The time commitment is 10 to 15 hours between November and March. To volunteer, contact competition organizers at: [email protected] More information is also available online at www.biogenius.ca or by emailing [email protected]

Webinars and Lectures

Nov. 17 - Café Scientifique/International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) seminar Dr. Mark Johnston from the Saskatchewan Research Council will present a free, online talk titled: Climate change and its impact on Canada’s forests: how are we adapting? Register here.

USask “People Around the World Conference”– Feb. 2-3 - Call for Presenters The annual People Around the World Conference (PAW 2021) invites you to share your expertise and experience with an online audience of professionals, academics, and researchers seeking to re-examine how to realize the U.N.’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the wake of COVID-19.

Confirmed as a keynote speaker is Columbia University economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, president of the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network and leading expert on sustainable development, economic development, and the fight against poverty. The conference theme is Global to local for the goal—Harnessing the power of collaboration to re-emerge stronger and together. Deadline to apply to become a presenter: December 7, 2020. Find more information online.

Nov. 18 - Free Virtual Speed Networking for Patient- Oriented Research Interested in patient-oriented research? The Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research is offering a free, virtual networking event on Nov. 18, 2020 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. as part of the Saskatchewan Health Research Showcase. Researchers will have the opportunity to meet with patients, family members and community-based organizations to make connections and spark new ideas for patient- oriented research projects. Register here. To learn more about the event, please contact [email protected].

Nov. 18 - The Global Cafe: Security of Research in Canadian Universities On Nov. 18, Tricia Geddes, deputy director, policy and strategic partnerships with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), will give a talk entitled Security of Research in Canadian Universities on Zoom from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. This discussion, part of the Certificate of Global Studies Global Cafe series, will focus on CSIS’s efforts during the past few months to work with medical and scientific researchers across the country to sensitize them to threats of foreign interference and espionage targeting their research, data and other intellectual property. Book your tickets here.

We want your feedback! What do you think of Discovery Digest?

Looking for past issues of Discovery Digest or Research Update? Visit Research.usask.ca for more.

You are receiving this email because you are a student, faculty or staff at the USask. Questions? Comments? Send an email to Research Profile and Impact.