David Inak
U1 Civil Engineering
I've聽always been fascinated by and have had a deep appreciation for older structures, particularly the masonry and stonework they employ. While structural design and construction materials have advanced significantly over the last century, their application towards preserving these older structures is limited. Now more than ever, with the push towards more sustainable construction, I believe looking towards the past is the best way to provide for the future. As a student in Professor聽Malomo's聽Solid Mechanics class, I enjoyed testing mechanical material properties in the lab聽experiments and聽looked forward to being able to continue in the same line of work while being at the forefront of structural preservation research.聽
David will be working with Professor Daniele Malomo in the Department of Civil Engineering to adapt Canada's existing building stock to altered precipitation patterns, snow loads and temperature swings induced by climate change, improved the engineering knowledge of older materials is essential. This project will test multiple building components (bricks, mortar, timber) to make structural and building envelope assessment and retrofit data-driven, more聽affordable聽and sustainable.聽
Mingyu Wang
PhD year 1, Anatomy and Cell Biology
My graduate studies in the Guo Lab focus on bacterial adhesins and their implications for both human health and climate change. I am drawn to the microalgae project because of its potential to tackle critical environmental challenges through efficient carbon sequestration. Investigating the symbiotic relationships between microalgae and bacteria, especially the role of the ice-binding protein from聽Marinomonas聽primoryensis, perfectly aligns with my passion for understanding biomolecules that can have a significant impact on climate change. Enhancing our knowledge of microbial interactions not only contributes to climate resilience but also opens new pathways for improving human health. Outside of my research, I am committed to staying informed about climate policy and sustainable development.
Mingyu will be working with Professor Shuaiqi Guo in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology to investigate the complete structure of the ~200-kDa聽MpIBP聽C-terminal ligand-binding region using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) single-particle analysis, which complement the existing high-resolution structural information of the individual domains solved by X-ray crystallography. Additionally, biophysical techniques including isothermal titration calorimetry and surface-plasma resonance will be used to investigate cooperative ligand binding within these domains. This research will contribute to new microalgae-based carbon capture solutions that may help reduce atmospheric聽carbon. Moreover, it may inform the development of strategies to control bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation, thus giving insight into new strategies to combat antibiotic resistance. This project will advance fundamental knowledge of microbial adhesion by providing new structural and mechanistic insights into RTX adhesins, which have wide-reaching implications for both climate-change-related environmental research and medicine.聽
Cedric Mackay
U3 Bioengineering
Throughout my time in聽bioengineering聽I鈥檝e聽found that my main interest lies in climate change and its effects on ecosystems and human spaces and ways of life, and the ways in which we can prevent further impacts while mitigating and potentially reversing current ones. I was hoping to get a taste of working on a research project, and this was聽great聽opportunity for me to do so in a field聽I鈥檓聽interested in. I also love coding and modelling, so聽I鈥檓聽looking聽forward to getting聽to聽combine聽these interests over the summer. When聽I鈥檓聽not working聽on聽school, I spend my time playing sports (mostly hockey, volleyball, and biking), reading, and in the summer, hiking and camping.
Cedric will work with Professor Caroline Wagner in the Department of Bioengineering and聽collaborators at Brown University to combine mathematical transmission models with experimental data on virus survival as well as climate change projection data to develop projections for future transmission of respiratory infectious diseases.
