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Keeping Our Members Informed and Connected

December 2024


Thank you to everyone who joined us for Cheers to Hope - your support for local research is truly appreciated! Visit WE-SPARK's photo gallery to view photos from the event. For those who could not make it, there is still time to support the 2025 grants competition by donating now.

Member Highlights and Successes

Letting us know about the accomplishments of you and your colleagues let’s us celebrate the great work being done in our region, build further collaborations, and ignite excitement about research in Windsor-Essex! Here are just a few of your latest successes.

New Projects


Obianuju Juliet Bushi, University of Windsor, Alexandria Fischer, Transition to Betterness, Family Respite Services Windsor-Essex ($24,936) SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant. Working Together Through Action Research: Teacher Candidates and Differently-Abled Students Collaboration Through Physical Literacy.


Dana Menard, Sarah Woodruff, University of Windsor, Windsor Rainbow Sports Club ($25,000) SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant. Growing Inclusion: Members' Experiences in LGBTQ+ Recreational Sports Groups.


Kenneth Ng, Mike McKay, Dan Mennill, University of Windsor ($150,000) CIHR Catalyst Grant. Developing a Platform to Rapidly Monitor Changes in Influenza Virus Strain Composition from Environmental Samples in the Critical Windsor-Essex Border Region to Prepare for Future Viral Spillover Events with Pandemic Potential.


Wansoo Park, Jane Ku, Kathryn Edmunds, University of Windsor, Essex County Chinese Canadian Association ($24,982) SSHRC Partnership Engage Grant. Improving Health Equity Among People with Limited English Proficiency: Experiences of Older Age Chinese with Health Care Access in the Windsor-Essex.


Charlene Senn, Sara Crann, University of Windsor ($2,495,736) Public Health Agency of Canada. "Girls - Flip the Script with EAAA" Across Canada.



Publications / Articles / Presentations


Abu-Libdeh A, Elnemr YE, Raj GCA, Ye VS, Rinzan M, Emadi A (2024). VCM electrode configurations for enhanced mass distribution and sensitivity. IEEE Sensors.


Ahluwalia-Cameron A, Guta A, Donnelly E (2024). "I get the referral because nobody else wants to work with this person": A critical realist analysis of social workers providing care to people living with borderline personality disorder. SSM-Qualitative Research in Health.


Banerjee A, Hosie W, Ventura ACT, Razmkhah K, Bautista J, Beyene A, Binder J, Trant JF (2024). Rational design, synthesis, and characterization of a solid ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol nanoformulation suitable for "microdosing" applications. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research.


Brown CV, McKnight JC, Bain AR, Tremblay JC, Patrician A, McDonald BI, Williams CL, Hindle AG, Pallin LJ, Costa DP, Dujjc S, MacLeod DB, Williams TM, Ponganis PJ, Ainslie PN (2024). Selected and shared hematological responses to apnea in elite human free divers and northern elephant seals (Mirounga aungustirostris). Comparative Physiology.


Caba C, Black M, Liu Y, DaDalt AA, Mallare J, Fan L, Harding RJ, Wang YX, Vacratsis PO, Huang R, Zhuang Z, Tong Y (2024). Autoinhibition of ubiquitin-specific protease 8: insights into domain interactions and mechanisms of regulation. Journal of Biological Chemistry.


Caldwell HG, Hoiland RL, Bain AR, Howe CA, Carr JMJR, Gibbons TD, Durrer CG, Tymko MM, Stacey BS, Bailey DM, Sekhon MS, MacLeod DB, Ainslie PN (2024). Evidence for direct CO2-mediated alterations in cerebral oxidative metabolism in humans. ACTA Physiologica.


Cusack SE, Hawn SE, Goffnett J, Sheerin CM, Rappaport LM, Amstadter AB (2024). Temporal relations between alcohol use, posttraumatic stress disorder, and internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: An ecological momentary assessment investigation. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.


Damodaran V, Paramadayalan T, Natarajan D, Kumar R, Kanna PR, Taler D, Sobota T, Taler J, Szymkiewicz M, Ahamed MJ (2024). Development of a fast running equivalent circuit model with thermal predictions for battery management applications. Batteries.


Gignac A, Shamsuddin A, Nazemi H, Nathani MU, Emadi A (2024). Expanding limit of detection and increasing operating resonant frequency via larger anchor widths for capacitive micromachines resonator-based mass sensors. IEEE Sensors.


Gorey CLR, St Louis AP, Chorna T, Brill JA, Dason JS (2024). Differential functions of phosphatidylinositol-4-kinases in neurotransmission and synaptic development. European Journal of Neuroscience.


Guerriero G, Liljedahl SI, Carlsen HK, Munoz ML, Daros AR, Ruocco AC, Steingrimsson S (2024). Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation to acutely reduce emotional vulnerability and improve emotional regulation in borderline personality disorder (tVNS-BPD): study protocol for a randomized, single-blind, sham-controlled trial. BMC.


Hossami M, Abdel-Nabi R, Zaib F, Touma K, Nasser R, Rim SC, Paunic M, Hilal O, Gupta P, Hirmiz R, Touma M, Sadik G, Akingbade E, Sharma D, Kalla S, Fatima R, Luginaah A, Mohamed I, Luo R, Delisle M, Hamm C (2024). Facilitation of enrollment onto cancer clinical trials using a novel navigator-assisted program: A cross-sectional study. Current Oncology.


Housni A, Katz A, Kichler JC, Nakhla M, Secours L, Brazeau AS (2024). Predictors of stigma perception by people with type 1 diabetes: A cross-sectional analysis of the BETTER registry. Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome: Clinical Research & Reviews.


Jeffrey NK, Senn CY (2024). Gender differences in sexual violence victimization experiences and validity of victimization reports: A think-aloud study. The Journal of Sex Research.


Jonathan S, Pfaff K, Cruz E (2024). Informing culturally safe advance care planning: An interpretive description study of internationally educated nurses in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research.


MacKenzie R, Abbas U, Khan U, Fatima R, Wang TF, Luo R, Hamm C, Cervi A (2024). Anticoagulant management of cancer-associated thrombosis and thrombocytopenia: A retrospective. Thrombosis Research.


Menard AD, Jaffri S, Soucie K, Cavallo-Medved D, Houser C (2024). Awareness, use, and value of student support programs through the lens of science students, professors, and staff. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.


Nazemi H, Graham R, Ye B, Damiani D, Emadi A (2024). Design and fabrication of micro resonator with bilateral concentric boundaries. IEEE Sensors.


Ouellette JM, Mallender MD, Hian-Cheong DJ, Scurto DL, Nicholas JE, Trumble SJ, Hawke TJ, Krause MP (2024). Altered sphingolipid profile in response to skeletal muscle injury in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes mellitus. American Journal of Physiology - Cell Physiology.


Pazireh S, Mirazimzadeh SE, Urbanic J (2024). Application of linear mixed-effects model, principal component analysis, and clustering to direct energy deposition fabricated parts using FEM stimulation data. Materials.


Peitzmeier SM, Todd KP, Correll-King W, Church D, Thornburgh S, Adams MP, Koss MP, Senn CY (2024). Toward a more gender-inclusive sexual experiences survey: Development and preliminary validation with transgender and gender-expansive survivors of campus sexual assault. Psychology of Women Quarterly.


Perrotta AS, Correa CJ, Khan AD, Bain AR, Jeklin AT (2024). Vascular function and hypotension effect sleep quality in female soccer players. Science & Sleep.


Soucie K, Jia F, Katzman R, Rakus M, Citron N, Partridge T, Matsuba MK, Pratt MW (2024). A longitudinal, mixed methods study exploring the impact of civic engagement on psychosocial outcomes across early to mid adulthood. Developmental Psychology.


Sturrock S, Gesink D, Winters M, Kestens Y, Stanley K, Moineddin R, Woodruff S, Fuller D (2024). Changes in physical activity among Canadian adults more than 6 months into the COVID-19 pandemic: A secondary analysis of the INTERACT cohort study. BMJ Open.


Talukder N, Lee C, Kim TH, Balasingam B, Biondi F, Murugan AS, Kim E (2024). Effects of integrated takeover request warning with personal portable device on takeover time and post-takeover performance in level 3 driving automation. Journal of Safety Research.


Tanlaka EF, Agbeyangi O, Mulcaster A, Cruz E (2024). Stroke patients' reintegration into normal living post-discharge from inpatient rehabilitation: An integrative review. Open Journal of Therapy and Rehabilitation.


Wu CHD, Wierzbicki M, Parpia S, Kundapur V, Buhold A, Fillon E, Lau H, Faria S, Ahmed N, Leong N, Okawara G, Hirmiz K, Owen T, Louie AV, Wright JR, Whelan TJ, Swaminath A (2024). Toxicity in patients receiving radiotherapy for ultracentral stage I non-small cell lung cancer: A secondary analysis of the LUSTRE randomized trial. Radiotherapy and Oncology.

Appointments and Awards


Dr. Caroline Hamm, received the King Charles III Coronation Medal.


University of Windsor, Distinguished Biomedical Sciences professor, Dr. Lisa Porter, awarded the WE-SPARK Leadership Award.


University of Windsor, Distinguished Biomedical Sciences professor, Dr. Lisa Porter, received the Ontario Medical Association Centennial Award.

Congratulations everyone!

Submit your news items to The Spark! (Pictures/links encouraged)

Year 6 Mid-Year Report Available Online


The mid-year report for year 6 is available on the WE-SPARK website.


Year 6 runs from May 2024 to April 2025, with our impact focused on "Elevating Excellence."

Research Toolkit

WE-SPARK Health Institute offers support to our researchers. Here are a few of the tools that you may find useful.

Join the next Think Tank scheduled for Friday, February 14, 2025 from 1:00 to 3:00pm via Zoom. Register for free today! Enjoy great discussions and new research ideas!

The Schulich-UWindsor Opportunities for Research Excellence Program (SWORP) grant applications are now open! Eligible medical students can apply for $5,000 to support research projects. To learn more, visit the SWORP website.

Register now! WE-SPARKs annual Health Research Conference is taking place on March 22, 2025. To submit an abstract, buy a ticket(s), or learn more, visit the Health Research Conference website.

Share your news with us!

We want to hear about your latest projects, grants, publications, awards, and conferences!

Send news to wesparknews@uwindsor.ca

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wesparkhealth@uwindsor.ca

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