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Keeping Our Members Informed and Connected

February 2025

Check out the latest edition of the Community Connector Newsletter! Each issue highlights the impacts of local health research in a community-friendly way, breaking down key publications - one from each of our pillars - into simple, real-world terms. Read it here!

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.

Spotlight on Excellence: APSselect Recognizes Local Windsor Research!


"Altered sphingolipid profile in response to skeletal muscle injury in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes mellitus" by Ouellette JM, Mallender MD, Hian-Cheong DJ, Scurto DL, Nicholas JE, Trumble SJ, Hawke TJ, Krause MP has been selected as an APSselect article for the February 2025 edition! APSselect recognizes the most outstanding scientific discoveries published across the American Physiological Society's (APS) journals each month. Chosen from a highly competitive pool of nominated articles, this selection highlights the exceptional quality and impact of the research.

New Projects


Phillip Karpowicz, University of Windsor ($450,000) Worldwide Cancer Centre Foundation. Circadian nutrition to prevent colorectal cancer.


Thomas Koltko, Munira Sultana, Erie Shores HealthCare ($13,000) Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada Safety Grant. Reducing Hospital Readmissions with Targeted Medication Counselling before Hospital Discharge.

Publications / Articles / Presentations


Abeare CA, Korcsog K, Messa IL, Sami S (2025). Mild and Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury in the Legal Context. Handbook on Psychological Injury and Law.


Abrahim S, Steele AP, Voth J, Krepinsky JC, Lanktree MB, Hawke TJ (2024). Whole body resistance training on functional outcomes of patients with Stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease: A systematic review. Physiological Reports.


Alawamry O, Feng S, Sheng M, Hayward J, Cimolai K, Bandali N, Batino K, Emmenegger U, Liu S, Trant JF, Leong H (2024). Fluorescent DCFPYL (GUL-CY5) for detecting circulating tumor and immune cells containing cancer extracellular vesicles in early metastatic prostate cancer prognostication. The Journal of Liquid Biopsy.


Al-Hakeem H, Hickling A, Mallroy KD, Lovell A, Bardlkoff T, Provvidenza C, Lam B, Knapp B, Miller C, Scratch SE (2024). Move&Connect-Caregivers: A virtual group intervention for caregivers of youth experiencing persisting symptoms after concussion. Developmental Neurorehabilitation.


Aloran I, Samet S (2024). A Secure Federated Learning Approach: Preventing Model Poisoning Attacks via Optimal Clustering. 2024 International Conference on Data Science and Its Applications (ICoDSA).


Al Shboul A, Ketabi M, Ngai JHL, Skaf D, Rondeau-Gagné S, Izquierdo R (2025). Fully Printed Flexible Polystyrene/Graphite-Based Temperature Sensor with Excellent Properties for Potential Smart Applications. ACS Omega.


Awada A, Potter M, Aherne J, Lavoie-Bernstein S, Diamond ML, Helm PA, Jantunen L, Welsh B, Mutus B, Rondeau-Gagné S (2024). Facile detection of microplastics from a variety of environmental samples with conjugated polymer nanoparticles. Environmental Science: Advances Journal.


Aydoghmishi FM, Abdel-Raheem E, Rueda L (2024). Enhanced Deep Learning Model for Superior Multi-Class Classification Performance. 2024 International Conference on Microelectronics (ICM).


Ayoubi MA, Moghaddassi M, Aloosh M (2024). Rituximab Therapy for Adult Refractory Systemic Lupus Erythematosus with Neurological and/or Psychiatric Presentations: A PRISMACompliant Meta-Analysis. Current Rheumatology Reviews.


Bai Y, Bolger S, Khan S, Sangle N, Wang L, Cervi AL (2024). Primary Refractory Discordant Diffuse Large B-Cell and Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. Journal of Hematology.


Beach M, Corchis-Scott R, Geng Q, Podadera Gonzalez AM, Corchis-Scott O, Harrop E, Horton J, Busch A, Faust RA, Irwin B, Aloosh M, Ng KKS, McKay RM (2025). Wastewater-Based Surveillance of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Reveals a Temporal Disconnect in Disease Trajectory across an Active International Land Border. Environment & Health.


Boucher CM, Scoboria A, Soucie K, Pascual-Leone A (2024). Development and Validation of the Closure and Resolution Scale (CRS). Memory.


Bornais M, Ceman L, Schultheiss U, Baross A, McGowan C (2024). CAN U GRIP for Life: Investigating Knowledge, Willingness, and Perceived Barriers to Long-Term Isometric Handgrip Training as a Tool for Hypertension Prevention. Scholarship at UWindsor.


Cao Z, Li Z, Mooney M, Do C, Hong K, Rondeau-Gagné S, Xia W, Gu X (2024). Uncovering Backbone Confirmation for Rigid DPP-Based Donor-Acceptor Conjugated Polymer Using Deuterium Labeling and Neutron Scattering. Macromolecules.


Carr SC, Facchini PJ, Ng KKS (2024). Structural analysis of a ligad-triggered intermolecular disulfide switch in. amajor latex protein from opium poppy. Acta Crystallographica Section D.


Carr SC, Rehman F, Hagel JM, Chen X, Ng KKS, Facchini PJ (2024). Two ubiquitous aido-keto reductases in the genus Papaver support a patchwork model for morphine pathway evolution. Communications Biology.


Ceman L, McGowan C, Wood C, Soucie K, Srikrishnaraj A, Loughead T (2025). Reducing the risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: Understanding provider's beliefs, knowledge, and practices of prenatal physical activity prescription. Scholarship at UWindsor.


Chittle L, King A, Sood S, Hinch I, Houser C, Cavallo-Medved D (2024). Fostering students as partners: A faculty-wide examination of science undergraduate and graduate students' perspectives of pedagogical partnerships. The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.


Chittle L, Laios E, King A, Hinch I, Sood S, Sorge A, Milldrag L, Houser C, Cavallo-Medved D (2024). A mixed-method investigation of faculty perspectives on the benefits and challenges of engaging in student partnership activities in science. International Journal for Students in Partners.


Chokkanathan S, Mohanty S (2025). Elder Abuse During COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada. Journal of Applied Gerontology.


Cotterill EL, Gomes TC, Teare ACP, Jaberi Y, Dhindsa JS, Boyle PD, Rondeau-Gagné S, Gilroy JB (2024). Platinum-Centered Oligoynes Capped by Boron Difluoride Formazanate Dyes and Their Thin-Film Properties. Chemistry - A European Journal.


Darvish A, Mooney M, Gomes TC, Gagnon F, Rondeau-Gagné S, Morin JF (2025). Contorted graphene nanoribbons from vat dyes: synthesis, properties, and change carrier mobility. Journal of Materials Chemistry C.


Das PS, Rondeau-Gagné S, Ahamed MJ (2025). Triboelectric Pressure Sensor with Microstructured PDMS for Human Motion and Gait Pattern Monitoring. IEEE Journal on Flexible Electronics.


Doyle C, Lohnmann AE, Iqbal N, Henning JW, Kulkarni S, Califaretti N, Hilton J, Ferrario C, Bouganim N, Mates M, Guillemette S, Leite R, Caron MA, Thireau F, Machado A, Chia S (2025). A Canadian real-world, multi-center, prospective, observational study assessing the treatment duration, the treatment sequence, and the overall survival for patients treated with endocrine therapy ± targeted therapy in HR+ HER2-negative advanced breast cancer. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment.


Elliot R, Giannotti N, Pfaff K, Cruz E (2024). Trauma-Informed Care in Undergraduate Nursing Education: An Integrative Review. Journal of Nursing Education.


Farmer DGS, Patros M, Ottaviani MM, Dawood T, Kumric M, Bozic J, Badour MI, Bain AR, Barak OF, Dujic Z, Macefield VG (2024). Firing properties of single axons with cardiac rhythmicity in the human cervical vagus nerve. The Journal of Physiology.


Gopalakrishnan N, Mellett K, Mirza N, Hulko W, Gan D, Wong KLY, Kupferschmidt AL, Lee H (2024). Creating Digital Stories on Aging Experiences: A Rapid Methodological Review of Development Procedures. Innovation in Aging.


Hernandez-Martinez A, Jiménez-Pérez C, Cruz Guerrero A, Trant JF, Alatorre-Santamaria S (2024). Production of exopolysaccharides through fermentation of secondary whey with kefir grains. The 5th International Electronic Conference on Foods session Chemistry and Physiochemical Properties of Foods.


Huellemann KL, Graham K, Bernards S, Tremblay P, Abbey A, Senn C, Banyard V, McMahon S, Dumas TM, Wells S (2024). Beliefs and attitudes about men's alcohol-related sexual harassment and aggression (BAMASHA): Development and initial validation of a new scale. Alcohol, Clinical and Experimental Research.


Hulko W, Mirza N (2024). Co-Creating Educational Materials with Older Adults and Influencing Health Care Decision-Makers. Innovation in Aging.


Hulko W, Mirza N, Christianson T, Nazemi M, Vicic A, Bartle E (2024). A scoping review of dementia education programs to assess for the inclusion of culture. Dementia.


Jangra R, Trant JF, Sharma P (2024). Water-mediated ribonucleotide-amino acid pairs and higher-order structures at the RNA-protein interface: analysis of the crystal structure database and a topological classification. NAR Genomics and Bioinformatics.


Katz A, Shullkin A, Fortier MA, Yardley JE, Kichler J, Housni A, Talbo MK, Rabasa-Lhoret R, Brazeau AS (2025). Strategies to reduce hyperglycemia-related anxiety in elite athletes with type 1 diabetes: A qualitative analysis. PLOS One.


Kenny S, Robilard R, Saad M, Kendzerska T, Quilty L, Solomonova E, Lee E, Daros AR, Godbout R, Pennestri MH (2024). The association between sleep and eating disorders in Canada before and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports.


Kim D, Théberg V, Parpia S, Kong I, Provencher P, Yassa M, Perera F, Lavertu S, Rousseau P, Lee J, Karam I, Schneider K, Levine MN, Whelan TJ (2024). OPAR: A Randomized Trial of Partial Breast Irradiation in Five Fractions Once Daily for Early Breast Cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology.


Kone E, Masri S, Parker GL, Desyatkin VG, Martin WB, Trant JF, Rodionov VO (2024). Replication of Mechaochemical Synthese of y-graphyne from Calcium Carbide Fails to Produce the Claimed Product. Carbon.


Leone RM, Franklin-Kidd MM, Gayer E, Brown J, Patel R, Thompson C, Mullican KN, Salazar LF, Neighbors C, Gilmore AK, Gray KM, Senn C (2025). Acceptability and preliminary outcomes of the Enhanced Access, Acknowledge, and Act Sexual Assault Resistance Education Program for women who use alcohol and cannabis (EAAA+): Findings from an open pilot trial. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.


Leung V, Ashira-Oredope D, Hicks L, Kabbani S, Aloosh M, Armstrong IE, Brown KA, Daneman N, Lam K, Meghani H, Nur M, Schwarts KL, Langford BJ (2024). Leveraging local public health to advance antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) implementation and mitigate antimicrobial resistance (AMR): a scoping review. JAC-Antimicrobial Resistance.


Li Z, Sun F, Rose L, Nagesh G, Shekar NK, Pedapati PR, Ansar A, Kumar R, Damodaran V, Skaf D, Rondeau-Gagné S, Ahamed MJ (2024). Multilayered Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube-Based Flexible Temperature Sensor. IEEE Sensors Journal.


Mitchell FR, Mulcaster A, Horton S, Scharoun Benson S, Mogyorody V, van Wyk PM (2024). Accessibility, usability, and universal design across fitness and recreational facilities: a rapid review. Leisure.


Mitchell F, van Wyk PM (2024). Diversity by design: Exploring accessibility, usability, and inclusion in recreation facilities (Studies 2 & 3). Scholarship at UWindsor.


Modak S, Abdel-Raheem E, Rueda L (2024). Fusing Superpixel Graph Propagation and Positional Convolutions for Small Object Detection in Computed Tomography Scan. 2024 International Conference on Microelectronics (ICM).


Modak S, Abdel-Raheem E, Rueda L (2024). GPD-Nodule: A Lightweight Lung Nodule Detection and Segmentation Framework on Computed Tomography Images Using Uniform Superpixel Generation. IEEE Access.


Mooney M, Pandolfi L, Wang Y, Zhu C, Garg G, Kraft U, Gu X, Rondeau-Gagné S (2024). Improving Charge Transport and Environmental Stability of Carbohydrate-Bearing Semiconducting Polymers in Organic Field-Effect Transistors. Advanced Electronic Materials.


Motaghedi F, Rose L, Sur AK, Garg G, Nyayachavadi A, Ahamed MJ, Carmichael TB, Rondeau-Gagné S (2024). Polydiacetylene-Crosslinked Oligosiloxanes for Dual-Mode Temperature Sensing. Advanced Materials Technologies.


Parmar H, Gaul J, Xhaferllari I, Schneider K, Hirmiz K, Yousuf J, D'Alimonte L, Pan M (2024). Emergent Palliative Radiation Therapy During Ongoing Cyberattack: Designing Downtime Delivery Protocols to Ensure Safe and Effective Radiation Treatment. Radiotherapy and Oncology.


Patel R, Mathews J, Hamm C, Kulkarni S, Gupta R, Opperman T, Chiong JD, Nasser A (2025). Real-World Experience with CDK4/6 Inhibitors in the First-Line Palliative Setting for HR+/HER2- Advanced Breast Cancer. Current Oncology.


Pazireh S, Mirazimzadeh SE, Urbanic J, Hedrick B (2025). Analysing the Influence of Geometry and Tool Paths for a Laser-Based DED Application. ASME 2024 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition.


Sahoo P, Bain AJ, Biondi FN (2024). Investigating the interplay between cognitive workload and situation awareness during full driving automation. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science.


Salters D, Scharoun Benson SM (2025). Factors associated with participation in different activities among children with ASD: Caregiver perspectives of participation. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention.


Sargolzaei S, Rueda L (2024). Improving Out-of-Distribution Data Handling and Corruption Resistance via Modern Hopfield Networks. Pattern Recognition.


Sashafi M, Mirazimzadeh SE, Urbanic RJ, Alpas A (2025). Evaluating Bead Geometry, Hardness, and Residual Stress for a Multi-Layer 316L Laser-Wire Based DED Block. ASME 2024 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition.


Smail-Crevier R, Breen G, Eley TC, Rappaport LM (2024). Common Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Anxiety Sensitivity, Anxiety, and Cognitive Symptoms of Eating Disorders in Adolescence. Research on Child and Adolescent Psychology.


Tang K, Shaw A, Upreti S, Zhao H, Wang Y, Mason GT, Aguinaga J, Guo K, Patton D, Baran D, Rondeau-Gagné S, Gu X (2025). Impact of Sequential Chemical Doping on the Thin Film Mechanical Properties of Conjugated Polymers. Chemistry of Materials.


Tay J, Widger K, Steele R, Stremier R, Pole JD (2024). Examining emotional and behavioural trajectories in siblings of children with life-limiting conditions. BMC Palliative Care.


Vasta N, Jajo N, Graf F, Zhang L, Biondi F (2025). Evaluating a camera-based approach to assess cognitive load during manufacturing computer tasks. Electronics.


Wilpstra CD, Pittman G, Ralph J, Cruz E, Loughead T (2025). Factors influencing nurse practitioners' influenza vaccine recommendations: An explanatory sequential study. Scholarship at UWindsor.

Appointments and Awards


University of Windsor, Biomedical Sciences student, Radha Kanumuri, was one of the recipients of the 2025 Scholarship awarded by the UWindsor chapter of the Golden Key International Honour Society.


University of Windsor, Chemistry & Biochemistry professor, Dr. Otis Vacratsis, awarded the Teaching Excellence award at the 2025 Science Society charity gala.

Congratulations everyone!

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

Research Toolkit

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

Kickstart your research with the Igniting Discovery Grants Program! Launching on February 28th, 2025, this initiative is designed to support innovative ideas and drive impactful discoveries. Stay tuned for the official launch and submission details in your inbox!

Want to make some new connections, eat great food, and converse with others involved in health research? Join us for our next WE-SPARK After Dark on March 6th @ The Bourbon on Ottawa Street.

Register now! WE-SPARKs annual Health Research Conference is taking place on March 22, 2025. To 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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