Six teams of researchers from across McMaster’s Faculties have been awarded $20,000 each from the Interdisciplinary Research Fund (IRF).
The fund, now in its second year, supports research projects involving two or more Faculties and is intended to build and strengthen academic, industry and community networks to better position research teams to apply for major external grants.
Rob Baker, vice-president, research, says there’s a real enthusiasm among the academy to collaborate on research projects, and the IRF is the perfect platform to test out the long-term viability of potential partnerships.
“The interest in IRF speaks to our researchers’ commitment to collaborate with their peers in order to tackle research issues from a variety of perspectives and, ultimately, advance their work,” he says, noting the program’s value extends beyond the cash investment and serves as a springboard for future initiatives.
The competition attracted 31 applications including more than 115 researchers.
The successful projects include:
Project Title: Touchscreen clinical tools for assessing upper-extremity motor skills in people with Parkinson’s disease
Principal Investigator: Matthew Woolhouse, School of the Arts
Collaborators: Peter Keir, Kinesiology; Michael Noseworthy, Electrical and Computer Engineering; Rick Paulseth, Medicine
Project title: Quantitative modeling of spontaneous movement in infants: Development and validation of a machine-learning approach
Principal Investigators: Vickie Galea, Rehabilitation Science and James Reilly, Electrical and Computer Engineering
McMaster Collaborators: Ranil Sonnadara, Surgery; Dr. Salhab el Helou, Pediatrics
External Collaborators: Mijna Hadders-Algra, Beatrix Children’s Hospital, The Netherlands; Christoph Fusch, Paracelsus Medical School, Nurenberg, Germany
Project title: Enhancing the online experience of older adults
Principal Investigators: Khaled Hassanein, Information Systems and Scott Watter, Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour
Collaborators: Milena Head, Information Systems; Geoff Norman, Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact
Project title: Design and build of an MRI-compatible cyclic compressive loading device for whole intact porcine hind-limb specimens ex vivo
Principal Investigator: Cheryl Quenneville, Mechanical Engineering
Collaborators: Karen Beattie, Medicine, Michael Noseworthy, Electrical and Computer Engineering; Peter Keir, Kinesiology; Monica Maly, Rehabilitation Science
Project title: Development of novel drugs and targeted delivery formulations for brain disorders
Principal Investigators: Ram Mishra, Psychiatry and Behavioural Neuroscience;
Collaborators: Bhagwati Gupta, Biology; Todd Hoare, chemical engineering
Project title: Development of a point-of-care microfluidic chip for rapid diagnosis of Von Willebrand disease
Principal Investigators: Tohid Didar, Mechanical Engineering; Colin Kretz, Medicine