Gallery | Research Revealed

Molten snowflakes

Five sequences of photographs that show the growth of a pattern defined by one fluid as it displaces another fluid. From top to bottom, the sequences demonstrate different developing morphologies, which can be controlled with physical parameters like pressure and viscosity.

Description: This image shows the opening sequences of five differently shaped apertures that can be expanded to control the flow of light across a membrane. The apertures are formed as air replaces an opaque liquid suspended between two rigid panes. The aperture shape is determined by the speed at which the air replaces the liquid. As this speed increases (from the top to bottom sequence) the aperture branches grow thinner, a phenomenon commonly studied in the fields of physics and fluid dynamics known as viscous fingering. In our research we show that because we can precisely control the shape of these apertures, we can importantly also control how much light passes through them in a membrane.

Why did you do this research? This research was conducted to demonstrate that commonly studied physical fluid instabilities, occurring when one fluid (in this case air) is introduced into a second fluid (in this case molasses), can be leveraged to control light transmission in a membrane. The photographs in this image are primarily experimental, and represent some of the early work within this project.

Technique: Each of the five rows corresponds to an opening sequence of an aperture (from left to right). The images in each row were taken sequentially, as the apertures open. Experimentally, the air that forms each aperture is introduced into the liquid-filled window via a central port with a digital pump at a controlled speed.

Acknowledgements: I performed all the experiments photographed in the image, but the three individuals below provided feedback, inspiration, and assistance with the work more generally. Benjamin Hatton, my advisor, Associate Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering Kevin Nitiema, my collaborator, recent graduate, Faculty of Architecture Charlie Katrycz, my collaborator, PhD student, Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

Sunshine bringer

No physical distance when you are making memories

The image is a composite of 4 modification of the same image displaying 2 neurons making contact. Different background colours make a sharp contrast with the neurons that also have different bright colour.

Description: In the image we can see neurons in a petri dish that extend to make connections. Physical contact among neurons is vital for communication between these cells and hence for brain function. We study how memories are made in our brain and I decided to see what happens to neurons when we manipulate levels of specific proteins that contribute to memory. when some proteins are missing, neurons do not develop contacts and memory formation is impaired. Physical contacts between neurons is vital to ensure cell communication and the formation of memory. The essence of who we are, our experiences, personality and reaction start with a simple touch between neurons. Physical distance? Not in our brain!

Why did you conduct this research? In our lab we study how memories are formed and retained over time. For memories to form it is essential that neurons in our brain form the appropriate connection among them and in order to do so they need to be physically close enough for their synapses to touch. This allows neurons to communicate and adapt so that we can learn and retain memories and, indeed, become who we are. The shape of our thoughts and actions and memories can be reduced to neurons making connections and constantly adapting.

Technique: The image was obtained with a technique called immunofluorescence. Briefly neurons were put on a small coverslip and made fluorescent to be able to visualize them and to capture an image. Acquisition was achieved with a cytation microscope. After acquisition images are black and white for clarity of contrast, however, I always like to play with photoshop to make my neurons look like fancy art. The coloured images were obtained by inverting colours in only one of the colour layers. This is how I created bright colours and psychedelic neurons.

Acknowledgements: I would like to acknowledge above all my supervisor Dr. Iva Zovkic. She is a constant source of encouragement and inspiration that believes in my work and abilities even when I doubt them. A second thank goes to Dr. Brandon Walters, whom I consider a second mentor, for all the support shown me over the years. All of our work wouldn’t be possible without our funding from CIHR and NSERC, that allow me to grow tiny beautiful neurons in a petri dish.

New suburban energy landscapes: Local renewable district energy systems in Toronto’s neighbourhoods

A minimalist industrial biomass plant composed of a barn structure, storage silos, and an incineration plant is shown behind the foreground of a hydro corridor in Toronto’s suburbs.

Description: This image is part of a design research project that envisions new systems of local sustainable energy infrastructure that could systematically propagate throughout Toronto’s low-density suburbia. Distributed energy hubs, located at the social centres of Toronto’s neighbourhoods, would be functional symbols of collectivity that could catalyze higher density, increase the resilience of Toronto’s energy grid, create new possibilities for public program, and dramatically reduce the environmental impact of the suburbs.

The suburbs would become a constellation of neighborhoods, each with their own publicly-owned heat plant powered by renewable energy sources. A different heat plant type, one of nine options, would be selected depending on the existing geological, geographical, ecological, and industrial characteristic of each neighbourhood. The meadow corridors biomass plant shown here uses energy crops grown within the right-of-way of the hydro corridors to heat the neighbourhood. Residents engage with the energy cycle by taking part in the harvest, delivering their yard waste to the plant, or simply by strolling through the farmlands.

Why did you conduct this research? Throughout my studies in architecture I have always been interested in the systems of infrastructure that facilitate the existence of cities – urban collectivity could not exist at its current scale without waterworks, sewers, roads, electrical grids, etc. Cities are always in the process rebuilding and reinventing themselves to meet the contemporary demands of society; today, cities need to replace their carbon-intensive energy systems with new sustainable infrastructure. I wanted to contribute to the conversation on sustainable urban renewal with my thesis project by exploring a possible socially and environmentally sustainable future for one of the most inefficient realms of the city – the suburb.

Technique: This architectural collage was created by combining a rendering of a biomass plant with photos of Toronto’s suburbs and romantic landscape paintings.

Acknowledgements: I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my thesis adviser Michael Piper for his guidance in this project, Eve Lewis and family for their support through the Paul Oberman Graduate Student Endowment Fund which greatly enriched my research, and the Daniels Faculty of Architecture for their support throughout my studies at UofT.

Ring of fire

Microscope photo of lab grown intervertebral disc. Deep black background with concentric circles, transitioning in colour from cyan blue rings in the centre to magenta and finally to hot yellow on the outermost rings.

Description: The intervertebral disc (IVD) sits between the vertebrae of your spine and absorbs shock, transmits forces, and allows for a full range of motion. When the IVD degenerates, it is prone to bulging and tearing which can lead to disc herniation. That can have significant consequences, including chronic pain and even paralysis. Nearly 90% of people will develop disc degeneration throughout their lifetime making it the leading cause of lower back pain and is estimated to cost nearly 8.1 billion USD in annual Canadian health care costs. There is currently no treatment to restore native IVD function. This has led to an interest in growing an IVD in the lab that could be transplanted into patients. One of the challenges in growing the IVD in the lab is getting the different cell types to organize in a way that mimics the natural disc. My research focuses on characterizing and developing the interface between these distinct tissue types of a lab-grown disc. The inner rings of the disc are unique for their expression of type II collagen, whereas the outer rings only express type I collagen. In this image, miniature lab-grown discs follow a similar distribution of collagens.

Why did you conduct this research? During my undergrad I spent many hours in lectures learning about the most cutting-edge research and working on various research projects, the most captivating of which was the notion of growing tissues in the lab from a small pool of cells. To me, this represents the future of medical research, where one day organs can be generated from a patient’s own cells. This would resolve organ rejection, organ shortages, and long wait times on transplant lists, allowing us to live longer and healthier lives.

Technique: Intervertebral disc cells were isolated from cow tails and grown on a roll of biodegradable plastic that mimics the structure of the intervertebral disc. The miniature discs (roughly the thickness of your pinky finger) were collected after 3 weeks of growth and sliced cross-sectionally at 7 microns (approximately 1/10th the thickness of a human hair). These thin slices of the miniature discs were stained for type I (magenta/yellow) and type II (cyan/white) collagens. When viewed with a special microscope we are able to visualize and distinguish type I and II collagen within the tissue.

Acknowledgements: I would like to acknowledge the members of the Kandel lab and the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute Microscopy Facility for their support on my project and the collection of this image.

Diagenetic bone under LSCM

Can paper help turn the page on cancer research?

Green cells distributed in a tangle of red fibers

Description: Understanding how cells are influenced by their environment is crucial for developing new therapies for cancer. But common methods of growing and studying cells in the lab, such as two-dimensional petri dishes or animals, fall short of replicating these complex interactions. Tissue engineering offers a better way. In the McGuigan lab, we are growing cells on scaffolds made of cellulose — a key component of paper — and rolling them up like Swiss roll cakes. Called TRACER, these layered, three-dimensional structures offer a new way of studying cancer by reproducing many of the features of real tumors. For example, in TRACER there is formation of oxygen gradients like the one found in tumors. Using TRACER, we can then study the impact of oxygen level on cancer cell behaviour (proliferation, drug resistance, etc..). Understanding the regulation of cancer cells by the microenvironment is critical to develop new therapies. More broadly, this research has application in other fields such as regenerative medicine, where knowing how to modify cell behaviour with external clues is essential.

The technology we developed to understand how cellular behaviour is regulated by its microenvironment was inspired by cake. Answering the question, however, is not a piece of cake.

Why did you conduct this research? My goal is to understand how the level of oxygen influences the way cells communicate as in several pathologies (cancer, fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis) the level of oxygen in the tissues is dysregulated. Using TRACER, I can compare how cells behave at the outside of the “Swiss roll” where there is lot of oxygen, versus the cells located at the core of the “Swiss roll” where there is less oxygen. Understanding how oxygen modify cell behaviour could lead to the discovery of new targets for future therapies.

Technique: To obtain this image we used three different labelling that color specifically : the paper fibers (in red), the cells (in green) and the cells nucleus (in cyan). After labelling, the piece of paper was sandwiched between two pieces of glass to maintain it flat and to make it compatible with the use of microscopy. We then used a special microscope called confocal microscope that produce really contrasted images. This microscope take one picture per color, then using a computer and a special software we just merge the 3 colors to obtain the final image.

Acknowledgements: Dr. Latour is supported by a post-doctoral fellowship from the University of Toronto’s Medicine by Design initiative, which receives funding from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF).

Galactic malignancy

A photograph of bright green and blue streaks reveal blood vessels that are surrounded by a red clouds of tumour cells which form a cosmic landscape when viewing an ovarian tumour sample under a microscope.

And then there were none

Against a pink backdrop, there are a number of small, out of focus, brown circles, spread about at random, including some that are clustered together. In the centre and foreground there is single cancer cell shown in black dying from the treatment.

Description: The current cancer therapies lack specificity for their targets, thereby killing both healthy cells and cancer cells. This makes cancer treatments a physically and mentally traumatic experience for the patients. One of the most visible and well-known outcomes of unspecific treatments is the hair loss during chemotherapy—since chemotherapy targets all cells that rapidly divide like cancer cells do, hair follicles are also destroyed as a side-effect. Recent advancements in molecular biology had enabled the identification of molecules exclusively found in cancer cells, unveiling the potential for much more specific and effective treatments. One of these novel molecules for Head and Neck Cancers is HNCM1.

And then there were none: the image shows the head and neck cancer cells treated with the drug that targets HNCM1, which have died during the treatment. This is one of the many examples that reflect on the promising outlook of cancer treatments that will greatly enhance the cancer patients’ quality of life.

Why did you conduct this research? A downfall of longevity is the appearance of several diseases that are often associated with old age, such as cancers. One of the reasons why cancer makes such an interesting but difficult topic to investigate is the unique underlying mechanisms of how each cancer type is formed. I have conducted this research in the hopes to contribute to meeting the growing demands for targeted cancer therapy. One day, we could even witness the defeat of cancer with a single dose of “vaccine”—who knows?

Technique: The 3D cell cultures (spheroids) are created by seeding the cells to an ultra-nonadhesive surface with a round well bottom, which causes the cells to aggregate onto themselves to form a sphere. The left half of the image is a spheroid before the treatment against HNCM1, and the right half of the image is the same spheroid after 3 weeks of treatment, taken with a camera installed in the microscope. The image is modified with photoshop to adjust the contrast and the saturation of the background, as well as to merge the two images together with a fading effect.

Acknowledgements: I would like to acknowledge Drs. Thomas Kislinger Salvador Mejia-Guerrero and at the Department of Medical Biophysics for their insightful supervision throughout this project.

10,000 orbits

Screen shot of a computer generated plot. Countless, overlapping, multi-coloured orbits fill every space in the rectangular image. Cyan, orange, red, green and magenta are prevalent.

Learning to code in virtual reality

How green is this building material for the environment?

In the middle of this image there is a block of light beige wood cut and carved to resemble a multi-story building with windows and doors. The roof line has multiple tiers

Description: On September 18th, 2019, the Art exhibition “Weather Amnesia” opened at the University of Toronto, presented in conjunction with the Jackman Humanities Institute’s 2019-2020 research theme “Strange Weather”. Alongside with artworks from the artists and University’s permanent collection, it also features a CNC (i.e., computer numerical control)-cut Mass Timber that models the design of the facade of the Jackman Humanities Institute building at 170 St. George St.

As an all-wood mass timber product, Dowel Laminated Timber (DLT) does not contain any glue (aside from a minute amount of glue used for finger jointing), chemicals, VOCs (Volatile organic compounds), or metal nails. The exclusion of glue and nails allows a healthier indoor air quality as there is no off-gassing. This timber sample is shipped from sustainably managed forests, locks in carbon dioxide, acts as a carbon sink, and participates the exhibition as one of representative solutions to environmentally sustainable development in response to the global climate crisis: With strangeness becoming the new normal, it makes us wonder and think about what kind of future awaits us.

Why did you conduct this research? As a curator working on this exhibition layout, I was looking for practical examples that could create a dynamic conversation between art and science. Through the lens of artists’ works and artefacts of two mass timber examples, a live bird Migration Map, and a hygrothermograph, the exhibition was able to explore our changing environmental conditions, and observe both, the effects of environmental degradation and the potential for collective response.

Technique: Computer rendering app: RhinoCAM. Produce: CNC (i.e., computer numerical control) cut.

Acknowledgements: I gratefully acknowledge the operating support from the Art Museum at the University of Toronto, Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council, with additional project support from the Jackman Humanities Institute, Mass Timber Institute, Structure Fusion Inc., and Fiona Lu.

Through this lens

Black Kodack Negative Album rests open on a white mount, part of a handwritten record is visible. A black and white photograph of people waving to a motorcar sits on top of a stack of photographs and is beside the album

Description: In January 2020 I traveled to St. John’s, Newfoundland to do archival research for my Master of Museum Studies degree, about the photographer Charles Fredrick Ruggles.

Ruggles was the first to offer colour commercial printing in Newfoundland, was the official royal photographer for Queen Elizabeth II’s 1951 visit, had one of his photographs used as the national stamp, was published in Life magazine – and was my grandfather. His work captured moments of the province’s first few years and contributed to the photography scene. However, his work remains largely forgotten.

The inspiration for this exhibition came from my desire to know more about my grandfather’s work. Growing up, I had often heard about his photography and had seen a few pieces, though not many. As I learned about his historic accomplishments, I started to think about all the works we see but never know the name of the artist.

I took this photograph in Memorial University’s archives while looking at photographs my grandfather had taken of the Queen’s 1951 visit. The photographs came with a handwritten collections report which catalogued each piece. Seeing his handwritten descriptions brought me closer to understanding my grandfather who died shortly after I was born.

Why did you conduct this research? This research was conducted for my capstone project during my Master of Museum Studies and showcases the photography of my grandfather Charles Fredrick Ruggles. He was the royal photographer for Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Newfoundland in 1951, was published in Life magazine, was the first in Newfoundland to offer colour commercial printing, and his photograph of the Canadian seashore even saw fame as a national stamp. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Charles Fredrick Ruggles’ photography of Newfoundland helped develop the province’s early visual identity – one that still exists today – yet his contributions remain largely forgotten.

Technique: I used my phone to take a picture of the archival research I was conducting in Memorial University’s Centre for Newfoundland Studies. The artifacts were placed beside a window, allowing natural light to create a well-lit shot.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Memorial University, The Rooms, Katie Harris & her family, and Joan & Klaus, who helped me tremendously when I was in St. John’s. I would also like to thank my sponsors, Artscape Youngplace, MPH Travel, Vide Press, and ACKL design, for, without them, this would not have been possible. Finally, I would like to thank my friends, family, and the iSchool, who have been there anytime I needed to talk.

Where did it come from?: Backtracking bullet trajectories

Photo at a shooting range of a semi-automatic handgun, held in a gun rest on a table, and aimed a section of drywall. Two spheres on tripods are placed between the gun and the drywall panel. A 3D laser scanner is placed to the side to capture the scene.

Peer-To-Peer Mental Health Support Is Unscripted

This is a poster. The main image is a photo that is reflected at both the top and bottom to look like a glass display case with a wooden base that has tipped over, spilling out its contents. The content is numerous, folded card stock with words written on them that encompass the characteristics or emotions related to mental health. There is a hand placing a card that reads "HOPE" onto the exposed wooden platform. The words to the left say "peer-to-peer" in white-filled 2D block letters, arranged vertically so that each peer is situated in one of the halves of the poster beside the photo. The rest of the words, going diagonally up from off-centre, say, "Mental Health Is Unscripted", in the same font as previous, with the letters spelling "heal" within the word "health" highlighted in black. The word "unscripted" is written so that it curves towards the top, ending parallel to the right side and reaching the top right corner. It is written in a decorative block letter font.

Description: This is a visual representation of my research into the benefits of peer-to-peer mental health interventions for high school students, and symbolizes the potentially life-changing roles that peers have in supporting each other through challenging times. My research challenges current mental health initiatives by expressing the need for improving our capacity to identify students that are experiencing mental health challenges. The title was intentionally chosen to further illustrate how changes to mental well-being can come at any time for an individual, oftentimes reducing their capacity to experience the positive things in life. As such, in addition to individual interventions, it is crucial for the presence of peers to provide routes of rediscovering hope during a student’s darkest times. Furthermore, the peer-to-peer supportive relationship is facilitated by those who have overcome past mental health crises (represented by the blurred out photo at the top) is one that should be genuine and does not follow any predetermined scripts. In a world where technology, competition, and social tensions have exacerbated triggers for youth, educators must unite to generate long-lasting improvements to mental health through facilitating peer-to-peer interactions that are authentic, empathetic, and beneficial to both mentors and mentees.

Why did you conduct this research? I conducted this research so that I could become a more responsible educator that can provide practical mental health support to students, with the focus on enabling supportive structures within the community that they can rely on to discover that there is hope during their toughest times. Although teachers may bear the largest responsibilities in ensuring that they approach each student with empathy and culturally appropriate pedagogy, the impact of peers for students is life-long, and can help equip them with help-seeking behaviour and mental resiliency to combat present and future challenges that come their way.

Technique: The photo of the platform with the spilled-over words were taken using a DSLR camera and lightly edited for colour and clarity. The reflection in the top portion has been subjected to a filter in Photoshop, but retains its resemblance to the original photo. The words were inserted using Adobe Illustrator.

Additional information: I believe that my research is also highly relevant to the UofT Student and Staff community because this theme within mental health is adaptable to multiple age groups. Although there are some differences in terms of the type of supports for different ages, the message itself is a motivational one that looks to guide students to reach out to their peers, both for support and as support.

Magnification: Zooming in on the Cerebellum

Masculinities: The Female Gaze

Pandemic Dreams: Heightened Worry

A drawing demonstrating the impact of COVID-19 on dreams. It depicts a melting mirror reflecting eyes expressing anxiety. The drawing is created with graphite, charcoal and acrylic white paint.

Description: This illustration is inspired by a dream from a student respondent who felt a heightened sense of confusion and anxiety due to COVID-19 and financial constraints. One aspect of this piece represents the dreamer’s concern of being perceived by others as not following COVID-19 safety measures. As a result, the dreamer felt anxiety of being watched and perhaps judged by others. The second aspect this piece represents is the dreamer’s worry over owing tuition the following year, of a consistent amount of $8200 that looms over the dreamer’s mind. This illustration is one of four pieces that was produced as part of UofT’s COVID-19 Student Engagement Award: “Navigating sleep and well-being during COVID-19: How do dreams help us make sense of our new global reality?” Our focus was to study the impact of COVID-19 on dreams.

Why did you conduct this research? The goal of our research was to examine the impact of COVID-19 on our dreams. Our results found that despite what felt like an extremely isolating time to many, themes that many experienced and could relate to were present in most respondents’ dreams. To us, this signified a unifying experience in a time that felt the exact opposite. As a way to produce materials that the U of T student body can engage with, Noor Abbas was hired as both a research assistant and artist to create pieces, such as this one, of dream art during the pandemic.

Technique: Medium: Traditional Art; Graphite, Charcoal, White Acrylic Paint. Image Modification: Applying opacity adjustment to the top half of the mirror to mimic mirror reflection. Paper used: Canson Sketch Paper 9 by 12 in (65lb/96g).

Acknowledgements: I would like to acknowledge U of T Global for project funding. I would also like to acknowledge Leela McKinnon, Erica Kilius, David Samson, and the Sleep and Human Evolution Lab for their initiatives and work on this project.

Additional information: Further details of our project can be found on our website. Here, we demonstrate more dream art produced by Noor Abbas, and our study results: https://covid19dreams.crevado.com.

Writing Canada: Examining the Post-Canlit Boom Through a Framework of Intersectionality

Hermaphrodite: Illustrating Cannabis Sativa’s Gender Fluidity

Photo of two developing Cannabis sativa flowers, one male (left) and one female (right) on the same plant.

Description: Pictured here is an interesting phenomenon occuring in Cannabis sativa: a female plant has been coerced into developing a male flower. Unlike most in the plant kingdom, Cannabis sativa is known as a ‘dioecious’ species – it has distinct male and female individuals. The Cannabis industry only wants to harvest unfertilized female flowers because they produce high levels of the commercially important chemicals, THC and CBD. But, if a male flower is present, it will fertilize all the female flowers, rendering them useless. However, it’s not quite as simple as removing the male plants from a crop to prevent yield loss. It turns out female plants are capable of producing male flowers too! This photo captures a female plant after it was partially sprayed with a hormone inhibitor, resulting in the development of both male and female flowers. If we can uncover the mechanisms governing these seemingly fluid sex determination patterns, we can develop diagnostic kits to test for male flower-producing plants, and eventually breed for plants which will only produce female flowers. This research will help the Cannabis industry progress towards more predictable and reliable cultivation and breeding practices, which will ultimately increase yield and efficiency.

Why did you conduct this research? Because Cannabis has been an illicit substance for so long, there has been minimal research conducted on the plant itself. The goal in the Cannabis industry is to develop true-breeding strains with specific traits, but fundamental research on the plant’s behaviour on both a phenotypic and molecular level is needed first. With this research, we hope to uncover the genetic mechanisms governing sex determination in Cannabis. Since it is impossible to differentiate male and female plants before they flower, it is important to understand how to genetically identify male flower-producing plants early in order to minimize yield loss.

Technique: This is an unmodified photograph of a female Cannabis sativa plant that had been partially sprayed with STS (silver thiosulfate), an inhibitor of the plant hormone ethylene. STS treatment of female Cannabis plants is known to result in the development of male flowers, but the process governing this switch is still unknown. RNA from both treated (male) and untreated (female) flowers from the same plant was extracted and sequenced to produce a set of genes with different expression patterns. With this dataset, hypotheses can be made about the genetic pathways potentially underlying sex determination mechanisms in Cannabis.

Acknowledgements: This research has been conducted in partnership with Metasys Genomics, funded through the Mitacs Accelerate program.

A cell gets naked.

Microscope image of human cells stained with fluorescent markers for nuclear envelope proteins, DNA, and active gene transcription.

Description: I’m a cell biologist, interested in how our cells respond to different kinds of DNA damage, including radiation exposure or chemotherapy. This means I spend a lot of time looking at both healthy and damaged cells under a microscope. I use fluorescently labelled antibodies to visualize different cellular structures in different colours. In this picture, DNA is in blue, active gene transcription is in green, and the cell’s nuclear envelope is in red. Almost all the cells in this picture look healthy and intact, with a red nuclear envelope encircling their blue DNA, with pockets of transcription occuring in green. But in the top-left corner, I caught a cell going through mitosis. Its nuclear envelope has broken down, leaving a cloud of red particles. Its chromosomes have condensed into the blue ball in the middle of the cloud, replicated and ready to separate into two daughter cells. I caught this cell at exactly the right moment, with its DNA completely exposed. In another hour, it would have finished separating the ball of DNA into two identical, complete sets of chromosomes. It would have re-formed two daughter nuclei, and would have looked like every other cell in the picture.

Why did you conduct this research? I want to know whether our cells respond differently to different kinds of DNA damage. The ways in which cells react to DNA damage can influence their development into cancer, since cells that don’t repair damage are more likely to accumulate cancer-causing mutations. Investigating responses to specific types of DNA damage will help us understand more about the process that transforms a healthy cell into a cancerous one. Taking pictures of healthy cells and damaged cells is one of the many ways I can demonstrate such a response.

Technique: These cells are from a cultured human cell line, called MCF10A. They were originally derived from human breast epithelial cells, but they’ve been transformed into an immortal cell line, to be used exclusively for research. I used immunofluorescent antibodies to mark each of the three cellular structures in the image (DNA, active transcription, and the nuclear envelope), and then used a fluorescent microscope to take the picture.

Acknowledgements: The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the University Health Network, and the University of Toronto have all funded my research. I would also like to acknowledge the Harding Lab.

Candy-Coloured Fibrotic Signalling

Photo of mouse lung epithelial cells under a microscope. The cells were stained with several fluorescent dyes and green, blue and red fluorescence can be seen in the image.

Description: This is a confocal microscopy image of MLE12 mouse lung epithelial cells, which were stained with several fluorescent dyes to visualize the activity of signalling molecules Yap and Taz (in red). It was taken at the Lund Bioimaging Center at Lund University in Sweden while I was a member of a summer research abroad project in the Lung Bioengineering and Regeneration lab. The image was captured after the cells had been treated for 6 hours with Transforming Growth Factor (TGF-β), a key signalling player in a fatal lung disease called Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). TGF-β was used to mimic fibrotic changes in the MLE12 cells and investigate whether Yap/Taz complexes subsequently move into the nuclei of the cells (in blue), where they carry out their effects on gene expression in IPF. As seen by the overlap of red and blue staining in the nucleus, increased nuclear localization of Yap/Taz was observed after 6 hours of TGF-β treatment. This provides evidence that the effects of TGF-β signalling in IPF may be mediated by Yap/Taz. TGF-β can thus be used to induce fibrosis before targeting Yap/Taz and observing changes in fibrotic expression, as was done in later parts of this research project.

Why did you conduct this research? Although TGF-β signalling is known to induce fibrotic changes in IPF, it was unclear whether its effects were mediated by Yap/Taz activity in the nucleus. This experiment was the first step in confirming TGF-β-induced Yap/Taz activation before inhibiting the complex with a drug called Verteporfin. Verteporfin reduced fibrotic expression, but the effects of TGF-β continued to be observed. Although this points to additional TGF-β signalling mediators in IPF, our ability to target Yap/Taz is promising for continuing studies that assess VP in IPF treatment. Current treatment options are extremely limited and none effectively cure IPF.

Technique: Several staining dyes were used to visualize components of the MLE12 cells under a Nikon A1 + confocal microscope at 20x magnification. A blue-fluorescent DNA stain called 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) was used to outline the nuclei of the cells. The cytoskeleton is a structural frame that supports the cell’s shape and was stained with an actin filament probe called Phalloidin that was attached to a green-fluorescent dye. Lastly, Yap/Taz was stained using a Yap/Taz secondary antibody protein attached to a red fluorescent compound. The composite image of all 3 stains was created using ImageJ.

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Dr. Darcy Wagner and Hani Alsafadi for generously sharing their time and knowledge with me throughout this project. I would also like to acknowledge that this image was taken at the Lund University Bioimaging Center.

The CNano Tower, Canada’s Smallest Freestanding Structure

Reading Between the Lines of the Medieval Book

X-ray through the spine of a medieval manuscript orientated vertically. Three sewing supports from the current binding and empty stitch holes belonging to a previous binding bisect the spine horizontally.

Image Description: In this image we see the structures inside the spine of a medieval book. The book is a French Book of Hours produced around the year 1500, which is owned by Western University, London, Ontario. We can see the cord sewing supports from the current eighteenth-century binding, on to which the groups of pages are stitched. But, between the sewing supports are four double lines of holes in the backs of the pages. These holes are the empty spaces where a previous set of stitches attached the pages to a previous set of sewing supports. From them, we can tell that this book used to be bound on four split leather supports (instead of three cord ones). We have been calling this evidence of previous binding structures a “ghost binding”. It is important because very few medieval binding structures survive to the present. So, this image is part of a project to provide (non-destructive) insight into the range of binding techniques used in different parts of the world. The information found contributes to a global story about transmission and exchange in the development of books. It will help scholars and conservators working with these fragile medieval materials make decisions about their preservation.

Why did you conduct this research? MicroCT has not previously been applied to the study of bookbinding. This scan is a proof-of-concept study for a larger project that uses this method to compare the materials and craft techniques used in premodern written artefacts from around the world, overturning Western-centric histories of text technologies by highlighting the global networks exchange that underpinned the development of the modern book. We began with this book because the binding type is well-documented and we were confident we could identify any structures revealed by the scan, but as this image shows it still had the capacity to surprise us!

Technique: This image was produced using micro-computed x-ray tomography. In microCT imaging x-rays are fired from a radioactive source towards a sensor, the book sits between the source and the sensor. By rotating the book we can take many images from different angles. These are built up to produce a 3D representation. This scan has a resolution of 80µm, meaning each pixel represents an area with a diameter roughly the width of a human hair. This image is a single slice from our scan. A colored filter has been used to enhance the clarity by highlighting different densities of material.

Acknowledgements: Funding body: The Leverhulme Trust; collaborators: Andrew Nelson, Western University (scanned book); Deborah Meert-Williston, Western University (librarian); Alexandra Gillespie, University of Toronto Mississauga (PI); Jessica Lockhart, Old Books New Science Lab, University of Toronto (Head of Research).

Street Food: Practices of Urban Citizenship

Covid Cities

Beyond Borders and Hyphens: The Journeys of Migration

Two blue and white paintings represent the dynamic waves of the ocean. In between, are long elastics, wooden beads, and scattered gravel that almost connect them.

Image Description: My research depicts the need to acknowledge the diversity and multidimensionality of intersectional identities, within spaces of the nation-state. I use the aesthetics of oceans to effectively theorize the ongoing and multiplex formations of my diasporic identities as an Afghan Canadian and Asian Canadian, demonstrating the complexities of cultural identity formation. This is evident through three main aspects of my artwork: the unstable multicultural hyphen, the liminal spaces of entangled migration routes that are beyond the Canadian nation-state borders, and the active oceanic waves in the paintings.

Why did you conduct this research? I created this work to highlight the need to think beyond the limits of hyphenated identities and nation borders when understanding the nuances of identities and belonging. How does conceptualizing diasporas as oceans allow us to reimagine mobile spaces of identity formation? I challenge how racialized communities are expected to identify within the Canadian nation-state. I also open news spaces of inquiry about the complexity of migration journeys and the diversity of migration experiences, which shape individuals’ evolving identities within a particular time and space.

Technique: I used mixed media to highlight the multidimensionality of migration journeys and identity formation. The acrylic paint on canvas captures the fluidity of the oceanic waves. I scattered gravel pieces around to emphasize the natural movement of people, stories, and identities, beyond nation-state borders. I used tight string and two wooden beads to allude to the rigid borders of the nation-state and hyphenated identities. I used metallic elastics and brown wooden beads in between to emphasize the flexible, yet complex, migration journeys of racialized communities. The artwork is photographed on a background of blue fabric, showing the ocean’s vast openness.

Acknowledgements: I am grateful for being inspired while I was enrolled in the OISE graduate course called “Theorizing Asian Canada.”

The Navigational Abilities of the Himalayan Langur

An adult male Himalayan Langur is in the center of the image, sitting on a rock, and gazing towards the south. His surroundings are blooming in the green colors of the summer season.

Image Description: Himalayan langurs are part of a large species complex of Hanuman Langurs that are spread across the Indian subcontinent. They occupy some of the highest altitude areas in the world for a primate species. They form an important part of local folklore and religion in the Indian subcontinent. These majestic animals are found across the Himalayan belt, and mainly reside in the vast Oak forests. They are equally adapted to living in temperate high-altitude habitats largely composed of conifer trees. They are similarly adapted to living in the cities and urban areas. My research centers around their navigational abilities in their natural environment, especially when their natural habitat is constantly modified by human impact, bringing them in increasing contact with the humans and their crops.

Why did you conduct this research? My first experience with the Himalayan Langurs came in 2018 when I studied the trees and places they used to sleep for the night. I soon realized that I was able to predict their path for the day based on the sleeping site they choose for the night. It made me curious to understand the overall process that guides this movement, do they use a mind map like humans do? I am broadly interested in their movement ecology to aid in the conservation of their habitat because during their daily movement, these animals come in contact with crop fields and feral dogs, which pose a risk to their survival.

Technique: I used a Nikon D3100 camera and the 70-300mm zoom lens to click this photograph. I also use the camera and zoom lens to reduce our interaction with the animal while documenting their daily life from a distance without observer interference.

Acknowledgements: I would like to acknowledge the American Society of Primatologists and INLAKS Ravi Sankaran Foundation for their support in the form of grants, and University of Toronto for their Pilot Research fellowship. I would like to acknowledge the support of Prof. Julie Teichroeb and Dr. Himani Nautiyal for their support during this research.

Global Study on Freelancing and the Future of Work

Image Description: The purpose of this project was to develop a global database of the views, experiences, skills, and attitudes of both successful freelancers and those motivated to succeed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the project manager, I had to ensure that the research was running smoothly by communicating with 75 partnering platforms about the data collection process. My cat Goldie’s calm presence kept me focused and productive for this project as I was adjusting to remote work. Nowadays, my supervisor, Dr. Cupchik, and I like to joke that our true boss is Goldie, who “pulls out her claws if we don’t meet her standards for work”.

On my laptop screen, you can see the design of the project’s official logo in progress. This dynamic logo was inspired by the tangram puzzle, which consists of seven different polygons that are put together to form shapes. From my perspective, freelance work is like a tangram pattern. A freelancer enters the competitive freelance job market with a unique set of skill sets that they combine to build a distinct service. I chose a tangram bird because birds symbolize autonomy, self-direction, and independence, which are qualities that are typically found in thriving freelancers.

Why did you do this research? The Global Freelancing team and I began this research initiative out of a collective passion for learning about the freelancing experience and how it can be improved and supported. With the help of our wonderful research partners, we gathered the thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of almost 2000 freelancers across all continents and areas of expertise. We aimed to build a strong and international understanding of the freelancer’s experience, then use our findings to help freelancers prosper and grow in the freelance revolution during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Technique: An iPhone was used to capture this photo. A glare appeared on the laptop screen, so I took a desktop screenshot of the logo design in progress on Photoshop, then placed it within the laptop borders in the photo. The brightness and contrast of this image were slightly modified.

Acknowledgements: I would like to acknowledge the main investigators who I was privileged to work with: Dr. Gerald Cupchik (Professor of Psychology, University of Toronto Scarborough) and Dr. Jon Younger (Forbes Blog Writer and Founder of the Agile Talent Collaborative). I want to also acknowledge Andrew Egan, Jennifer Lo, and Sam Xu for all their technical support.

The Impact of Earth’s Current-Day Continents on its Deep Interior

Visualization of mantle convection illustrating the temperature of the interior in red and yellow, and Earth’s continents in grey.

Image Description: The goal of this study was to incorporate different continental configurations in a high-resolution 3-D model to investigate the influence of the super-continent cycle on convection in the deep interior of the Earth. The study entails performing numerical analyses on Compute Canada’s high-performance computing clusters. The image shows a snapshot from a mantle convection model with Earth’s current-day continents and includes various contours encompassing different material (e.g., continents vs. the ambient mantle) and high-temperature plumes.

Why did you conduct this research? Mantle convection is a primary factor in determining the evolution of rocky planets like the Earth. The existence of continents and a chemically dense primordial layer near the core heavily impacts the evolution of the planet and our understanding of its past. The question of how Earth evolved into its current state, as opposed to conditions similar to those found on Venus, the impact of continents on the interior (mantle) and their subsequent influence on the atmosphere requires a careful and extensive investigation of mantle convection.

Technique: This image shows the visualization of one of our models (with nearly 11 million grid nodes and 420 million particle tracers) which contains Earth’s current-day continents and a deep primordial layer in the mantle. The model is sliced and contoured to reveal different temperatures and types of materials (e.g., the ambient mantle vs. the continents). While interior is coloured according to the temperature, the continents are coloured based upon their viscosity. These temperature contours and compositional slices allow us to better identify mantle plumes, surface divergence, weak zones, and stress sources at different depths.

Acknowledgements: This visualization is taken from an on-going project guided by Profs. Julian Lowman (at UTSC) and Paul Tackley (at ETH Zurich), following a summer research term at the Centre for Research in Earth System Science (CRESS) and NSE-UTEA undergraduate summer research fund.

Seeds of the Past

5 orange-blackish seeds (Empetrum Nigrum) placed in a fan shape against a grey background.

Take a Breath

A ‘Tick-ing’ Time Bomb for Northern Wildlife

A swarm of red ticks gathered a on the tip of a grassblade

Image Description: Hundreds of winter tick larvae, each the size of a poppyseed, wait patiently with arms outstretched, “questing”. They have climbed to the tip of a blade of grass and will grab onto a passing moose, elk, caribou, or deer on whom they will spend the next 6 months feeding on blood, growing, and mating. These tiny vampires join forces with one another, linking arms and masses so that an unfortunate host can obtain as many as 50,000 – 60,000 ticks in a single year. Moose with high numbers of winter ticks suffer from loss of blood, hair loss and may eventually die. What is remarkable about this image is that these winter ticks are questing in Yukon, Canada, under conditions much further north of where they were thought to be able to survive. Before this picture was taken in 2019, larval winter ticks had not previously been recorded in the Yukon, although adults of this species had been collected on hunted animals. This research is part of a collaboration between the University of Toronto Scarborough and the Yukon Government, to detect and monitor winter ticks in the territory and to predict their potential impact on moose and other host animals under climate change. By studying where in the environment larval ticks are found, we hope to understand more about their physical tolerances in warmer, wetter conditions, to inform future monitoring efforts and sampling priorities. Additionally, this work has helped to raise awareness of winter ticks among local and First Nations hunters and to build capacity for long-term community-engaged monitoring of wildlife health in the North.

Why did you conduct this research? Understanding when and where parasites, such as ticks, are found in the environment is important for keeping people and wildlife healthy. I am interested in finding new ways of conducting scientific research and bringing communities together to monitor emerging threats of invasive species, parasites, and diseases to inform biodiversity conservation for the future. Concerns that a warmer climate may drive ticks into novel northern populations led to the collaboration with Yukon Government and discussion with local communities to find out more about winter ticks in the territory.

Technique: Time is limited when sampling in the field – particularly in September in Yukon when a keen lookout for bears and elk is always required! I used an Olympus Tough TG-5 digital camera on a macro setting and held my bright orange field clipboard behind the ticks to reduce movement from the wind before snapping this shot in situ.

Acknowledgements: This research was possible due to two fellowships awarded to me from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada W. Garfield Weston Foundation (2018, 2019), Climate Change Preparedness in the North funding from Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) to collaborator Jane Harms at the Yukon Department of Environment and my primary supervisor Péter Molnár, and support from my second supervisor Nicholas Mandrak.

The World of Frozen Edges

An abstraction of the numbers of shady blue ice cubes.

Image Description: In my research, I came across the negative impact of technology on our modern society. Although smartphones and social media connect millions of their users virtually, real face-to-face interactions in physical spaces are becoming rare occurrences. In addition, technology accelerates individuals to be forced, controlled, and uniformed under social institutions, customs, and socially oriented values. Such negative aspects reminded me of artificially produced shaded ice cubes in the freezer, which aspired me to paint this abstraction following Peter Halley’s idea that the interrelationship between parts in a work of art is more important than their individual symbolic identity. Through my abstract painting, I tried to express a hostile society, generalized by the cold and uniformed characteristics of ice cubes through the repetition of their forms. In addition, the individual ice cube with vertical edges symbolizes the isolated individuals of such a cold society where it is forced, controlled, and produced in a uniform form by advancements in technology. Thus, my work hopefully portrays the relentless competition that drives the nature of society, making this world a dry and cold place like mingled ice poured out of a freezer, which represents such a negative landscape of modern society.

Why did you conduct this research? I tried to express a hostile society, generalized by the cold and uniformed characteristics of ice cubes through the repetition of their forms. In addition, the individual ice cube symbolizes the isolated individuals of such a cold society where it is forced, controlled, and produced in a uniform form by technology like a freezer, following Peter Haley’s definition of abstraction; the idea that the interrelationship between parts in a work of art is more important than their individual symbolic identity.

Technique: Through the blue hue of the acrylic medium and short and vertical brushstrokes, I tried to describe the transparent and square characteristics of ice cubes. To achieve a sense of balance, repetition, and harmony, I repeated the cube forms to fill the entirety of the 36 inch by 30 inch sized canvas. The repetition of the blue colour and shapes create an overall unified and balanced composition, without isolating one specific focal point.

Acknowledgements: I would like to acknowledge Professor Shirley Wiitasalo for her advice on my project.

Up the Mountain Fortress

Man standing in front of vast bare mountains.

Concrete Rivers

Berlin comes bursting in

The image has a black background with two white squares. In the left square it reads "Goodbye to Berlin, Christopher Isherwood" and has a collage of photos from 1930s Berlin and a painting of a girl in fishnets sitting on a stage. In the right box, there is a title that reads "Mr. Norris Changes Trains." There is a man on a train who is surrounded by a collage of photos from 1930s Berlin.

Description: For my undergraduate thesis, I traced how Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin novels (Mr. Norris Changes Trains and Goodbye to Berlin) are closely informed by his first-hand experiences of living in Berlin in the early 1930s. I argue that the ethnographic content preserved within his texts, thanks to his time spent in Berlin, demands that his texts be re-read as works of ethnographic fiction. To represent my research, I remade and re-imagined Isherwood’s two book covers by painting images from the covers, yet also including hand-written notes from my research and images from Berlin pre and post 1930s, including images representing the famous gay Berlin sub-culture that drew Isherwood to Berlin in the first place. I also include photographs of the people whom Isherwood bases his main characters on; including Jean Ross who is remade into Sally Bowles, and William Bradshaw, who is based on Isherwood himself. In my image, it is unclear where Berlin ends, and Isherwood’s text begins, and this represents not only the ethnographic content contained within Isherwood’s text, but also how Isherwood often turned to fiction to paradoxically both obscure his experiences with gay Berlin, yet still preserve them in his texts in the face of censorship.

Why did you conduct this research? I conducted this research for I was interested in contemporary experiments in ethnography, and how anthropologists are increasingly turning to fiction as a means of capturing experiences. While many Anthropologists have been incorporating fiction into their current work, this made me wonder how this practice could be applied to the past, specifically for literature which records cultures that are long gone; such as gay Berlin.

Technique: Mixed Media on paper (collage, pencil, acrylic, oil pastels and ink)

Acknowledgements: My images are based on the cover designs from the 1985 edition of Goodbye to Berlin published by Grenada books, and the 1999 edition of Mr. Norris Changes Trains published by Vintage Press. My piece includes hand-written quotes from both novels, as well as quotes from Peter Parker’s biography, Isherwood: A Life Revealed (2004). All of the photographs of 1930s Berlin are pulled from various online sources, and for many of them the photographer of the image is unclear. I would like to specifically acknowledge that a few of my photographs come from the Hirschfeld Institute, which was a private sexology research institute started by started by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld that campaigned for LGTBQ rights. It was eventually destroyed by the Nazis in the 1930s along with the majority of its research. Isherwood was a friend and admirer of Dr. Hirschfeld, and virtually lived at the institute when he first moved to Berlin. I would also like to acknowledge and thank Professor Allan Hepburn and Professor Lisa Stevenson who supervised my work.

Bees in a Changing Climate

Twin-Twin Training Simulator: Using a 3D Game Engine to Train Surgeons

Focused Ultrasound and Microbubbles to Overcome the Blood-Brain Barrier for Drug Delivery

Description: The blood-brain barrier (BBB) plays an important role in keeping pathogens and foreign substances from entering the brain, however it also impedes the entry of therapeutics. This has been a major obstacle in the discovery of drugs that can treat brain tumours and brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

This image is a still from an animation created with the scientific advisement of Dr. Isabelle Aubert, to communicate the research conducted at Sunnybrook Research Institute on transcranial focused ultrasound-mediated drug delivery to the brain. Focused ultrasound and injected microbubbles are used in combination to make the BBB permeable in a transient, non-invasive, and precise targeted manner, guided by MRI. The animation explains the procedure that the patient undergoes, and visualizes the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which focused ultrasound interacts with intravenous microbubbles to create brief and localized BBB “openings”. It also emphasizes the significance of the research in enabling the delivery of drugs that would otherwise not be able to enter the brain for treatment.

Why did you conduct this research? Before this project, there were no visual works that told the full story of BBB “opening” – touching on the entire procedure, mechanism, and resolution after treatment. The BBB “opening” mechanism itself is complex, so there was a need to communicate this research visually, to improve understanding and interest in the scientific community. 3D animation would be able to depict such complex interactions and processes with clarity, and to provide visual interest

Technique: 3D models were created with Autodesk Maya and Pixologic ZBrush, while referencing microscopy images. Lighting and textures were added to the 3D scene to add visual interest, and the rendered animation was composited in Adobe After Effects.

Acknowledgements: I’d like to acknowledge Professors Marc Dryer and Nick Woolridge from the Biomedical Communications faculty for supervising my project, and Dr. Isabelle Aubert for serving as the scientific content advisor. I also thank the Vesalius Trust for a grant toward funding this project.