Highlighting industry partnerships
Paul Zelisko (left), Scientific Director of the Brock-Niagara Validation, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute (VPMI), highlights industry partnerships during a visit from the Honourable Sam Oosterhoff, Associate Minister of Energy-Intensive Industries and Member of Provincial Parliament for Niagara West. During a tour of the VPMI facilities, the two discussed opportunities available for industry to partner with Brock, and the importance of mobilizing research and innovation to drive economic growth in the region.
Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs Visits VPMI
April 9, 2024
The VPMI had the pleasure of hosting the Honourable Lisa Thompson, Minister of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs. Paul Zelisko, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Director of the VPMI and Ivano Labricciosa, VPMI Business Director explained how the VPMI is working to support agriculture research, food security, as well as sustainability and circularity in the agriculture sector.
VPMI Scientists Examine Changes in Polyphenol Content in Red Rooibos Herbal Tea Over Time
VPMI researchers Reem Mahamoud, David Bowman, Wendy Ward, and Vaughn Mangal examined how the polyphenol composition of rooibos tea changes over time and the implications that this may have in preclinical trials examining the impacts that tea consumption can have on bone health. Click here to view the paper.
Brock’s VPMI busy building industry partnerships
Making food delicious as well as nutritious is the dream of food producers and their customers alike. Brock University’s Validation Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute (VPMI) is aiming to make that dream a reality.
“It’s no longer good enough to just throw sugar into something to make it taste good,” says VPMI Business Director Ivano Labricciosa. “It’s all about changing the product’s compounds and properties so that it tastes better, lasts longer, is healthier for you and achieves all the other good things that companies are trying to do with foods.”
Labricciosa, who joined Brock at the end of January, is connecting with food and agriculture companies that are interested in partnering with VPMI.
“They’re looking for three major things we offer: our facilities and expertise for product testing and development, space for their association meetings, and how we carry out certification testing for their products,” Labricciosa says.
Particularly attractive to the sector is Brock’s expertise in biology and chemistry and its cutting-edge equipment designed to advance the food and agriculture sectors, he says.
These include the gas chromatograph-olfactometer-mass spectrometer that allows researchers to smell isolated compounds as they’re being developed.
Other machines in the VPMI’s chromatography spectrometry suite enable companies to develop the look and taste of products and to test how appealing these modified products will be to consumers.
Last month’s announcement of the Brock-led research farm also brings a host of opportunities in the field of sustainable agriculture, says Labricciosa.
Funded by a grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the farm supports multi-institutional research to produce certified virus-free grapevines for the grape and wine industry, develop farming methods — or precision agriculture — that use a range of technologies to grow crops more efficiently and explore how agriculture innovations can be applied in urban settings.
“Because the lab equipment we have installed is the most advanced of its kind, we are best suited with some of our equipment to help support research projects at Brock’s farm,” says Labricciosa.
This includes VPMI infrastructure such as the mass spectrometry suite, which supports “green chemistry,” and the state-of-the-art Zeiss suite of microscopes and scanner, he says.
Another agriculture project has allowed Assistant Professor of Chemistry Vaughn Mangal and Professor of Biology Liette Vasseur to collaborate with VPMI on research they are conducting to validate the effectiveness of EcoWool Canada’s wool pellets in enhancing soil quality.
“Access to this equipment has allowed us to bridge soil chemistry, carbon cycling and plant physiology towards developing more sustainable greenhouse practices,” says Mangal, who used the total carbon analyzer machine to see how much carbon and nutrients are retained and lost in soils containing the EcoWool pellets.
Mangal is one of several Brock University researchers working with Labricciosa.
“We are now reaching out and across various Faculties to other Brock researchers to expand the volume of work in addition to getting the word out to many more industries both local and abroad,” says Labricciosa, who adds that VPMI is also working with other universities.
Labricciosa joins Brock from Oshawa Power, where he was President and CEO. He holds a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Toronto and a Master of Business Administration from Queen’s University. His professional history in engineering, business development and strategic planning includes international experience in alternative and renewable energy.
The VPMI Welcomes Dr. Noha Morsy to the Team
Noha is currently working as a research associate at the VPMI lab, Brock University. She received her bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences at Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt in 2007. Following this, she pursued her master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Analytical Chemistry in 2013, followed by her PhD in 2016, both from the same institution. Subsequently, she held the position of assistant professor from 2017 to 2022. Transitioning to Brock University in 2023, Noha joined Vaughn Mangal’s group within the Chemistry Department as a research associate. Her focus lies in the quantification of neonicotinoid pesticides and the characterization of dissolved organic matter in soil and sediment samples employing advanced mass spectrometry-based techniques, both targeted and untargeted. Noha’s research interests are diverse, with a primary emphasis on the development and validation of innovative analytical methods, exploring various extraction and sample pretreatment approaches, and investigating drug pharmacokinetics. She applies her expertise across a range of fields including environmental, pharmaceutical and biological studies utilizing chromatographic, mass spectrometric, spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques.
e-mail: nmorsy@brocku.ca
Google scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0waHA1gAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Advanced Light Microscopy Open House at the VPMI with Carl Zeiss Canada – March 19 & 20, 2024
Click here to register!
VPMI Welcomes New Business Director
The VPMI is thrilled to welcome Ivano Labricciosa to the team as Business Director. With an impressive 30-year career as an executive leader in the utility industry, Ivano brings invaluable experience to our organization.
In his most recent position as the President and CEO of Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation (Oshawa Power), Ivano played a pivotal role in strategically planning and supporting the energy and communication service needs of Oshawa, Durham Region, and parts of the GTA. His leadership extended to overseeing subsidiaries engaged in energy distribution, energy generation, and telecom ventures.
Ivano holds distinguished academic credentials, including a Bachelor of Engineering Science degree from Western University, a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Business Administration from Queen’s University. His expertise in engineering, business development, and strategic planning, coupled with international experience in alternative and renewable energy, promises innovative leadership in his role as VPMI Business Director.
Beyond his professional accomplishments, Ivano generously volunteers his time to serve on Boards and Committees dedicated to advancing community and industry interests.
Postdocs tour high-tech VPMI facility
Postdoctoral fellows and graduate students explored the state-of-the-art technology and equipment available at the Brock-Niagara Validation, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute (VPMI) on Tuesday, Nov. 28. During the tour, Associate Professor of Chemistry and VPMI Director Paul Zelisko shared the ways VPMI helps to address the needs of researchers and industry partners needs through its labs and 200-person collaborative meeting space. Graduate students, postdocs and others interested in benefiting from the institute’s technical expertise and equipment can contact the VPMI team.
VPMI partnership creates virtual system to treat selective mutism
The Brock-Niagara Validation, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute (VPMI) connects Brock University’s advanced scientific and applied research expertise, state-of-the-art equipment assets, and testing and training capabilities with industry in the bioproducts, bioscience, bioagriculture and chemical manufacturing sectors. VPMI is made possible by a $6-million investment announced in 2019 by the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). Examples of these successful VPMI-industry partnerships are highlighted in this series. For more information, contact vpmi@brocku.ca
Poling Bork had a nightmare experience no parent should ever have to go through.
While in a neighbour’s pool, her young daughter inadvertently ended up in the deep end. Not knowing how to swim, the girl struggled and found herself in deep distress.
But she didn’t make a sound.
“Somebody saw her and pulled her out of the water,” Bork recalls. “The worst part for her was that she wasn’t able to say, ‘thank you’ to the person who rescued her.”
Bork’s daughter, and her other two children, have a condition called selective mutism (SM), which Anxiety Canada defines as being “a childhood anxiety disorder that is diagnosed when a child consistently does not speak in some situations, but speaks comfortably in other situations.”
Fast forward to more than a decade later and Bork (BSc ’02, Med ’08, PhD ’16) has partnered with Associate Professor of Psychology Dawn Good to create a one-of-a-kind virtual reality (VR) treatment for those living with SM, with support from the Brock-Niagara Validation, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute (VPMI).
The VR software program places the individual with SM in simulated scenarios and social contexts they would encounter in everyday life, such as interacting with classmates and the teacher in a classroom, visiting a doctor’s office or ordering food from a restaurant.
Characters, who are either created virtually or portrayed by actual people through videos, are pre-programmed to ask the user questions or provide responses to questions. The user practices answering the character and making conversation as a way of slowly desensitizing them to the anxiety that prevents them from being verbal in real life.
Those who use the program can work through the challenges based on their comfort level by muting the sound, pausing the scene or using other features as they work through their anxieties at their own pace.
“This way, anyone with SM may practice speaking at any time, always in a safe, non-demanding context,” says Bork, a Senior Laboratory Instructor in Brock’s Department of Computer Science. “They can use the simulated environment to start training the older children, teenagers and adults to overcome the freezing-up that comes with the selected mutism condition. This is the first self-serve virtual reality program to treat this condition.”
This program is a key focus supported by The Selective Mutism Foundation. Bork founded the organization, which supports people with SM by sharing resources, recommending options, fostering research and creating supportive networks worldwide.
The non-profit charitable organization sprung out of Bork’s years of research, experiences with various medications and behavioural therapies, and PhD studies. Good, a neuroscientist and registered psychologist with expertise in neurodivergence, was one of Bork’s PhD examiners and co-organizer of Canada’s first-ever Selective Mutism Conference.
Good says children living with SM are capable of speaking to family members and other people they trust in private, but intense anxiety involuntarily blocks them from doing so in particular situations, such as when interacting with unfamiliar people or being out in public.
Conventional behavioural therapy treatment takes a desensitization approach, which involves getting individuals with SM out of their comfort zone by slowly, progressively exposing them to more challenging environments, says Good.
“We can get them over the challenge of being unable to seek help from a therapist and work through their fear of speech by practicing in the simulated social contexts over and over, until their action becomes automatic,” she says.
Bork says preliminary findings from the VR trials revealed the VR app was well received by participants, believing it would be a great tool to help them overcome SM.
“It is our hope that we may conduct a clinical trial to validate its efficacy in the near future,” she says.
Brock marks opening of landmark institute dedicated to supporting industry
From treating disease to enhancing chemical coatings, monitoring water quality and creating virus-free plant materials, Brock University’s innovative institute dedicated to solving industry challenges is at the ready to help.
While the Brock-Niagara Validation, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute (VPMI) has already begun connecting industry with researcher expertise and state-of-the-art equipment, an official grand opening to celebrate the landmark facility was held Wednesday, Oct. 11.
The cutting-edge technology adoption centre, located in Inniskillin Hall on Brock’s main campus, was made possible by a $6-million investment announced in 2019 by the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). Wednesday’s celebration saw the Brock community come together with representatives from industry and all levels of government to learn more about the institute and all that it can aid businesses in achieving.
“For nearly 60 years, Brock has supported the Niagara community by helping to tackle the challenges faced by local industry,” says University President and Vice-Chancellor Lesley Rigg. “Through the VPMI, businesses now have direct access to the research expertise we know has the potential to create groundbreaking change, in addition to high-end and rare scientific equipment that, in some cases, is found nowhere else in Canada. We are grateful to FedDev Ontario for the support that has made these collaborations possible.”
Focused on the health and disease, agricultural, chemical manufacturing and environmental sectors, the VPMI works with a wide range of companies in Niagara and across southern Ontario in areas such as cannabis, food-based products, medicines and nutritional supplements, and polymer and resin production.
In addition to applied research and innovation, the institute supports businesses with cost-effective testing and prototyping for early-stage manufacturing to help expand and tackle new markets. It will facilitate the training and transfer of new technology into production practices, processes and operations to help companies maintain a competitive edge, both through learning opportunities and credentials offered by Professional and Continuing Studies at Brock, and through a talent pipeline to produce graduates with the knowledge, skills and experience to place them in high-demand industry roles.
“Congratulations to Brock University on the grand opening of the Brock-Niagara Validation, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute. The work you will be doing at VPMI is crucial in strengthening our innovation economy and supporting the businesses driving the sector forward,” says the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. “With projects like this, the Government of Canada is committed to investing in the people right here in our communities, so they can reach their potential and turn possibilities into realities.”
With successful industry partnerships already underway, the VPMI is highlighting the growing impact of Brock’s research enterprise, says Tim Kenyon, Brock’s Vice-President, Research.
“Through their work, Brock researchers are contributing to communities locally, nationally and globally, using their knowledge to help improve business, advance technology and create a better world through breakthroughs happening right here on campus,” he says. “Now, with a dedicated institute in place to support the needs of southern Ontario businesses, the momentum that has been building over time between Brock research and local industry will flourish.”
The Validation, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute “helps Brock University reaffirm its commitment to excellence in research and development, and support of local industry while educating students with advanced technology and equipment,” says Chris Bittle, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines. “Our government, through the Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario, is proud to support this facility and I am looking forward to seeing the results for students and businesses across Niagara.”
Vance Badawey, Member of Parliament for Niagara Centre, says “investing in the Validation, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute at Brock University strengthens an economic incubator that will benefit our present and next generation of innovators.”
“The Government of Canada is proud to be a part of Team Niagara, committed to supporting innovators who align with our regional economy to evolve and adopt greener processes and technologies, increase their production capabilities and create good jobs throughout Niagara and across Canada,” he says.
VPMI Director Paul Zelisko was one of the authors of the Government of Canada funding proposal to create the institute. He says that in addition to the services offered by the VPMI, the institute can help industry from any sector to connect with other relevant Brock units that can provide support, such as the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI), Brock LINC and Niagara Community Observatory.
“The VPMI represents limitless potential,” he says. “We are a science-based facility, but we’re also here to help mobilize resources available at Brock that can also assist businesses with challenges being encountered and ideas they’re hoping to see come to fruition.”
CCOVI Director Debbie Inglis, co-author of the VPMI proposal, emphasizes the innovation capacity the new institute adds to Brock’s existing strong connections with Canada’s grape and wine industries.
“The VPMI’s suite of equipment and expertise complements the work CCOVI researchers have been doing to support local industry for more than two decades,” she says. “The launch of this latest institute has allowed Brock to expand and enhance its offerings to additional sectors, reaffirming the University’s ongoing commitment to the vitality of the local economy.”
For more information or to collaborate with the VPMI, visit brocku.ca/vpmi
The VPMI building construction has begun!
Construction for VPMI building has begun. The landmark is between Mackenzie Chown and Vallee residence. This facility will house state-of-the-art analytical, prototyping and manufacturing tools, as well as expertise and training for industries and academia alike