Biomedical Sciences

Neutron facility could bring new cancer therapies and high-skilled jobs to Windsor 

Stuart Castillo and Maks Dziura Doctoral candidates Stuart Castillo and Maks Dziura stand beside the sample mount of the Neutron Spin Echo instrument at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source. (GENEVIEVE MARTIN/University of Windsor)

By Sara Elliott  

A University of Windsor researcher is one step closer to building a facility that could deliver cutting-edge cancer treatment, produce medical isotopes and anchor a new industry in Windsor — after securing nearly $2 million to design it.  

Dr. Drew Marquardt, head of chemistry and biochemistry, has spent years advocating for a compact accelerator-based neutron source (CANS) in Windsor. The funding, announced March 13 as part of a $552-million federal infrastructure investment through the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), will support a full scientific and technical design for a prototype facility.  

Outstanding Scholar climbs towards academic excellence

Mina PairawanMina Pairawan at the rock-climbing gym. (Photo courtesy of Mina Pairawan)

By Sara Elliott 

Mina Pairawan’s brain rarely takes a break, even when she is relaxing.  

During her scarce downtime, the biomedical science major goes bouldering at a local rock-climbing gym with her friends. 

Researchers probe link between mealtimes and cancer

Rachna Patel working with equipment in laboratoryGraduate student Rachna Patel is working with the research team in professor Phillip Karpowicz’s lab to determine how eating patterns that conflict with circadian rhythms may contribute to development of colorectal cancers.

Your eating patterns could be throwing off your circadian rhythms. Biomedical sciences professor Phillip Karpowicz says this negatively affects your health — specifically your gut health — which could result in an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

Circadian rhythms are 24-hour physiological changes that include sleep-wake cycles, metabolic changes, hormone oscillations, and cycles of feeding-fasting. These are driven by the circadian clock, a molecular timer that enables our cells to anticipate daily events.