Science

Recent graduate helps develop digital tool to support people with PMOS

Parmida Khashayar Computer science graduate Parmida Khashayar. (Photo courtesy of Parmida Khashayar/University of Windsor)

By Sara Elliott

For many people with polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS), receiving a diagnosis is only the beginning.

Managing the condition can involve navigating symptoms, treatment options and changing health information with few clear tools to guide day-to-day decisions.

Students communicate science creatively

students in nature drawingParticipants in a 2024 Creative Ecologies SMArt Masterclass sketch outside a Leamington-area greenhouse. (Cri Kosti/University of Windsor)

By Sara Elliott

Science students are learning to create original works of art to explain scientific research.

In a new University of Windsor research-creation project, undergraduate students will explore how sculpting, painting and drawing can be used to convey research.

Snow buntings, nest boxes and bird walks — how a UWindsor PhD student turned Arctic research into community science

Patricia Rokitnicki Patricia Rokitnicki holding three snow bunting chicks after banding them. (Rachel Dow/University of Windsor)

By Sara Elliott 

Every Saturday in Iqaluit, Patricia Rokitnicki spends her morning with community members searching the city for snow bunting nests.

That's not a distraction from her PhD research — it is her PhD research. 

UWindsor opens new accelerated pathway to medical school

ACSOM medical school in DominicaA new partnership with ACSOM non-profit medical school in Dominica has created a new pathway for UWindsor students pursuing careers in medicine (PROVIDED BY ACSOM/University of Windsor)

University of Windsor students across undergraduate programs will have a new accelerated route to medical school beginning in fall 2026 through a partnership with the American Canadian School of Medicine (ACSOM). 

The pathway will allow qualified students to move into medical education after as little as two years at UWindsor and ultimately earn both a UWindsor undergraduate degree and an ACSOM medical degree in as little as six years. 

Foundation funds cancer research

Participants hold up giant chequeWE-SPARK Health Institute received $150,000 to help advance research focused on cancer prevention, cancer risk, survivorship and youth engagement in cancer care. Pictured from left to right: Houida Kassem, Dr. Ayman Sayyed, Dr. Vikas Garg, Dr. Kathy Pfaff, Dr. Dora Cavallo-Medved, Dr. Lisa Porter and Dr. John Hudson. (PETER MARVAL/University of Windsor)

By Sara Elliott

Five WE-SPARK Health Institute members are receiving funding from the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation to advance research focused on cancer prevention, cancer risk, survivorship and youth engagement in cancer care.

The investment, provided through the Dr. Hakam Abu-Zahra Research Fund, is part of a $150,000 commitment to support locally led projects selected through WE-SPARK Health Institute's 2026 Igniting Discovery Grants competition.

Olympian alumna breaks the tape at hometown half-marathon

Dayna Pidhoresky running in the Windsor Waterfront Half-MarathonDayna Pidhoresky was the women's winner at the Sept. 13 Windsor Waterfront Half-Marathon (PROVIDED BY D. PIDHORESKY/University of Windsor)

By Kate Hargreaves 

On a muggy September morning, Dayna Pidhoresky (BSc ’09, BA ’10) lined up with more than 1,500 runners on Windsor’s Riverside Drive, awaiting the start of the second annual Windsor Waterfront Half-Marathon. 

Just over 71 minutes later, she broke the tape at the finish line, at the same time taking down a personal best (PB) that had stood for 15 years. 

“It did feel very humid warming up, and we were unsure if a PB would be possible on a day like that,” Pidhoresky recalls.  

Student researcher shines a light on bacterial identification

Kitti KellerKitti Keller's research earned her an Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. (Courtesy of Kitti Keller/University of Windsor)

By Sara Elliott

This summer, science student Kitti Keller learned a lesson on how melding biology and physics could one day help identify bacterial pathogens that threaten human health.

“We're hoping to develop a technology so one day you can go to the clinic, give a tiny blood or urine sample and get immediate results showing what's making you sick,” says the third-year biology student.

Arctic songbirds help Iqaluit youth learn conservation skills close to home

Grad student teachingGraduate student Angelina Kemp delivering place-based environmental science materials to Iqaluimmiut youth. (Courtesy of Patricia Rokitnicki/University of Windsor)

By Sara Elliott

In Iqaluit, Nunavut, University of Windsor researchers are helping young people turn the birds around their homes into a gateway to Arctic science, conservation training and community-based wildlife monitoring.

The team received a $172,200 three-year grant for the project through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) PromoScience program.

Science rooted in local waters earns Febria national recognition

Catherine FebriaFebria has been elected to the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. (PETER MARVAL/University of Windsor)

By Sara Elliott

Catherine Febria’s research begins in the smallest streams, where land, water and people meet. Its impact is now being recognized nationally.

From microbes and mushrooms to watersheds across the Great Lakes Basin, the University of Windsor ecologist uses science to understand and restore freshwater ecosystems while building relationships with the communities that depend on them.

Aaron Fisk’s freshwater research reshapes understanding of Great Lakes ecosystems

Aaron Fisk and Lydia PaulicAaron Fisk with former graduate student and current RAEON glider technician, Lydia Paulic, in Parry Sound. (Courtesy of Aaron Fisk/University of Windsor)

By Sara Elliott

For more than two decades, University of Windsor researcher Dr. Aaron T. Fisk has helped change how scientists understand freshwater ecosystems – from how contaminants move through aquatic food webs to where fish travel, feed and spawn across the Great Lakes and the Arctic.

That body of work has now earned Fisk one of Canada’s highest academic honours.