Research & Innovation

By Kate Hargreaves 

With shortages of primary care practitioners and long wait times for health care, more Ontarians may be turning to episodic care providers such as walk-in clinics, urgent care centres and pharmacies for their medical needs. 

For women who have experienced gender-based violence (GBV), however, a lack of continuity and brief encounters with providers can create barriers to receiving responsive trauma- and violence-informed care. 

By Sara Elliott

Dr. Evra Trought-Pitters sees a future where Indigenous Knowledges are meaningfully included in Ontario elementary and secondary mathematics education.

The Toronto District School Board educator recently defended her University of Windsor doctoral dissertation in education, examining how educational leaders can help teachers incorporate Indigenous Knowledges and perspectives into mathematics instruction respectfully.

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.

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. 

By Lindsay Charlton 

Home to more than 4,000 species — some endangered — the Ojibway Prairie Complex is one of the most biologically diverse landscapes in Canada.  

Its protection, however, came partly by chance. 

Now a nature reserve and the largest natural area in Windsor, the complex is also being considered for inclusion in a national urban park. The land came close to industrial development several times throughout its history. 

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.

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.

By Lindsay Charlton

At the foot of Mill Street in Windsor’s Sandwich Town, a new pier is giving residents a fresh perspective on the Detroit River.

Within moments after the Bexhigoyaak Pier, also known as the Queen’s Dock Cultural Pier, opened this spring, people were casting lines into the water — something pier and park designer Jason Grossi was happy to see.

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.

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.