UNB’s Rising Research Stars of 2018
Author: UNB Newsroom
Posted on Jan 9, 2019
Category: UNB Fredericton
The University of New Brunswick continues to be a global leader in research and innovation as UNB researchers snagged seven of the 15 New Brunswick Health Research Foundation (NBHRF) rising research star awards in 2018.
Dr. Kerrie Luck, a postdoctoral fellow, examines the effect hospitals’ smoke-free policy has on healthcare professionals. Although barriers still exist, her research found that the no smoking policy led to tobacco reduction among healthcare providers and patients. It also improved staff morale.
A recent PhD graduate from UNB Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME), Dr. Ahmed Shehata, aims to improve how amputees adjust to their new myoelectric protheses by studying internal model strategies that amputees use when learning to control their devices.
Luke MacNeill, a psychology doctoral candidate, explores the benefits of wide-awake ankle and foot surgery on aging patients. His research found patients experienced little to no pain during surgery. Wide-awake surgery resulted in substantially lower post-operative pain and anxiety in patients compared to those that underwent general anesthesia surgeries.
Research findings from Alireza Manashty, a computer science PhD candidate, could help wearable health devices forecast and prevent accidents. By storing and processing information from medical records over a longer period, the Life Model for Time Series can provide accurate insights and predictions based on the patient’s medical profile directly from the wearable monitoring device.
Dr. Angkoon Phinyomark, postdoctoral fellow at IBME, studies how muscular, skeletal and neurological systems process signals to classify human gestures from surface electromyogram (EMG) signals. His research in myoelectric control devices and prothesis will benefit amputees.
With more than 15 years of nursing experience, Sarah Filiatreault is currently completing her master’s in nursing at UNB. By recording clinical data on her proposed Quality Statements, guidelines used by healthcare providers to establish level of treatment, Ms. Filiatreault hopes to improve the quality of care and reduce the length of hospitalization for hip fracture patients.
Alex Belyea, a master’s candidate at IBME, is researching force myogram (FMG) sensors’ classification accuracy and usability in prosthetic limbs. His research has the potential to make prosthetic limbs lighter and slimmer. If FMG technology is proven clinically successful, it could reduce the cost associated with prosthetics.
Media contact: Paisley Sibbald
Photo credit: Joy Cummings