Highlighting HWI Research
Grow & Go
Congenital Sucrose Isomaltase Deficiency
The Congenital Sucrose Isomaltase Deficiency: Mapping Review is in the final stages of screening and moving toward data extraction. Our interdisciplinary team consists of representation from Nutrition (Francis), Nursing (McKee, Gallant), and Knowledge Synthesis (Neilson). Seed funding from the HWI has supported student opportunities in learning knowledge synthesis and extraction. Expected deliverables from this project include a published mapping review, a national oral or poster presentation, and recommendations for future research to advance our understanding of CSID in Canada.
Bridging the Health Home and Health Neighbourhood
Dr. Jonathon Fowles, [NPI and Director, Centre of Lifestyle Studies (COLS) and the Health and Wellness Institute (HWI)] is leading a team of community and healthcare partners that has worked collaboratively to deliver community programs for 10 years through COLS, complemented by an outstanding interdisciplinary research team from the HWI, with practical expertise in program delivery and evaluation (Dr. Karen Kendall, Brianna Leadbetter - Kinesiology), implementation science (Dr. Maddie Gallant), knowledge mobilization (Dr. Sydney Breneol – Nursing) and economics (Dr. Barry Watson – Economics). This project will: (1) evaluate the equitable reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance and identify multi-level barriers and facilitators; (2) determine costs, healthcare utilization, economic value, and resource requirements; (3) strengthen partnerships between end-users, interest holders and decision makers; and 4) integrate findings and co-design evidence-informed recommendations, to support spread and scale of this innovation to other regions.
Canadian Tick Research and Innovation Centre (CTRIC)
The Canadian Tick Research and Innovation Centre (CTRIC) officially opened at Acadia on August 25, 2026, with representatives from government, funding agencies, industry and Acadia in attendance. The event included the announcement of $1.2 M in new funding from Research Nova Scotia, $455,000 from ACOA, $50,000 from the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness, $10,000 from MERCK, and over $2M in donor funding. The opening generated significant local and national news and social media coverage, helping raise awareness of CTRIC’s national role in advancing tick research. Other updates include the recent appointment of Kayla Gaudet as CTRIC Project Manager and significant technical milestones, including the development of an innovative artificial feeding system that has achieved strong attachment rates for both blacklegged ticks and American dog ticks.