Scholarship@Western

Mastrandrea, Jacob W

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2025 
Unraveling Eumelanin Drug Binding: From Simulations to Ocular 
Drug Design 
Jacob W. Mastrandrea 
Western University, jmastra5@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Mastrandrea, Jacob W., "Unraveling Eumelanin Drug Binding: From Simulations to Ocular Drug Design" 
(2025). Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative 
Activity. 760. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/760 
 
 
Melanin is a widespread biopolymer with key roles in pigmentation, UV protection, and 
defense against oxidative stress. It is also involved in diseases such as glaucoma, macular 
degeneration, Parkinson’s, dementia, and melanoma—many of which are linked to elevated 
melanin levels in specific tissues. These links present an opportunity to harness melanin’s natural 
drug-binding capacity for targeted, long-acting drug delivery. However, the molecular details of how 
drugs interact with melanin remain poorly understood, limiting rational drug design. This research 
focuses on characterizing drug-melanin interactions using molecular dynamics simulations to 
model how different therapeutic compounds bind to melanin aggregates. Compounds with known 
melanin affinity will be tested to identify stable binding poses and interaction patterns. 
Computational results will be compared with experimental binding data to improve accuracy. The 
goal is to build a predictive framework for developing drugs that selectively accumulate in melanin-
rich tissues, improving treatment outcomes for melanin-associated diseases. 


Unraveling Eumelanin Drug Binding: From Simulations to Ocular Drug Design

Saifi, Reza

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2025 
Listening to Algae; Electrically 
Reza Saifi 
rsaifi@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Saifi, Reza, "Listening to Algae; Electrically" (2025). Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of Western’s 
Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 779. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/779 
Flat photobioreactors are compact and urban-friendly but tracking how well algae grow inside them 
is still a challenge. Conventional monitoring methods are slow and often require sampling, which 
interrupts the culture. My research explores a non-invasive way to monitor microalgae using 
electrochemical signals. Specifically, I use Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) to 
characterize algae cultures in real time, without touching them. These electrical fingerprints reveal 
changes in cell concentration, viability, contamination, and lipid content. My goal is to integrate this 
technique into everyday bioreactor systems, turning them into smart tools that can make real-time 
decisions. This could support cleaner biofuel production, better wastewater treatment, and more 
efficient carbon capture; ultimately enabling photobioreactors that bypass the food chain to deliver 
a “golden package” of microalgae, rich in essential nutrients like proteins, omega-3s, and 
antioxidants, directly to city dwellers. These systems can grow sustainably and remain easy to adopt 
in urban settings. 


Listening to Algae; Electrically

McFarlane, Lauren E

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2025 
Impact Earth: Understanding How Meteorite Impacts Change 
Earth Rocks 
Lauren E. McFarlane 
Western University, lmcfar4@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
McFarlane, Lauren E., "Impact Earth: Understanding How Meteorite Impacts Change Earth Rocks" (2025). 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 
785. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/785 
Impact Earth: Understanding How Meteorite Impacts Change Earth Rocks 
 
 
Have you ever wondered what a large meteorite can do when it hits a solid body? Luckily, 
we can study how rocks are affected by impacts by investigating terrestrial impact craters. 
When a meteorite hits Earth, large amounts of heat and pressure are released which can 
melt and fracture the target rock. If water is present, it can seep through these cracks and 
fractures and alter the rock further. The extreme temperatures combined with an aqueous 
source can create long-lasting hydrothermal systems.  My research specifically is to 
investigate the hydrothermal alteration within the Brent Impact Crater, which is a smaller, 
bowl-shaped crater, located in northern Algonquin Park, Ontario, Canada. Investigating 
impact generated hydrothermal systems is important as they have been proposed as likely 
environments for the origin of life on Earth. Therefore, by classifying these systems on 
Earth, we can begin to predict possible life-sustaining environments on other planets. 
 
 
 


Impact Earth: Understanding How Meteorite Impacts Change Earth Rocks

Lewicki, Louisa

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2025 
Reading the Room: Understanding Embryo Quality through 
MicroRNA Clues 
Louisa Lewicki 
The University of Western Ontario, llewicki@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Lewicki, Louisa, "Reading the Room: Understanding Embryo Quality through MicroRNA Clues" (2025). 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 
786. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/786 
Louisa Lewicki 
 
Reading the Room: Understanding Embryo Quality through MicroRNA Clues 
 
Imagine an embryo as a tiny tenant, quietly decorating the room it occupies. It doesn’t paint 
walls or hang art—but it leaves traces of itself in the environment, in the form of microRNAs. 
These molecular “decorations” offer subtle clues about the embryo’s internal health, including 
whether its chromosomes are balanced. My research listens to these clues in spent blastocyst 
media (the embryos decorated room) and analyzes microRNA profiles to distinguish between 
aneuploid and euploid embryos. Unlike traditional genetic testing, which is invasive and often 
controversial, this method respects the embryo’s space—it simply observes what’s already been 
shared. This work could pave the way for safer, more accurate embryo selection in fertility 
clinics, offering hopeful parents a non-invasive path to healthy pregnancies. By reading the 
room, we just might discover which embryos are ready to make a house a home. 
 
 
 


Reading the Room: Understanding Embryo Quality through MicroRNA Clues

Plotnick, Samuel

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2025 
Neurodiversity at Work 
Samuel Plotnick 
University of Western Ontario, splotni@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Plotnick, Samuel, "Neurodiversity at Work" (2025). Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of Western’s 
Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 795. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/795 
Inspiring Minds Submission – Samuel Plotnick 
Working doesn’t feel the same for everyone—and that matters. Understanding and 
appreciating this fact is core to my research exploring how neurodivergent individuals, 
particularly those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), experience and 
respond to the workplace differently from their neurotypical peers. To achieve this, I focus 
on how traits like emotion and attention regulation influence how people with ADHD react 
to or feel about interpersonal workplace conflict and broader job demands such as a heavy 
workload or repetitive job tasks. To understand these differences, I employ both qualitative 
and quantitative methods to examine how people evaluate their work environments and 
what this evaluation means for inclusion, performance, and well-being. Ultimately, my 
goal is to generate insights that not only advance theory in industrial-organizational 
psychology but also support more inclusive and effective workplace practices for those 
with ADHD and a range of diverse cognitive profiles. 
 
 


Neurodiversity at Work

Potts, Emilie A

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2025 
The Heads Up on Head Injuries 
Emilie A. Potts 
Western University, epotts3@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Potts, Emilie A., "The Heads Up on Head Injuries" (2025). Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 803. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/803 
The Heads Up on Head Injuries 
Emilie Potts 
Concussions, or mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI), can affect anyone, regardless of age, sex, or 
lifestyle. In fact, it's estimated that 1 in 4 people will experience a concussion or TBI during their 
lifetime. While many of these injuries are considered mild, their impact can be serious and long-
lasting for some individuals. This variability raises important questions about what factors 
influence the severity of a TBI and the path to recovery. To explore this complex issue, I use a 
multidisciplinary approach that includes physical testing (such as animal models and dummy head 
impacts) and computational simulations. Each method offers unique insights, helping to build a 
more complete picture of what happens to the brain during and after a concussion. Understanding 
TBIs isn't just a scientific challenge, it’s a crucial step toward protecting the health and well-being 
of individuals, families, and communities. 


The Heads Up on Head Injuries

Treesh, Ranya

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2025 
The Unheard Patient: Uncovering Inclusive Practice Gaps in 
Healthcare Case Studies 
Ranya Treesh 
Western University, rtreesh2@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Treesh, Ranya, "The Unheard Patient: Uncovering Inclusive Practice Gaps in Healthcare Case Studies" 
(2025). Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative 
Activity. 804. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/804 
 
 
Inspiring Minds Proposal 
 
 
Ranya Treesh, BScN, RN, MScN(c) 
Word Count: 141 words, excluding title 
 
 
 
The Unheard Patient: Uncovering Inclusive Practice Gaps in Healthcare Case Studies 
I’m on a mission to find out whether equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization are more 
than just buzzwords in healthcare education. When you look at clinical case studies, the stories 
of marginalized communities are often missing —that’s a big problem. That kind of gap doesn’t 
just affect education, it affects real lives and real patient care. My research digs into what’s out 
there and asks: are we doing justice to everyone’s story? 
As a Muslim woman and the daughter of North African immigrants, I’ve seen how easily culture 
can be misunderstood and ignored in healthcare. As a nurse, I’ve also seen how that plays out in 
practice. I want to change that. My goal is to help create case studies that actually reflect the 
patients we serve—diverse, complex, and real—so healthcare workers are better prepared to 
provide care that’s truly inclusive. 
 


The Unheard Patient: Uncovering Inclusive Practice Gaps in Healthcare Case Studies

Northwood, Taylor-Victoria, Mrs.

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2025 
Listening to the Silent Generation 
Taylor-Victoria Northwood Mrs. 
History, tnorthwo@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Northwood, Taylor-Victoria Mrs., "Listening to the Silent Generation" (2025). Inspiring Minds – A Digital 
Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 815. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/815 
The oral history project Rock Around the Clock began with the research question: What was 
it like to be a teenager in Windsor, Ontario during the 1950s? Archival materials provide a 
stage, but no actors. This generation is often overlooked in research, just as they were as 
teens in the 1950s. By interviewing residents of retirement homes in Windsor, I aim to 
uncover stories of Silent Generation individuals during their teenage years in this 
economically and socially thriving city. The project, evolving into a docuseries, will spotlight 
interviewees, some for the first time ever. As we journey back to the “pop shops” and 
“drive-ins,” a shared sense of identity will emerge among Windsorites of all ages, preserving 
the voices of the last living generation before they are gone. We must honor a generation’s 
legacy to inspire future generations to cherish their own histories and the communities that 
shape them.  


Listening to the Silent Generation

Benninger, Rachel

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2025 
Design Research: A Collaborative Approach to Tool Development 
Rachel Benninger 
rbraun6@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Benninger, Rachel, "Design Research: A Collaborative Approach to Tool Development" (2025). Inspiring 
Minds – A Digital Collection of Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 822. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/822 
Design Research: A Collaborative Approach to Tool Development 
 
In April of 2022, a group of Teachers of the Deaf and Speech-Language Pathologists met to discuss 
their current practices for supporting oral language skills in their Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) 
students. Discussions revolved around current practices, gaps, and visions of what could be. A few 
months later, a prototype had been developed based on these conversations. The prototype was 
tested by group members with their students, and feedback was provided. In October of 2024, the 
final assessment tool, developed, revised, and shaped by this group, was made publicly available 
for all Teachers of the Deaf to use to support their DHH students. Now, a corresponding 
intervention tool kit is being developed with the same collaborative approach. 
This is design research: the development of practical tools to solve real-world problems, co-
developed by the ultimate end-users, tested in the real world, and ready for immediate 
implementation into practice. 
 


Design Research: A Collaborative Approach to Tool Development

Espinosa, Samuel

Western University 
Scholarship@Western 
Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and 
Creative Activity 
Inspiring Minds 
September 2025 
Predicting Landslides Using AI 
Samuel Espinosa 
sespinos@uwo.ca 
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds 
Citation of this paper: 
Espinosa, Samuel, "Predicting Landslides Using AI" (2025). Inspiring Minds – A Digital Collection of 
Western’s Graduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity. 835. 
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/inspiringminds/835 
Predicting Landslides Using AI 
Rainfall-triggered landslides devastate communities worldwide, causing massive destruction, loss 
of lives, and lasting economic damage. Between 2004 and 2016 alone, rainfall was responsible for 
nearly 80% of global landslide disasters, claiming tens of thousands of lives. Predicting these 
catastrophic events is crucial yet challenging, as traditional methods fail to fully capture the 
complex interactions between rainfall, soil conditions, and slope geometry. My research addresses 
this critical issue by developing an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) model. By combining 
cutting-edge machine learning techniques with detailed centrifuge experiments and computational 
simulations, the model learns from past events and real-time data to accurately forecast slope 
instability. The goal is to create a reliable early warning system that provides timely predictions, 
allowing communities to take preventive action, ultimately saving lives and protecting 
infrastructure from the devastating impacts of landslides. 


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