‘Brainstorm,’ a special edition of YFile publishing on the first Friday of every month, showcases research and innovation at York University. It offers compelling and accessible feature-length stories about the world-leading and policy-relevant work of York’s academics and researchers across all disciplines and Faculties and encompasses both pure and applied research.
In the February 2021 issue
Planetary scientist/space engineer leads paper that may guide future NASA endeavors – bonus video
Professor John Moores, York Research Chair in Space Exploration, heads an international team investigating methane on the planet Mars, and produces a white paper that could help to steer the next decade’s activities of major space agencies like NASA. Changemaker, indeed.
Research on COVID-19-based job loss and inequity could inform future public policy
A York U economist collaborated with an American academic to study the first months of COVID-19 and consider how the pandemic affected Americans’ earning potential. The findings, as harrowing as they are, will help public policymakers on both sides of the border.
Key to tackling antimicrobial resistance: Remove big pharma and powerful elites
A grad student analyses antimicrobial resistance and finds some countries handle it better than others. Success is based on disassociating from profit-minded pharmaceutical companies and political agendas – a noteworthy finding for public and global health policymakers.
Researchers peg success of high-profile healthcare facility on people and vision
A sessional instructor and business professor study the reinvigoration of a Toronto hospital and discover the secret(s) of its success from a public management perspective. They determine what this facility, which now specializes in rehabilitation and complex care cases, was doing right from the very start.
Book suggests reinventing past cultural practices could repair damaged world
A Glendon scholar’s new and profoundly intradisciplinary book suggests that experimenting with traditional practices from the past could help us grapple with today’s challenging times. He profiles three such practices and investigates the restorative powers therein.
Launched in January 2017, ‘Brainstorm’ is produced out of the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation in partnership with Communications & Public Affairs; overseen by Megan Mueller, senior manager, research communications; and edited by Jenny Pitt-Clark, YFile editor and Ashley Goodfellow Craig, YFile deputy editor.