A new study has determined that intermittent fasting can help people with Crohn’s disease who are overweight.

Intermittent fasting has become a popular diet trend. But new research from a collaboration between UBC Okanagan and the University of Calgary has determined it can also have health benefits for people living with Crohn’s disease who are overweight.

Dr. Natasha Haskey is a registered dietitian and clinical researcher within the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science’s Department of Biology. She recently co-authored a study examining how overweight people with Crohn’s fared when they fasted for 16 hours a day but consumed their usual diet during the remaining eight hours of that day.

It was the first randomized controlled trial to examine intermittent fasting for people with Crohn’s, a form of inflammatory bowel disease.

“We wanted to see whether eating within a set time window each day could help this particular group of people,” explains Dr. Haskey. “We were curious whether this way of eating could improve symptoms, reduce visceral fat, which is fat around the organs, lower inflammation and support a healthier gut. And our preliminary research suggests it does.”

Crohn’s disease is often complicated by excess visceral fat, which is linked to increased inflammation, reduced response to biologic therapies and higher rates of surgical complications. Despite this, lifestyle strategies that specifically address the accumulation of body fat and metabolic dysfunction have been understudied for people with Crohn’s.

Dr. Maitreyi Raman, a gastroenterologist and associate professor at the University of Calgary, is the principal investigator and co-author of the study.

“Crohn’s disease reflects a chronic imbalance in the body’s immune responses,” says Dr. Raman. “We’re beginning to see how metabolic health, gut microbes and immune pathways interact—and how eating patterns may help restore that balance.”

The study, published recently in Gastroenterology, shows promising results, adds Dr. Raman. The participants who tried intermittent fasting noticed a significant decrease in their body mass index, while those who did not fast, maintained or increased their body mass.

Notably, these changes occurred while both groups consumed the same number of daily calories and similar foods. Those who fasted also reported a reduction in their symptoms—a 40 per cent drop in stool frequency and a 50 per cent reduction in abdominal discomfort.

“The people who fasted lost weight and visceral fat, showed signs not only in clinical disease improvement but also reduced inflammation,” says Dr. Raman. “Importantly, these changes occurred without making any dietary changes. The only change they made was when they ate.”

In addition to feeling better, people in the intermittent fasting group showed important improvements in their metabolism. Proteins released from fat tissue—which help control metabolism, appetite, and heart and immune health—shifted in a healthier direction. In a subgroup, deep visceral fat also went down, while it actually increased in those who did not fast.

“These findings suggest that intermittent fasting group might help reduce symptoms, support weight loss and improve overall health in people with Crohn’s,” says Dr. Haskey. “Intermittent fasting won’t replace medication, and it’s not a cure, but it may be a useful, low-cost and accessible tool for those who are overweight and living with Crohn’s disease, along with other treatments. More research is needed, but the results look promising.”

The study was supported by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation through a Litwin IBD Pioneers Grant and the Inflammation, Microbiome, and Alimentation: Gastro-Intestinal and Neuropsychiatric Effects Chronic Disease Network.

The post Time-restricted eating shows promise for overweight people living with Crohn’s appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

A new study has determined that intermittent fasting can help people with Crohn’s disease who are overweight.

Intermittent fasting has become a popular diet trend. But new research from a collaboration between UBC Okanagan and the University of Calgary has determined it can also have health benefits for people living with Crohn’s disease who are overweight.

Dr. Natasha Haskey is a registered dietitian and clinical researcher within the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science’s Department of Biology. She recently co-authored a study examining how overweight people with Crohn’s fared when they fasted for 16 hours a day but consumed their usual diet during the remaining eight hours of that day.

It was the first randomized controlled trial to examine intermittent fasting for people with Crohn’s, a form of inflammatory bowel disease.

“We wanted to see whether eating within a set time window each day could help this particular group of people,” explains Dr. Haskey. “We were curious whether this way of eating could improve symptoms, reduce visceral fat, which is fat around the organs, lower inflammation and support a healthier gut. And our preliminary research suggests it does.”

Crohn’s disease is often complicated by excess visceral fat, which is linked to increased inflammation, reduced response to biologic therapies and higher rates of surgical complications. Despite this, lifestyle strategies that specifically address the accumulation of body fat and metabolic dysfunction have been understudied for people with Crohn’s.

Dr. Maitreyi Raman, a gastroenterologist and associate professor at the University of Calgary, is the principal investigator and co-author of the study.

“Crohn’s disease reflects a chronic imbalance in the body’s immune responses,” says Dr. Raman. “We’re beginning to see how metabolic health, gut microbes and immune pathways interact—and how eating patterns may help restore that balance.”

The study, published recently in Gastroenterology, shows promising results, adds Dr. Raman. The participants who tried intermittent fasting noticed a significant decrease in their body mass index, while those who did not fast, maintained or increased their body mass.

Notably, these changes occurred while both groups consumed the same number of daily calories and similar foods. Those who fasted also reported a reduction in their symptoms—a 40 per cent drop in stool frequency and a 50 per cent reduction in abdominal discomfort.

“The people who fasted lost weight and visceral fat, showed signs not only in clinical disease improvement but also reduced inflammation,” says Dr. Raman. “Importantly, these changes occurred without making any dietary changes. The only change they made was when they ate.”

In addition to feeling better, people in the intermittent fasting group showed important improvements in their metabolism. Proteins released from fat tissue—which help control metabolism, appetite, and heart and immune health—shifted in a healthier direction. In a subgroup, deep visceral fat also went down, while it actually increased in those who did not fast.

“These findings suggest that intermittent fasting group might help reduce symptoms, support weight loss and improve overall health in people with Crohn’s,” says Dr. Haskey. “Intermittent fasting won’t replace medication, and it’s not a cure, but it may be a useful, low-cost and accessible tool for those who are overweight and living with Crohn’s disease, along with other treatments. More research is needed, but the results look promising.”

The study was supported by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation through a Litwin IBD Pioneers Grant and the Inflammation, Microbiome, and Alimentation: Gastro-Intestinal and Neuropsychiatric Effects Chronic Disease Network.

The post Time-restricted eating shows promise for overweight people living with Crohn’s appeared first on UBC's Okanagan News.

A new study has determined that intermittent fasting can help people with Crohn’s disease who are overweight.

Intermittent fasting has become a popular diet trend. But new research from a collaboration between UBC Okanagan and the University of Calgary has determined it can also have health benefits for people living with Crohn’s disease who are overweight.

Dr. Natasha Haskey is a registered dietitian and clinical researcher within the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science’s Department of Biology. She recently co-authored a study examining how overweight people with Crohn’s fared when they fasted for 16 hours a day but consumed their usual diet during the remaining eight hours of that day.

It was the first randomized controlled trial to examine intermittent fasting for people with Crohn’s, a form of inflammatory bowel disease.

“We wanted to see whether eating within a set time window each day could help this particular group of people,” explains Dr. Haskey. “We were curious whether this way of eating could improve symptoms, reduce visceral fat, which is fat around the organs, lower inflammation and support a healthier gut. And our preliminary research suggests it does.”

Crohn’s disease is often complicated by excess visceral fat, which is linked to increased inflammation, reduced response to biologic therapies and higher rates of surgical complications. Despite this, lifestyle strategies that specifically address the accumulation of body fat and metabolic dysfunction have been understudied for people with Crohn’s.

Dr. Maitreyi Raman, a gastroenterologist and associate professor at the University of Calgary, is the principal investigator and co-author of the study.

“Crohn’s disease reflects a chronic imbalance in the body’s immune responses,” says Dr. Raman. “We’re beginning to see how metabolic health, gut microbes and immune pathways interact—and how eating patterns may help restore that balance.”

The study, published recently in Gastroenterology, shows promising results, adds Dr. Raman. The participants who tried intermittent fasting noticed a significant decrease in their body mass index, while those who did not fast, maintained or increased their body mass.

Notably, these changes occurred while both groups consumed the same number of daily calories and similar foods. Those who fasted also reported a reduction in their symptoms—a 40 per cent drop in stool frequency and a 50 per cent reduction in abdominal discomfort.

“The people who fasted lost weight and visceral fat, showed signs not only in clinical disease improvement but also reduced inflammation,” says Dr. Raman. “Importantly, these changes occurred without making any dietary changes. The only change they made was when they ate.”

In addition to feeling better, people in the intermittent fasting group showed important improvements in their metabolism. Proteins released from fat tissue—which help control metabolism, appetite, and heart and immune health—shifted in a healthier direction. In a subgroup, deep visceral fat also went down, while it actually increased in those who did not fast.

“These findings suggest that intermittent fasting group might help reduce symptoms, support weight loss and improve overall health in people with Crohn’s,” says Dr. Haskey. “Intermittent fasting won’t replace medication, and it’s not a cure, but it may be a useful, low-cost and accessible tool for those who are overweight and living with Crohn’s disease, along with other treatments. More research is needed, but the results look promising.”

The study was supported by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation through a Litwin IBD Pioneers Grant and the Inflammation, Microbiome, and Alimentation: Gastro-Intestinal and Neuropsychiatric Effects Chronic Disease Network.

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Rebecca Booth, Dr. Anna Ordog and Dr. Alex Hill with the DRAO 15m telescope behind them. Photo courtesy of the National Research Council of Canada/Conseil National de Recherches Canada.

A UBC Okanagan-led research project has given a group of international scientists their clearest view yet of the Milky Way’s magnetic field, revealing that it is far more complex than previously believed.

Dr. Alex Hill, Assistant Professor in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science at UBCO, specializes in radio astronomy. Working at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO), near Penticton, his team used data from the DRAO 15-metre telescope to complete the first broadband map of Faraday rotation, a phenomenon that scientists use to track magnetic fields across the northern sky.

The dataset, known as Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory GMIMS of the northern sky (DRAGONS) and led by former UBCO postdoctoral researcher Dr. Anna Ordog, captures polarized radio emissions across a wide range of frequencies, allowing astronomers to see magnetic structures that were previously invisible. This research is part of a larger initiative called the Global Magneto-Ionic Medium Survey (GMIMS), initiated by Dr. Tom Landecker, an astronomer at DRAO and adjunct professor at both UBCO and the University of Calgary.

“With our new dataset, we can look at the polarized emissions from within the galaxy itself, and we see that the magnetic field has a lot of structure to it,” Dr. Ordog explains. “DRAGONS is the first to show this level of complexity on such large spatial scales and across the entire northern sky.”

The work builds on a theoretical insight first proposed in 1966, which showed that polarized radio waves observed at many frequencies enable measurements of the three-dimensional structure of the Milky Way’s magnetic field. At the time, the technology needed to observe this effect across wide frequency ranges did not exist. Modern broadband telescopes, including the DRAO 15m telescope, have made this research possible.

The project was the first scientific use of the 15m telescope, which DRAO originally built as a prototype antenna for the SKA—a large radio telescope currently under construction in Southern Africa and Western Australia. Dr. Ordog led the setup for the DRAGONS project, supported by five students from UBCO and the University of Calgary, along with the expertise of DRAO engineers and technologists.

“The 15m is the ideal instrument for this all-sky survey of large-scale magnetized structures—it can scan rapidly, effectively ‘painting’ a map of the polarized sky in just six months,” she says. “Having the 15m so close to UBCO allowed students to contribute to hands-on testing in preparation for the survey.”

UBCO students analyzed “first light” signals from the instrument, developed algorithms to identify human-made radio interference and assessed the survey data quality.

The study, recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, tracks how polarized radio waves twist as they travel through the galaxy, revealing the strength, structure and direction of magnetic fields along the line of sight. This survey shows that more than half the sky contains complex magnetic structures rather than simple, uniform fields.

Dr. Landecker says the biggest surprise for the researchers was just how much of the sky is what is known as “Faraday complex”.

“With our new dataset, we can look at the polarized emission from within the galaxy itself, and we can see that the magnetic field has much more structure to it than we could detect with earlier observation methods,” says Dr. Landecker, who is also the leader of a larger effort to map magnetic fields in three dimensions and an astronomer emeritus at DRAO.

“DRAGONS is like a compass, telling us how matter and magnetic fields in the galaxy are organized and how the magnetic field interacts with bubbles created by supernova explosions, spiral arms and other parts of the galaxy in ways that have never been possible before.”

Magnetic fields shape how stars are formed and how galaxies evolve, explains Dr. Hill.

“For decades, we could only measure the Milky Way’s magnetic field in a very averaged, simplified way,” says Dr. Hill. “But its magnetic field is an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to understanding how the universe and everything in it operates and came into being.”

Already, the DRAGONS data have been used in a study of the mysterious large-scale reversal in the galactic magnetic field. This latest study was led by University of Calgary doctoral student Rebecca Booth and published in an accompanying paper in The Astrophysical Journal this week. This is a good example of how the dataset will provide opportunities for continued research in this field, says Dr. Ordog.

“DRAGONS is part of a new generation of radio surveys that allow scientists to map the Milky Way’s three-dimensional magnetic field structure in the space between the stars,” she adds. “It is an important Canadian contribution to the global astronomical community.”

The DRAO 15m telescope at work scanning the sky for the DRAGONS survey. The data collected by this survey is a new generation of radio surveys that allow scientists to continue mapping the Milky Way and its three-dimensional magnetic field structure. Photo courtesy of Luca Galler.

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A new UBC study finds that there are fewer women, both as participants and researchers, in exercise physiology than in other health sciences.

A UBC research team has revealed substantial, ongoing inequities in how sex and gender are represented in exercise physiology—both in who is studied and who is conducting that research.

The analysis shows that exercise physiology continues to focus mainly on male bodies and voices, despite long-standing calls for greater equity. It also shows that these patterns are more pronounced in exercise physiology than in most other areas of health research.

Dr. Meaghan MacNutt, an assistant professor of teaching in UBC Okanagan’s School of Health and Exercise Sciences, is lead author on the review, which was published recently in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism. She and colleagues from UBC’s Faculty of Medicine examined more than 600 recent research articles published in six leading exercise physiology journals.

They found that nearly half of the studies included only male participants, while fewer than one in ten focused exclusively on females. Women were also significantly underrepresented as researchers, making up only 27 per cent of total authors and 16 per cent of those in senior roles.

“There are far fewer women in exercise physiology than in other biomedical or health sciences,” says Dr. MacNutt. “Our numbers are closer to what we see in disciplines with very well-known gender gaps, like physics or computer science.”

The research team says these gaps are more than just an issue of fairness—they also undermine the science by limiting whose bodies we understand and whose ideas shape that understanding.

“When findings based primarily on males are generalized to females, important sex-based differences in physiology, diagnosis and treatment can be overlooked. In exercise science, this contributes to an incomplete understanding of how women respond to physical activity—affecting everything from disease prevention to injury rehabilitation and athletic performance.”

The study also assessed how well researchers followed the Sex and Gender Equity in Research Guidelines, an international framework designed to improve equity and accuracy in research and reporting practices. Most exercise physiology articles adhered to fewer than one-third of the guidelines, and more than half used inaccurate or unclear language when referring to sex and gender.

Dr. MacNutt points out that many articles contained clues about how these inequities are produced and sustained, including biased language, unexamined assumptions and weak or absent justifications for excluding female participants. These patterns suggest that exercise researchers still see men as the standard representation for human physiology. The study also found that this bias is just as common in women authors as men.

“Women researchers aren’t perfect,” states Dr. MacNutt. “We all have work to do. But evidence indicates that women researchers are helping to move the discipline forward in important ways—by including more female participants in their studies, collaborating more often with other women and communicating more clearly about sex and gender.”

Unfortunately, the paper found no evidence that an increase in the number of women in exercise physiology is on the horizon.

Dr. MacNutt stresses the goal of this study is to raise awareness and encourage people to think about ways to improve the situation. She notes that some exercise physiologists—including researchers at UBC—are already working hard to address sex and gender gaps in the literature. However, there is still a long way to go.

“We hope this paper is a wake-up call—not just for exercise physiology researchers, but also for those in leadership positions at academic institutions, funding agencies and scientific journals. Shifts in individual researcher behaviour are essential, but they aren’t likely to happen without support and action at all levels.”

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Dr. Dylan Goode demonstrates the science behind the device that can help inhibit involuntary hand movement.

UBC Okanagan researchers have advanced their work on developing a non-invasive, accessible way to reduce uncontrolled hand tremors.

In a newly published study, the team has demonstrated how a new wearable device may reduce involuntary hand tremors linked with neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.

Hand tremors affect millions of people worldwide and can interfere with everyday activities such as eating, writing and personal care, explains Dr. Hadi Mohammadi, Professor in UBCO’s School of Engineering. Current treatments often involve medication or surgery, while existing wearable devices can be costly, bulky or cause unwanted side effects.

“Hand tremors are among the most prevalent neurodegenerative movement disorders, causing involuntary upper-limb fluctuations that significantly impair a person’s quality of life,” says Dr. Mohammadi. “Although not life-threatening, tremors can severely impair daily living and adversely impact psychological wellbeing.”

Since 2018, UBC Okanagan’s Heart Valve Performance Laboratory has been researching ways to reduce hand tremor attenuation using patient-centred, mechanically driven solutions. While medications and therapy provide limited relief, wearable devices that suppress tremors offer a promising non-invasive alternative, he says.

A typical hand tremor absorber works by counteracting the involuntary shaking with a mechanical or electronic device.

But Dr. Mohammadi’s research, published recently in the Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology, takes a different approach. The lightweight, wearable brace works without the need for motors, batteries or invasive procedures—making it accessible to many people.

“Rather than actively driving motion, the device uses a passive omnidirectional vibration-absorbing mechanism tuned to the frequency range of the uncontrolled tremors,” he says. “When worn on the hand, the system dampens involuntary fluctuations while allowing voluntary movement to continue largely unhindered.”

Through a combination of computer modelling and experimental testing—using a full-scale mannequin arm with a simulator designed to replicate tremor patterns—the researchers saw a 79 per cent reduction in unidirectional tremors and a 73 per cent reduction in omnidirectional tremors.

“Our goal was to develop a solution that is effective, wearable and practical for everyday use,” says Dr. Dylan Goode, lab manager in the Heart Valve Performance Laboratory, which is led by Dr. Mohammadi. “By using a passive system, we can reduce tremors without adding complexity, power requirements or limiting natural movement.”

UBCO master’s student Manthan Shah completed his thesis on this technology and notes that the orthosis is lightweight, compact and ergonomically designed—addressing many of the comfort and usability limitations that have historically limited the adoption of wearable tremor suppression devices.

While the results are promising, Dr. Mohammadi says the next step is clinical testing with human participants to evaluate real-world performance, comfort and impact on daily function. If successful, the technology could offer a non-invasive, low-maintenance option for people living with tremor-related disorders, either as a standalone aid or as a complement to existing treatments.

“This work represents a meaningful step toward improving functional independence and quality of life for people living with hand tremors,” he adds. “We hope that this technology will soon be in the hands of patients in British Columbia and across Canada.”

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The public is invited to a public talk by Dr. Russell Beck who will discuss how streaming services and sharing platforms are changing the idea of ownership.

Who: Russell W. Belk, York University Distinguished Research Professor and Kraft Foods Canada Chair in Marketing at the Schulich School of Business
What: Psychological Possessions: what does it mean to own something in a digital world?
When: Friday, January 23, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm
Where: Mary Irwin Theatre, Rotary Centre for the Arts, 421 Cawston Ave., Kelowna

In these days of streaming, digital collections and subscription economies, does it make sense to actually own anything anymore?

That is the question up for discussion at an event Friday hosted by UBC Okanagan’s Faculty of Management.

As part of its IdeaFest series, the faculty presents Dr. Russell Belk, York University Distinguished Research Professor and Kraft Foods Canada Chair in Marketing at the Schulich School of Business. Dr. Belk will talk about changing consumerism in our digital society.

“The focus of this event is on new forms of access that have evolved in recent years,” explains Dr. Annamma Joy, Associate Dean of Research in the Faculty of Management. “Rather than ownership, we’re looking not only at traditional forms such as renting and leasing, but forms that involve the sharing, streaming and expanded subscription economies.”

Dr. Joy notes that traditional ideas of ownership and possession are changing in today’s virtual society.

“If we can share consumer goods such as clothing, cars and homes as well as services such as rides, home food preparation and home medical care, we gain value without ownership and sometimes without possession,” she adds. “These new methods of consumerism create new ways of easy access and minimalism that are changing our lives in ways that may surprise us all.”

While at UBCO, Dr. Belk will also host a talk specifically for the Faculty of Management’s students, faculty and staff before the public event later that day. He is a respected scholar whose research explores the extended self, meanings of possessions, collecting, gift-giving, sharing, digital consumption and materialism.

This event is open to the public and is free of charge. It takes place Friday, January 23, at 5:30 pm at the Rotary Centre for the Arts in Kelowna. For more information or to register, visit: events.ok.ubc.ca/event/psychological-possessions

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UBCO doctoral student Mahmoud Babalar examines a sample of the dual-layer modified matrix membrane that can help retain pollutants like nano-plastics in landfill leachate, keeping them out of water supplies.

UBC Okanagan researchers have created a new two-layer membrane filtration system that can significantly reduce the amount of micro and nanoplastics that leak from landfills into local water basins.

Dr. Sumi Siddiqua, Professor at UBCO’s School of Engineering, and doctoral student Mahmoud Babalar, have published a study detailing how a double-layer membrane installed at landfills can act as a filter to keep tiny pollutants out of groundwater and surrounding ecosystems.

“Landfills are silent threats to our environment, acting as major reservoirs for emerging pollutants,” says Dr. Siddiqua. “Conventional drainage systems fail against microscopic contaminants, including nanoplastics and hazardous chemicals. This allows them to infiltrate groundwater.”

Landfills generate leachate, a contaminated liquid that forms when rainwater passes through waste, Dr. Siddiqua explains. Although most landfills are designed to contain this liquid, recent studies show leachate has become a major collection basin for microscopic plastic, which can escape into water systems.

“As plastic waste breaks down, these particles accumulate in landfill leachate,” explains Babalar. “Current systems handle liquid waste, but they were never designed to completely intercept plastic micro and nano particles.”

The two-layer membrane system featured in their study, published recently in the Journal of Environmental Management, proved to be the most effective when it comes to trapping these pollutants. The top layer uses chemical attraction and filtration to capture micro and nanoplastics. It is engineered to bind plastic particles efficiently, even in complex, organic-rich leachate. The lower layer establishes a protective barrier that repels the remaining plastic particles through electrostatic forces, reducing clogging, membrane fouling and maintaining steady performance over time.

“The two complementary layers work together to block tiny plastic particles under harsh landfill conditions,” he adds. “This combination of layers allows the membrane to filter plastics while liquid can still flow, which is a critical requirement for landfill safety.”

In repeated lab tests, the membrane removed nearly all microplastics and captured more than 98 per cent of nanoplastics. Babalar says that during the testing, the membrane performed well over multiple filtration cycles, and could be cleaned and reused thanks to a methodical backwashing system.

“The membrane is made from durable, chemically stable materials designed to withstand temperature changes, aggressive wastewater and long-term exposure,” he adds. “Its ability to be cleaned and reused reduces waste and supports more sustainable landfill operations.”

Beyond filtration, the researchers say the technology could serve as a foundation for next-generation landfill liners that combine structural protection with active pollution control. This discovery has significant potential to protect groundwater and surface water supplies, reduce the spread of pollutants and also support circular waste management and climate-resilient infrastructure.

The study marks an important step toward smarter landfill systems that not only contain waste but also actively prevent long-term environmental harm, says Dr. Siddiqua.

“Our unique dual-layer modified matrix membrane system is specifically engineered to handle highly contaminated, fouling-intensive raw leachate, positioning it as a foundational component of advanced waste containment,” she adds. “This innovative approach is essential for preventing the migration of pollutants into groundwater, and it represents a significant advancement in waste management and climate-resilient infrastructure.”

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Dr. Miles Thorogood presents SPIRAL, his Canada Foundation for Innovation-funded space, at the 2024 launch event. Research in the lab explores simulating the creative process in sound design to develop advanced models and algorithms for new computational tools.

We’ve all been there, protecting our ears. The school play in the gym or community hall, where sound is distorted due to glitches in equipment.  

“And listening to live performances on the internet introduces even more glitches. Yikes,” says UBC Okanagan’s Dr. Miles Thorogood.   

But now, Dr. Thorogood and his team at UBCO’s Sonic Production, Intelligence, Research, and Applications Lab (SPIRAL) are exploring how advanced machine learning can make glitch-free network music performances possible, supporting creative collaboration and public art experiences.   

The SPIRAL researchers are exploring how audio data travel through a network. They’re using neural networks for Packet Loss Concealment, which generates synthetic audio that can not be lost in transmission, so listeners never notice the gaps.    

Quite often, during a remote music performance, audio packet loss can cause glitches when data travel across a computer network and fail to reach their destination, especially with high-quality audio over wi-fi in noisy urban environments, explains Dr. Thorogood, who teaches in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies. 

While designing the sound infrastructure for Light up Kelowna—using a wireless multi-node audio visual format—Dr. Thorogood observed audio packet loss, and along with undergraduate media studies student Yashvardhan Joshi, furthered their research for a recent publication in IEEE Access.  

Dr. Thorogood explains how this research blends art and science to solve a recurring problem: how to hide glitches in complicated soundscapes made from overlapping natural and electronic sounds, so public installations and music feel immersive and uninterrupted. 

Can you explain what audio packet loss concealment means, and what this research paper is about?  

An Audio Packet is how audio data travel through a network. The User Datagram Protocol (UDP) transmits data streams for real-time communication, such as voice or network music performance. However, UDP—nicknamed the “ultra-dodgy protocol”—lacks error control, so lost or corrupt packets cannot be retransmitted, causing glitches that disrupt remote music performance. Our approach uses a machine learning algorithm to generate synthetic audio that closely resembles what should have been heard, based on the history of the audio signal.   

This contribution represents a substantial increase in modelling difficulty compared to the stationary signals commonly studied in PLC literature.    

Tell us about the Sonic Production, Intelligence, Research, and Applications Lab (SPIRAL)?  

At SPIRAL, we research digital media art and design practices and develop technology solutions for creative workflows. The work in this paper proposes deep learning methods to streamline and conduct glitch free network music performances. This directly relates to the research conducted at SPIRAL in machine learning models to assist and streamline the creative process of music performance and sound analysis.     

How did you apply this research to Light Up Kelowna?   

We designed the Light up Kelowna infrastructure around a wireless multi-node audio visual architecture using open-source hardware and software developed in the lab. With the deployment of the Light Up Kelowna system, we observed audio packet loss some of the time. An analysis of the situation revealed that the large distances between nodes and noisy radio frequency urban environment was the cause of the problem. To mitigate the audio packet loss, we explored packet loss concealment for network music.   

This work provided an opportunity for Yashvardhan to investigate how current deep learning algorithms catered towards Packet Loss Concealment solutions can be used to create experimental audio effects for novel sonic explorations for the music industry. He is also working on public art infrastructure both in creating sound art and developing light and sound technology as part of Light Up Kelowna.   

For more information on the work conducted at SPIRAL, visit: https://fccs.ok.ubc.ca/spiral 

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A new UBCO study finds that microdosing appears to lift mood and mental functioning on the days it’s practiced, but not beyond that.

A new UBC Okanagan study found that people who microdose psychedelics feel better on the days they take them—but those boosts don’t seem to last.

This suggests, says Dr. Michelle St. Pierre, that perceived benefits may be acute rather than long lasting.

Dr. St. Pierre is a post-doctoral psychology researcher with UBCO’s Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She recently published a study in Psychopharmacology that tracks the daily experiences of people who microdose with psychedelics.

Microdosing involves ingesting small amounts of a psychedelic substance, commonly psilocybin mushrooms or lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).

“Most doses vary from one-tenth to one-twentieth of a recreational dose,” Dr. St. Pierre says. “Typical practices alternate varying proportions of non-dosing days to limit the rapid tolerance that can develop with so-called classic psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD. Anecdotal reports suggest that this may also be intended to leverage residual effects that could carry over to non-dosing days.”

While interest in microdosing has grown rapidly, she notes that scientific research has only emerged over the past 15 years. This means popular use has outpaced the scientific support to back it up.

Using data from the Microdose.me project, the world’s largest international daily diary study of real-world microdosing, Dr. St. Pierre says the findings show people tend to feel more connected, creative, focused and productive on days they microdose, as well as increased wellbeing and contemplation. However, these effects didn’t appear to persist on non-dosing days.

“Microdosing appears to lift mood and mental functioning on the days it’s practiced, but not necessarily beyond that,” she adds. “These findings help clarify when and how microdosing effects are felt.”

More than 1,435 microdosers from 49 countries participated in the study. Each morning, participants were asked if they had microdosed and rated how they felt across variables such as connectedness, contemplation, creativity, focus, productiveness and wellbeing.

The research team also examined whether these day-level effects varied across factors such as gender, mental-health history, the substance being microdosed, and whether participants had previously taken larger doses of psychedelics.

Dr. St. Pierre explains that the results were consistent across nearly all groups.

“The only meaningful difference we observed was among people with a history of taking larger psychedelic doses, who showed slightly higher microdosing-day increases in creativity,” she says.

This pattern aligns with emerging evidence that full-dose psychedelic experiences may enhance creativity. One interpretation, Dr. St. Pierre notes, is that microdosing could “reactivate” or build upon these prior effects, though this idea remains speculative.

“We need future research designed specifically to test whether microdosing can amplify or extend the impacts of larger-dose psychedelic experiences,” she adds.

Overall, the study adds daily-level precision to a growing body of research suggesting microdosing may enhance wellbeing and cognitive performance—although in a short-term, day-specific way. While the results are an extension of earlier work, Dr. St. Pierre says this remains an observational study and further research is needed to separate expectation effects from genuine pharmacological changes.

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