Student SRC projects highlight innovation at 2025 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Showcase

Over 50 Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) student research projects from across six faculties were presented at the Undergraduate Research Opportunities (URO) Showcase in the Sears Atrium on September 29, 2025. The showcase was the culmination of the summer URO program, where students worked directly with faculty mentors and expanded their research-related skills. 

Student project topics ranged from tracking the evolution of anti-hate laws since WWII to looking at improving reporting in Black communities, among many others. This year’s two-hour event gave students the chance to share their projects with attendees.

“Today’s event is a wonderful opportunity to come together to showcase the excellence of our undergraduate researchers and discuss the ideas and diverse projects, spanning a range of disciplines, that have taken shape over the summer,” said Steven N. Liss, TMU’s vice-president, research and innovation, during his opening remarks.

Dean of Libraries, Mark Robertson, described how the URO Showcase “perfectly embodies” the mission of the TMU Libraries. “This event is the living, breathing example of communities forging connections and igniting discovery,” he said in his speech to attendees.

Running annually since 2019, the faculty-based, competitive URO program is funded by the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (OVPRI). In addition to the URO Showcase, the 14-week program includes poster presentation workshops focused on key knowledge translation skills led by TMU Libraries. For the second consecutive year, the OVPRI funded five TMU students to participate in a program hosted by William Osler Health System, which focused on health-related work. Applications for the next URO will open early in 2026.

Learn more about the URO program.

URO Showcase select projects

Codifying Intolerance: The Global Emergence of Hate Laws After World War II 

Fourth-year history student Max Obadia, who hopes to study law, looked at court cases from around the world to track the evolution of anti-hate legislation, starting with the post-Second World War Nuremberg Trials through to the 1964 passage of the Civil Rights Act in the United States. He also looked at the adoption of similar legislation in Canada, which happened in 1970 with changes to the criminal code.

Obadia’s project, supervised by history professor Jennifer Tunnicliffe, acknowledged that anti-hate laws have always had to strike a balance with free speech to avoid “replicating the very authoritarianism the postwar order sought to defeat.” He said the current charged political climate in the United States offers a fascinating opportunity for comparison with the past.

“People say history repeats itself, and there are certain patterns that you see,” Obadia said. “That’s why I really enjoyed doing this, to see where they were at that time period and where we are today. Where have we gone with this? Has this really been implemented as we hoped? That’s something that piqued my interest for sure.”

Effect of an Allulose Preload on Diet-induced Thermogenesis, Substrate Oxidation, Glycemic Response, and Satiety Over 5 hours in Normal-weight Adults 

When healthy adults eat allulose, a low-calorie sugar substitute, with a meal, does it affect calorie burning, blood sugar levels, energy use and appetite compared to regular sugar or other sweeteners? That question was at the heart of third-year nutrition student Rachel Lo’s project. She worked with Faculty of Community Services professor Nick Bellissimo at TMU’s Nutrition Discovery Labs to find the answer.

While the lab had already studied allulose on its own, its impact within a full meal was unknown. For Lo’s research, 12 healthy men and women received one of four randomized treatments in water: allulose, one of two other low-calorie sweeteners, or plain water. They consumed these alongside a standard breakfast on four separate mornings at least five days apart. After each meal, participants’ blood sugar levels, calories burned, the type of energy source used (fat or carbohydrates) and how full they felt after eating were all measured.

The findings were surprising. “We found that allulose significantly suppressed appetite compared to other low-calorie sweeteners, even though all participants consumed the exact same meal,” said Lo. “This could have major implications for the fields of nutrition and product development.”

Continuous Laser Scanning for Additive Manufacturing Using the Keyence LJ-V7000 Profiler and CR-10 3D Printer 

In industries such as aerospace, automotive and health care, 3D printing must be extremely precise, as even minor defects, such as air gaps or misaligned layers, can compromise safety and quality. But efficiently spotting and fixing these flaws during printing remains a challenge.

Fourth-year aerospace engineering student Shankavie Gnaneswaran tackled this problem by developing a system that uses continuous laser scanning to monitor the printing process in real time. She upgraded the scanner to cut inspection time per layer from 20 minutes to just 15 seconds, allowing defects to be detected and corrected on the spot. 

This innovation could help 3D printing compete with traditional manufacturing by being more time- and cost-efficient and creating less waste. “This method shows a lot of promise and improves the scanning efficiency greatly,” said Gnaneswaran, who was supervised by Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science professor Kazem Fayazbakhsh.

Machine Learning-driven Classification of Cerebral Hemodynamics Using Hyperspectral NIRS 

Chemistry and biology student Amirhossein Foroughianyazdi explored how artificial intelligence (AI) could help health-care workers spot the warning signs of cardiac arrest earlier. Working with Faculty of Science professor Vladislav Toronov, Foroughianyazdi used a safe, non-invasive technique called near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which tracks changes in blood oxygen levels, to gather data from body tissues.

He then tested 30 different machine learning models to see which ones were best at detecting patterns linked to cardiac arrest. The results showed that decision tree and ensemble models consistently outperformed others. By identifying which AI tools work best, this project aimed to support smarter, faster emergency care, thereby improving patient outcomes and advancing the integration of AI in health care. “Our main goal is to save lives,” said Foroughianyazdi.

U.S. Geopolitical Risk and Economic Policy Uncertainty: Impact on the Canadian Stock Market

Which has shaped Canadian financial markets and trade policy more: U.S. geopolitical risk – events such as wars, pandemics and elections – or U.S. economic policy uncertainty? While past research has focused on the impact of these uncertainties within the U.S., little has explored how they affect closely linked yet separate economies like Canada. Accounting and finance student Chaaru Chaaru’s project aimed to fill that gap by analyzing how U.S. geopolitical risks and economic policy uncertainty influence the performance of Canada’s stock market.

She analyzed monthly data from 2017 to 2025 from the U.S. Geopolitical Risk Index and the Canadian stock market across 11 sectors, including health care, technology and resources. Supervised by Ted Rogers School of Management professor Vik Singh, Chaaru found that geopolitical risk had the strongest influence, especially on the resources and consumer staples sectors. Events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 U.S. election and the Russia-Ukraine war caused notable spikes in the Canadian market. 

“These findings highlight the strong economic ties between Canada and the U.S. and the importance of monitoring U.S. political risk for Canadian market stakeholders,” said Chaaru.

Reporting in Black Communities 

As a fourth-year journalism student, Jisele Bayley-Hay spent her summer researching ways to improve how news media represent Black communities. Supervised by The Creative School professor Eternity Martis, she used the Black Emancipatory Action Research (BEAR) Framework – a methodology developed by a Black scholar to make research involving Black communities more ethical, inclusive and supportive – to gather input from 100 participants.

Through focus groups and interviews with Black community members in Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton and Halifax, as well as Canadian journalists and newsroom leaders, Bayley-Hay gathered feedback on media representation. Participants reported that negative stereotypes, including associations with criminality, violence, laziness and the over-sexualization of Black women, remain common, along with over-representation in crime, sports and entertainment coverage.

The research team will next focus on developing curriculum resources and a guidebook to help journalism publications improve reporting on Black communities. They also plan to present their findings at a national symposium.

Undergraduate students who participated in the 2025 URO Program and their projects