Centre for Emerging Research Initiatives (CERI)

Taking Experts Out of the Classroom and Into Your Organization

Our goal is to unlock the potential of Mohawk College’s talent and resources, helping you achieve breakthrough results. The Centre for Emerging Research Initiatives (CERI) is an incubator for Mohawk experts who are evolving the college into new research areas – and organizations looking for new perspectives. With access to experts who are both faculty and researchers, CERI helps you find answers when you’re out of places to look.

Services

Test Ideas

Whether you need to build a prototype, conduct background research, or commission an independent assessment of your product or service, our team of industry experts can help you identify potential issues early and address them head-on, saving you time, money, and effort in development.

Unlock Potential Today

Improve Processes

Our curious team of researchers uses cutting-edge equipment and resources to conduct applied research that gets measurable results – and puts you ahead of the competition. Let us help you identify opportunities to improve your processes, reduce risk, and achieve your most ambitious goals.

Push Boundaries

What Happens at CERI

CERI is a community of Mohawk College researchers dedicated to innovation and problem solving. CERI connects you to the right internal innovation resources at the college and helps you explore diverse funding opportunities to leverage your investment in R&D.  Our experts work in a range of sectors and are constantly evolving. Don’t see a perfect fit? Contact us to find out if we have a researcher that can drive your organization forward.

 

Wondering what Applied Research is and how to get involved?

CERI is the founder of Canada’s largest applied research training programs: Applied Research 101 and Applied Research 101 (Student Edition). 

These self-paced online programs are designed to introduce you  to the fundamentals of applied research. While Applied Research 101 is designed to help faculty, staff, and students increase their applied research knowledge, organizations that want to understand more about working with colleges on R & D projects may also be interested in completing the program.

 

 

Need funding to launch your next big idea? In addition to being able to leverage grant opportunities from all the major Canadian research funders, eligible partners and projects can access up to $15,000 of seed funding to work with Mohawk college researchers through the IDEAWORKS Catalyst Fund.

Leverage the power of AI to unlock insights, enhance automation, and stay ahead of the competition. CERI researchers from Mohawk’s School of Engineering Technology and Aviation collaborate with organizations to develop AI-driven solutions tailored to your unique business needs.

From life sciences to biomanufacturing, CERI supports advancements in biotechnology to help your business innovate in a rapidly evolving field. Partner with us to explore new technologies, streamline processes, and address industry challenges.

CERI researchers have expertise in chemical research and product development to help businesses innovate and stay competitive in evolving markets. Our team works with organizations across industries to develop new biofuels, improve formulations, and optimize chemical processes that enhance performance, sustainability, and efficiency.

Ensure your aggregate and concrete materials meet the highest standards of quality and performance. With a focus on exploring sustainable building solutions, Mohawk researchers at the Construction Materials Laboratory support applied research projects with the construction industry.

The Construction Materials Laboratory is a CCIL-certified lab: the college has met the standardization and interlaboratory testing requirements of the CCIL Aggregate Laboratory Certification program and is qualified for Aggregate Quality Control Laboratories (Type C) and Aggregate Physical Property Tests (Type D).

We collaborate with industry and clinicians to develop, test, and refine solutions that improve patient care and operational efficiency.

CERI’s researchers in healthcare technology are affiliated with Mohawk College’s Centre for Integrated and Advanced Medical Imaging (CIAMI),  Centre for Healthcare Simulation and Research (CHSR) and MEDIC.

Work with us to create solutions that address mental health challenges. Whether it’s developing new tools, conducting research, or building community initiatives, CERI is committed to driving meaningful change in this vital area.

Collaborate with CERI researchers to explore innovative ways to address social challenges. From designing inclusive programs to creating tools that enhance community impact, our research supports a better future for everyone.

At CERI, we prioritize confidentiality and respect for intellectual property. Our clients maintain full ownership of their innovations, while our team collaborates closely, working as an extension of your team. Together, we explore, test, and refine solutions, always with a focus on identifying the best fit for your needs. For more details, refer to our Commercialization of Intellectual Property Policy Statement.

Researchers working with 3D printers in a Mohawk College lab

Ready to Embrace Change?

Book a meeting with the Centre for Emerging Research Initiatives (CERI) and talk to our experts about your organization or project.

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Meet the Team

Our multi-disciplinary applied research team brings a diverse skillset to every project. Meet the team or browse our full team index.
Full Directory

Andrea Johnson

General Manager, Centre for Emerging Research Initiatives

Babitha Thampinathan

Professor, School of Health and Community Services

Christine Boyko-Head

Professor, School of Liberal Studies

Christine Sager

Professor, School of Health and Community Services

Ian DeGeer

Professor, School of Health and Community Services

Jacqueline Wheatley

Professor, School of Health and Community Services

Jen Burton

Professor, School of Health and Community Services

Krissy Doyle-Thomas

Professor, School of Health and Community Services

Matthew Shelley

Professor, School of Engineering Technology and Aviation

Stephen Adams

Professor, School of Engineering Technology and Aviation

Tiffany Leighton

Professor of Biotechnolgy, School of Engineering Technology and Aviation

Irene Amog

Professor, School of Engineering Technology & Aviation

Ashley Fry-O’Rourke

Professor, Practical Nursing

Alysa De Bellis

Professor, Chemical Envir Tech.

Nasim Mohammad

Professor, Mathematics & Statistics

Case Studies

See What Our Passionate Team of Problem Solvers Can Do

Experience the magic of IDEAWORKS: developing key insights for our partners and providing solutions that address challenges head-on.

See all case studies
Construction and Building Technologies
Collecting More Dam Data: RPAS for Dam Reconstruction & Monitoring
Advanced Manufacturing
Immersive Sales: Using VR to Sell an Industrial Conveyor System
Construction and Building Technologies
Smart Seeding: Drones at the Royal Botanical Gardens

Our Partners

Logo, Daifuku.
Logo, NORR.
Logo, ArcelorMittal Dofasco.
Logo, 407 ETR.
Logo, Black Health Alliance
Logo, Warplane Heritage Museum.
Logo, Infinite Harvest Technologies.
Logo, Intelligent Ultrasound.
Logo, Interval House
Logo, Iris RnD Group Inc.
Logo, Lafarge.
Logo, Thrive Health.
WHITEPAPER

Beyond the Prototype: Opportunities for Additive Manufacturing in Low-Volume Production

Uncover the game-changing use cases that will reshape your approach to production.

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Centre for Emerging Research Initiatives (CERI) Whitepaper Download Form

Go from, 'How are we going to do this?'
To, 'How do we do it bigger and better?'

Lets build the future together

Book a meeting with the Centre for Emerging Research Initiatives (CERI) and talk to our experts about your organization or project.

Connect Now

Andrea Johnson

General Manager, Centre for Emerging Research Initiatives

Andrea Johnson is the General Manager for the Centre for Emerging Research Initiatives at IDEAWORKS at Mohawk College. She has been a member of the IDEAWORKS team since 2015. In her current role, she introduces faculty, staff, and students to applied research and oversees research activities in unmanned and remote sensing, materials testing, biotechnology, AI, and healthcare technology. Her portfolio also includes the Applied Research 101 series, that she created and launched in 2022, and well as the IDEAWORKS Catalyst Fund, that she has been managing since 2015.

Andrea holds an MA in Higher and Post-Secondary Administration from Colombia University-Teachers College (NYC, NY), a BA in English Literature from McGill University (Montreal) as well as certificates in Business Design Thinking (Rotman, University of Toronto), Entrepreneurial Mindset and Leadership (Babson College/edX), Corporate Communications (Humber), and Scientific Knowledge Translation (University of Toronto/Sick Kids Hospital). She is a Certified Practitioner of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Profile.

Babitha Thampinathan

Professor, School of Health and Community Services

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.

Professional Headshot of Christine Boyko-Head

Christine Boyko-Head

Professor, School of Liberal Studies

Christine Boyko-Head, (Ph.D) is an interdisciplinary writer and scholar with over 25 years of eclectic experiences both within and beyond education. Upon graduating from Brock University, she started Parnassus Theatre, a company dedicated to original social issues plays for young adults and helped form a national arts magazine for and by young people. She taught part-time in Brock’s Drama and Theatre Department and Canadian Studies and administered new Co-op programs in the Humanities (1990-2000). Her full-time tenure with Lesley University’s Integrated Arts Across the Curriculum, Masters of Education Program (2001-11) fed her soul as she taught Arts, Culture and Community, Curriculum Development, the Integrated Arts Thesis course in 21 US states and Netanya, Israel. Dedicated to arts-integrated learning, Creativity, Futures and Possibilities studies, and anti-oppressive pedagogy, she has been a full-time Communications professor at Mohawk College since 2011. A Values Institute and OCQAS auditor and certified in TESOL, Restorative Practice, Creative Problem-Solving, Thinking Preferences, Design Thinking and Futures facilitation, she always challenges herself and learners to minimize the familiar, maximize the diverse and be ever open to new possibilities and ways of being in and for the world.   

During Covid, her theatrical and television experience enabled her to create engaging online learning environments, community-service zoom programming, and The Playground, an online forum celebrating teaching and teachers. Her methodology challenges “the divide between the new knowledge and its application for social benefit and alternative futures” (Bourgeois-Doyle, 2021) and works toward empowering people to (re)discover their voices, passions and futures. She has received research grants from CDAG, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Federal Economic Development Agency of Ontario, Canada Council, ,  ICIE published her Catalyst-funded project, Mind the Gap: Ideas for enhancing creative-critical thinking, authentical communication and empathetic collaboration (2020). Her recent SSHRC (2022-24) research into the metaphors and myths of girls and women through arts-based gamified practices and radical, playful co-creative, feminist facilitation will also be published by ICIE. Always interested in the voices of women, her first novel, Pulse of Courage, celebrates the heroics of women overlooked by the dominate culture. Published in many scholarly journals, she has done keynote presentations and workshops in 12 countries and has been invited to train as a UN IDG Ambassador for Peace (2025).     

Christine Sager

Professor, School of Health and Community Services

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.

Ian DeGeer

Professor, School of Health and Community Services

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.

Jacqueline Wheatley

Professor, School of Health and Community Services

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.

Jen Burton

Professor, School of Health and Community Services

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.

Krissy Doyle-Thomas

Professor, School of Health and Community Services

Krissy Doyle-Thomas is a Medical Neuroscientist and educator with a PhD in Medical Sciences from McMaster University, an MSc in Health Sciences from the University of Calgary, and an Honours BA in Psychology from McMaster University. Her research, funded by CIHR, focuses on mental health and healthcare disparities, particularly for Black Canadians and marginalized communities. She is dedicated to developing culturally-tailored advancements in mental healthcare. In addition, Krissy serves as a Co-Investigator for the Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Disorders (POND) Network and Principal Investigator for the POND National Survey Project, where she investigates the impact of race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status on the research participation of neurodivergent children and families. She is also involved in research initiatives supported by the Health Research Council for People of African Descent, which promote Black health and well-being across Canada. 

As the Program Coordinator and Professor for the Brain Disorders Management and Mental Health & Disability Management programs at Mohawk College, Krissy co-developed these pioneering programs to equip community-based health professionals with the skills to support individuals with brain disorders and disabilities. She also co-chairs the Mohawk College Research Ethics Board. 

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Matthew Shelley

Professor, School of Engineering Technology and Aviation

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.

Stephen Adams

Professor, School of Engineering Technology and Aviation

Stephen Adams has been a faculty member at Mohawk College since 2014 where he specialized in bringing challenging and engaging topics to Software Development classrooms. Whether bringing GPT AI to introductory programming courses, using gaming to motivate learning mathematical heuristics and advanced algorithms, or leading student teams on applied research topics including facial recognition, handwriting analysis, object classifiers, and other topics, he brings a love of discovery to each project he works on. 

A graduate of McMaster University (HBSc, MSc in Computer Science) he has worked in industry as a team member developing high-performance math libraries at IBM, and on real-time control systems for robotic steel cutting processes at Linatrol Systems. His applied research interests center on the application of emerging technologies to traditional problems. His projects include work within Digital Humanities demonstrated by projects such as “Between the Lines” and “Remembering Their Faces”. 

LinkedIn

Tiffany Leighton

Professor of Biotechnolgy, School of Engineering Technology and Aviation

Tiffany Leighton is a molecular biologist specializing in biotechnology and drug discovery. She earned her MSc in Infection & Immunology and her PhD in Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences from McMaster University, where her research focused on disrupting bacterial virulence systems essential for infection in human disease-causing pathogens. This work led her to the drug discovery sector, where she and her team explored small molecule alternatives to antibiotics. Instead of killing bacteria outright, these compounds “disarm” pathogens by preventing them from binding to and infecting cells, a strategy that helps combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by reducing selective pressure on bacterial populations.

Tiffany has worked as a Research Scientist at a point-of-care diagnostic company, developing portable and cost-effective devices capable of detecting multiple bacterial and viral targets within minutes using real clinical specimens. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she contributed to a team at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, screening returning travelers for COVID-19 infections. The data collected from this initiative played a key role in informing travel and quarantine policies for the Greater Toronto Transportation Authority (GTTA) and the airline industry in Ontario.

Most recently, Tiffany has been involved in an applied research project at Mohawk College focusing on molecular pharming—the production of pharmaceutical compounds using biological organisms. In collaboration with an industry partner, she investigated the use of tobacco plants as bioreactors to produce a medically relevant drug commonly administered to patients following chemotherapy. This plant-based biomanufacturing approach offers a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional drug production methods, eliminating the need for expensive equipment and highly specialized personnel.

LinkedIn

Irene Amog

Professor, School of Engineering Technology & Aviation

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.

Ashley Fry-O’Rourke

Professor, Practical Nursing

Ashley Fry-O’Rourke is a Professor in Nursing Studies and the Coordinator for Level IV BScN learners at Mohawk College. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) from Western University and a Master of Science in Nursing (MScN) from McMaster University. With extensive experience across clinical, academic, and non-profit sectors, Ashley is adept at fostering collaborative partnerships across diverse institutional settings.  

Her clinical expertise spans a range of inpatient and community psychiatry settings, as well as long-term care facilities and hospital medical units across Ontario. This broad experience has equipped her with a deep understanding of the urban and rural challenges facing healthcare delivery.  

Since joining Mohawk College as a full-time faculty member in 2022, Ashley has taught a variety of nursing lectures, labs, and classes in both the BScN and Practical Nursing Programs. Since 2019, Ashley has taught in several departments at McMaster University, including the School of Nursing, the Program for Faculty Development, Continuing Professional Development, Integrated Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences, and the Program for Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research (PIPER).  

Ashley’s teaching philosophy centers on a strength-based approach, designed to maximize the potential of all learners. In addition to her academic work, she has completed social entrepreneurship programs and has led several non-profit initiatives focused on promoting mental wellness among children and youth.  

Currently, Ashley collaborates with Thrive Centre of Excellence, supporting the delivery of Optimal Models of Care for complex care in Long-Term Care settings. 

Alysa De Bellis

Professor, Chemical Envir Tech.

IDEAWORKS bio coming soon. To learn more about our team, please reach out.

Professional headshot of Nasim Mohammad.

Nasim Mohammad

Professor, Mathematics & Statistics

A committed scholar and educator, Dr. Nasim Muhammad holds a PhD in mathematics from the University of Guelph. Differential and Integral Calculus, Differential Equations, Laplace and Fourier Transforms, and Computational Modelling of Biological Systems are just a few of the courses that Dr. Muhammad has created and overseen during his more than thirty years of experience teaching and developing curricula in mathematics and computer science. Dr. Muhammad worked at McMaster University for eleven years before returning to Mohawk College, where he was instrumental in developing the BTECH program’s curriculum in mathematics and computer programming.  

In addition to being an educator, Dr. Nasim Muhammad is an active researcher who focuses on using mathematical models to solve real-world problems. His research is divided into two main categories: scientific and pedagogical. In the scientific field, Dr. Muhammad focuses on developing advanced models and analytical tools for biological systems and applies machine learning techniques to uncover complex patterns within biological data. This strategy seeks to advance our knowledge of biological processes and support creative approaches. Dr. Muhammad is committed to enhancing teaching strategies and learning objectives in the field of pedagogy to produce more successful and captivating learning environments. He collaborates with researchers at McMaster University and the University of Guelph and has authored numerous articles in prestigious scholarly journals. Furthermore, Dr. Muhammad also serves as a reviewer for journals, contributing to the advancement of research and scholarship.