More information is available on the Queen’s public accountability page: Special Call: Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence (PDF 155 KB) as well as through the Faculty of Arts and Science
“GeneDRAGNN” Wins Best Student Paper Award at the IEEE CIBCB 2022 Conference
David Huang, a 4th year Biomedical Computing student, was part of the Queen’s team to win the “Best Student Paper” award at the IEEE CIBCB 2022 conference in Ottawa this August. The winning paper, titled geneDRAGNN: Gene Disease Prioritization using Graph Neural Networks, can be found in the IEEE Xplore journal. The project aims to contribute to the world of human genetics research by using machine learning to discover potential genes related to specific diseases. The study focuses on using graph neural networks to detect gene-disease associations with lung adenocarcinoma.
David was representing Queen’s School of Computing at the conference alongside his teammates from all over Queen’s: Awni Altabaa (Mathematics), Hani Khatib (Commerce), Ciaran Byles-Ho (Engineering Physics), and Fabian Sosa (Electrical Engineering), all under the supervision of QSC’s Professor Ting Hu.
The group got together through their involvement with the Queen’s University Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Disruptive Technologies group, or QMIND.
QMIND is Canada’s largest student-run organization with over 200 members. The students in QMIND design teams solve real-world problems through the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and various other disruptive technologies. David Huang has been part of QMIND since 2019, first as Design Team Member, and later as Project Manager, and then a Director of Design.
“QMIND was where I first dipped my toes into the field of artificial intelligence and research, and it was how my teammates and I connected,” David says.
Their QMIND undergraduate research team first presented geneDRAGNN in the UofT AI Project X competition, where the team won first place. As the team’s cheerleader and mentor, Dr. Hu encouraged the group to take the paper further and to present at the IEEE conference. David says that presenting at the IEEE CIBCB 2022 was nerve wracking, but rewarding:
“We have presented at student-run conferences through QMIND before, but these conferences were online because of the pandemic. The IEEE conference was our first experience presenting in person, and at a prestigious international conference with actual researchers presenting. We were nervous and stayed up the night before rehearsing our presentation, preparing answers to any potential questions the panel might ask us. In the end, it turned out great. This was many of our teams’ first ever published research paper and I am thrilled that our team has received the Best Student Paper award for it.”
When asked about what helped David and his team accomplish this milestone, David credited most of their success to Professor Hu’s mentorship.
“Dr. Hu helped guide our team in the right direction and encouraged us to reflect on why we made the decisions we did. Dr Hu even involved one of her PhD students, Ryan Zhou, to support us and provide his perspective on our research and help us problem-solve. Dr. Hu pushed us towards pursuing publication and encouraged us to continue taking the project further after we won at the UofT AI competition. I am grateful to Dr. Hu for showing such confidence in our abilities and in what we had to offer as a team.”
In addition to his work with QMIND, David has spent the past year and a half doing an internship with the Centre for Advanced Computing at Queen’s University, a unit that supports researchers at Queens through hardware and software solutions. David says that seeing research translated into actual products has made him appreciate the power of institutions, like the Centre for Advanced Computing, in enabling end-to-end research.
“I worked directly with researchers from KHSC to develop a dashboard that tracked COVID-19 cases across Eastern Ontario. This dashboard helped inform the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and guide public health policy. I am amazed at the multidisciplinary effort that is required to develop solutions in the healthcare space.”
QSC Honours Tom Bradshaw with Special Memorial Event
Queen’s School of Computing recently held a memorial event to honour Tom Bradshaw, the long-time School Technology Manager at QSC, for his tireless work contributing to the success the School has become today.
On August 5th, Tom’s sons, Ryan and Ian Bradshaw, joined Queen’s colleagues, a large gathering of family and friends, and QSC staff to mark the occasion, and to reminisce about the positive impact Tom had on the School and all of our lives.
After graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science in Applied Mathematics in 1978, Tom joined the Department of Computing and Information Science in 1979, which would eventually become the School of Computing under his watch. He guided the School from punch cards all the way through Unix servers, virtual machines, the rise of Linux, Internet of Things, cloud computing and machine learning over his 42-year career.
At the event, the upcoming Tom Bradshaw Museum of Computing was announced, a display of historical computing technology. Tom often expressed his goal to start a museum showcasing the equipment he had amassed over the years.
Throughout his career, Tom, his team, and members of the School of Computing family have built an amazing collection with such components as Unix workstations from the 90s, a selection of Apple computers, including the famous G4 iMac purchased in support of the then-new COCA program. There is a selection of “portable” computing devices from the 90s, a Zenith Portable Computer, an Apple PowerBook 150, an IBM ThinkPad and early BlackBerry devices. A variety of tape drives, hard-drives, old manuals, and other internal parts round out the assortment of equipment.
With the passing of Mr. Bradshaw in December 2021, Queen’s School of Computing is working to realize Tom’s dream and make the Museum a reality under the leadership of Ben Hall, Technical Operations Manager.
The collection of computers, cell phones, and other vintage equipment will be on display in the School in the future.
If you have a story or information to share about any of these items, or have items you’d like to donate, please contact Ben Hall at bhall@queensu.ca.
Learning and Playing at the “MD Meets Machine” Workshops
Everyone at Queen’s School of Computing has been so busy with the transition into Fall/Winter classes and activities that there has been no time to share some of the summer ongoings; like the “MD Meets Machine” high school student summer workshops, provided by The Medical Informatics Lab (Med-i Lab).
While many high school students spent their summer vacation as far away from classes as possible, several grade 10 to grade 12 students showed up to learn about medical image computing, artificial intelligence, surgical navigation, and medical robotics. The sessions included lectures, tutorials, and interactive demos where students got hands-on experience with tools and platforms that are commonly only available to grad students. QSC’s Med-i Lab is committed to nurturing curious minds and the team was delighted to see young scholars eager and able to learn at a university level.
“Even in the middle of summer we had a good turn-out of 10 to 15 guests” said Laura Connolly, Co-Host of MD Meets Machine lab workshops.
Pictured below are a few of our participants and staff who helped run these sessions:
This summer of 2022 was the first year that Med-i Lab hosted MD Meets Machine, and though there is no certain plan, Connolly says “because [the workshops] went well, there is a possibility that the Med-i Lab will continue to offer high school students this special opportunity”. Creating meaningful hands-on opportunities to young members of the community deepens culture and belonging for prospective students to learn, live, and play!
QSC would like to thank all the students who participated in the 2022 summer workshops.
MediCREATE at the School of Computing: Harnessing Technology for the Future of Healthcare
CREATE – Collaborative Research and Training Experience – is a $1.65M program funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) that aims to provide students with uniquely enriched research and training experiences, bridging the gap between theory and application in today’s real-world challenges.
The CREATE Training Program in Medical Informatics is one of two NSERC CREATE programs offered here at the Queen’s School of Computing (the only department at Queen’s University that offers more than one.)
This program, which offers funding for MSc and PhD students in the biomedical and related research fields, is led by Dr. Parvin Mousavi, Program Director, in partnership with Western University. Dr. Mousavi and her team of investigators were one of thirteen research groups across Canada who were granted 6-year CREATE project funding in 2021.
QSC boasts a highly engaged, collaborative, multidisciplinary biomedical research group, working in cooperation with Kingston General Hospital, the Human Mobility Research Centre, and biologists, surgeons, medical doctors, and researchers at hospitals and universities in Canada and around the world. The research group is comprised of multiple labs with research spanning areasof genomics, bioinformatics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer aided surgery, and advanced imaging techniques.
A common thread in this CREATE program is “tissue characterization” (telling apart cancer from normal tissue) for cancer diagnosis, therapy design, and surgery. One such technology utilized in multiple CREATE-funded projects is iKnife. IKnife which works by matching mass spectrometry of the electrosurgical vapor during surgery to a reference library to determine what type of tissue is being cut, giving a result in near real time. During surgery this information is continuously given to the surgeon, significantly accelerating biological tissue analysis and enabling identification and removal of cancer cells. This exciting advance in technology can allow for more precise excision of cancerous tissue. CREATE projects centered around iKnife pertain to artificial intelligence, machine learning, control engineering, robotics, instrumentation, and software systems engineering – allowing CREATE students to conduct translational biomedical computing research in a truly interdisciplinary setting.
Students are given the training and tools that will prepare them for a career in the biomedical field, an industry that is struggling under burgeoning population growth and experiencing the growing pains of a move to digitized health care. As the world puts increasing emphasis on technological advances in imaging, diagnostics, treatment, and the resultant patient and research data, with these changes come unique challenges as well as opportunities. The sheer volume of this data brings with it a need for new ways of thinking about how our health data is being analyzed, stored, transmitted, edited, and monitored. Biomedical Computing students are given the training and research opportunities to provide them with the skills and knowledge to meet these challenges head-on and make a lasting impact on the quality of healthcare in Canada and around the world.
Passing the Torch to the New Generation of Female-Identifying Researchers
“Diversity is a strength. It leads to more innovation and better outcomes. It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s the bright thing to do!”
— Sarah Paquet, Executive Vice-President, Shared Services Canada.
Wendy Powley, Assistant Professor at the Queen’s School of Computing, is a passionate advocate for expanding gender diversity in the field of computing. According to Statistics Canada, while 34% of Canadians with a STEM degree are women, women make up only 23% of Canadians working in science and technology. Professor Powley is one of the founders of the Canadian Celebration of Women in Computing conference, or CAN-CWiC. CAN-CWiC is an event for those identifying as female, non-binary, genderqueer, or male allies who are interested in advocating for gender equality in the computing discipline. CAN-CWiC has been running since 2019 and is now a premiere Canadian computing conference for Women in Technology. This annual event brings together leaders in research, education and industry from across Canada.
In addition to her work with CAN-CWiC, Prof. Powley has been one of the recipients of the Google exploreCSR awards for the second year in a row. This funding is used to support intriguing projects that capture the interest of female-identifying students to pursue graduate studies and research careers in computing.
The 2022 Google exploreCSR project connected female undergraduate students with graduate mentors to collaborate on research in areas of artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, medical informatics, and self-driving vehicles, to name a few. At the Mentorship presentation showcase on August 23, 2022, the mentees shared their reflections on their research, what they have learned, and their future plans.
Here are their testimonials!
Driver-Centric Vehicles to Intelligent Mechanical Devices
Mentor: Lama Moukahal
Mentee: Mercy Doan
Mercy Doan:
A Few Words About My Research
Seven years ago, studies showed cyber experts could remotely control media players, steering, engine, transmission and braking systems in vehicles.
The central issue is that hacking capabilities become better over time, while the security of the software decays. Cyber research is difficult due to lack of good data – companies lock accurate and sensitive information behind security walls.
My Mentorship Take-away
I learned what the research experience is like, explored different research papers and what they are used for, learned how to identify a good research paper. I learned that the best method of finding the right research topic is to contribute to a field that genuinely interests you. Research is very self-motivated.
The benefits of this mentorship were developing a researcher mindset and then using these methods to solve practical problems. I also learned to be less intimidated by research and feel confident that I can contribute more. Due to this mentorship experience, I now consider graduate school a potential option for me.
Mentee: Huilin Xu
Huilin Xu:
A Few Words About My Research
This research is about driver centric vehicles and intelligent mechanical devices. How important is cybersecurity for autonomous vehicles? The answer is: extremely important, because autonomous vehicles rely on software and technology, and so are easily exposed to vulnerabilities and attacks.
My Mentorship Take-away
Before this mentorship, I was thinking about my future path, whether it will be cyber security or software design. I concluded that software design is the path to embark on. I also learned through this mentorship to believe in myself: when I began struggling with a problem, I became confident that the solution could be found with a bit of persistence. I also affirmed that you should enjoy your topic of research, without an interest in the topic, research can start feeling quite torturous.
My next step will be to apply to Graduate school and pursue software engineering. I hope that within 5 years I could develop an app for Apple, or Amazon, Google, etc.
This mentorship made me open to more challenges and opportunities and I’m very much looking forward to the future.
Federated Learning
Mentor: Xu Wang
Mentee: Yianqi Liang
Yianqi Liang:
A Few Words About My Research
“Federated learning” is when a server propagates a global model to multiple clients for training and testing, and then collects the training data to update the global model. In this project, we focused on the design and implementation of the reinforcement learning model.
My Mentorship Take-away
I was exposed to a completely new field, and I soon realize that my learning ability has improved. I learned and observed.
I thought that watching videos was the best way to learn, because it is sometimes hard for me to understand the core content of the paper, but after speaking to my mentor, I found that combining videos and research papers was the best way to find the information I was seeking. I will now focus more attention to reading research papers in my future studies.
And for my future, I would like to continue my studies in this research direction. These four months of study have given me knowledge of the basic process. I hope to progress into this area of research and be able to write code by myself. This experience has broadened my knowledge and provided background for my work in the future.
Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity
Mentor: Maryam Davari
Mentee: Sydney Sherek
Sydney Sherek:
A Few Words About My Research
I learned that one of the biggest challenges in the topic of cybersecurity is the evolution of hackers. The constant changes to attack strategies, combined with the innovative tools and techniques and vulnerability exploitation, has led to a major increase in cyber-attacks. Cyber intrusion encompasses many types of attacks which threaten the availability, integrity, and confidentiality of computer networks. There are attacks which aim to consume computer and network resources, such as denial of service.
My Mentorship Take-away
My main take away from this research was the beneficial impact that machine learning has on detection systems and on cyber security. Machine learning is going to be the future innovation in cybersecurity.
I learned to dissect and analyze research data. Being able to read complicated graphs and understand the complicated graphics in research papers was intimidating. Learning how to break down this information really helped me to better understand the subject.
The algorithms that I learned about make their classification decisions as either safe or malicious based on different features in data. The generation of datasets is something that I could be interested in doing in the future.
I learned so much for this experience. It taught me not only the importance of machine learning, but also cyber security as a whole.
Mentee: Yi Kuang
Yi Kuang:
A Few Words About My Research
Machine learning in cybersecurity is becoming more and more important in social media. For example, when you’re sending out a job application or making a transaction on networking sites, there might be a risk of information being leaked, as well as a probability for fraud identity on the social board platform.
The attacks service is a set of points where an attacker tries to get into that system to affect it or extract data.
After I reviewed numerous threats in social networking, I chose to go deep into the social board detection topic and how to find the figure account on the social media platform.
It’s an interesting topic to learn. I liked learning how scholars choose the most suitable features or data that need to be extracted from large data sets to construct their models.
My Mentorship Take-away
I enjoyed the research and in the future I would like to continue my graduate studies in artificial intelligence and information. I would like to explore more in the topic of new media integration with artificial intelligence and machine learning in computer science.
Distributed Security in Vehicular Communications
Mentor: Anika Anwar
Mentee: Ximing Yu
Ximing Yu:
A Few Words About My Research
My topic of research is small device security with a focus on solutions to detecting and preventing malware in mobile smart devices.
Bot Nets are considered the biggest challenge in mobile based botnet. The bot master can distribute their commands via insecure HTTP request, SMS, Bluetooth, etc. The bot master exploits operating system and configuration vulnerability to compromise devices.
Detecting and preventing malware is not a trivial task. Market stores are all responsible for keeping the mobile devices free from malware for the end user. It is essential for these vendors to be aware of the security measures of their mobile device, such as installing anti-malware. By conducting research, I learned about multi-layer integrated security solutions.
My Mentorship Take-away
I think one of the most important aspects of research is to be patient. From my experience, when I have a very long paper, I would begin by patiently scanning the intro, the conclusion, and the section titles, then break them down into small pieces and examine each part one by one.
Through the mentorship program my mindset has changed a lot.
I have no previous experience doing university level research and little knowledge in the field of cybersecurity, so it took time to feel comfortable doing it and I would say I now enjoy reading research papers and doing research.
I’m now very interested in pursuing a Master’s degree in the security field as I found security issues go hand in hand with software development. In the future, I would love to dig deeper into researching how to ensure a safe web and mobile software development, and hopefully make some practical contributions to the research field and the industry.
Mentee: Qianran Liao
Qianran Liao:
A Few Words About My Research
After looking at the various hybrid security topics, we decide to choose mobile malware and its possible solutions.
We studied and researched existing attacks towards mobile devices, especially for Android devices, as well as the trend of mobile malware, and figured out possible solutions to prevent the attacks.
Malware uses information from devices and can predict a user’s activities. Spyware is a malware which attacks a victim’s device to control user activities, such as location contacts, calls, testing, emails, etc. In some cases, it can send such information to another location where available networks can take control without the user’s knowledge.
My Mentorship Take-away
The mentorship program enhanced my research skills. I learned how to do research online to find formal academic resources, learned how to give an academic research presentation, how to summarize an academic paper and extract the core knowledge. Finally, I learned how to write a research proposal in the format of an academic paper.
I now feel more interested in computing and computer science. And for the future, I plan to pursue a graduate degree in a computing related field, potentially hybrid security.
Medical Informatics – Breast Conserving Surgery
Mentor: Laura Connolly
Mentee: Olivia Radcliffe
Olivia Radcliffe:
A Few Words About My Research
My research was in navigated resection cavity inspection for breast conserving surgery. The goal was to determine the feasibility of adding navigation to a section cavity inspection.
To do this, I created a platform for simulation, navigated the section cavity inspection, and ran a user study to evaluate it for clinical application.
The best resection cavity is the space or the gap in the breast after a tumor is removed and cavity inspection is a method of detecting residual cancer directly in the resection cavity.
My Mentorship Take-away
I learned how to use a 3D Slicer, which is a medical imaging software, and how to develop my own module. I learned many different medical techniques used for margin assessment. And lastly, I learned how to write a conference paper.
My future plans include taking the undergraduate thesis class next semester.
Professor Powley on the realities of research work:
Your research has to be in an area that you are passionate about, because you will spend a lot of your time doing research, it’s a constant thing. It’s constantly in your head . . . research is one of those things that you don’t do at the lab and then go home at night and forget about it. You’re always thinking about what you’re going to do next, and you’re always trying to solve problems.
And if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, this is when students get in four or five years in graduate school and realize they’re stuck. The wheels are turning, and they’re not getting anywhere. Oftentimes it’s because the student has lost their passion for the subject area that they’re working in. If you ever do get into such position, my big piece of advice is: “Just get the darn thing done!”
Tell your supervisor that you’re going to get your thesis complete within the year. Make a plan for it. Don’t let it defeat you. And don’t waste five years of your life to get to that point where you think “I’m not good enough to do this. I can’t do this. I don’t know the answers to these problems. I’m stuck.” You ARE good enough to do it. And there’s always a way to finish that degree. Know that there’s a way out and you will get the degree and you will move on, but don’t give up, OK? Don’t do that.
Professor Powley’s feedback on the Google Mentorship Presentations:
I am blown away at the way the students presented. They already have superb presentation skills and they are only in 2nd year!
It sounds like the mentees picked up some good skills and some excellent knowledge that they wouldn’t have otherwise. Now I know that the process worked.
If you have any questions or want to talk about things further, you know where to find me. And you know where to find your mentors.
I hope you all have a great next semester.
The intriguing world of computing! It’s simple yet so overwhelming . . . it’s the endless possibilities that permeate every aspect of our lives! Many decades ago, Professor Powley became passionate about those endless possibilities. By tirelessly seeking out resources and building foundations for the new generation of students, she continues to light the torch and pass it on from one student to another, to another, to another, to another, to another, to another…
Listen to David Skillicorn on CKOM Radio
This Monday David Skillicorn appeared on CKOM Radio to speak about the prevalence of spyware, how it works, and how often is it used.
Dr. Fichtinger Receives Mitacs Globalinks Funding
We at the School of Computing are happy to congratulate Dr. Gabor Fichtinger on recent funding from the Mitacs Globalink program in support of two international trainee internships:
- Globalink project Real-time electromagnetic navigation of oral cancer resection supports a visiting trainee to Dr. Fichtinger’s lab from Hungary
- Globalink project SlicerAR: software platform for augmented reality medical visualization supports a visiting trainee to Dr. Fichtinger’s lab from Spain
Learn more about the leading-edge work done by Dr. Fichtinger, Canada Research Chair in Computer-Integrated Surgery, and his team at the Laboratory for Percutaneous Surgery (Perk Lab)
Dr. Yuan Tian Receives Mitacs Accelerate Funding
The School of Computing is pleased to congratulate Dr. Yuan Tian on receipt of funding from Mitacs Accelerate for her project Learning Personal Traits, Value, Skill Representations for Improved Matching of Jobs, Talent, and Courses, in collaboration with industry partner FutureCite Inc.
Go to Dr. Tian’s website to learn more about exciting work being done at the Reliable and Intelligent Software Engineering (RISE) lab.
Getting Ready for Orientation 2022!
First year orientation is an exciting rite of passage for every post-secondary student starting a new chapter of life. It is with great excitement that this year’s cohort of incoming first year students will experience an in-person Orientation that is a combination of old and new traditions. While navigating the effects of the pandemic over the past two years, it has been a challenge to maintain the true form of those practices. Even still, the Orientation Committee did their best to provide a virtual experience that evoked the spirit of the celebration. From delivering tams by mail to hosting virtual game nights, Orientation has remained the cornerstone of the overall student experience.
The Queen’s School of Computing Orientation Committee has been working hard to give incoming first years an event to remember.
“Our goal is to bring back all of those [fun activities in person] as much as we can,” says Truman Be, Chair of the Orientation Committee and member of the last class to have experienced an in-person gathering. Truman emphasized that incoming students uniting at the Orientation helps them easily make new friends while in a fun casual environment, experience connection to their community, and at the end of the day feel comfortable at Queen’s University and Kingston’s surrounding area.
Activities include the tamming ceremony, the COMPSA Cup Competition, and reciting traditional cheers.
QUEEN’S WHAT?
QUEEN’S COMPUTING!
COMPUTING WHAT?
COMPUTING CODES!
CODES WHAT?
CODES QUEEN’S!
Yes yes, yes we do, we got spirit, how ’bout you?
Yes, yes, yes we do, we got spirit, how ’bout you?
(Everyone starts chanting) WE GOT MORE!
It is possible to chant the cheers on a Zoom or Teams screen, but it’s not as fun and loses the vibe.
PING! (Randomly yell until someone yells…)
“System Error”
This year’s Orientation will be special since the students will be bringing back and keeping School of Computing culture alive. The stakes are high to revive knowledge and experiences passed down from many generations of students. “If we don’t … [nothing] will remain from before,” says Truman.
In addition to receiving years of passed down traditions, incoming students can expect some new and exciting activities. The Orientation Committee is planning to host an event at the Xtreme Trampoline Park and a formal evening event at the Four Points by Sheraton. Virtual game nights will be made available to students who can’t be at events in person or need a break from the in-person activities.
With all the excitement that goes on during Orientation, it’s easy to forget the academic side of university life. Program selection is an integral part of the Queen’s School of Computing student experience, and this year the process will be much more engaging with a speed-dating style event. Professors will be available at tables to provide details about the different programs that are available to Computing students. Students who attend this event can rotate to different tables and learn about each program in a fun relaxed style.
Orientation welcomes and introduces first-year students in an easy-going, comfortable setting that is designed to be enjoyable as well as financially accessible. Your donation will help nervous students comfortably join Queen’s School of Computing by supporting Orientation activities for all our first year students.
We encourage you to learn more about Queen’s School of Computing’s Orientation and the hard work that is put into this essential event. The Queen’s School of Computing community cannot wait to meet this year’s incoming first year students!