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ACCESS

About

ACCESS (EWB UBC) works to lower cervical cancer burden in sub-Saharan Africa. We focus on two things: community education that is clear and culturally respectful, and better screening access through low-cost, user-friendly HPV self-testing. By combining engineering with local insight, we make prevention and early detection more reachable.

Leveraging UBC’s engineering expertise, we aim to develop a low-cost, user-friendly self-collection Human papillomavirus (HPV) test for women in sub-Saharan Africa. Our multifocal approach involves stakeholder collaboration, community workshops, and rigorous research to ensure that our solution addresses the sociocultural factors, resource limitations, and technological barriers prevalent in the region.

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In addition to our mission of developing engineering solutions to combat cervical cancer, ACCESS Venture is committed to advancing education on cervical cancer within the communities we serve. We recognize that knowledge is a powerful tool in the fight against this disease, and we aim to empower individuals with information that can help them make informed decisions about their health.

Project 

Mountains

Timeline

ACCESS Venture – Education Team Overview (2025–2026)

 

Education Team Timeline (Sept 2025 – Apr 2026)

 

September — Team kickoff and topic planning
• Identify key stakeholders in Vancouver
• Outline pamphlet sections and decide resource format

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October — Research and writing
• Identify stakeholders in Africa
• Draft individual sections and outreach messages

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November — Feedback and refinement
• Conduct stakeholder interviews
• Review and improve pamphlet sections

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December — Translation and design
• Complete English draft and share for feedback
• Explore translation tools and finalize layout

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January — Recruitment and updates
• Welcome new members
• Incorporate feedback and prepare digital version

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February — Outreach and testing
• Share multilingual pamphlets with partners
• Collect feedback and early impact data

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March — Evaluation and expansion

• Assess engagement results
• Plan next campaign and funding opportunities

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April — Reflection and future direction
• Discuss long-term goals and next steps for continued outreach
• Explore new partnerships and project ideas for summer 2026

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Biochemical Team Timeline (September 2025 - April 2026)

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September – Review

  • Understand the composition of urine

  • Research assays, and decide on an assay for miRNA detection 

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October –  Selecting the Biomarker & Assay

  • The Biochemical sub-team researched varying biomarkers and varying assays to determine which would be the best for the detection of the HPV virus. 

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November – Final Selection

  • Decided on the E7 Biomarker

  • Decided on the Eliza Assay

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December – Working on protocol

  • Get familiar with the dynamics of working within a lab

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January – procuring the lab space & getting lab certifications 

  • Procure a lab space

  • Preparing to work within the lab by getting certification so that members are eligible to work in lab spaces 

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February - testing 

  • Conduct testing to determine whether the decide-on assays and biomarkers are suitable

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March - testing 

  •  Conduct testing to determine whether the decided-on assays and biomarkers are suitable

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April - confirmation testing

  • If results are undesirable, go back and decide on new biomarkers and/or new assays

 

Mechanical Team Timeline (September 2025 - April 2026)

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September – Review

  • Understand the Theory on Microfluidics and Fluid Mechanics 

  • Refresh knowledge on CAD Design 

  • Refresh knowledge on MATLAB

  • Literature on Urine collection & microfluidics

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October – Understand Prototype Manufacturing Process

  • Generated a list of stakeholder questions 

  • Collaborated with Biochem team to learn more about the assays and biomarkers

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November – Design & Fabrication

  • C-sketching 

  • CAD Designing

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December - continuing urine collection 

  • Finalise urine collection prototype 

  • Start C sketch and CAD design for microfluidic chip 

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January - continuing urine collection

  • Ensure all uncertainties of the urine collection device are addressed 

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February - The micro fluidic chip 

  • Start researching the dynamics of microfluidic devices 

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March - The micro fluidic chip 

  • Start C-sketching possible micro fluidic devices 

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April - The microfluidic chip 

  • CAD Design the decided-on micro fluidic device 

Venture Lead

Alliana Rempel - 2nd year biomedical engineering

Joshua Largo - 4th year biomedical engineering​​

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Venture Team Members

Laura Ing  ACCESS Advisor

Robyn Birch Senior Design Advisor

Gurjot Gill Education Lead

Richard Tang Education Lead

Rizzel Flora Events Member

Mateo Aldana Mechanical Design Team Lead

Calla Stanley Mechanical Design Team Lead

Chloe Nguyen Biochemical Design Team Lead

Education Team Member

Saylor Pickrell 

Hailey Sam 

Kabir Bhatti

Dafne Birsay

Communications Representative

Rowa Ahmed

Christina Moolman 

Events Co-Lead

Sumbul Iqbal 

Nour Elbadan 

Mechanical Design Team Member

Valenie Cheung 

Elyse Piskacek 

Ideog Attafuah 

Thanaphumi Kunuthai

Katrina Brunke

Biochemical Design Team Member

Parignya Sanghvi 

Ideog Attafuah

Ellie Smith 

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