New year, new angles: What UM experts are exploring in January 2026

As UM experts and researchers get ready to take a well-deserved holiday break (Dec. 24-Jan. 5), here are some potential story ideas you may want to book for viewers, listeners and readers in the New Year.

New Year, new question: What will AI actually do for us in 2026?

With AI now embedded in daily life, David Gerhard, Professor and Department Head of Computer Science can speak to what 2026 is likely to look like as the technology matures.
Possible angles include:

• How AI is likely to become more influential in everyday life
• What workers, students, and businesses should realistically expect in 2026
• Where concerns around trust, regulation, and ethics are likely to intensify

Availability: January 5 (unavailable from 3- 4 p.m.)

Why New Year resolutions often fall apart

New Year resolutions often start with big ambition and quietly fall apart a few weeks later. Dr.Kristin Reynolds, Associate Professor and Clinical Psychologist, can explain why

• Motivation doesn't work the way we think it does
• How overly ambitious goals can backfire
• How having more realistic, compassionate goal setting can support mental wellbeing instead of adding stress.

Availability: Monday Jan. 5, 12-1 p.m. and 2 p.m. onward

Why January feels like the toughest month for money

It's only early January, but for many people, money already feels stressful. Holiday spending is catching up, bills are landing, and everyday costs have not eased. Shiu-Yik Au, Associate Professor, Accounting and Finance, can discuss:

• why January is often the toughest month financially
• How inflation and interest rates are still shaping household budgets
• What realistic budgeting looks like in today's economic climate.

For a more consumer-focused angle, Divya Ramachandran, Assistant Professor of Marketing, can explain why:

• Money feels so overwhelming in January
• Why good intentions and budgets often fall apart
• Why many people put off checking their bank balance or dealing with finances altogether.

Availability:
Shiu-Yik Au flexible, Jan. 5 - 9

Divya Ramachandran is available: Monday Jan 5 or Wednesday, Jan. 7, from 2 p.m. onwards
Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m. onwards.
Please reach out to Media Relations

A quiet health crisis and how UM experts are part of the solution

Kidney disease is one of those conditions that can quietly build for years, and then suddenly you're hearing words like "dialysis" and "transplant." The problem isn't that we can't test for it; it's that testing is often stuck behind lab wait times, extra steps and access barriers. The Kidney Foundation of Canada is planning to release a framework in Spring 2026 to address critical disparities in awareness, prevention, diagnosis, and care access. In the meantime, UM researchers continue to make breakthroughs on a solution for early detection. They can talk about:

• How they are building point-of-care tech designed to bring kidney screening closer to a routine appointment
• How a newly published Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical paper, shows how two microfluidic 'lab-on-a-chip' tests for serum cystatin C (a kidney function marker that can be more informative than creatinine for estimating eGFR).
• How these two chip formats (a PDMS "wet" chip and a paper "dry" chip), can create portable readers for each, and can offer more practical solutions for decentralized PoC diagnostic tests

To Interview:
Dr. Claudio Rigatto, Internal Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine, AssureCKD

Dr. Francis Lin, Department of Immunology, Faculty of Science, Academic research partner on the technology

Availability: Only on January 6

Contact: [email protected]

*Please note: The UM Media Relations office will close Dec. 23, 2025 at 4 p.m. and reopen Jan. 5 at 8 a.m.

UM Media Relations