Nine Trent University researchers have received $1,133,799 in combined funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to support groundbreaking research in the both the environmental and health sciences including research on the behavior of snowshoe hares, patterns of disease spread and the how to chemically modify vegetable oils to produce a range of environmentally products.
“Trent University is extremely pleased with the outcomes in this NSERC competition. We had over 58 per cent of our faculty research proposals accepted this round, which exceeds the average for universities in our category, and we also had two significant equipment grants awarded, which is not common,” said Dr. Neil Emery, vice president, Research and International at Trent University. “The research grant awards highlight Trent’s leading-edge strength in environmental research, and, provides new support for some of our innovative research in the health sciences.”
Trent professors Dr. Neil Fournier, Dr. Suresh Narine, Dr. Igor Svishchev, Dr. Paul Wilson, Dr. Christopher Kyle, Dr. Craig Brunetti and Dr. James Buttle are recipients of NSERC’s Individual Discovery Grants. Dr. Dennis Murray and Dr. Neil Fournier received a Research Tools and Instruments Grant. Dr. Bradley White is the recipient of a new grant from NSERC called the Discovery Development Grants.
NSERC’s Individual Discovery Grants assist in promoting and maintaining a diversified base of high-quality research capability in natural sciences and engineering in Canadian universities, fostering research excellence, and providing a stimulating environment for research training while NSERC’s Research Tools and Instruments grants support the purchase of research equipment.
“NSERC’s Discovery Grants Program is our flagship. It invests in the full range of science and engineering disciplines and thus builds the strong foundation that is a necessary prerequisite for innovation,” said B. Mario Pinto, president, NSERC. “We’re building on its success with our Discovery Development Grants, because we want to take advantage of the full diversity of insights and ideas across Canada. Complementing our support for discovery research, NSERC’s scholarships and fellowships invest in a new generation of talent and give these brilliant students and fellows the skills and experience to meet the challenges of the future.”
A summary of research projects awarded grants from NSERC at Trent can be found below:
Dr. Suresh Narine, Physics and Chemistry
Matathesis-derived green Lubricants, waxes, polymers and chemicals from vegetable oils
Discovery Grant ($200,000 over five years)
Professor Narine’s research is focused on the use of a green method to chemically modify vegetable oils to produce a range of environmentally products including thermoplastic polymers, high value chemicals, functional lubricants and functional waxes.
Dr. Paul Wilson, Biology
Population and landscape genomics of rapidly evolving gene motifs and introgressive hybridization and their role in adaptation
Discovery Grant ($190,000 over five years)
With global warming, we are seeing a dramatic effect on species distributions worldwide. Professor Wilson’s research will help understand how standing genetic variations, genomic elements operating at a higher rate of change and hybridization will be important to determining a wildlife population’s response capacity and adaptive potential.
Dr. Craig Brunetti, Biology
Virus-host interactions in frog virus 3 infected cells
Discovery Grant ($190,000 over five years)
Professor Brunetti’s research is focused on understanding virus-host interactions by a relatively unstudied group of large DNA viruses. Having a better understanding of these virus-host interacting genes will allow Prof. Brunetti to explore anti-viral strategies, provide new insight into the function of the immune system and understand how virus infections lead to viral pathogenesis.
Dr. Neil Fournier, Psychology
Functional and structural analysis of aberrant adult neurogenesis
Research Tools and Instruments Grant ($46,255) Discovery Grant ($100,000 over five years)
Changes in neurogenesis have been implicated in a number of neurological pathologies associated with cognitive decline such as Alzheimer’s diabetes, stroke and epilepsy. Professor Fornier’s work is focused on understanding how these pathological conditions impact the development of new neurons and affect their ability to integrate successfully into the surrounding neural circuitry.
Dr. Dennis Murray, Biology
Tracking Predator-Prey interactions impacting species at risk
Research Tools and Instruments Grant ($147,544)
Professor Murray’s research will focus on monitoring behavior and physiology in snowshoe hares, a keystone species in the boreal forest. His team will document hare activity, movements, habitat selection and corresponding physiological responses which will allow them to precisely quantify how hares respond to perceived predation risk which is recognized as an important force likely shaping animal populations.
Dr. James Buttle, Geography
Land cover and topographic controls on groundwater recharge on the Oak Ridges Moraine
Discovery Grant ($110,000 over five years)
Land use and climate changes have major implications for hydrologic processes and water resources. Professor Buttle’s research will focus on how such changes impact groundwater recharge and streamflow on the environmentally sensitive Oak Ridges Moraine in southern Ontario.
Dr. Igor Svishchev, Chemistry
Physics and chemistry of supercritical water and novel energy generation system
Discovery Grant ($100,000 over five years)
Professor Svishchev’s research objective is to provide a fundamental, molecular level understanding of aqueous systems and reactions under high temperature and pressure conditions with a focus on hydrogen-water chemistry in energy generation systems.
Dr. Christopher Kyle, DNA and Forensic Science Research Centre
Capacity for Local Adaptation to Disease in Holarctic Species
Discovery Grant ($30,000)
Understanding mechanisms of wildlife disease maintenance and spread are of practical importance as they interrelate to human, wildlife and ecosystem health. Professor Kyle’s research will investigate interactions between host and pathogen neutral and functional genetic variations across landscapes to understand patterns of disease spread and the capacity for host populations to adapt to disease.
Dr. Brad White, Biology
Characteristics of genes impacting reproduction in the North Atlantic right whale
Discovery Development Grant ($20,000 over two years)
Professor White’s Discovery Development Grant will help in his research identifying and analyzing sequences of genes in the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale and will look specifically at the fertility problems in endangered species and their broader conservation implications.
About NSERC
NSERC is a federal agency that helps make Canada a country of discoverers and innovators for all Canadians. The agency supports almost 30,000 post-secondary students and postdoctoral fellows in their advanced studies. NSERC promotes discovery by funding approximately 12,000 professors every year and fosters innovation by encouraging over 2,400 Canadian companies to participate and invest in post-secondary research projects.
Posted on Monday, June 22, 2015.