Researchers at the University of Guelph have been awarded over $25.4 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR).
This funding is part of a $1.3 billion investment announced today by Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions and Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health that will support over 9,700 researchers and projects across Canada.
“This investment will help fuel our mission to advance science, research and innovation,” says Dr. Shayan Sharif, interim vice-president, research & innovation. “It provides critical capacity to support research excellence across multiple disciplines – from artificial intelligence, food security and social justice to climate change and human and animal health.”
NSERC CREATE Program
For the first time since 2018, two U of G researchers received funding from the Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program. The program encourages collaboration and integration between large and medium or small-sized institutions and helps new researchers transition into the workforce.
Each will receive $1.65 million in funding over six years.
Dr. Ali Dehghantanha
Dr. Ali Dehghantanha, professor in the School of Computer Science, College of Computational, Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CCMPS) will build a cohesive, dynamic training program focused on cybersecurity, reliability and equity in smart agriculture.
As a global leader in developing smart agri-food solutions, it is important for Canada to build resilience against cyber-attacks and related risks to protect the industry’s ecosystem. Cyber risks and disruptors can build on one another and negative impacts can be amplified if risks aren’t addressed properly, ultimately leading to potential crop losses, weakened competitiveness and concerns around food security.
This six-year-long training program, SECURE-AGRO, aims to train over 100 students across Canada with the knowledge and skills needed to develop secure, dependable and reliable technologies that support smart agriculture activities.
Led by Dehghantanha, the program will include partners and collaborators from academic institutions, government agencies, private companies and not-for-profit organizations.
Dr. Iris Joye
Dr. Iris Joye, alongside Drs. Biniam Kebede and Alice Marciniak, professors in the Department of Food Science, Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), and colleagues from the University of Manitoba and University of Saskatchewan will create a multi-university training network ‘The Future is Gree(ai)n’ for students and researchers to advance green processing methods in the grain industry – a major part of Canada’s agri-food system.
Most grains undergo some type of fractionation to isolate specific streams with unique functionality to be used as high-value ingredients in food production. Current fractionation methods, however, simultaneously produce low-value side streams, creating food waste, and use harsh, energy- and resource-intensive processes that can affect the structure and functionality of these food ingredients. This leads to economic losses, impacts sustainability and limits market growth.
Using unfractionated “whole grain” flours and processing them into wholesome functional ingredients through novel low-impact treatments holds promise to diversify Canada’s food ingredient portfolio. In this training network, students, besides focusing their research on sustainable grain processing, will also be exposed to a myriad of professional development opportunities that will optimally prepare them to tackle the challenges of tomorrow’s grain industry.
The close collaboration between academics, government agencies and industry partners, under the umbrella of the ‘The Future is Gree(ai)n’ training network aims to fuel innovation in the grain sector and equip students and researchers with the knowledge and professional skills needed to build the resilience and profitability of the sector going forward.
NSERC Discovery Grants and Discovery Launch Supplements
In total, 50 U of G researchers received $11,158,500 in new Discovery Grants funding to support ongoing research projects with long-term goals. Thirteen of these researchers also received $162,500 in Discovery Launch Supplements, which provide additional support to early-career researchers as they establish their Discovery Grant research programs.
College of Biological Science
| Researcher name, department | Project title |
|---|---|
| Dr. Emma Allen-Vercoe Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology | Discovering bee gut microbiomes and their importance to insect wellbeing |
| Dr. Melanie Alpaugh + Discovery Launch Supplement Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology | Physiology of the blood-brain barrier |
| Dr. Mazyar Fallah Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences | The Interplay of Features and Objects in Target Selection and Distractor Inhibition |
| Dr. Robert Harkness + Discovery Launch Supplement Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology | Structural dynamics of deadenylases and nucleic acid substrates |
| Dr. Graham Holloway Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences | Regulation of mitochondrial ADP transport: Mechanisms and consequences |
| Dr. Jasmin Lalonde Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology | Elucidating the layered control of early response gene Arc/Arg3.1 |
| Dr. Kevin McCann Department of Integrative Biology | Global Change and the Rewiring of Food Webs in Space and Time |
| Dr. Coral Murrant Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences | Regulation of peripheral vascular function: the role of capillaries and pericytes in microvascular control |
| Dr. Cullen Myers + Discovery Launch Supplement Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology | Molecular mechanisms and functional roles of bacterial cell wall glycopolymer degradation |
| Dr. Lindsay Robinson Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences | Adipose tissue-derived biological signals in cell-cell communication and integrative metabolism |
| Dr. Jeremy Simpson Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences | Diverse EPO Pathways for Oxygen Regulation |
| Dr. Andrew Turko + Discovery Launch Supplement Department of Integrative Biology | Environmental and evolutionary physiology of fish respiration |
| Dr. Lori Ann Vallis Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences | Investigating the impact of executive function on complex locomotor control strategies |
| Dr. Amanda Wright Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences | Dietary lipid crystallinity, supramolecular properties, biophysical interactions during digestion, and metabolic response |
College of Computational, Mathematical and Physical Sciences
| Dr. Neil Bruce School of Computer Science | Computational Modelling of Human Gaze Behaviour using Neural Networks |
| Dr. Monica Cojocaru Department of Mathematics & Statistics | Generalized Nash games: new computational methods, applications and their connection with AI/ML |
| Dr. Tony Desmond Department of Mathematics & Statistics | Statistical Modelling with Applications in Medicine, Engineering and Finance |
| Dr. Hermann Eberl Department of Mathematics & Statistics | Diffusion-reaction models of biofilm processes |
| Dr. Khashayar Ghandi Department of Chemistry | Molecular mechanisms at interfaces exposed to environmental contaminants and external fields |
| Dr. Xiaodong Lin School of Computer Science | Security and Privacy in Artificial Intelligence of Things Applications |
| Dr. Richard Manderville Department of Chemistry | Fluorescent Surrogates for Nucleic Acid Theranostics |
| Dr. Eric Poisson Department of Physics | Tidal interactions in binary inspirals |
| Dr. Joe Sawada School of Computer Science | Practical Combinatorial Algorithms |
| Dr. Justin Slater + Discovery Launch Supplement Department of Mathematics & Statistics | Advancing spatiotemporal infectious disease models |
| Dr. Edward Sykes School of Computer Science | AI-based Solutions to Enhance Well-being for Aging Populations |
| Dr. Wenjing Zhang + Discovery Launch Supplement School of Computer Science | Enhancing Security, Privacy, and Fairness in Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) |
College of Engineering
| Dr. Sylvester Aboagye + Discovery Launch Supplement Computer Engineering | Resource Allocation for Universal Connectivity in Multiband Integrated Satellite Aerial and Terrestrial Networks |
| Dr. Wael Ahmed Mechanical Engineering | Unmasking Complex Transport Phenomena in Multiphase Flow: Strategies to Advance Carbon Capture Technologies in Canada |
| Dr. Mohammad Al Janaideh Mechanical Engineering | Innovative Advancements in Wafer Scanning Technology: Enhancing Precision and Throughput with Modern Mechatronics and Control Systems |
| Dr. Bahram Gharabaghi Water Resources Engineering | Advancing Urban Stormwater Modelling and Management in Cold Climate Regions |
| Dr. Beth Parker Water Resources Engineering | Quantifying long-term impacts of organic contaminants to freshwater aquifers due to diffusion dominated transport and reactions within low permeability zones |
| Dr. Ramesh Rudra Water Resources Engineering | Mechanics and Modelling of Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution |
| Dr. Syeda Tasnim Mechanical Engineering | Sustainable Cooling and Heating: From Performance of Materials to Prototype Development |
| Dr. Graham Taylor Computer Engineering | Multi-Modal Deep Learning for Scalable Biodiversity Assessment |
| Dr. Binyan Xu + Discovery Launch Supplement Mechanical Engineering | A Model Predictive Control-Enabled Framework for Advancing Fault Diagnosis and Fault-Tolerant Control |
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences
| Dr. Chris Fiacconi Department of Psychology | Metacognitive influences on memory and false memory |
| Dr. Evan Fraser Department of Geography, Environment & Geomatics | New Frontiers or New Constraints? How climate and technological change may affect food production and other ecosystem services |
| Dr. Travis Steffens + Discovery Launch Supplement Department of Sociology & Anthropology | Determining Drivers of Species Assembly through Disassembly in Human Modified Environments |
| Dr. Boyer Winters Department of Psychology | Neural substrates of long-term memory malleability |
Ontario Agricultural College
| Dr. Susan Chiblow + Discovery Launch Supplement School of Environmental Sciences | Indigenous Aquatic Knowledge for Water Sustainability |
| Dr. Trevor DeVries Department of Animal Biosciences | Integration of behaviour and nutrition to bolster efficiency of dairy cattle |
| Dr. Niel Karrow Department of Animal Biosciences | Enhancing resilience of livestock and aquaculture species to microbial and other stressors |
| Dr. Biniam Kebede + Discovery Launch Supplement Department of Food Science | Insights into fermentation for modulating the microstructure of pulse-based products to optimize digestibility, flavour, and techno-functional properties |
| Dr. Stephen Marshall School of Environmental Sciences | Systematics of the Sphaeroceroidea and Nerioidea (Diptera) |
| Dr. Manish Raizada Department of Plant Agriculture | Understanding pollen-associated microbiome inheritance in corn (maize) |
| Dr. Eli James Squires Department of Animal Biosciences | Understanding the integrative metabolism of androstenone and skatole to control the boar taint problem |
| Dr. Priska Stahel Darani + Discovery Launch Supplement Department of Animal Biosciences | Investigation of interplay of gut hormones with carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in horses |
| Dr. Katharine Wood Department of Animal Biosciences | Improving feed efficiency in beef cattle: developmental programming |
Ontario Veterinary College
| Dr. Ian Tobias + Discovery Launch Supplement Department of Biomedical Sciences | Enhancer-Promoter Communication in Tissue-Specific Gene Regulation |
NSERC Research Tools & Instruments Grants
Three U of G researchers received $150,000 each in funding from the Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) Grants program to support the purchasing of research equipment.
College of Biological Science
| Dr. Jeremy Simpson Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences | Advanced High-Resolution Imaging for Muscle and Brain Research |
Ontario Agricultural College
| Dr. Grégoy Bédécarrats Department of Animal Biosciences | Use of Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry to monitor changes in body composition and skeletal integrity in live chickens |
| Dr. Neil Rooney School of Environmental Sciences | High spatial and temporal resolution water quality monitoring associated with food production systems |
SSHRC Insight Grants
Twelve U of G researchers received $2,519,196 in SSHRC Insight Grants to support research excellence in the social sciences and humanities. Insight Grants are awarded to emerging scholars and established scholars for research projects lasting two to five years.
College of Arts
| Dr. Paul Barrett School of Theatre, English, and Creative Writing | Digital John Norton, Teyoninhokarawen |
| Dr. Cathryn Spence Department of History | Neighbours and Neighbourliness in Early Modern Edinburgh |
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences
| Dr. Stephanie Craig Department of Psychology | The role of emotion reactivity and regulation in the development of primary and secondary CU traits |
| Dr. Karine Gagné Department of Sociology & Anthropology | Multispecies Politics in the Borderlands: conservation, livelihoods, and territoriality in India and Vietnam |
| Dr. Harjinder Gill Department of Psychology | Do you know if others trust you? Investigating the accuracy of felt trust perceptions |
| Dr. Candace Johnson Department of Political Science | Reproduction and knowledge |
| Dr. Adam Kochanski Department of Political Science | Norm circulation in Southeast Asia: how local ideas and solutions travel on |
| Dr. Barbara Morrongiello Department of Psychology | Examining the interplay of child and parent factors that influence children’s physical safety in middle childhood |
| Dr. Eric Nost Department of Geography, Environment & Geomatics | Situating data for environmental justice in Canada’s national strategy to address environmental racism |
Lang School of Business and Economics
| Dr. Yiguo Sun Department of Economics and Finance | Social Networks with Missing Data, Endogeneity, and Nonlinearity |
Ontario Agricultural College
| Dr. Yu Na Lee Department of Food Agricultural and Resource Economics | Gendered vulnerability to food price shocks and uncertainty |
Ontario Veterinary College
| Dr. Andria Jones Department of Population Medicine | Farming the Future: A Multidisciplinary Lens to Climate Adaptation in Agriculture |
SSHRC Insight Development Grants
Seventeen U of G researchers received $1,071,882 in SSHRC Insight Development Grants, which support early-stage research by enabling the development of new research questions and experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and/or ideas.
College of Arts
| Christina Smylitopoulos School of Fine Art and Music | Rocker Chicks: Safety, Belonging, and the Aesthetics of Heavy Metal in Canada (1975-1990) |
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences
| Dr. Kimberlee Collins Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition | Stories in urgent times: Ecological emotions, speculative futures, and pedagogical possibilities with Ontario youth |
| Dr. Myrna Dawson Department of Sociology & Anthropology | The ‘Living Victims of Femicide’: Who are they and how do we support them? |
| Dr. Evan Fraser Department of Geography, Environment & Geomatics | Deconstructing Deglobalization – How technology, climate change, and political turmoil may affect health, education, energy, housing and food and what might be Canada’s role in a world fractured by the `Polycrisis’? |
| Dr. Karine Gagné Department of Sociology & Anthropology | Multimodal Storytelling and Citizen Science for Climate Justice in the Himalayas |
| Dr. Rhonda C. George Department of Sociology & Anthropology | Cementing the discipline: An excavation and archiving of the historical development of Black studies in Canada |
| Dr. Laura MacDiarmid Department of Sociology & Anthropology | The suitability of restorative justice for cases of intimate partner violence |
| Dr. Eric Nost Department of Geography, Environment & Geomatics | Urban political ecology and volunteered geographic information for informal greenspace research |
| Dr. Maria Pavlova Department of Psychology | Caregiver validating and invalidating behaviours in the context of early childhood |
| Dr. Deborah Powell Department of Psychology | How can the job candidate experience be more inclusive for applicants with disabilities? |
| Dr. Kimberly Squires Department of Family Relations & Applied Nutrition | Reimagining the playground: A comprehensive investigation of affordances in naturalized playground environments |
Lang School of Business and Economics
| Dr. Zhenzhen Fan Department of Economics and Finance | Does How You Say It Matter? Analyzing How Corporate Earnings Calls Drive Investor Beliefs Beyond the Numbers |
| Dr. Woomi Jo School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management | Understanding Racial Discrimination in Tourism: Development and Validation of a New Scale |
| Dr. Jing Lu Department of Management | Can Machine Learning Reveal ESG’s Impact on Business Success? |
Ontario Agricultural College
| Dr. Yu Na Lee Department of Food Agricultural and Resource Economics | Understanding nutrition inequality in Canada |
Ontario Veterinary College
| Dr. Basem Gohar Department of Population Medicine | Envisioning Change: A solution-focused co-design approach to understanding retention strategies among mental health workers in Northern Ontario |
| Dr. Lauren Van Patter Department of Clinical Studies | Maintenance, care, and repair in the more-than-human city |
SSHRC New Frontiers in Research Fund – Exploration Stream
Three U of G researchers received $695,637 in funding from the SSHRC New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) Exploration Stream.
The NFRF program supports world-leading Canadian-led research. Specifically, the Exploration stream provides opportunities for researchers to conduct innovative, interdisciplinary research with high-risk/high-reward potential.
College of Arts
| Dr. Rebecca Barnstaple School of Theatre, English, and Creative Writing | “If Art Were a Drug” – Exploring arts-based supports for people with a recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease |
College of Biological Science
| Dr. Ashleigh Domingo Department of Human Health & Nutritional Sciences | Food is Medicine: Centring Indigenous Knowledge Systems in the Co-design of a Community Food-Health Program |
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences
| Dr. Travis Steffens Department of Sociology and Anthropology | Helping Endangered Lemurs and People in Madagascar: A One Health approach to conservation |
SSHRC Partnership Development Grants
Two U of G researchers received $399,246 in funding from the SSHRC Partnership Development Grants program to support partnered research and related activities in the social sciences and humanities.
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences
| Dr. Stephanie Craig Department of Psychology | Co-creating a developmental-relational model to address aggression in youth programming |
Lang School of Business and Economics
| Dr. Elizabeth Kurucz Department of Management | A Design Thinking Approach to 21st Century Learning: School-Community Partnerships to Develop Leaders for Sustainability |
Vanier Scholarships
Three U of G students received Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships, each valued at $50,000 per year for three years.
College of Biological Science
| Student | Supervisor |
|---|---|
| Dylan Brettingham | Dr. Emma-Allen Vercoe |
| Alice Wang | Dr. Nina Jones |
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences
| Megan Ingram | Dr. Carla Rice |
In addition to the Vanier scholarships, 44 U of G students and postdoctoral fellows received over $5.2 million from the NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral (CGS D), Postdoctoral Fellowship (PDF) and Postgraduate Scholarship – Doctoral (PGS D) programs, and the SSHRC Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships, and the CIHR Fellowship Awards.