grants Archives | Research & Innovation

91��ɫ researchers awarded $7 million by NSERC

fmaquito — Thu, 24 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

The Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) announced Wednesday that 60 researchers at 91��ɫ have been awarded more than $7 million in NSERC grants, while eight graduate students have received a total of $318,500 in funding for scholarships and fellowships. The funding was awarded following national, peer-reviewed competitions conducted by NSERC.

“On behalf of the 91��ɫ research community, I am very pleased by this announcement,” said Robert Haché, 91��ɫ’s vice-president research & innovation. “NSERC’s investment in science, engineering and technological research reflects the exceptional quality of the research activities undertaken by 91��ɫ’s researchers, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Our growing success in NSERC grant competitions allows our researchers to continue to grow and strengthen their innovative research programs across these disciplines from a base of excellence.”

Scientists, engineers and students at universities across the country will receive more than $410 million in grants and scholarships over terms ranging from one to five years. These awards comprise the 2012 competition results for NSERC’s Discovery Grants, Discovery Accelerator Supplements, Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships, NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships and Postdoctoral Fellowships Programs.

Forty-nine 91��ɫ researchers received funding in the Discovery Grants Competition, securing $6,086,000 in funding – a success rate of 71 per cent – highlighting the strength of University research programs in the science and engineering disciplines.

In the Discovery Grants and Discovery Accelerator Supplements Competition, the funding was granted for research programs covering a wide range of topics, including:

Experiments in the atmospheres of Mars and Earth
Structural and functional imaging of the human thalamus
The role of electrical synapses in vision
The development and application of dynamic smart surfaces
Thoracic and lumbar spine biomechanics
Development and application of mass spectrometry imaging to biological models

91��ɫ researchers were also awarded $601,733 in funding in the Research Tools & Instruments competition.

"Our government's top priority is jobs, growth and long-term prosperity. To remain at the forefront of the global economy, our government is investing in the people and ideas that will produce tomorrow's breakthroughs," said Gary Goodyear, federal minister of state for science and technology. "Through these investments, we are creating the best-educated and most skilled workforce in the world."

"Through these programs, NSERC provides direct support to an exceptionally strong base of scientific and creative talent in every field of the natural sciences and engineering," said Suzanne Fortier, NSERC president. "Our scholarships and fellowships programs help us recruit and retain the bright young minds that will lead the next generation of Canadian discoverers and innovators. The flexibility and broad base of research supported by our internationally recognized Discovery Grants Program maintains our capacity to promote important breakthroughs."

The Discovery Grants Program supports ongoing programs of research in every scientific and engineering discipline. Valued at $120,000 over three years, Discovery Accelerator Supplements are awarded to researchers whose research proposals suggest and explore high-risk, novel or potentially transformative concepts and lines of inquiry, and are likely to have impact by contributing to groundbreaking advances in the proposed areas of research.

Research Tools and Instruments (RTI) grants foster and enhance the discovery, innovation and training capability of university researchers in the natural sciences and engineering by supporting the purchase of research equipment and installations.

The NSERC scholarships and fellowships awards announced Wednesday − comprised of the Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships, NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships and Postdoctoral Fellowships − offer support at the master’s, doctoral and postdoctoral levels.

For more information, visit the website.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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Six Faculty of Health professors honoured for excellence

fmaquito — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Six Faculty of Health professors were honoured for their outstanding contributions at a presentation of the 2010-2011 Dean’s Awards for Excellence last week.

An award is given to two faculty members, one in the early career category and another in the established career category, in the areas of research, service and teaching. The awards, which took place Sept. 14, are conferred annually by the Faculty of Health Research & Awards Committee.

“This year’s winners are joining a very illustrious group. Every year the committee is faced with a very difficult task because everyone nominated is quite deserving,” said Gordon Flett, who chaired the adjudication process. “The award itself is a great way of recognizing the outstanding accomplishments, as well as the exceptional commitments that our faculty members have made both within the Faculty of Health and in the broader community.”

Above: Back row, from left, William Gage, associate dean of research & innovation in 91��ɫ's Faculty of Health, Christine Jonas-Simpson, Dianne McCauley and Peter Tsasis. Front row, from left, Mary Wiktorowicz, Marcia Rioux, Mary Fox and Harvey Skinner, dean of the Faculty of Health

Excellence in Research Award (Early Career) – Professor Mary Fox (Nursing)

Fox was honoured for her research in the prevention of bed rest dependency in older adults with complex chronic disease. Fox has been recognized as having made significant contributions to her field. Her work has been critiqued by Canadian Institutions of Health Research (CIHR) peer reviewers as “very innovative”, “highly significant”, and “to be of interest nationally”. A recently funded grant by the CIHR ranked Fox’s application first out of 47, and place it in the outstanding category – the highest attainable category. In addition to serving as a professor in 91��ɫ’s School of Nursing, Fox is an Adjunct scientist at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

Fox said having her work recognized and knowing that her colleagues and students have taken the time to nominate her “means a lot.”

Excellence in Research Award (Established Career) – Professor Marcia Rioux (Health Policy & Management)

Rioux, a distinguished and internationally recognized scholar, has published 10 books and monographs, over 50 articles and book chapters, and as principle investigator has held nearly $18 million in research grants over the past 30 years. Her nominator describes her as a visionary leader who is changing the way disability is studied and responded to in the context of human rights and social empowerment.

Rioux said the award reflects a significant honour for her as does the support she has received from her colleagues throughout the University. “My work benefits from 91��ɫ’s rich intellectual environment and an international, interdisciplinary research agenda related to social justice and human rights.”

The award came just as her latest book, Critical Perspectives on Human Rights and Disability Law, an edited collection that recapitulates many of the themes of Rioux’s research, was published.

Excellence in Service Award (Early Career) – Professor Dianne McCauley (Nursing)

McCauley is described by her nominator as “an excellent student advocate, not only with individual students, but also, of the student body at large; the kind of solid citizen who makes the School of Nursing successful.”

“It is an honour to be recognized by my colleagues … my colleagues, staff and students have enabled me to be successful in my role and receive this award,” said McCauley.

Well known to faculty and students for her availability and supportiveness to students, McCauley has actively participated in a number of key nursing committees, including the Student Affairs Committee and the Practicum Committee. Since 2007, she has served as undergraduate program director of the Collaborative BScN Program in the School of Nursing.

Excellence in Service Award (Established Career) – Professor Mary Wiktorowicz (Health Policy & Management)

Wiktorowicz began her tenure as the chair of 91��ɫ’s School of Health Policy & Management in 2006, the inaugural year of the Faculty of Health. Her colleagues assert that under her leadership, enrolment to the school has almost quadrupled and applicant quality has significantly increased. Additionally, Wiktorowicz has led the development of several new undergraduate programs, and has guided the final stage of development and the launch of the new Graduate Health Program, which includes a pan-University MA and a direct-entry PhD in health.

In addition to her many outstanding accomplishments at the School of Health Policy & Management, Wiktorowicz has actively participated in many committees over the years, spanning across all levels of the University. She has been an integral part of the 91��ɫ Senate and likewise as the 91��ɫ representative for the Ontario Training Centre Diploma in Health Services & Policy Research. Wiktorowicz has also made a sustained contribution to service at the national and provincial levels. Her recent work on the governance of mental health networks has recently been adopted by the Ontario Local Health Integration Networks Collaborative.

When asked what service means to her, Wiktorowicz said, “Service is like planting a seed, and it takes more than a single individual’s contribution to create a beautiful garden. There are amazing people in the school who each day sow the seeds of success. Good things happen when we all contribute. Being recognized among such an exceptional group of colleagues makes this a particular honour.”

Excellence in Teaching Award (Early Career) – Professor Christine Jonas-Simpson (Nursing)

Jonas-Simpson, who says she “loves to teach,” describes her pedagogy as “reflective of an arts-based narrative interpretive human science approach.” Instructor evaluation scores in nursing typically average 3.8 out of 5. Jonas-Simpson’s instructor evaluation scores are consistently 4.88 or 4.99 out of 5. Her students write, “Christine is by far the most caring, understanding, adaptable teacher I’ve ever had. She let us shape our class to suit our learning,” and “Christine epitomizes the human science philosophy that the program subscribes to by valuing her students’ experiences and being truly present with them.”

Jonas-Simpson has created engaging teaching tools through research-documentary films in collaboration with her colleagues from 91��ɫ and the community at large. She and her research colleagues have recently received Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council of Canada funding to begin filming the fourth research documentary in a series of inter-professional educational pieces focusing on children’s experiences of the loss of a baby sibling.

Excellence in Teaching Award (Established Career) – Professor Peter Tsasis (Health Policy & Management and Administrative Studies)

Tsasis, who is appointed jointly to the School of Health Policy & Management and the School of Administrative Studies, teaches various disciplines. A nominator remarked, “It is rare to find an individual that can span his teaching across the spectrum of disciplines and deliver exceptional teaching performance.” Tsasis stretches his teaching beyond the lecture hall, mentoring many students in the Research at 91��ɫ program. In 91��ɫ’s Alumni Matters newsletter, one student remarked, “working with Professor Tsasis was one of the best experiences I will ever have in my life.” In one of four letters of support, a student said, “Dr. Tsasis has unequivocally been the best professor I have had.”

Most recently, Tsasis has undertaken an initiative to negotiate with community health service organizations internship placements for students registered in a fourth-year Health Studies Project Management course, giving students the opportunity for enriching field experience. He has also helped to create a new certificate program in Health Service Finance offered jointly by the School of Health Policy & Management and the School of Administrative Studies. This program is designed to provide students with the opportunity for fast-track entry into the certified management accountant designation, while providing a skill set much in need in the health-care industry.

Republished courtesy of YFile– 91��ɫ’s daily e-bulletin.

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