Federal Environment Minister Peter Kent paid an informal visit to 91亚色's Keele campus yesterday to view first-hand the results of the government's聽investment in聽Canada's current and future聽scientists and researchers.

Above: From left, Environment Minister Peter Kent, senior project superintendent Chris Robinson and 91亚色 President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri review the building blueprints

Kent, who is also MP for nearby Thornhill,聽was on campus to tour the construction site of the new 160,000-square-foot Life Sciences Building. The facility's construction was made possible by $70 million in federal and provincial funding through the (KIP), part of the federal government's聽Economic Action Plan and the Ontario government's 2009 Budget.

Right: Kent congratulates Shoukri during a ceremony on the temporary steps leading to the Life Sciences Building

"91亚色 is pleased to have received funding under the Federal-Provincial Knowledge Infrastructure Program," said 91亚色 President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. "These investments are enhancing 91亚色's solid reputation as Canada's leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university, and strengthening our capacity for quality research and innovation."

The addition of the Life Sciences Building to the Keele campus will increase available learning and research facilities for students and faculty in high-demand science and health-related disciplines, such as biology, chemistry, biochemistry and kinesiology.

"As Canada begins to emerge from global recession, the investment in state-of-the-art research labs is essential to creating and securing valuable skills jobs both now and in the future," said Kent. "By modernizing research and training facilities on Canada's college and university campuses, this will help build the foundation for future growth. Our government is working to ensure the best science and innovation opportunities as well as the world's best researchers are right here on Canadian soil."

Left: Kent addresses the group gathered for the tour

Construction of the聽Life Sciences Building is entering its final phase. Scheduled聽to open this fall, it will聽provide聽top-notch learning and research facilities for聽up to 1,700 additional undergraduate students and up to 50 new life science researchers. Leading-edge technologies, such as a聽radioisotope suite and a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer for advanced imaging will be among the high-tech equipment contained in the new structure.

"This building will provide an incredible opportunity for 91亚色 to meet the growing demand by young Canadians who would like to study life sciences and health," said Shoukri. "It will also help our young researchers to build their careers and use their knowledge to advance the frontier of understanding for the world and it will create an opportunity to help economic development through innovation."

Constructed using Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) principles, the building聽uses strategies aimed at improving聽energy savings, water efficiency,聽carbon dioxide聽emissions reduction, indoor environmental quality and stewardship of resources.

The Government of Canada's Knowledge Infrastructure Program is a聽$2-billion economic stimulus measure to support infrastructure enhancement at Canadian postsecondary institutions. It聽is part of nearly $16 billion in new infrastructure investment allocated under the聽Economic Action Plan since 2009.

Above: From left, 91亚色 master's聽candidate Omar El-Ansari; Faculty of Health Dean Harvey Skinner;聽Vice-President Research & Innovation Stan Shapson;聽 Environment Minister Peter Kent;聽President & Vice Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri; Vice-President University Relations Jennifer Sloan; Sidra Khan, a second-year life sciences student; Janusz Kozinski, dean of the Faculty of Science & Engineering; and Paul Marcus, president & CEO of the 91亚色 Foundation

The Government of Ontario also committed to investing in infrastructure by designating $780 million to colleges and universities to modernize faciilties and boost long-term research and skills training capacity.

By Jenny Pitt-Clark, YFile editor.

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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"This unique investment demonstrates the bold new vision for life sciences research at 91亚色 and asserts our role as a world-class research hub through a significant expansion of 91亚色's research infrastructure,鈥� said Faculty of Science & Engineering Dean Janusz Kozinski (right).

鈥淔aculty of Health research addresses health and human science at all levels - molecular to global - and builds on disciplinary depth and interdisciplinary breadth,鈥� said Faculty of Health Dean Harvey Skinner (left). 鈥淏eing part of 91亚色's renewed commitment to research in life sciences ably facilitates our goals.鈥�

Kozinski, in partnership聽with Skinner聽and the chairs of the Departments of Biology and Chemistry and the School of Kinesiology & Health Science, were part of a committee to coordinate the selection of the聽new equipment.

In total, nine research tools will be acquired, and will play an integral role in the creation of two new multi-user research hubs 鈥撀爐he Biomedical Imaging Facility and the Bioanalytical Facility. Once completed, these facilities will be among the most innovative and unique in Canada, with equipment for advanced biomedical imaging, electrophysiology, cellular imaging and bioanalysis. They will be the nerve centre of the Life Sciences building鈥檚 fourth-floor research hub.

The five support tools to be acquired for the Biomedical Imaging Facility are:

1. The Multiphoton Imaging System will enable researchers to investigate aspects of cell biology in much greater detail than before. It will give them the ability to visualize 鈥撀爄n real time 鈥撀燿ynamic biological processes in live cells, tissues, organs and organisms.
2. The dual-beam Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) will be one of two in Canada. It gives researchers access to structural, morphological and chemical information on thin film materials, which are聽covered hard samples that include聽metal and oxide films and have applications in magnetic sensors and solar cells.聽Soft materials which are based on biological building blocks such as proteins and peptides can also be assessed with the SEM. This versatile instrument will聽benefit researchers聽in the Faculties of Health and Science & Engineering.
3. The Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorter (FACS) is also a versatile tool, and its superior capabilities will be useful for research in cellular and molecular biology. The FACS system will help to accelerate the research of 91亚色 faculty members who focus on cancer, biomarker discovery, diabetes, obesity, stem cell biology, immunology and cardiovascular research.
4. The Scanning Ion-selective Electrode Technique (SIET) and Scanning Vibrating Electrode Technique (SVET) system will allow researchers to measure absolute concentration of ions and molecules including their flow and direction of movement. These techniques have a wide array of applications including research into how fish cope with environmental changes, and how insect populations react to climate change factors.
5. The Spinning Disk Confocal System is an optical imaging device that lets researchers reconstruct three-dimensional images of specimens in real time with a very high degree of optical resolution and contrast.

The four support tools to be acquired for the Bioanalytical Facility are:

1. The High Resolution Mass Spectrometer is a highly sensitive tool that will enable state-of-the-art protein identification and characterization. This holds promise for breakthroughs in the characterization and early detection of many human diseases, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. This instrument will not only facilitate the identification of complex mixtures of proteins and peptides, but will also enable the identification of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) and the mapping of these sites on targeted proteins. Phosphorylation is one of nature's most abundant PTMs, which act as switches to activate and inactivate protein functions. Thus, this instrument will benefit life and health scientists, and all researchers interested in developing diagnostic and prognostic tools and methods.
2. A current research objective at 91亚色 is to study how protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions affect basic signalling processes in the cell. In the most general sense, many cancers and other diseases are a product of cell signalling being misregulated. The 700MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer will enable various research groups to study biopolymers, including proteins, DNA and RNA, at a much higher level of detail and sensitivity than is currently possible. The ability to study large molecule/small molecule interactions is also central to the development of molecular probes to study biological pathways 鈥� the starting point to the potential development of small-molecule therapeutics (i.e. new drug candidates).
3. The Peptide Spot Synthesizer is an instrument used to generate peptide arrays (600-1200 peptides) on a single membrane or slide. Peptide arrays are a powerful tool with multiple applications including the detection of protein interaction partners, analysis of gene expression in various organisms and the development of new biomarkers.
4. The microRaman-AFM-FTIR will allow researchers to perform for the first time, real-time, simultaneous observations and measurements of phase properties, structural growth/decay and chemical interactions. It will also be the only experimental system in Canada capable of simultaneous quantitative mapping in the leading-edge Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (TERS) mode. Currently only four labs worldwide conduct TERS measurements.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin

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After accepting an invitation from the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation, Dr. Alain Beaudet, president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), made his first visit to 91亚色 on Jan. 19.

During the visit, Beaudet聽met with a strong and diverse group of 91亚色 researchers and conducted a town hall meeting. The visit also gave 91亚色 the opportunity to highlight life science and health-related research underway across the University鈥檚 Faculties, research centres and institutes, to emphasize its research accomplishments and future initiatives.

Right: Dr. Alain Beaudet

The town hall meeting featured聽a presentation by Beaudet聽on 鈥檚 five-year , which seeks to expand the funding council鈥檚 $974-million budget to support researcher-driven and strategic projects in 13 institutes across CIHR鈥檚 four pillars: biomedical research; clinical research; health systems and health services; and the health of populations, societal and cultural dimensions of health and environmental influences on health.

CIHR plans to allocate approximately 30 per cent of its funds to support strategic research priorities. These priorities include聽investing in world-class research, addressing the needs of Canada鈥檚 health care system, accelerating the capture of the health and economic benefits of health research, and achieving organizational excellence while fostering ethical research activity and demonstrating impact. Several key areas include encouraging more Canadian participation and leadership in global health research initiatives, preparing young researchers for health-related careers and reducing health inequities faced by aboriginal Canadians and other minority populations.

91亚色 currently has聽more than聽9,000 undergraduate students studying kinesiology聽& health science, psychology, nursing and health policy聽& management. Over 400 faculty members are engaged in health research across the full spectrum of academic disciplines. Since 2001, the University鈥檚 total CIHR funding has increased six times to over $4 million. This achievement is particularly notable due to 91亚色鈥檚 non-medical school designation.

In 2010, the Sherman Health Sciences Research Centre is scheduled to open on the Keele campus, providing over 40,000 square feet of research space for vision science, kinesiology, and psychology. In 2011, the Sherman Centre will be complemented by the Life Sciences Building, which will provide 160,000 square feet to meet growing demand for graduate and undergraduate students in Life and Health Sciences.

As well, 91亚色 is forging vital external research and development linkages with hospitals, industry, health care and social agencies, developing innovative ways to mobilize health-related findings, and exploring the full spectrum of health research challenges to better understand and remove barriers to health and wellness.

The is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. It creates new scientific knowledge and enables its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health-care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 13,000 health researchers and trainees across Canada.

Submitted by聽Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer

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