CFI awards

December 16, 2009

CFI awards eight U of C researchers almost $2.5 million

University of Calgary researchers received $2,449,861 million in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation on Wednesday. Eight proposals were awarded money under the CFI's Leaders Opportunity Fund which provides infrastructure support to Canadian institutions.

"Investments from the Canada Foundation for Innovation are crucial as we continue to attract and retain world-class researchers," said Vice-President (Research) Dr. Rose Goldstein. "We very much appreciate the CFI's support in providing our researchers with the equipment and technology they need to pursue their areas of expertise at the University of Calgary."

The CFI announced a total of $59,394,902 in new funds to support 262 projects at 40 institutions across Canada. The investment was approved by the CFI's board in mid-November, following a rigorous merit-review process.

The CFI is an independent corporation created by the federal government to fund research infrastructure. The CFI's mandate is to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians.

These are the eight projects that received Leaders Opportunity Fund awards in this round:

Peter Facchini and Dae-Kyun Ro - Faculty of Science
Peter Facchini and Dae-Kyun Ro were awarded $430,539 to establish a state-of-the-art mass spectrometry facility for plant natural product analysis. With matching provincial and U of C funds, a laboratory will be created in the Department of Biological Sciences to discover and identify valuable plant bioproducts that can be used as pharmaceuticals, flavours, and pesticides. The facility is key to the researchers' recently funded Genome Canada/Genome Alberta project. Peter Facchini is a professor of plant biochemistry and Canada Research Chair in plant biotechnology. Ro is an assistant professor and Canada Research Chair in plant bioproducts.

Hans Osthoff – Faculty of Science
Hans Osthoff is an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry. He was awarded $379,599 for research into processes that affect the abundances of secondary pollutants that are produced in the troposphere, such as ozone and airborne particulate matter (aerosols). The funding will allow Osthoff to equip his laboratory with state-of-the-art instrumentation and will enable a more accurate assessment of the impacts of pollution on regional air quality and climate. The research fits well into the University’s research priorities of energy and the environment.

Lisa Gieg - Biological Sciences – Faculty of Science
Lisa Gieg is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. Her CFI award of $193,022 will go toward researching how microorganisms metabolize hydrocarbons with an eye towards sustainability in Canada's energy industry. Microbes can play both beneficial (including, bioremediation, enhanced energy recovery, paraffin treatment) and deleterious (including, corrosion, souring, heavy oil formation) roles in the petroleum industry so it is imperative to understand how they function in petroleum-laden environments in order to harness or inhibit activity. Gieg's research program will help to improve energy recovery, waste remediation, and water and air quality.

Marcus Samuel – Faculty of Science
Marcus Samuel is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences. The $389,415 awarded to Samuel will be used to establish state-of-the-art cell and molecular biology suites to study the molecular basis of plant reproduction using canola (a major cash crop in Canada and a renewable source for biofuel) as the model system. This research will uncover novel genes whose functions are critical determinants of successful reproduction. This will allow us to develop strategies to improve canola yield.

S.R. Wayne Chen - Faculty of Medicine
S.R. Wayne Chen's laboratory focuses on cardiac arrhythmia, a group of conditions where there is abnormal electrical activity in the heart. Arrhythmias can cause a heart attack or sudden death.

The CFI has awarded Chen $395,519 to further his study of the molecular and cellular basis for life-threatening arrhythmias and to develop new therapies to treat the condition.

Chen is a professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology in the Faculty of Medicine, and a member of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta.

Jason Anderson and Jessica Theodor - Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Faculty of Science
The $240,611 awarded to Jason Anderson, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and Jessica Theodor, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, will allow them to purchase a state-of-the-art, high-energy micro CT scanner to visualize the internal anatomy of fossils. The technology will allow the preservation of one-of-a-kind fossils. It will also be available for researchers developing better cartilage grafts for joints and investigating clinical disorders in Alberta livestock. The Alberta government has matched the CFI funding to cover the cost of the scanner.

Leo Behie – Schulich School of Engineering
Leo Behie is a chemical engineer and the founding Director of the Pharmaceutical Production Research Facility (PPRF) at the University of Calgary. His research involving human stem cells aims to develop new treatments for illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and spinal cord pain. Behie and his colleagues have developed protocols for producing clinical quantities of human neural stem cells in computer-controlled bioreactors, a critical step, leading to clinical trials in stem cell therapy. He was awarded $281,631 from CFI.

Derek Lichti - Schulich School of Engineering
Derek Lichti is a geomatics engineer and a specialist in three-dimensional laser scanning. He was awarded $139,525 for a combination of high-tech equipment which use complex computer algorithms and data analysis to provide detailed images of structures and mathematical representations of their geometry.

Laser scanning is used in a range of applications including monitoring the condition of infrastructure such as buildings, bridges and dams. Lichti is also uncovering vast potential in the field of medical imaging. Models of biological structures such as the spine, for example, can be created and manipulated using 3-D laser scanning, reducing the need for repeated exposure to radiation with X-rays.