Dec. 12, 2008

Six U of C researchers awarded  $2.2 million

John Chen is one of six U of C researchers to share more than $2 million in CFI funding.
/ Photo by Ken Bendiktsen

The Leaders Opportunity Fund awarded $2,188,347 to six researchers—four from the Faculty of Science, one from Veterinary Medicine, and one from the Schulich School of Engineering.  This program is designed to provide infrastructure to Canadian institutions to help attract and retain researchers.

“This support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation is tremendous,” says Dr. Rose Goldstein, vice-president (research). “The funds mean that U of C researchers are better able to pursue their projects and contribute to knowledge and advancements in their fields.”

The announcement was part of a total of $45.5 million in new funds to support 251 projects at 44 institutions across Canada. A total of $38,234,190 was awarded under the Leaders Opportunity Fund. The remaining $7,287,310 was awarded under the Infrastructure Operating Fund, an accompanying program which assists research institutions with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with new infrastructure projects.

These are the six researchers and their projects who received Leaders Opportunity Fund awards in this round.

Prasanth Chelikani Prasanth Chelikani, of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, received $456,278 for establishing his Obesity Research Laboratory. This grant is for automated equipment for recording feeding, energy expenditure, body composition, as well as other behavioural and metabolic measures, in rat and mouse models of obesity. The equipment will enable Chelikani, and his collaborators in the Gastrointestinal Research Group of the faculties of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, to understand the basic mechanisms by which hormones secreted from the gut and other peripheral tissues regulate food intake and body weight.

Zhangxing Chen (John) Chen, in the Schulich School of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, received $388,752 for computer equipment to aid his work on enhancing oil recovery by injecting carbon dioxide into underground reservoirs. Chen uses advanced computer models to simulate the performance of oil and gas fields and find new ways to improve the efficiency and environmental impact of their development. He holds the Foundation CMG Research Chair that is supported by the Calgary-based CMG Reservoir Simulation Foundation and Computer Modelling Group Ltd.

Chang-Chun Ling Chang-Chun Ling is an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Calgary. His research uses chemistry to study the link between carbohydrates and cancer and infectious diseases. Ling’s Microbiological Culture and Biochemistry Laboratory, earmarked for $350,984, studies the roles that different carbohydrates play in various normal and pathological cell processes. His research team designs and synthesizes carbohydrates with the help of enzymes and organic chemistry in hopes of treating disease by interfering with crucial steps involved in biological processes.

Gordon Chua Gordon Chua is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Institute for Biocomplexity and Informatics.  Chua’s goal is to apply a powerful combination of yeast genetics and functional genomic approaches to decipher the cellular networks of global gene expression and interactions that are responsible for normal growth and complex diseases. CFI funding of $474,745 will enable the construction of a state-of-the-art functional genomics laboratory with technologies for large-scale analysis of genes.  His research is currently supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

David Eaton David Eaton, professor of geophysics and head of the Department of Geoscience, received $323,236. He is investigating earthquakes, both natural and induced. The goal of his Laboratory for Passive Seismic Imaging of Earth Processes is to improve the understanding of the causes and consequences of poorly understood earthquakes that occur in the interior of a tectonic plate. He will also look at monitoring of CO2 sequestration in subsurface reservoirs, enhanced recovery of heavy oil by steam injection, and studies of the Earth’s deep interior.

Sergei Noskov Sergei Noskov is an assistant professor in the Institute for Biocomplexity and Informatics and Department of Biological Sciences. CFI funding of$194,352 will aid his work on development of molecular models for protein-drug interactions in cell membranes. Noskov uses advanced computer models to simulate the mechanism of the drug binding in different proteins located in heart and brain cells.