More than $1 million in new money will flow into Brandon University's (BU's) research programs over the next five years though the federal Discovery Grant program.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has committed $1,020,000 to fund four projects led by BU scientists. The Discovery Grants program provides support for long-range projects that often have far-reaching goals that may grow and change as the work progresses.
Dr. Margaret Carrington (Physics and Astronomy) received an NSERC Discovery Subatomic Physics Grant worth $65,000 per year for her field theory research. The other three new grants are Discovery Grants. Dr. Bryan Cassone (Biology) is receiving $60,000 per year as he studies DEET insensitivity in mosquitoes; Dr. Christophe LeMoine (Biology) is receiving $44,000 per year examine the determinants and consequences of metabolic flexibility in animals; and Dr. Michael Charette (Chemistry) is receiving $35,000 per year as he studies the role of the protein Emg1 in the assembly of ribosomes. All four have been previous Discovery Grant recipients and their new awards are increases over their previous funding.
"I'm delighted to see our talented faculty members being recognized by NSERC for the quality of their research," said Dr. Kofi Campbell, BU's Provost and Vice-President (Academic). "That these researchers have been repeatedly supported through the Discovery Grant program, and with an increased funding commitment, is a testament to the work that they do and its value to our country. I congratulate each of them on this tremendous success."
In addition to the new awards, six BU researchers have received one-year extensions to their funding due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Vincent Chen (Chemistry, $37,000), Dr. David Greenwood (Biology, $29,000) and Dr. Sarah Plosker (Mathematics and Computer Science, $19,000) received Discovery Grant extensions. Dr. Alexander Koiter (Geography, $25,000), Dr. Peter Whittington (Geography, $25,000) and Dr. Rory Lucyshyn-Wright (Mathematics and Computer Science, $24,000) received one-year NSERC Discovery Grant extensions through the Early Career Researcher classification.
"The research done by our faculty members benefits us in countless ways," said Dr. Heather Duncan, Associate Vice-President (Research) at BU. "Their work answers questions that researchers around the world have been pondering, and their discoveries bring valued knowledge to our region, our country and beyond. Their research also adds to their effectiveness as educators, allowing them to share additional insight and expertise with our students, while providing them with meaningful research opportunities of their own. I'm incredibly proud of our BU researchers."
