UBC Okanagan faculty receive nearly $1.5 million in Canada Foundation for Innovation funding across multiple projects
UBCO researchers received funding for projects ranging from nanogeology, crop resilience and robotic construction fabrication to control technology, chronic disease and acute brain injury.
UBC Okanagan researchers will be able to explore new therapies for devastating brain injuries, thanks to funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).
A total of six researchers from across UBC Okanagan were awarded $1.49 million for research infrastructure on campus through CFI’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), as announced by the Government of Canada on Friday, October 10. The fund helps universities recruit and retain incredible faculty members and acquire the tools to support their leading and innovative research.
Dr. Ryan Hoiland, Assistant Professor in the Southern Medical Program, is one of the six UBC Okanagan recipients. An Investigator with the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management (CCDPM), Dr. Hoiland’s research program focuses on brain injury resulting from cardiac arrest.
According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, about 60,000 Canadians suffer a cardiac arrest every year, with only five to 15 per cent of patients surviving. When someone’s heart stops beating, blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain stops too, and oxygen levels in the brain remain low after resuscitation. The resulting hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HIBI) is the main cause of death in post-cardiac arrest patients.
“The overall aim of our research program is to improve our understanding of the disease processes that occur with hypoxic-ischemic brain injury following cardiac arrest so that we can develop new treatments,” says Dr. Hoiland.
Currently, there are no effective treatments for HIBI, and progress for developing therapeutic interventions for HIBI has been stagnant for decades. By using the equipment and infrastructure acquired with this funding to address key gaps in HIBI research, Dr. Hoiland’s lab will be uniquely positioned to accelerate progress and generate desperately needed knowledge to advance clinical care for HIBI patients.
One aspect of the research that Dr. Hoiland is most excited about is using the NovaGuide 2® Intelligent Ultrasound, funded through this CFI JELF. This one-of-a-kind transcranial Doppler ultrasound uses an artificial intelligence algorithm and robotics to automate the measurement of blood flow to the brain.
“As we learn more about the regulation of blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain following hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, the automation of the NovaGuide 2 reduces a major barrier for wider implementation in research within additional health care settings such as more rural communities,” says Dr. Hoiland.
This ultrasound will be housed at Kelowna General Hospital. Dr. Hoiland is working in partnership with physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists for this patient-based neuromonitoring research.
“We hope that the research enabled by this CFI award will allow us to better serve all British Columbians, irrespective of where they live.”
Across both campuses, UBC researchers received more than $5.7 million for 31 successful projects in this latest round of funding.
UBCO CFI JELF recipients
Chen, Qian (School of Engineering)
Digital Integration for Robotic Fabrication in Construction (DIRFIC) to facilitate rapid affordable housing in Canada
Dr. Qian Chen’s research is working to address Canada’s housing crisis, safeguard construction workers during construction projects and position Canada as a leader in manufacturing and construction innovations. By developing a scalable and digitally integrated technology framework for robotic fabrication in construction, her lab aims to address the need for rapid, sustainable and affordable housing across the country. Part of her CFI JELF includes an industrial-sized robotic arm to help model the complex constraints of robotic assembly and test the integration algorithm in real-world case studies.
Dubosq, Renelle (Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science)
From nano to tectonic: A centre for nanogeology research
Dr. Renelle Dubosq’s funding will develop a Centre for Nanogeology Research within UBCO’s existing FiLTER laboratory and enhance existing electron-beam facilities. These upgrades will allow for nanoscale analysis of geomaterials. Dr. Dubosq’s research will study the feedbacks between element mobility, fluids and structural defects at the nanoscale to assess their role in deformation of minerals and apply these processes to a tectonic scale. By improving the baseline knowledge of Canada’s natural mineral resources, this project could help address the demand for critical minerals crucial for green energy transitions and contribute to a better understanding of seismic rupture, which is essential for seismic hazard assessment in earthquake-prone regions.
van Heusden, Klaske (School of Engineering)
Data-driven control for safety-critical applications
Control technology, used in everything from cell phones to aircraft, buildings to manufacturing, is becoming more complex with increased levels of autonomy. Dr. Klaske van Heusden’s research focuses on the algorithms required to make the next generation of automated systems safe. Her program works to overcome the shortcomings of current methodology and develop data-driven methods for safe control. This CFI JELF will provide the necessary equipment to develop and evaluate safe control methods compatible with learning control algorithms needed to empower autonomous systems. Her research aims to bridge the gap between current methods and real-world safety-critical control.
Hoiland, Ryan (Southern Medical Program)
The translational acute brain injury laboratory
See above for details.
Islam, Muhammad Hashim (Faculty of Health and Social Development)
Real time assessment of metabolism in distinct human cell types across the health-disease continuum
Most chronic diseases affecting Canadians, such as heart disease and diabetes, involve disordered metabolism. However, how metabolism within different human cells and tissues is impacted with these diseases is poorly understood. Dr. Muhammad Hashim Islam’s research aims to advance this understanding and apply the information towards optimizing lifestyle interventions that are aimed at improving disease-related metabolic defects. This CFI JELF will help acquire an analyzer to enable real-time measurement of major metabolic pathways in various human cells and tissues. This technology will help Dr. Islam in developing new approaches for combatting chronic disease by targeting metabolic pathways, with the overall goal to improve the lives of millions of Canadians impacted by chronic disease.
Mason, Chase (Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science)
Applying Plant Evolutionary Physiology for Next-Generation Crop Resilience: Establishing the SARC and CBIL at UBCO
Climate change and other challenges are applying pressure to the resilience of Canada’s agri-food system. Using this CFI JELF, Dr. Chase Mason will establish the Sustainable Agriculture Research Complex in UBCO’s West Campus Lands, the area within the Agricultural Land Reserve area located near John Hindle Drive. The complex will consist of two acres enclosed with deer fencing, containing field plots, an experimental trial garden and hoophouses. In his fundamental and applied agricultural research, Dr. Mason aims to create more stress-tolerant and pest-resistant versions of existing crops and explore new and underutilized crops that could thrive in Canada through the next decades of climate change.