BCKDF announces nearly $2.8 million for 23 innovative projects

The British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) has announced funding for 23 research projects at UBCO, the largest number of provincially funded projects in campus history.

With a total amount of $2,777,618, the funding supports infrastructure for projects across the entire UBCO research spectrum, including health, natural sciences, engineering, and the social sciences and humanities.

This innovative work is helping solve problems and make a difference in our region and our world by investigating areas like clean technology, social justice, mental health, concussion, stroke recovery and wildfire management.

“We are grateful to the BC government for their strong show of support for our work and our researchers,” said Phil Barker, UBCO vice-principal of research and innovation. “These types of groundbreaking projects cannot take place without strong partnerships, and we will continue to partner to strengthen our research and find solutions to some of society’s most pressing issues.”

BCKDF also announced funding in support of 55 research projects at UBC Vancouver. In total, 120 projects were funded across eight universities in British Columbia.

“We are fortunate to have world-class talent at many of our post-secondary institutions,” said Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training. “By providing funding for new infrastructure through the BC Knowledge Development Fund, our researchers are able to acquire new state-of-the-art equipment that will help people and industry be future ready.”

Read the province’s full announcement here.

UBC Okanagan projects

1. Advanced MRI Hardware Laboratory led by Rebecca Feldman (Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics).
2. Advanced Co-Located Mobile Interaction Laboratory led by Mohammad Khalad Hasan (Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics).
3. Mining and Verifying Specification of Complex Software Systems led by Apurva Narayan (School of Engineering).
4. Development of Crack-Resistant High Strength Aluminium Alloys for Laser Metal Deposition led by Michael Benoit (School of Engineering).
5. Investigating Parent-Adolescent Dynamics in the Emotion Dynamics Lab led by Jessica Lougheed (Psychology).
6. Site/ation Studio: Indigenous Land as Art led by Tania Willard (Creative Studies).
7. Toward Autonomy and Resilience of Control Systems Using an Industry 4.0 Platform led by Ahmad Al-Dabbagh (School of Engineering).
8. Patient Oriented Health Economics Research Laboratory led by Jennifer Davis (Management).
9. Investigating the Mechanobiology of Diseases at the Single-Molecule Level led by Isaac Li (Chemistry).
10. Multifunctional borylenes for metal- and boron-mediated reactions led by Conor Pranckevicius (Chemistry).
11. Laboratory for Emerging-research in Aerial Visual Extended Surveillance led by Mohamed Shehata (Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics).
12. Critical Future Studio/Lab led by Megan Smith (Creative Studies).
13. Sonic Production, Intelligence, Research, and Applications Lab (SPIRAL) led by Miles Thorogood (Creative Studies).
14. Earth observation and Spatial Ecology Lab led by Mathieu Bourbonnais (Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences).
15. DARE | Digital Archaeology Research Environment Lab led by Neha Gupta (Community, Culture and Global Studies).
16. The Canadian Arcminute Resolution Magnetoionic Medium Survey (CARMIMS) led by Alex Hill (Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics).
17. Basic and applied investigations of motor imagery to promote recovery after stroke led by Sarah Kraeutner (Psychology).
18. Quantitative Ecology Laboratory with a Focus on Animal Conservation led by Michael Noonan (Biology).
19. Truth and Trust Lab: A Request for Observational, Physiological, and Social Judgment Research Infrastructure led by Leanne Ten Brinke (Psychology).
20. Ultrafast laser system for terahertz development in food applications led by Christopher Collier (School of Engineering).
21. Laboratory of Next Generation Video Surveillance for Environmental Monitoring led by Shan Du (Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics).
22. Microfabrication for next-generation thin film solar cells led by Ian Foulds and Alexander Uhl (School of Engineering) .
23. Next-generation pulmonary in vitro 3D models to unravel the role of cell-cell and multiorgan crosstalk in lung disease led by Emmanuel Osei (Biology).

Sarah Kraeutner, Michael Smith Scholar

Assistant professor Sarah Kraeutner named a Michael Smith Scholar

Assistant professor and researcher Sarah Kraeutner was recently named as a Michael Smith Scholar by Michael Smith Health Research BC for her work in neuroscience and recovery after stroke.

As BC’s health research agency, Michael Smith Health Research BC aims to attract and retain BC’s best and brightest health researchers and support the advancement of world-class health research in BC.

Their Scholar Program supports early-career health researchers who are building leading-edge health research programs, training the next generation of scientists and expanding their potential to make significant contributions to their field.

Kraeutner’s award reinforces UBCO’s research excellence and comes in recognition of her focused work as the lead investigator of NIMBL – the Neuroplasticity, Imagery and Motor Behaviour Laboratory.

As a named scholar, she will receive $90,000 a year for the next five years to dedicate towards her research.

“It is an honour to be among the list of Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar Award recipients,” said Kraeutner. “This award is instrumental to the launch of my research program, and the momentum gained is invaluable not only to myself, but to trainees in my lab.”

Through her work, Kraeutner’s overarching goal is to improve motor learning and relearning after stroke and brain injury. Using an approach that encompasses neuroimaging, neurophysiology and behavioural techniques, her research focuses on better understanding brain function associated with motor learning through non-physical forms of practice.

This important research helps inform, develop and test interventions that promote recovery and improve the lives of those people who have experienced stroke.

Associate professor Eric Li named among Canada’s top scholars by Royal Society of Canada

Faculty of Management associate professor Eric Li has received a prestigious honour from the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), having been named a member of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists.

The College is Canada’s first national system of multidisciplinary recognition for the emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership. Its members have shown a high level of achievement at an early stage of their careers.

Membership in an entity of the RSC is one of the highest honours a Canadian scholar can achieve in the arts, humanities and sciences.

“It is truly an honour to be selected to join the College of New Scholars. This is a very special recognition and I want to thank my colleagues and students at UBCO for continuously working with me and encouraging me throughout the years. It is always challenging to launch and sustain interdisciplinary research programs in academia. I am very fortunate to work with a wonderful group of colleagues, community partners and students to explore innovative solutions to important societal issues. As a new member of the Royal Society of Canada, I will continue to conduct impactful research to address these issues, locally, nationally and globally”.

A leading Canadian scholar in the rapidly evolving field of socio-economic change, Li’s research focuses on areas including food insecurity, health inequity, urban/rural divide, social innovation and the transformation of markets and consumer culture.

“UBC Okanagan is proud to see associate professor Li recognized by the Royal Society of Canada,” UBCO’s vice-principal of research & innovation, Philip Barker said. “His outstanding work reflects UBCO’s excellence in research and our burgeoning proficiency in a number of important fields. We congratulate him on this significant honour and look forward to his continued contributions to advance knowledge that has tangible impacts on our region and our world.”

In addition to his newly-attained status with RSC, Li is also the Principal’s Research Chair in Social Innovation for Health Equity and Food Security and was named UBCO Researcher of the Year in 2021.

He will now join other College members in providing advice to the government and the public; mentoring promising young scholars, artists, and scientists; and connecting with senior RSC Fellows from a variety of disciplines across Canada.