CFI funding supported creation of new interdisciplinary space

The Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies (FCCS) officially opened a new, state-of-the-art research space today.  Housed in the Innovation Annex, part of UBC Okanagan’s Innovation Precinct, the new facility is the result of three separate Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) awards to FCCS researchers Dr. Emily Christina Murphy, Dr. Miles Thorogood and Dr. Megan Smith.

Aimed at fostering cutting-edge interdisciplinary work, the research hub combines three separate creative labs and studios—ReMedia Infrastructure for Research and Creation, the Sonic Production, Intelligence, Research, and Applications Lab (SPIRAL), and the Critical Future Studio/Lab—making it a unique space for creativity and collaboration.

The hub, which the faculty describes as unique in Canada, was made possible through the three researchers combining their individual CFI awards, each of which included funding for a performance space, in order to enable the creation of the shared facility that features three studios, an audio control room and a larger performance space.

Dr. Emily Christina Murphy, Director of ReMedia Infrastructure for Research and Creation, highlighted the collaborative vision behind the project. “It became clear that we had some interesting overlapping research needs and could come together to create a single state-of-the-art facility,” she said.

The CFI awards, which support universities in acquiring advanced research infrastructure, were further bolstered by matching funds from the provincial government through the BC Knowledge Development Fund.

“This space has really opened up everything,” says Dr. Thorogood, who leads the Sonic Production, Intelligence, Research, and Applications Lab (SPIRAL). His lab now boasts top-tier audio production equipment, including 36 speakers for experimenting with immersive sound experiences. Dr. Thorogood’s Creative AI research focuses on developing tools to automate tasks in sound design, potentially transforming the audio landscape of large-scale multiplayer video games by generating dynamic soundscapes in real time.

Meanwhile, Dr. Murphy’s ReMedia delves into cultural memory and the ways technology shapes our understanding of the past and present. Her research, which will now include recreating historical performances in the new shared space, has been further enhanced by the CFI funding, enabling her to acquire wearables and advanced computing tools to analyze data from social media and other sources.

Dr. Smith, the third researcher in the collaboration and Director of the new Master of Design program, leads the Critical Future Studio/Lab. Her work integrates art, computer science and engineering to create immersive AR and VR environments. In collaboration with the RCMP, she has developed VR controllers for cadet training that mirror the weight and feel of real-world equipment, enhancing the realism of training exercises. Another project, “Walking in the Cold,” explores climate change through VR, using CFI-funded infrared heaters and blowers to simulate environmental shifts.

With the facility now operational, all three researchers are excited about the potential for new collaborative opportunities.

“I’m most excited about seeing how new synergies can occur in the space, and with this new community,” says Dr. Smith. “I think the space itself is going to yield some incredible work.”

The shared research hub is set to be a major driver of innovation, advancing creative research and opening new doors for interdisciplinary collaboration at UBC Okanagan.

UBC Okanagan has a track record of securing CFI funding for both large-scale research infrastructure and individual research spaces. The new facility follows in the footsteps of successful projects like the Centre for Health Behaviour Change and the Reading, Language, and Mathematics (ReaLM) Lab.

“Knowledge dissemination, making connections, and research about communities and within communities is at the heart of everything we do at ICER.”

Dr. Christine Schreyer, Director, Institute for Community Engaged Research (ICER).

Dr. Christine Schreyer has devoted both her academic and professional life to community-based research.

Beginning with her Master’s research in partnership with the Chapleau Cree First Nation, and continuing with her PhD research with the Taku River Tlingit and Loon River Cree First Nations, Dr. Schreyer, an Associate Professor in Anthropology at the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus, has been conducting community research as a settler ally scholar for more than 25 years.

It’s work she hopes to continue in conjunction with other UBC research experts in her new role as Director of the Institute for Community Engaged Research (ICER), a longstanding research institute at UBC Okanagan and an interdisciplinary hub for community-engaged and community-based research.

Having taken on the role this summer, Dr. Schreyer plans to build on the great work happening at the institute, developing strategic partnerships and connections throughout British Columbia and around the globe.

Though the role may be new, Dr. Schreyer is already intimately familiar with ICER.

“I’m lucky because, in a way, I’m able to hit the ground running,” she says. “Having supported the institute as interim director in the past, and having worked with ICER since its inception nine years ago, I’m in a unique position within our established team to jump in quickly and keep the momentum going.”

Pulling from a broad range of disciplinary backgrounds, including anthropology, gender studies, Indigenous studies, economics, education, health studies, human geography, nursing, social work and sociology, the main goal of ICER is to facilitate connections for both research industry projects and communities seeking support through research.

As an example, Dr. Schreyer’s continued research with Papa New Guinea’s Kala speaking communities, work she’s executed with ICER team member and fellow Anthropologist, Dr. John Wagner, has resulted in the development of the language’s writing system, consisting of written characters and the first published dictionary, which was published through ICER Press. To facilitate her work with Kala communities and others, Dr. Schreyer has successfully engaged funding support through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Geographic Genographic Legacy fund, totaling approximately $3.7M.

Looking to the future of ICER, Dr. Schreyer is excited for what’s to come and the upcoming projects the team is planning to undertake. She looks forward to continuing to make ICER a connecting point for researchers looking to do work within communities and working collaboratively within UBC by engaging with institutes and working across both the Okanagan and Vancouver campuses.

As part of that engagement, the ICER team will be launching a podcast in the coming months, featuring tips and best practices for researchers focused on community-based engagement.

“Knowledge dissemination, making connections, and research about communities and within communities is at the heart of everything we do at ICER,” says Dr. Schreyer. “In 2022 we completed a strategic plan where we took feedback from our memberships—we’ll be looking at building a path forward based on this feedback and also continuing to grow the profile and reputation of ICER within UBC and beyond.”

The ICER team is also considering how a symposium might to fit into the institute’s strategy, specifically a symposium on best practices of community-engaged research.

“I’m interested in the idea of putting together a grant that brings people doing community-engaged research together, from all areas of the world, and gives them an opportunity to talk about how they’re doing it,” says Dr. Schreyer. “Learning and growing together in our unique community research with a larger global perspective.”

A 2024 recipient of the Killam Teaching Prize, an award for teaching excellence and innovation, Dr. Schreyer plans to pull from her experiences in teaching and mentoring to help inform her work as director of ICER.

She says she is grateful to those who came before her.

“I can’t take this position without recognizing the leadership before me, and also the amazing support of our institute coordinator, Joanne Carey, who’s been with ICER from the very beginning.”

Connect with Dr. Christine Schreyer and the ICER team if you’re interested in learning more about knowledge mobilization or community engaged research. The ICER team is well positioned to facilitate research partnerships and help you get started with your community-based research project.

ABOUT ICER:

ICER is a hub for building relationships, collaboration, and effective knowledge creation and exchange through research clusters operating across disciplinary and institutional boundaries. ICER operates fluidly in response to and in recognition of changing social issues and facilitates the participation of community members, organizations, students, and academics as co-researchers.

Visit the website

UBC OKANAGAN RESEARCH INSTITUTES:

UBC Okanagan is home to six research institutes, setting the highest standards in interdisciplinary research: Analytics in Medical Science (AiMS) Institute, Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship (CIIC), Institute for Community Engaged Research (ICER), Institute for Healthy Living and Chronic Disease Prevention (IHLCDP), Materials and Manufacturing Research Institute (MMRI), and the Okanagan Institute for Biodiversity, Resilience and Ecosystems Services (BRAES).

Rodriguez looks to steer the university’s newest building by focusing on relationships, collaboration and trust

Natalie Rodriguez, Director, Interdisciplinarity and Operations x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn.

Described by her peers as a research rebel, Natalie Rodriguez has an extensive background leading interdisciplinary programs and large-scale research initiatives. It’s a skillset that is integral to her position as Director of Interdisciplinarity and Operations x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn.

As UBC Okanagan’s newest building, set to open in 2026, x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn will become an interdisciplinary hub for students, faculty and staff to collaborate and innovate across the boundaries of social sciences, natural sciences, humanities and creative and professional disciplines. In her role, Rodriguez is responsible for fostering the building’s interdisciplinary culture. Working with x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn Academic Co-leads, Dr. Karis Shearer and Dr. Peter Simpson, she oversees the implementation of the project’s priorities, goals and objectives, manages the building’s occupancy and space usage, facilitates research support mechanisms and promotes interdisciplinary research activities to ensure transformative results.

Rodriguez believes that creating a collaborative working environment built on trust is key to the project’s success.

“True interdisciplinarity extends beyond adding people with diverse expertise to the building. It requires intentionality in building relationships and fostering a sense of community which can only be accomplished by moving at the speed of trust. As we move towards the opening of the building, I’ll be focusing on co-designing programming that will center on building these relationships, along with encouraging sharing of ideas and diverse perspectives in crafting the vision for x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn.”

Rodriguez was a CBC Future 40 Award winner in 2020, nominated to WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada in 2021 and awarded the Allergen NCE Michelle Harkness Mentorship Excellence Award in 2023.

Her work has been supported by a diverse portfolio of funders including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Wellcome Open Trust, Health Data Research UK, Open Philanthropy, Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR).

Prior to UBC, Rodriguez held positions as the Director of Operations, Diversity & Inclusion of THRiVE Discovery Lab, Operations Director of the Manitoba Interdisciplinary Lactation Centre (MILC), and Co-Director of the International Milk Composition (IMiC) Consortium.

Her impressive academic background includes both a BEd and BMus from the University of Winnipeg, an MBA from the University of Manitoba, and multiple professional certifications from both Harvard and Cornell including operations management, change leadership, and diversity, equity and inclusion. She is a certified EDI specialist.

Dr. Shearer and Dr. Simpson are excited about what’s to come for x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn and the impact Rodriguez will make in her role.

“We could not be luckier to have Natalie directing operations and interdisciplinarity in x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn,” says Dr. Shearer. “The kind of interdisciplinary training she brings in the fine arts, education, and business, along with her leadership experience in health research is outstanding. She embodies both the technical and creative background needed to lead this unique strategic initiative.”

Please reach out to Natalie Rodriguez to learn more about x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn goals and initiatives.

About x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn:

x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn is designed bring together scholars and students in a new and innovative way. x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn will be uniquely organized into neighbourhoods shared by teams of interdisciplinary researchers from across UBC Okanagan’s entire research spectrum. The building will support these teams as they research and help solve complex societal challenges from multiple perspectives, leveraging the expertise already assembled on campus and helping recruit new talent to meet the promise of an engaged university.

VISIT THE WEBSITE

From improving human health to investigating climate adaptation, research teams will tackle some of society’s most challenging problems

Artist’s rendering: UBC Okanagan’s x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn, set to open in 2026.

Solutions to some of society’s most important issues will be investigated when nine interdisciplinary research teams move into x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn, UBC Okanagan’s newest building.

Set to open in March 2026, the building will be a unique, four-story space dedicated to bringing together researchers, scholars, students and the community. It will be UBCO’s biggest platform for interdisciplinary research.

The nine interdisciplinary teams will investigate topics from immunotherapies and climate adaptation to communication and language connected to social and mental health. Teams were selected after a review process that saw applicants showcase the potential impact of their research, the importance of an interdisciplinary approach and how the new, innovative space would be used.

“There’s a wonderful cross-pollination of experts on every team,” says x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn Director of Interdisciplinarity and Operations, Natalie Rodriguez. “We prioritized teams that reflected the building’s values and ethos, and fostered the spirit of collaboration, of wanting to conduct research differently.”

An Academic Advisory Committee with representation from each of UBCO’s faculties evaluated applications, as did the building’s Academic Co-leads from the offices of the Vice-Principal Research and Innovation and the Provost and Vice-President Academic.

“Our successful teams are aligned with x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn core values of collaboration, relationality, respect, cultural sensitivity, transparency and innovation,” says Academic Co-lead and Associate Provost, Academic Affairs and Strategy, Peter Simpson. “These nine teams will form the heart of the x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn community.”

Altogether, the teams comprise nearly 120 late-, mid- and early-career researchers. In addition to the interdisciplinarity within the teams, further breaking of barriers between disciplines will be encouraged by the physical locations of research teams in the building.

In a carefully planned neighbourhood building process, teams will be located near other teams who, while they may be conducting entirely different research, may be able to benefit each other in unexpected ways.

“We’ve selected teams with members from across the entire research spectrum, from arts and humanities to STEM, and we have prioritized Indigenous ways of knowing and community practice,” says Academic Co-lead and Associate Vice Principal, Research and Innovation, Karis Shearer. “Planning the building’s research neighbourhoods provides opportunities for further collaboration and sharing of ideas. We’ve seen a real interest among teams to learn from each other.”

The design of the building has been guided by collaboration, interdisciplinarity and Indigeneity. UBC Okanagan remains committed to truth and reconciliation and, through ongoing partnership with the Syilx Okanagan Nation, x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn – an Nsyilxcn name meaning for the purpose of new innovation in a place where people work together to enlighten and inform each other – will be home to Interior Salish language fluency programs and the Centre for Contemporary Interior Salishan Studies.

Rodriguez, who began her role as director in the spring, says the building is also set to serve as an incubator where small successes have the chance to springboard to larger funding opportunities, and where long-term projects can engage with international research partners, network with other interdisciplinary centres around the world and, together, have positive impact on a global scale.

When it comes to the building’s research potential, her hopes for the future are high.

“This initiative has the chance to fundamentally change the way we conduct research, to change what we value as metrics of success,” she says. “We’re looking to better engage with communities and partners, to conduct research that matters to them and to be a model for developing a system that supports true interdisciplinarity.”

While collaboration among research teams, and building programming, is already underway, Rodriguez says she’s looking forward to the building’s completion.

“I’m eager to come together in the space as a community, to make the people and teams more aware of each other, and to live by the spirit of what it means to be in x̌əl sic snpax̌nwixʷtn,” she says. “Putting many disciplines in one building doesn’t mean you’ll have automatic collaboration, but my role as Director of Operations and Interdisciplinarity is to give them the best possible chance at success. I can’t wait to see where this goes.”

UBC Okanagan faculty recognized for leading BC’s health research

2024 Michael Smith Health Research BC recipients, Carla Hilario and Natasha Haskey.

Michael Smith Health Research BC has recognized two UBC Okanagan researchers through the Scholar and Health Professional Investigator programs that make up their 2024 Health Research BC Awards.

Dr. Carla Hilario, an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Social Development is a Scholar award recipient. The Scholar competition supports early career health researchers, helping them form their own research teams, train the next generation of scientists and develop world-leading research programs.

Her research addresses the structural and social determinants of young people’s mental health, with an aim to develop information about the broader social factors and forces that shape youth mental health.

“This research will generate needed information about youth mental health, racial discrimination and other social factors that can inform changes in practice and policy, to improve mental health outcomes for diverse youth,” says Dr. Hilario. “This Scholar Award will enable me to significantly advance and expand this important work, while also connecting me to a community of scholars in BC.”

Her program focusses on bridging knowledge gaps in what diverse youth identify as facilitators and barriers to accessible, safe and inclusive mental health services and systems.

Dr. Natasha Haskey is a Health Professional-Investigator award recipient. The Health Professional-Investigator competition supports health professionals actively involved in patient care to build research programs.

A researcher in the biology department of the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, Dr. Haskey focusses on precision nutrition, providing diet recommendations specifically tailored to individuals with Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

“I’m so honored to receive this award. It is truly an exciting next chapter for me. Embracing the latest technological advancements, I seek to standardize nutrition approaches to IBD management, ensuring a comprehensive and state-of-the-art strategy for patient care,” she says.

Dr. Haskey’s research project aims to bridge the gap in understanding how diet can treat inflammation and symptoms, leading to better disease management, improved nutritional health, and reduced symptoms.

Both Dr. Hilario and Dr. Haskey will receive $90,000 a year for five years, for a total of $450,000 each.

Michael Smith Health Research BC is British Columbia’s health research agency. They have funded 23 new Scholars and 14 Health Professional-Investigators (HP-I), through the 2024 competitions.

Across both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, 27 UBC researchers were funded through the 2024 competition.

READ THE FULL ANNOUNCEMENT

Animal adaptation to climate change, EDI in software development, and remote watershed research projects recognized by the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funding

Today, the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of National Revenue made the announcement at the Université de Sherbrooke, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry and the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health. A total of 34 UBC projects were awarded a collective $7.0 million in funding. Among the funded projects were three led by UBC Okanagan researchers totaling nearly $400,000.

UBC Okanagan-led Projects

• Laura Grieneisen, Biology
  Wild Animal Microbiomes & Stress (WAMS)

Laura Grieneisen, an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Science, brings a wildlife health and ecology perspective into her microbiome research. Gut microbial communities affect many aspects of health including stress response. Most microbiome studies are over short time scales. Dr. Grieneisen aims to create the first lifetime profiles of microbiome and stress response trajectories in wildlife.

“What happens in the long term? Does chronic stress affect the number and types of gut bacteria over an animal’s lifetime? What happens if an animal is in an unstable environment that changes rapidly? Our group seeks to close that knowledge gap” she says. Her work will be the first to comprehensively investigate the role of ecological context in the relationship between the gut microbiome and stress.

Funding will build the Wild Animal Microbiome & Stress Laboratory (WAMS), a comprehensive research space for the collection, processing, long-term curation, and modeling of wildlife data.

“I am especially excited to conduct long-term monitoring of Canadian wildlife populations that are experiencing climate-change related population declines and range shifts, placing UBCO at the forefront of wildlife microbiome research.”

• Gema Rodriguez-Perez, Computer Science
  A Toolkit to Ensure EDI during Software Development Process

Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Science, Gema Rodriguez-Perez is passionate about social change in the tech world. Open Source software (OS) is a vital component in many applications including high-tech industries and essential systems in healthcare, finance, and public services. Yet it often struggles with issues of equity, diversity and inclusion in software development. Her research aims to address these inequalities.

“Research has shown that gender and social cues can affect how software contributions are evaluated in OS environments. Historically, underrepresented groups faced more issues when contributing to OS,“ says Dr. Rodriguez-Perez.

JELF funding will contribute to the development of a comprehensive toolkit designed to help OS communities monitor and improve their EDI practices. “There is a risk of reinforcing existing inequalities and biases. Addressing EDI issues in software development is not only a matter of fairness but also a way to drive better, more inclusive technology outcomes that benefit society as a whole.”

• Alessandro Ielpi, Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences
  Development of River Survey Capability for Assessment of Fluxes of Sediment and Organic-Carbon Across Watersheds

Waterways and the outdoors are central to Alessandro Ielpi’s personal interests and research. An Associate Professor in the Faculty of Science, Dr. Ielpi is researching remote watersheds to better understand the impact of changing temperature on the fundamental processes of water moving from uplands to oceans.

“Our current understanding of fluxes in sediment and organic matter along watersheds is centered around altered rivers in densely populated lowlands. Little is known about these processes in remote pristine watersheds not impacted by urban development,” he says.

Funding will support a river survey unit with advanced analytical field equipment. Dr. Ielpi looks forward to increased efficiency of data collection with an ultimate goal of supporting climate change adaptation and responsible land use. “The research will inform novel conceptual models linking watershed disturbance to downstream effects like increased erosion or flooding by engaging key partners and communities relying on water resources for sustenance or transportation.”

READ THE FULL GOVERNMENT OF CANADA ANNOUNCEMENT

The John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) is a Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) program is designed to help universities attract and retain the best researchers by investing in their infrastructure needs.

Today’s announcement also included eighty-three UBC research projects awarded funding through SSHRC Insight and Insight Development Grants, including seven led by UBC Okanagan researchers totalling nearly $1 million in funding.

Insight Grants

• Sabre Cherkowski, School of Education
  Examining community-responsive approaches to whole-school wellbeing

• Grace Hong Fan, Faculty of Management
  Reconstructing the relationships between humans and nature to challenge inequality: The role of Indigenous worldviews and Two-Eyed Seeing

• David Geary, Community, Culture and Global Studies
  Virtuous Development: Heritage Diplomacy and the Infrastructure of Buddhist Memory in North India

• Lauren Human, Psychology
  Examining the downsides of accurate first impressions: Implications for romantic interest

• Jessica Lougheed, Psychology
  Co-applicant: Kalee De France, Psychology
  Emotion Regulation and Well-Being: A Multi-Method Intensive Longitudinal Investigation

Insight Development Grants

• Adeniyi Asiyanbi, Community, Culture and Global Studies
  Investigating shared responsibility for wildfire security in Whistler, British Columbia
• Kalee De France, Psychology
  Examining the role of perceived stress and emotion regulation in the association between poverty and adolescent well-being
  Co-applicant: Jessica Lougheed, Psychology

READ THE FULL SSHRC ANNOUNCEMENT

Three outstanding researchers from UBC Okanagan have been recognized with the title of Principal’s Research Chair

Three top UBC Okanagan researchers receive PRC designations.

The Principal’s Research Chairs (PRC) program is an initiative of the Office of the VPRI and the Office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic that provides financial research support for UBC Okanagan faculty engaged in outstanding research or creative scholarship. UBCO PRCs are leaders who are expected to build and sustain world-class research programs.

The PRC program helps retain top researchers and recruit new talent to UBCO. PRCs also serve to support and intensify ongoing research with the ultimate goal of achieving further external recognition and awards. Each PRC recipient receives five years of funding in one of two tiers.

TIER 1 CHAIR

Dr. Jonathan Little, Principal’s Research Chair in Metabolism

Science is just the starting point for Dr. Jonathan Little in understanding human metabolism. He prioritizes people at the centre of his research.

A professor in the Faculty of Health and Social Development, Dr. Little specializes in optimizing metabolic health with a focus on individual responses to treatment of Type 2 diabetes. His research has led to significant advancements in remission of the disease, previously only thought to be a chronic progressive condition.

“The key to metabolism research is the individualized response. It’s exciting that we’re really starting to understand how we can get people into remission,” says Dr. Little.

Treating Type 2 diabetes isn’t a one size fits all approach.  Blood sugar problems develop either through insulin resistance, the body’s inability to produce the right amount of insulin, or both, to varying degrees. The combination of factors is unique to each person. Prevention and treatment strategies depend not only on what is happening at the cellular level for each individual, but which personalized exercise and nutrition treatments work best.

Dr. Little describes this holistic approach as “cell-to-society” research, and his lab is among the few in Canada with capacity to conduct studies ranging from the interrogation of molecular mechanisms in humans, to large-scale, community-based clinical trials. His vision is to help the campus develop an international reputation as a metabolism powerhouse.

“We are known internationally for high-intensity interval training, Type 2 diabetes remission and low-carbohydrate diet research.  One of the goals for the PRC is to develop a Centre for Metabolism Research that would be a hub for UBCO researchers and a world-class training ground for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in this cell- to-society approach.”

TIER 2 CHAIRS

Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais, Principal’s Research Chair in Wildland Fire Risk and Fire Management

Dr. Mathieu Bourbonnais doesn’t think addressing wildfire is a challenge limited to the summer months. For the wildland fire expert, solutions require thoughtful, multi-faceted strategies throughout the year.

“Fire tends to become front and centre when there’s big emergencies, but we’re in a whole new realm of wildfire now, and we’re realizing that suppression alone can’t solve the problem,” he says.

Proactive management is a key focus of his research. An assistant professor in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, Dr. Bourbonnais is collecting accurate weather and fire data through sensors that help shape strategies for risk management and prescribed burns.

As part of that work, he is developing a provincial sensor network supported in part by Rogers Communication. Data from the sensors is collected in near real-time and combined with satellite imagery and synoptic weather patterns to map current and forecasted fire risk using AI.

“We need to fill gaps in our wildfire risk monitoring and detection networks, especially around rural and Indigenous communities, which are impacted the most by wildfires and evacuations,” he says. “Right now, information about wildfire risk, fire detection and monitoring is hosted across multiple platforms. By combining them, we can help firefighters and emergency management respond to fires more effectively, and can also fill a big role in public safety.”

Dr. Bourbonnais notes fire can be a positive force and is currently working on a pilot project to see how the sensors can be used to more effectively plan prescribed burns.

“Fire is one of the ways we can positively impact a landscape, if we manage it in the right way,” he says. “When we are conducting prescribed burns, we are looking for really specific conditions that allow us to use fire safely to meet objectives, like restoring habitat or reducing fuel loads to protect communities. If your nearest weather station is dozens of kilometres away, it’s challenging to find that window of time,” he says.

In the coming year, Dr. Bourbonnais plans to integrate the sensors in the provincial network with other technologies, including cameras, to further increase early detection and monitoring capabilities.

Dr. Thuy Dang, Principal’s Research Chair in Natural Products Biotechnology

First in her family to go to university, Dr. Thuy Dang was always fascinated by nature and science. Her early experiences sparked a passion for medicinal plant research.

Herbal remedies were central to Dr. Dang’s childhood in Vietnam. “When you were sick you wouldn’t always go to the pharmacy – first you would go to the garden,” she says. This early connection to therapeutic plants remains a core value in her research.

Many medicines come directly, or are modified, from natural compounds. Inspired to make important compounds more accessible and generate new compounds with novel functions, Dr. Dang’s research aims to learn the chemistry and genetics of medicinal plants to recreate, and even improve upon them, in the laboratory.

An assistant professor in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, Dr. Dang focuses on developing innovative ways to produce existing and novel valuable chemicals for treatments of cancer, opioid addiction and immune-inflammation, among other things. The environmental and economic benefits to lab-derived compounds are significant.

“Anti-cancer drugs are astronomically expensive. They’re made in minute amounts from rare trees, which are usually destroyed when the medicinal compounds are extracted. Learning from the plants will help us make better, more affordable drugs, and conserve our biodiversity”.

Dr. Dang will be using her PRC funding to support sustainable innovations for the resilient future of bioproduction, including mining new enzymes for pharmaceutical manufacturing, engineering microbes and plants to produce new drugs, and focusing on single-cell genomics. As the study of an organism’s genetic and chemical information at a single-cell resolution, the process can shed new light into the bioproduction machinery in plants and open up unprecedented metabolic engineering opportunities.

Dr. Dang looks forward to speeding up the discovery process and UBCO’s prominence in this field. “We will be at the frontier, opening avenues to tap into the enormous biochemical potential of plants for our health and well-being.”

A total of fifteen UBC faculty members have been announced by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) as new Fellows and as Members of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists

Fifteen UBC faculty members elected as Royal Society of Canada’s newest Fellows for outstanding scholarly achievements.

Seven UBC faculty members have been named Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada. Fellows are elected by their peers for their outstanding scholarly achievements. They are distinguished individuals from all branches of learning who have made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Canadian public life.

Eight UBC faculty members were named as Members of the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. The RSC College is Canada’s first national system of multidisciplinary recognition for the emerging generation of Canadian intellectual leadership.

The 2024 Fellows and Members will be welcomed into the RSC in November, at the RSC Celebration of Excellence and Engagement.

READ THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Citations courtesy of the Royal Society of Canada

NEW FELLOWS 

Barbara Dancygier (Department of English Languages and Literatures, UBCV)
Barbara Dancygier is Professor and Distinguished University Scholar at the Department of English Language and Literatures, University of British Columbia, and past President of the International Cognitive Linguistics Association. Her research interests lie in cognitive linguistics and poetics, focusing on multimodal communication, linguistic constructions, and post-truth phenomena in public communication. She has published monographs, textbooks, edited volumes, and numerous research articles. Her monograph on internet memes will appear in 2025.

Patricia Duff (Department of Language & Literacy Education, UBCV)
Patricia Duff is a Distinguished University Scholar and internationally recognized leader in applied linguistics and multilingual education. Her award-winning scholarship on case study research methods, Chinese language learning, and academic English discourse socialization has catalyzed new lines of research in diverse geopolitical, disciplinary, and ethnolinguistic global contexts. Her foundational research on the complex experiences of transnational learners has transformed the theory and methods used in research on multilingualism worldwide.

Torsten Nielsen (Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, UBCV)
Torsten Nielsen is a clinician-scientist pathologist who is working to translate the vast amount of molecular information about cancer gained from new genomic technologies into practical advances that improve health. In sarcomas he has developed new, faster and more accurate diagnostics and made discoveries that have lead to new targeted therapies. For breast cancer, he has developed tests that identify women who can safely avoid radiation and chemotherapy.

Gina Ogilvie (School of Population and Public Health, UBCV)
Gina Ogilvie is a Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in the Global Control of HPV (human papillomavirus)-Related Disease and Cancer at the University of British Columbia. Her career is dedicated to eliminating cervical cancer in Canada and globally. She is internationally recognized for her research on reduced dosing of the HPV vaccine, improving HPV vaccine uptake, and innovative cervical screening methods, which have transformed health policy globally.

Cindy Prescott (Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences, UBCV)
Cindy Prescott is a Professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Her research spans the interface between forest ecology and forest management, advancing forest science and ensuring that forest management decisions are based on solid scientific evidence. Her research has challenged several widely held beliefs, which she tested through her own experiments and through critical analysis of existing evidence.

Margo Seltzer (Department of Computer Science, UBCV)
Guided by the goal of improving the experience of computer users and systems builders, and bringing formidable creativity and foresight to her work, Margo Seltzer’s pioneering contributions to Computer Systems include flexible data storage systems for the internet, data provenance systems that support computational reproducibility and network security, and interpretable machine learning models that are transforming high-stakes decision making. She is a visionary leader, caring mentor and dedicated community builder.

Edward Slingerland (Department of Philosophy, UBCV)
Edward Slingerland is Distinguished University Scholar and Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, where he also holds appointments in the Departments of Psychology and Asian Studies and is Director of the Database of Religious History (religiondatabase.org). Dr. Slingerland is the author of several academic monographs, translations and edited volumes, two trade books, and approximately fifty book chapters, reviews, and articles in top academic journals in a wide range of fields.

NEW MEMBERS OF THE RSC COLLEGE 

Mohammad Arjmand (School of Engineering, UBCO)
Mohammad Arjmand is a renowned and award-winning researcher in the fields of nanotechnology and polymer engineering. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, where he leads the Plastic Recycling Research Cluster. Dr. Arjmand’s research focuses on synthesizing multifunctional nanomaterials, developing their assemblies, and creating polymer nanocomposites. He is a highly cited and well-funded researcher with strong collaborations across various industries in Canada.

Marie Auger-Méthé (Department of Statistics / Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, UBCV)
Marie Auger-Méthé is a highly original interdisciplinary researcher whose work in the development and application of novel statistical methods provides impactful insights to the ecology, movement, health, and behaviour of animals, advancing fundamental scientific knowledge that is crucial in formulating effective wildlife management and conservation policies. Her research brings new insights into the responses of ecologically important species, particularly charismatic marine species, to global environmental changes.

Kayla King (Departments of Zoology and Microbiology & Immunology, UBCV)
Kayla King is a Professor and Canada Excellence Research Chair at UBC. She is an expert on the ecology and contemporary evolution of host-parasite interactions. Her research seeks to understand how host and parasite species coevolve, as well as to study the impact of biodiversity and environmental conditions on parasite transmission and virulence over time. Her findings have helped advance our understanding of adaptation and wildlife health in a changing world.

Andrea Reid (Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, UBCV)
Andrea Reid is a Nisga’a citizen and scientist engaged in community-partnered work on fish and fisheries, critically examining their pasts and envisioning just futures. Her research and teaching, based out of the Nass River Valley, centre approaches that are intergenerational, land-based, and relational. Dr. Reid is a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Fisheries Science, leading the Centre for Indigenous Fisheries at The University of British Columbia.

Dylan Robinson (School of Music, UBCV)
Dylan Robinson is a world-recognized authority on Indigenous music, public art, and performance and their engagements with settler colonial politics of reconciliation and redress. His interdisciplinary scholarship, curatorial work, and facilitation of collaborative gatherings have cut new trail in understanding Indigenous sonic culture and other expressive arts and their work in the world. His research and practice have guided global conversations about Indigenous cultural heritage and artistic production.

Manish Sadarangani (Department of Pediatrics, UBCV)
Manish Sadarangani is an international expert in translational vaccinology, whose work uniquely encompasses laboratory, clinical and epidemiologic research. His scientific expertise enables him to respond quickly to changing priorities to tackle diverse knowledge gaps rapidly and produce high quality research findings to inform policy. Specifically, his research improves understanding of immune responses to vaccination, identifies high-risk groups to target immunization programs, and evaluates vaccine effectiveness to inform evidence-based policy.

Azim Shariff (Department of Psychology, UBCV)
Azim Shariff is a Professor and Canada 150 Research Chair in the Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia. He is one of the world’s leading young scholars in the areas of social psychology. He has gained international acclaim for his research, which delves into subjects such as the connection between religion and morality, and the way that people emotionally and intellectually react to emerging technologies.

Heidi Tworek (Department of History and School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, UBCV)
Heidi Tworek is Canada Research Chair, Professor of History and Public Policy, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Institutions at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Multi-award-winning author of one book and over 45 journal articles and book chapters, Tworek researches the global history and policy of communications and media. She is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation.

Dr. Suzanne (Suzie) Currie has been appointed as the next Associate Vice-President and Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation, UBC Okanagan. She will take up her duties on October 1, 2024.

Dr. Currie will provide strategic direction and oversight in supporting and advancing research, scholarly activity and innovation at UBC’s Okanagan campus. In addition to being a member of the Okanagan campus executive, she will also serve as an Associate Vice-President, Research and Innovation for the UBC system.

Dr. Currie currently serves as Associate Vice-President, Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies (Interim) at Acadia University where she is a Professor of Biology. Prior to her current role, Dr. Currie served as Dean of Acadia’s Faculty of Pure and Applied Science from 2018 to 2023. Her service to the research and scholarly community while at Acadia includes co-chairing the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant Evaluation Group and the Acadia University Employment Equity Committee.

A comparative animal physiologist, Dr. Currie’s research is committed to understanding how animals cope with environmental stress in marine and freshwater environments. Her research addresses questions related to climate change, such as how the social environment affects how fish deal with stressors like high temperatures.

In her NSERC-funded program, she publishes widely and regularly with her students and collaborators. Dr. Currie earned her MSc and PhD in Biology from Queen’s University. She then spent three years at the University of Cambridge where she was an NSERC Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Zoology and the Charles and Katherine Darwin Research Fellow in Cambridge’s Darwin College.

UBCO is offering a course to educate students, faculty and staff on equity, diversity and inclusion best practices in the world of research

This new online course is specifically developed for faculty, staff and students involved in research, to support the learning and implementation of appropriate equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) practices within the UBC research ecosystem.

The development of this course was a collaboration between units in the Vice-President, Research and Innovation portfolio and the Equity and Inclusion Office.

EDI in Research Canvas Course

The course includes:

• a comprehensive summary of EDI concepts and practices that can be applied to research and the research environment;
• a variety of topics in the areas of research design; research methods; research team composition; and research team culture;
• support to identify and name obstacles and barriers experienced by historically, persistently, and systemically marginalized (HPSM) groups;
• opportunities to reflect on biases, power and privileges that can impact research design and team culture; and
• preparatory work for faculty and staff to integrate local EDI practices to ensure research environments, programs, and team members are contributing to a welcoming and inclusive research culture and environment.

Course participants who engage with the course are encouraged to complete the course evaluation survey by August 6, 2024. Feedback from the survey will be used to improve course content and delivery.

The EDI in Research course responds to actions outlined in UBC’s Dimensions Action Plan for EDI in Research and aligns with the university’s Strategic Equity and Anti-Racism (StEAR) Framework. In addition, the EDI in Research Resource Library website continues to support researchers seeking academic, peer-reviewed, practitioner guides and other media as a curated collection of resources available to all members of the UBC community and beyond.