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.

Nineteen UBC Okanagan researchers received more than $3.5 million in grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) today.

The grants, awarded under the NSERC Discovery and PromoScience programs, will fund groundbreaking research projects, including investigations into novel semiconductor materials, STEM supports for under-represented youth, next-generation wireless networks and more.

“This funding is supporting innovative scientific endeavors and helping promote science education and outreach,” said Phil Barker, Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation at UBC Okanagan. “We’re grateful for NSERC’s ongoing support and thrilled to see UBC Okanagan researchers empowered to push the boundaries of knowledge and contribute to the scientific and technological advancements that drive our economy and improve our quality of life.”

The grants are part of funding announcement Yasir Naqvi, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health, and Ryan Turnbull, Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry made today at the University of Ottawa. The UBC campuses in Vancouver and the Okanagan were awarded more than $36 million in funding through the Discovery and PromoScience programs.

UBC Okanagan is known for its cutting-edge interdisciplinary research, innovative teaching methods and commitment to sustainability.

READ THE ANNOUNCEMENT

ABOUT NSERC DISCOVERY AND PROMOSCIENCE GRANTS:

NSERC DISCOVERY GRANTS support ongoing research programs with long-term goals. These grants are designed to foster creativity and innovation across various scientific disciplines, pushing researchers to follow the most promising areas of their work.

NSERC PROMOSCIENCE GRANTS assist organizations working with young Canadians to promote science literacy, inspire the next generation of scientists, and provide hands-on learning experiences that stimulate interest and curiosity in STEM fields.

UBC Okanagan NSERC Discovery and PromoScience Grant Awardees:

• Avgar, Tal (Biology, UBC Okanagan)
  From wildlife space-use patterns to population viability
• Bam, Wouter (School of Engineering, UBC Okanagan)
  Improving sustainable industrial development decision support through novel computational approaches and re-conceptualisation
• Dalton, Brian (School of Health and Exercise Sciences, UBC Okanagan)
  Context-specific adaptations of cortical, spinal and vestibular contributions to standing balance in hypoxia
• Ford, Adam (Biology, BRAES Institute, UBC Okanagan)
  Developing the evidence and theory for process-based restoration of large mammals.
• Foster, Glen (Health and Social Development, UBC Okanagan)
  Quantifying human inspiratory muscle blood flow: A novel application of contrast-enhanced ultrasound
• Foxall, Eric (Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, UBC Okanagan)
  Spinal decomposition methods for structured, density-dependent and time-inhomogeneous branching processes
• Hossain, Md Jahangir (School of Engineering, UBC Okanagan)
  Holographic-MIMO empowered next-generation wireless networks
• Jennifer Jakobi (School of Health and Exercise Sciences, UBC Okanagan)
  STEM supports for Underrepresented Youth: Teacher, Family and Community Connecting
• Johnson, Thomas (School of Engineering, UBC Okanagan)
  Adapting wireless power system concepts to design efficient power combining networks for photovoltaic modules
• Li, Isaac (Chemistry, UBC Okanagan)
  Decoding molecular force in mechanobiology with novel DNA tools and strategies
• Little, Jonathan (School of Health and Exercise Sciences, UBC Okanagan)
  Impact of exercise on inflammation in humans
• Mason, Chase (Biology, UBC Okanagan)
  Genetic Architecture, Evolution, and Ecological Consequences of Phenotypic Integration in Plant Secondary Metabolism in Crop and Wild Sunflower
• O’Leary, Stephen (School of Engineering, UBC Okanagan)
  Novel Semiconductor Materials for Future Device Applications: Materials Issues and Device Implications
• Sadeghzadeh Milani, Abbas (School of Engineering, UBC Okanagan)
  A Materials Informatics Approach for Intelligent Forming of Woven Fabric Composites
• Seethaler, Rudolf (School of Engineering, UBC Okanagan)
  Flexible and Wearable Electronic Devices made from Laser Induced Graphene
• Tobber, Lisa (School of Engineering, UBC Okanagan)
  Advanced Data Acquisition and Feedback Control System for Resilient Infrastructure
• Uhl, Alexander (School of Engineering, UBC Okanagan)
  Optical Spectroscopic Characterization Equipment for Solar Energy Research
• Wang, Liwei (School of Engineering, UBC Okanagan)
  High power voltage source converter topologies, modeling, and analysis techniques for high voltage direct current transmission system
• Wiebe, Amy (Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics, UBC Okanagan)
  A unified approach to optimization complexity via realization spaces

The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, has announced more than $51 million in support of 90 research partnerships across Canada. This investment, through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada’s Partnership Grants and Partnership Development Grants, provides researchers from different disciplines and postsecondary institutions the opportunity to work together on challenging topics and research questions in social sciences and humanities.

UBC researchers are leading nine projects supported by Partnership Development Grants, awarded a combined $1.7 million.

UBC researchers are also co-applicants and collaborators on multiple projects led by researchers at other universities receiving support through the Partnership Grants and Partnership Development Grants programs.

READ THE ANNOUNCEMENT

UBC-LED PROJECTS (PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT GRANTS)

SSHRC Partnership Development Grants award between $75,000 and $200,000 in value for a duration of between one and three years. They support the development of partnerships or the design and testing of new partnership approaches to nurture existing and emerging opportunities for research collaboration, best practices and/or models that can be adapted by others or scaled up to a regional, national or international level.

• Virginie Magnat (Creative and Critical Studies – UBCO)

  Radical Collaborations: Transformative Eco-Cultural Practices for Collective Healing and Renewal
  Co-directors: Bill Cohen (UBC), Manulani Meyer (University of Hawai’i of West O’ahu)
  Co-applicants: Shawn Wilson (UBC), Tania Willard (UBC)
  Collaborators: Emma Bigé  (Centre national de danse contemporaine), Evan Adams (Simon Fraser University), Karen Ragoonaden (UBC), Tina Fraser (University of Northern British Columbia), Tracey Bonneau (En’owkin Centre), Vicki Kelly (Simon Fraser University)
  Partners: CIRDOC – Insitut occitan de cultura, En’owkin Centre, Pu’uhonua Society, The University of British Columbia, University of Hawai’i – West O’ahu

• Julia Bullard (iSchool)

  Developing a community for community-centered vocabulary work
  Collaborators: Aleha McCauley (UBC), Bri Watson (UBC), Allison Hill (ADIE Canada), Allison Mari (Vancouver Black Library)
  Partners: AIDE Canada, Out On The Shelves, The University of British Columbia, University of the Fraser Valley, Vancouver Black Library

• Timothy Cheek (History)

  Revisiting the revolution: engaging Chinese scholarship through collaborative translation
  Co-director: Aminda Smith (Michigan State University)
  Co-applicants: Daniel Leese (University of Freiburg), Dayton Lekner (Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia), Matthew Galway (Australian National University)
  Collaborators: Damian Mandzunowski (University of Freiburg), Fabio Lanza (University of Arizona), Man Zhang (Universität Leipzig), Mark Czeller (School of Advanced Studies, University of London), Morgan Rocks (College of the Holy Cross), Puck Engman (University of California, Berkeley), Sebastian Veg (École des hautes études en sciences sociales), Yen-lin Chung (National Chengchi University)
  Partners: Australian National University, Michigan State University, The University of British Columbia, University of California, Berkeley, University of Freiburg

• Anne Gadermann (School of Population and Public Health)

  RISE-UP: Resilience, Insights, and Strategies for Empowering Youth around Climate change Using Participatory Approaches
  Co-applicants: Emily Jenkins (UBC), Eva Oberle (UBC), Johanna Sam (UBC)
  Collaborators: Annie Smith, Evelyn McGowan and Katherine Horton (The McCreary Centre Society)
  Partners: Human Early Learning Partnership, The University of British Columbia, The McCreary Centre Society

• Anusha Kassan (Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education)

  Capturing Stories of Child Language Brokering: An Arts-Based Engagement Ethnography with Newcomer Families
  Co-directors: Fatemeh Kazemi (The Immigrant Education Society), Fatou Diouf (Portail de l’Immigrant Association), Katerina Palova (The Immigrant Education Society), Michèle Katuku (Portail de l’Immigrant Association)
  Co-applicant: Giovanna Benson  (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)
  Partners: Portail de l’Immigrant Association, The Immigrant Education Society

• Anne Murphy(History)

  The Eradication of Caste: Building community-university partnerships for change
  Co-applicants: Priti Narayan (UBC), Suraj Yengde (Harvard University)
  Collaborator: Jai Birdi (Chetna Association of Canada)
  Partners: Ambedkarite International Co-Ordination Society, Chetna Association of Canada

• Lorien Nesbitt (Forest Resources Management)

  Networks of Care for Green, Healthy Cities
  Co-applicants: Andrew Binet, Christopher Carlsten, Liv Yoon, Melissa McHale, Michael Brauer (UBC)
  Partners: City of Vancouver, Diamond Head Consulting, Farmers on 57th, Metro Vancouver, Tree Canada, Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, Zero Emissions Innovation Centre

• Brenda Poon (School of Population and Public Health)

  Connecting the disconnected: Building capacity and partnerships in communities to promote equitable and accessible early years social-emotional supports for families
  Co-applicants: Jessie-Lee McIsaac (Mount Saint Vincent University), Patricia Johnston (University of Calgary), Rodney Knight (Université de Montréal)
  Collaborators: Cherry Wong (South Vancouver Neighbourhood House), Hélène Dufour (Island Health), Liza Bautista (South Vancouver Neighbourhood House) Maya Graves-Bacchus (United Way), Mimi Rennie (South Vancouver Neighbourhood House), Orion Warje (Fraser Health Authority) Prabhnoor Deol (South Vancouver Neighbourhood House)
  Partners: Foundation for a Path Forward, Fraser Health Authority, Human Early Learning Partnership, Island Health, South Vancouver Family Place, South Vancouver Neighbourhood House, United Way, Vancouver School Board, Westcoast Family Centres, Women Transforming Cities

• Hongxia Shan(Educational Studies)

  Adult Learning and Education in Immigrant Settlement and Integration (ALE-in-ISI) Partnership
  Co-applicants: Andreas Martin (Fern Universitat Hagen), Antony Chum (York University), Jude Walker (UBC), Shibao Guo (University of Calgary), Thomas Sork (UBC)
  Collaborators: Abigail Cameron (United Chinese Community Enrichment Services Society), Alexandra Ioannidou (German Institute for Adult Education), Antje Ellermann (UBC), Charlie Wang (Centre for Newcomers) Christiane Hof (Goethe University Frankfurt), David Lee (MOSAIC – Multilingual Orientation Service Association for Immigrant Communities), Elena Ignatovich (UBC), Gong-Li Xu (Employment and Social Development Canada), Josef Schrader (German Institute for Adult Education), Kapil Regmi (UBC), Katherine Entigar (University of Toronto), Katrin Kaufmann-Kuchta (German Institute for Adult Education), Kiran Mirchandani (University of Toronto), Kjell Rubenson (UBC), Koyali Burman (Vancouver Local Immigration Partnership), Michael Bernhard (Goethe University Frankfurt), Sally Zhao (The Immigrant Education Society) Sandra Schinnerl (UBC), Susan Sadler (ACCES Employment)
  Partner: German Institute for Adult Education

ALL AWARDEES: PARTNERSHIP DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

ALL AWARDEES: PARTNERSHIP GRANTS