Four UPEI researchers awarded key infrastructure by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has awarded more than $650,000 to four UPEI researchers to better equip their laboratories.
'This is exciting news for UPEI, and specifically, our Faculty of Science,' says Dr. Katherine Schultz, UPEI's Vice-President of Research & Development. 'I want to congratulate Dr. Karen Samis, Dr. Rabin Bissessur, Dr. Michael van den Heuvel, and Dr. Russ Kerr for their awards, and for displaying the excellence in research that UPEI is increasingly known for nationally and internationally.'
Dr. Karen Samis is an Assistant Professor of Biology. Her funding will allow her to develop a molecular ecology research lab to study the ability of wild plants to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.
'Most of my work centres around coastal plants - plants that grow in a habitat that is highly influenced by us and the weather,' said Dr. Samis. 'Our research will assess their past, current and future potential to live in this harsh environment.'
UPEI's second CFI award goes to Dr. Rabin Bissessur, Professor of Chemistry; Dr. Michael van den Heuvel, Associate Professor of Biology and Canada Research Chair in Watershed Ecological Integrity; and Dr. Russ Kerr, Professor of Chemistry and Canada Research Chair in Marine Natural Products. The team will use this infrastructure award -- along with matching funds from ACOA and the province of PEI -- to purchase a high-resolution mass spectrometer called an Orbitrap.
"The Orbitrap mass spectrometre is a state-of-the-art instrument designed to analyze and study the structure of a wide range of chemicals," said Dr. Kerr. 'We are very excited about using the Orbitrap for applications in natural product research, environmental analysis and analysis of polymeric materials. This will be the first high resolution mass spectrometer in PEI and thus, will be of use to many other researchers within UPEI and beyond."
The CFI announced a total of $61,291,274 in new funds to support 246 projects at 48 institutions across Canada. A total of $47,147,134 was awarded under the Leaders Opportunity Fund, which provides infrastructure support to Canadian institutions so they can attract and retain the very best of today's and tomorrow's leading researchers at a time of intense international competition for knowledge workers.
'The investments being announced today at UPEI will further enhance our country's reputation as a destination of choice for outstanding researchers,' said Dr. Gilles G. Patry, president and CEO of the CFI. 'They will make our universities even more competitive when it comes to attracting the best and brightest researchers from around the world.'
For a complete list of the projects awarded, please visit www.innovation.ca.
The Canada Foundation for Innovation is an independent corporation created by the government of Canada to fund research infrastructure. The CFI's mandate is to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and non-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians. Since its creation in 1997, the CFI has committed $5.3 billion in support of more than 6,800 projects at 131 research institutions in 65 municipalities across Canada.
