UPEI awards 2026 research grants to faculty members

UPEI awarded research grants totalling $102,702 to 15 faculty members in 2026. Five faculty members received internal research grants (IRG); six received Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Explore research grants (SERG); and four received Lévesque human health internal research grants.

“Congratulations to the faculty members who received these research grants,” said Dr. Marva Sweeney-Nixon, Associate Vice-President Research and Dean of Graduate Studies at UPEI. “Our researchers are making important advancements that benefit society and address local and global challenges.”

Recipients of the IRG awards are as follows:

• Dr. Rabin Bissessur, Faculty of Science (Chemistry): “Valorizing Marine Biowaste into Advanced Materials for Solid-State Energy Storage”
• Dr. Bingxian Mu, Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering: “An Integrated Experimental Platform for Robot Vision-Guided Control and Calibration”
• Dr. Brent Robicheau, Faculty of Science (Biology): “Revealing the genome and physiology of a microbe isolated from the enigmatic Cyanobium genus”
• Dr. Dylan Jubinville, Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering: “Transforming Non-Recyclable Polymer Foams and Epoxies into Materials for a Circular Economy”
• Dr. Marissa Clapson, Faculty of Science (Chemistry): “Base Metal N,S Salen Complexes for Ring Opening Polymerization of Oxidized Tunicate Oil Waste”

The SERG recipients are as follows:

• Dr. Terri Jackson, Faculty of Education: “Inclusive Education on PEI: Investigating the Learning Centre Model”
• Dr. Cinthya Guzman, Faculty of Arts (Sociology and Anthropology): “Disciplinary Self-Definition in Sociology since 1905 to the present”
• Dr. Yasmin Koop-Monteiro, Faculty of Arts (Sociology and Anthropology): “Mobilization Pathways in Global Climate Discourse & Activism”
• Dr. Shannon K. M. Murray, Faculty of Arts (English): “Preparing for a Creative and Hopeful Future: Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale and Performance History”
• Dr. Jingen Liang, Faculty of Business: “Cultural Capital and Luxury Service Experiences: A Pilot Cross-Cultural Study”
• Dr. Renee Valiquette, Faculty of Arts (Diversity and Social Justice Studies): “Relational Infrastructure and Climate Security in the Circumpolar North: An Interdisciplinary Pilot Study” 

The following faculty members received Levesque research grants:

• Dr. Soodabeh Asadi Dezaki, Faculty of Science (School of Mathematical and Computational Science): “Incorporating Patient Adherence into Pharmaceutical Risk-Sharing Agreements: A Game-Theoretic Analysis”
• Dr. Jessica Strong, Faculty of Arts (Psychology): “The development of an ageism scale”
• Dr. Sarah Hewko, Faculty of Science (Applied Human Sciences): “A realist, case-based evaluation of dietitian educator roles at Fraser Health”
• Dr. Rianne Carragher, Faculty of Nursing: “Exploring Nurse Practitioner-Led Group Health Visits as an Access Point for Diabetes Care: A Feasibility Study of Unattached Patients in Prince Edward Island”

The IRG program supports research projects across a broad range of fields at UPEI. Through the program, researchers provide excellent student training opportunities and often develop new collaborations with other disciplines. The SERG program supports research pursuits in the social sciences and humanities.

The Fondation J.-Louis Lévesque, a generous supporter of health research at universities and institutes across the country, supports the Lévesque human health internal research grants. J.-Louis Lévesque graduated from Saint Dunstan’s University (SDU), one of UPEI’s two founding institutions, in 1934; he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree by SDU in 1964.

UPEI acknowledges the assistance of Canada’s tri-council of federal granting agencies—Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)—through its Research Support Fund (RSF), which helps fund services and infrastructure that support research activities at the University. In 2026–2027, UPEI’s RSF allocation is $1,399,214.