UPEI researchers awarded over $1.5 million in federal funding

Researchers at the University of Prince Edward Island have been awarded over $1.5 million in federal funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, announced $630 million in NSERC funding on July 7, and more than $289 million in SSHRC awards on July 21.

Dr. Marva Sweeney-Nixon, Associate Vice-President, Research, at UPEI, congratulated the faculty members on their success.

“Researchers at UPEI are making important discoveries that contribute to new knowledge and innovations to the benefit of our society,” she said. “Their excellent work is building UPEI’s reputation in research nationally and internationally. We are proud of their achievements.”

The following researchers received five-year Discovery Grants from NSERC:

• Dr. Mark Fast, Professor, Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, “From Genes to Environment: Investigating CRISPR and behavioural thermal regulation (BTR) in shaping salmon immunity”
• Dr. Bingxian Mu, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, “Integrated autonomy framework for adaptive robotic welding”
• Dr. Greg Naterer, Professor, Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, “Heat transfer and entropy production in multiphase flows”
• Dr. Jay Penney, Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Genetics and Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, “Mitochondrial function and cellular energetics in human microglia”
• Dr. Xander Wang, Professor, School of Climate Change and Adaptation, Faculty of Science, “Enhancing coastal resilience to climate change”

A two-year Discovery Development Grant was awarded to Dr. Rabin Bissessur, Professor, Chemistry, Faculty of Science, for “Reinforced electrolytes and conducting polymers with exfoliated transition metal dichalcogenides for high-performance solid-state batteries.”

Research Tools and Instruments grants were awarded to

• Dr. Bissessur, “Variable temperature powder x-ray diffraction”
• Dr. Gaoliang Fang, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering, for “Integrated battery emulation and power analysis (BEPA) platform enabling next-generation electrified vehicle powertrain research

SSHRC Insight Development Grants were received by 

• Dr. Yasmin Koop-Monteiro, Assistant Professor, Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Arts, “Tracking climate action in real time: an ecological momentary assessment network study of advocacy in Atlantic Canada”
• Dr. Jessica Strong, Associate Professor, Psychology, Faculty of Arts, “Development and validation of a comprehensive ageism scale”

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.