UBC Reports | Vol. 47 | No. 09 | May
10, 2001
UBC attracts top research funding
Injection means brains gained, talent retained
UBC has secured top spot among Canadian universities for the number
of research positions funded in the latest round of Canada Research
Chairs (CRC)
Program appointments, valued at $10.8 million.
UBC gained nine chairs in disciplines ranging from
mathematical physics
to public health and forest ecology out of the total 76 chairs
distributed across
the country in the federal government program that seeks to build
Canada's research
strength.
"This level of research excellence will intensify our innovation capacity,"
says Indira Samarasekera, vice-president, Research.
"We are pleased to have scored a couple of brain gains in these
appointments
that allow us to
welcome researchers from the U.S. Also, these chairs will help us to
retain talented UBC faculty," says Barry McBride,
vice-president, Academic
and Provost.
CRC appointments provide research and salary support. Renewable Tier
I chairs have seven-year terms; Tier II chairs are
for a five-year
period and can be renewed once. The federal government has invested
$900 million
to create 2,000 research chairs by 2005.
UBC ranked in the top three universities in Canada in the inaugural
appointments of the CRC program, gaining 20 of the
first 199 chairs
offered in December.
Recruited to UBC are:
* Senior research scientist Fabio Rossi from California's
Stanford University
explores how stem cells in blood signal their transformation into other types
of cells. Understanding these signals could help provide new
therapies for medical
challenges such as treating damaged tissue in the brain.
* Mathematics Prof. David Brydges from the University of
Virginia studies
probability and statistical mechanics and their implications for
sophisticated
computer systems.
UBC researchers now holding CRC appointments are:
* Assoc. Prof. Charles Haynes studies biomolecular interactions to
aid in the
design of instruments used in processing and analysing genes.
* Health Care and Epidemiology Prof. Clyde Hertzman
studies the biological,
social and psychological factors influencing children's development. He will
initiate a large study that examines child development in relation
to the work
history of parents.
* Forest ecologist Prof. Hamish Kimmins has been refining
biophysical
models of forest ecosystems for 23 years. His simulations include
factors such
as soil types and landscape patterns. The improved forecasts of regional
responses to different types of forestry practices will aid in
better stewardship of Canada's forests.
* Prof. Gregory Lawrence is a leading environmental
engineer who studies
the impact of the fluid mechanics of inland and coastal water on
water quality,
chemistry and biology. He develops techniques to minimize the
effect
of waste discharges and restore water systems affected by
pollution.
* Biochemistry Prof. Grant Mauk is a specialist in blood
and transfusion
medicine whose work will contribute to new strategies for treating bacterial
infection and improve understanding of how our blood functions.
* Asst. Prof. Andrew Sandford investigates the genetics of
lung disease
such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and aims
to manipulate
genes to modify asthma severity.
* Prof. Martin Schechter is a senior urban health investigator who
researches the incidence and risk factors for HIV and
Hepatitis C
among injection drug users in downtown Vancouver. He also studies access to
care for economically disadvantaged people.
For more information on the program and full chairholder profiles, visit the
Web site at www.chairs.gc.ca.
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