Fifteen University of Guelph research projects, as well as state-of-the-art equipment investments key to these studies, will be awarded more than $1.4 million by the federal government.
From tackling the youth mental health crisis to sequestering carbon in agricultural grasslands, the projects span multiple colleges and help position U of G and Canada as emerging leaders in these fields.
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) will fund the projects through its John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), which helps universities recruit and retain outstanding faculty. It also provides researchers with the critical infrastructure required for their studies.
The new funds announced today are part of nearly $86 million provided by the CFI to support 316 research infrastructure projects at 47 institutions across the country.
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences
Dr. Stephanie Craig, Department of Psychology
Dr. Stephanie Craig, Department of Psychology, will receive $45,096 to gain a deeper understanding of the emotional processing capabilities of two youth groups: children with behaviour challenges and teens in inpatient treatment for mental health challenges.
In Canada, one in five youth experience a mental health disorder every year, with about 22 per cent going on to develop serious mental health difficulties. Emotional processing is one area that has become a focus for many mental health interventions.
Emotional processing includes three components, which include the abilities to recognize another person’s emotions, respond to others’ emotions and regulate one’s own emotions when upset. Researchers will use physiological measurements of the nervous system, observations of behavioural responses and self-reporting of emotions to better understand these components.
Information from this study will allow researchers to understand what components of emotional processing are the most challenging for youth with behavioural and mental health challenges. This research will help to refine the interventions for these groups, addressing the youth mental health crisis in Canada.
Other CSAHS recipients include:
- Dr. Kathryn Walton, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, $141,693, to study infant body composition and eating emotions and behaviours as they relate to healthy child growth and obesity prevention. This study will inform more accurate strategies for early-life obesity prevention, leading to long-term health and economic benefits for all Canadians.
College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Dr. Guneet Kaur and Dr. Ashutosh Singh, School of Engineering
Dr. Guneet Kaur and Dr. Ashutosh Singh in the School of Engineering will receive $126,837 to develop robust and scalable solutions for the conversion of agricultural biomass – the organic waste from the agri-food sector – into bio-based consumer products.
An abundant and renewable feedstock in Canada, agricultural biomass can be transformed into a number of high-value products: green biochemical building blocks, novel food and feed ingredients, biofertilizers and bioenergy. A key challenge in achieving these materials, however, is in accelerating early-stage process development and scaling up these bioprocesses.
Researchers will attempt to use an automated microbioreactor to gain a deeper understanding of the chemical reactions involved, as well as the physical characteristics and properties of the relevant catalysts. This will give them the optimal process and reaction conditions that could scale up the creation of high-value bioproducts.
Their research will help to spur innovations in clean technologies in the bio-industry and agri-bio sectors and, as these products are made from agri-food waste, help Canada meet its emission targets.
Other CEPS recipients include:
- Dr. Huiyan Li, School of Engineering, with Dr. Ashutosh Singh, School of Engineering, and Dr. Richard Mandeville, Department of Chemistry, has been awarded $102,000 to investigate advanced biosensing solutions for the improved detection of cancer biomarkers and microbes. As cancer remains a leading cause of mortality in Canada, knowledge from this research will help to yield multiple novel biosensing technologies with strong commercialization potential.
- Dr. Amir Aliabadi, with Dr. Syeda Tasnim and Dr. Shohel Mahmud, School of Engineering, has received $75,058 to investigate the physical and chemical variables related to a building’s energy consumption and environmental impact. This study may help develop new energy-efficient technologies that could also improve the air quality and thermal comfort within facilities, with broader implications for attracting real estate and improving urban economic growth.
Ontario Agricultural College
Dr. Kimberley Schneider, Department of Plant Agriculture
Dr. Kimberley Schneider, Department of Plant Agriculture, will receive $114,492 to study how managing grasslands can help to sequester carbon in Canada.
The world’s soils are increasingly recognized for their potential to help mitigate climate change. Grassland ecosystems are of particular interest in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, containing one-third of global soil organic carbon. Their deep roots help to allocate carbon below ground, ultimately sequestering more carbon than annual cropland.
This research will explore the impacts that agricultural practices, such as grazing management and fertilizer additions, have on the ability of pastures to sequester carbon in Ontario. Researchers will analyze the carbon and nitrogen content in soils and plants to create robust datasets.
Knowledge from this study will provide a more holistic picture of the environmental and economic impact of forage and service crops. It will help develop best management practices to optimize these outcomes and support the agricultural sector’s contributions to greenhouse gas reductions.
Other OAC recipients include:
- Dr. Lee-Anne Huber, with Dr. Jennifer Ellis and Dr. Elijah Kiarie, Department of Animal Biosciences, has been awarded $100,000 to analyze the greenhouse gases (GHG) associated with the production of meat products, which could help inform federal environmental agriculture policies. Researchers aim to quantify GHGs and explore strategies to minimize the environmental emissions per kilogram of Canadian pork and poultry.
- Dr. Catherine Dieleman, School of Environmental Sciences, has received $112,000 to investigate the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools that form after the thawing of northern permafrost systems. The program aims to help researchers better understand our permafrost ecosystems and how they shape our shared climate.
Ontario Veterinary College
Dr. Nuria Daviu, Department of Biomedical Sciences
Dr. Nuria Daviu, Department of Biomedical Sciences, will receive $80,000 to investigate the functional neural circuits involved in stress controllability, with the goal of exploring its potential applications in the treatment of stress-related disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
PTSD affects about 8 to 14 per cent of Canadians, resulting in major consequences to people’s personal lives as well as the economy. Recent legislative efforts, such as the Federal Framework on PTSD Act, have called for new knowledge generation and evidence-based public health interventions.
Daviu’s leading expertise in the neurobiology of stress will support her new research program. The project aims to develop a novel preclinical model to enhance understanding of how varying levels of control during stress can be leveraged to modify existing stress-coping profiles. This will pave the way for innovative models that can drive the development of new behavioural interventions. Knowledge from this research may identify new targets for PTSD and other stress- and mood-related disorders, with the potential to improve the mental health of Canadians and others worldwide.
Other OVC recipients include:
- Dr. Samuel Tekeste Workenhe, Department of Pathobiology, has received $82,000 to investigate how cancer cell death activates the immune system to fight glioblastoma, the most frequently diagnosed malignant brain tumour and one that still lacks curative treatment. The project will help researchers to better understand the immune system, and the knowledge gained will be used to develop new, safe and effective treatments to fight glioblastoma.
- Dr. Katie Clow and Dr. Lauren Grant, Department of Population Medicine, have received $150,000 to study the levels of waterborne and vector-borne zoonotic pathogens – such as those carried by ticks and mosquitoes – in several surveillance areas in Ontario. Canada lacks ongoing surveillance of these pathogens, and better estimates of how they change over space and time are needed to inform more effective interventions.
College of Biological Science
Dr. Angela Scott, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB)
Dr. Angela Scott, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology (MCB), will receive $79,429 to study a signalling pathway in the brain associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), examining the therapeutic potential of targeting this system.
Across Canada, the prevalence of ASD in children continues to rise. As the presentation of ASD varies from child to child, it is crucial for clinical treatments to become more individually tailored.
Scott and colleagues will take an integrative look at the role of the purinergic signalling system, a network of cellular communication in the brain, to reveal how it is dysregulated during ASD. They will investigate how a specific cell in the brain and spinal cord, the astrocyte, is involved in this process.
The study will provide a comprehensive examination of changes in cellular function across brain regions, and the associated behavioural manifestations, vascular abnormalities and neuro-inflammation in models of ASD. Knowledge from this study will advance the development of novel clinical tools that could be more custom-designed for individuals diagnosed with ASD in Canada.
Other CBS recipients include:
- Dr. Melanie Alpaugh, MCB, has received $79,429 to investigate the relationship between hypertension and Huntington’s disease, a condition that causes brain cells to decay over time. Researchers will determine the associations between behavior, blood vessels of the brain and disease progression. Their findings may lead to new therapies and interventions that could delay the onset of the disease.
- Dr. Edeline Gagnon, Department of Integrative Biology (IB), has received $84,000 to study the evolution of crop wild relatives (CWRs) of the Solanaceae family, which are related to tomato and eggplant crops. The program will advance understanding of Solanaceae genetics and evolution, enhancing knowledge for practical applications in plant breeding and for building climate resiliency.
- Dr. Tess Grainger, IB, has received $84,000 to unite central theories in ecology and evolution to uncover general rules that could help scientists make predictions across all ecosystems. Such knowledge will contribute to Canada’s goal of resilience to climate change and improve our ability to predict the scope of ecological and environmental change expected in the coming years.