UNews - Canada Foundation for Innovation

U of L announces Dr. Athanasios Zovoilis as its newest Canada Research Chair

caroline.zentner — Tue, 16 May 2017 16:17:16 +0000

The federal government has named Dr. Athanasios Zovoilis, a professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, a Tier II Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics.

The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Canada’s minister of science, recently announced $125.9 million in funding for 142 chairholders. Along with the Canada Research Chairs, Duncan introduced a new Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan to address the lack of diversity among Canada Research Chairs.

“Our government is committed to promoting equity and diversity within the sciences. We need to work harder to ensure that talented researchers have the opportunity to advance. The announcement of the action plan is an important step towards a more inclusive, open and diverse research environment in Canada,” says Duncan.

In addition to $500,000 in funding through the Canada Research Chair program, Zovoilis will receive more than $53,000 from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund for laboratory tools and equipment.

Dr. Athan Zovoilis is the U of L's latest Canada Research Chair.

Zovoilis, a bioinformatician and genomicist, came to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge from Boston’s Harvard ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to establish and pursue a research program aimed at developing personalized treatments for diseases like cancer and dementia. Zovoilis joined the U of L's Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI), a research centre devoted to RNA research. During the last 10 years, the U of L has made a significant investment in the fast-developing field of RNA research by establishing ARRTI and attracting world-class scientists that develop cutting-edge research in understanding how RNA applications can support human health and biotechnology innovation.

“It was not a very difficult decision, I have to say,” says Zovoilis. “Having lived in Canada before, I know there’s support for science, for families and for integrating people to the society. It makes the perfect combination.”

Originally from Greece, Zovoilis began medical studies in his homeland and completed them in Germany. After witnessing the impact of diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer on members of his community, he knew he wanted a career where he could help people.

“I didn’t like this feeling of helplessness. That was one of the things that motivated me to go to medical school,” he says.

While in medical school, molecular biology captured his interest. The Human Genome Project was underway at the time and the research possibilities it presented were captivating.

“A new era was starting and I decided to specialize in it,” says Zovoilis. “I was convinced that if we want to fight Alzheimer’s and cancer we have to understand what’s happening at the molecular level in our cells. If we understand the basic mechanisms that underlie these diseases then we will be able to fight them more efficiently.”

He pursued a doctorate in molecular genetics and began working with breast cancer patients, looking for mutations in genes known to cause cancer. Studying only two out of tens of thousands of genes, coupled with the limitations of DNA sequencers, meant progress was slow. However, technological advances soon led to much faster DNA sequencing and produced larger amounts of data. Zovoilis determined to get training in bioinformatics, a new discipline that provides the computer programs that can read and analyze the data produced by modern sequencers. He went to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Manchester in England to take further training and then joined the bioinformatics group at the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre in Vancouver, an organization at the forefront of personalized medicine in Canada. There he joined other scientists who were interested in analyzing noncoding sections of the genome, or what was once known as junk DNA.

Because it was at the forefront of analyzing noncoding sections of a genome, Zovoilis then went to Harvard as a research fellow. His research there, recently published in the journal Cell, the top journal in molecular biosciences, revealed a connection between these noncoding sections of the genome and cancer. Now at the U of L, Zovoilis will continue this work with the eventual goal of bringing testing to everyday clinical practice.

“In this lab, we specialize in reading the book of life and we use this information to provide personalized medicine opportunities for patients in the near future,” says Zovoilis.

Such an approach is not as widely available in Canada as it is in the United States or through the Genome Science Centre in British Columbia but he hopes to launch a similar project in Alberta.

“We intend to find partners in this initiative,” says Zovoilis. “It has to be a pan-provincial initiative but southern Alberta can be part of this.”

Zovoilis adds that a personalized approach doesn’t perform miracles but many studies have shown that targeted therapies can help and genomics is the main tool to find them.

“I wanted to come back to Canada,” he says. “Canadians are very open minded and there has been, in recent years, significant investment in research. It is not advertised a lot but, especially here in Alberta, universities have improved substantially their capabilities. They have expanded their programs. I see a huge potential, especially at the U of L. That’s one of the main reasons why I decided to come here.”

Super cold deep freeze key to testing instruments destined for space

caroline.zentner — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 17:16:47 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s new cryogenic test facility (CTF) has allowed researchers in Dr. David Naylor’s astrophysics lab to be more productive, more energy efficient and more flexible.

“It’s working exactly as intended. It’s great,” says Naylor, a U of L physics and astronomy professor and Board of Governors Research Chair. “I do have to thank the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the province, and the manufacturer, Quantum Technologies.”

Ian Veenendaal, a graduate student, loads the chassis of a Fourier transform spectrometer into the new cryogenic test facility.

The CTF, which cost slightly more than $375,000, allows U of L scientists to test instruments to ensure they work in extreme cold before they are sent into space. Before the new CTF was installed, the U of L was capable of testing only smaller instruments in its fleet of cylindrical cryostats. Typically, individual components are tested in laboratories around the world before being integrated in a major space agency facility.

The new CTF can accommodate instruments about the size of a large toaster oven, enabling whole instruments to be tested at once. The CTF will help position the U of L for participation in future space astronomy missions. Naylor’s team has previously designed and built instrumentation that has gone into space so the CTF, along with U of L expertise, will expand the laboratory’s capacity.

“I would say that the CTF has increased our productivity by a factor of 10. It allows us far more flexibility and enables us to try different things out,” says Naylor. “It can achieve temperatures 10 times colder than the universe and it uses no liquid helium consumable.”

Instruments heading into space must be able to operate at 4 Kelvin (-269 C). Naylor’s group is currently testing a Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS), an instrument that measures the far infrared universe and the kind of instrument Naylor says is being considered for the next generation of space missions.

Ian Veenendaal, a graduate student, has been closely involved with the building and installation of the CTF and now with its operation.

“We will be delivering a report to the Canadian Space Agency at the end of the year and we are working to show that we are capable of building an FTS and operating it at 4 Kelvin,” says Veenendaal.

U of L researchers benefit from Canada Foundation for Innovation funding

caroline.zentner — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 17:06:33 +0000

Projects that involve the quest for new cancer-fighting drugs, the preservation of floodplain forests, and the creation of a digital library to support thousand-year-old crosses got a boost today with the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund announcement.

The Honourable Ed Holder, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced $30 million for research infrastructure in support of projects across the country, which is allowing scientists to expand their knowledge in aquaculture and other areas as diverse as architectural history and chronic pain. At the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, more than $200,000 will go to three research projects.

Drs. Larry Flanagan and Stewart Rood, both biology professors, will receive more than $81,000 to establish an ecosystem-scale flux system to make long-term measurements of water vapour, carbon dioxide and methane fluxes in cottonwood riparian forests. The measurements will help them define how much river water is used by cottonwood trees in the extensive floodplain forests that line southern Alberta rivers. River waters are facing increased demands from a growing population, more economic development and for agricultural irrigation. Flanagan and Rood want to determine how much water needs to be left in southern Alberta rivers to sustain a healthy aquatic and riparian ecosystem.

“Proper management of river water resources is of fundamental importance to our citizens because most of Canada’s municipal areas are located along rivers. Effective management of river flows to allow removal of water for agricultural and industrial activities, while still leaving enough water to sustain our aquatic and riparian ecosystems is a high priority for all citizens,” says Flanagan.

Dr. Roy Golsteyn, a biochemistry professor and cancer researcher, will receive slightly more than $91,000 for laboratory infrastructure for his Prairie to Pharmacy research program dedicated to investigating the cancer-fighting properties of prairie plants such as the buffalo bean. The plant has shown promising signs of medicinal properties and, this summer, Golsteyn and his team identified six other prairie plants to investigate for anti-cancer effects.

“The award includes a new cancer cell imaging system that will watch hundreds of cells around the clock as they are treated with prairie plant extracts,” says Golsteyn. “It will be great for training students as they will have access to leading-edge equipment.”

Combined with gifts-in-kind from suppliers and a commitment from the province for matching funding, the award could total $250,000. Golsteyn says early support from the U of L allowed his lab to reach the level necessary to be selected for a national award. Now, the new equipment will help attract international research companies to work with Golsteyn and his team. Local donors, whether organizations or private individuals, who would like to help advance Golsteyn’s work are always welcome.

Dr. Daniel Paul O’Donnell, an English professor with expertise in Digital Humanities and Old and Middle English language and literature, will continue research on the Visionary Cross Project thanks to an infrastructure support award worth slightly more than $28,000. The award was the only one of its kind in Canada this year under the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) competition in association with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). This is the third award the project has earned this year. O’Donnell has also been awarded a four-year, $233,000 Insight award from SSHRC and a one-year $9,000 allotment from the Graphics, Animation and New Media (GRAND) National Centre of Excellence.

Dr. Daniel Paul O'Donnell, right, and James Graham scan a fragment from the Ruthwell Cross in April, 2012. (c)Visionary Cross Project, 2012, CC-BY.

“These funds will be used in the development of a digital library to support the cultural and textual heritage and multidisciplinary research on objects belonging to the Visionary Cross tradition in Anglo-Saxon England,” says O’Donnell.

The Visionary Cross Project focuses on the Ruthwell and Bewcastle stone crosses in Northern England and Scotland, the Brussels reliquary cross in Belgium, and the ‘Dream of the Rood’ and ‘Elene’ poems from the Anglo-Saxon Vercelli Book manuscript in Italy. These objects are all more than a thousand years old and are closely related to each other. The crosses have carved panels that depict scriptural scenes, and are bordered by inscriptions in Latin, Runic and Old English. These inscriptions have similar wording to that found in the Vercelli book.

Combining technology such as 3D modeling and gaming, the Visionary Cross Project will give scholars the chance to study these artifacts in a unique way and advance knowledge in the Digital Humanities and Anglo-Saxon studies. U of L professors Wendy Osborn and James Graham were co-applicants on the grants. Osborn will be responsible for developing the digital library, including metadata, cataloguing and organization of 2D and 3D data for user-centered retrieval. Graham is developing online and interactive virtual environments.The Visionary Cross team has been collecting digital representations of these objects over the last eight years.

“We would like to bring these diverse and informally catalogued collections together to form an organized, multimedia Digital Library accessible to all and able to be expanded in the future,” says O’Donnell.

Canada Foundation for Innovation investment to support creation of cutting-edge cellular imaging research centre

trevor.kenney — Fri, 29 May 2015 17:24:48 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge will embark on the creation of a new interdisciplinary research facility that promises to be Canada’s leading cellular imaging research centre thanks to a $2 million investment from the Government of Canada’s Canada Foundation for Innovation.

The Cell Signaling Interdisciplinary Research Centre (CSIRC) is a facility that will bring together researchers from neuroscience, biochemistry and biological sciences.

Today, the Honourable Ed Holder, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced more than $333 million for new research infrastructure that Canadian researchers will use to advance Canadian knowledge in areas ranging from mood disorders and robotics to food security and the search for new planets.

At the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, the $2,098,277 investment towards Dynamic Brain Mapping: Cell signaling to systems function, will create the Cell Signaling Interdisciplinary Research Centre (CSIRC), a facility that will bring together researchers from neuroscience, biochemistry and biological sciences.

“We plan to create Canada’s leading cellular imaging research centre to make fundamental discoveries on how dynamic regulation of brain and other systems activity determines risk for important diseases,” says lead investigator Dr. Robert Sutherland, Board of Governors Research Chair in Neuroscience. “These discoveries will provide new, key targets for developing prevention and therapy strategies.”

Sutherland, who will work closely with fellow neuroscientists Drs. Aaron Gruber, Andrew Iwaniuk, Bryan Kolb, Robert McDonald, Bruce McNaughton, Gerlinde Metz and Majid Mohajerani as well as Drs. Olga Kovalchuk (biological sciences) and HJ Wieden (biochemistry), explains how the new facility will extend the scope of researchers who are currently studying basic processes regulating brain health, degenerative disorders, infective agents and cancer.

“Gene expression and epigenetics play a key role in answering how cells learn, how they process, store and distribute information acquired during development,” he says. “CSIRC will enable us to make new discoveries in gene expression, epigenetics and therapeutics in cancer, dementia, developmental brain disorders, stroke and infections.”

Dr. Lesley Brown, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s Interim Vice-President (Research), says the CFI investment recognizes the research expertise present at the U of L.

“Our researchers are respected as leaders in their field and the work they do is of great relevance to important areas of public concern such as health care,” says Brown. “This investment from the federal government is an endorsement of the world-class research being conducted here on campus.”

Nearly all of the infrastructure will enable the usersof the CSIRC group to conduct brain-imaging projects with viral vectors and genetically modified rodents. It will allow the group to move forward their activities, such as health-related research, training and partnering with non-academic collaborators, to that of a world leader.

“Today’s announcement will strengthen Canada’s reputation in science and technology by supporting research infrastructure that will attract world-class talent, train a new generation of students and make discoveries that benefit Canadians in remarkable ways,” says Holder.

Gonzalez has Canada Research Chair renewed

trevor.kenney — Fri, 10 Apr 2015 21:48:59 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge kinesiology professor Dr. Claudia Gonzalez is among a group of 150 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs (CRC) announced this week by the Government of Canada.

The Honourable Ed Holder, Minister of State (Science and Technology), unveiled a $139-million investment, with an additional $7.6 million in infrastructure support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, in the Canada Research Chairs program. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is one of 36 post-secondary institutions in the country to receive funding.

Dr. Caudia Gonzalez, left, with Dr. Robbin Gibb and a trial with two young research subjects.

“Through our government’s updated science, technology and innovation strategy, we are making the record investments necessary to push the boundaries of knowledge, create jobs and opportunities, and improve the quality of life of Canadians,” says Holder. “Our government’s Canada Research Chairs Program develops, attracts and retains top talent researchers in Canada whose research, in turn, creates long-term social and economic benefits while training the next generation of students and researchers in Canada.”

Gonzalez, a Canada Research Chair in Sensorimotor Control, has had her Tier 2 Chair renewed for 5 years with an investment of $500,000. She was initially named a CRC in 2009. An accomplished researcher, her latest work on hemispheric differences in sensorimotor control encompasses behavioural, neuropsychological and developmental domains.

Some of her recent research has focused on hemispheric lateralization for grasping and linking those findings to the development of Executive Function (EF) and language. Gonzalez worked closely with U of L neuroscientist Dr. Robbin Gibb on several studies that showed that a more lateralized brain supports the development of EF – a blanket term that is considered to include self-regulation, working memory and planning. They have shown that children who used their right hand more often to pick up objects demonstrated better executive function and speech production proficiency.

“Our results suggest that EF enjoys privileged support from the left hemisphere, which also controls the right hand. More likely, however, the results indicate that greater degree of lateralization (either to the left or right hemisphere) supports better behavioural control,” says Dr. Claudia Gonzalez, a Canada Research Chair in Sensorimotor Control, and an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology.

Along this research line, her lab is currently exploring different motor-based training programs to enhance EF and language development in typically-developing and clinical populations of children.

Gonzalez is one of 10 Canada Research Chairs on campus, spanning disciplines as diverse as psychology, neuroscience, history, economics, sociology, physics and biological sciences.

The Canada Research Chairs Program was created in 2000. It is an ongoing annual program designed to attract and retain some of the world’s most accomplished and promising minds by helping to promote research and development and supporting top-tier talent at Canadian post-secondary institutions.

Kovalchuk planting the seed for epigenetic advances in agriculture

trevor.kenney — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 22:26:08 +0000

If there is one thing that plants do well, it’s take changes in stride.

“Plants have an amazing capacity to respond immediately to stress and to propagate this response so future generations can be better prepared too,” says ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researcher Dr. Igor Kovalchuk.

Dr. Igor Kovalchuk received the 2013 Innovation in Agricultural Science Award from ASTech, the Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Foundation.

A professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Kovalchuk is a leading researcher in epigenetics, which studies how individual genes are expressed or “switched on” by environmental factors. Specifically, Kovalchuk is investigating how plants evolve rapidly to handle various stressors, everything from temperature extremes, viruses and bacteria to toxic or nutritionally deficient soil.

With funding from Alberta Innovates Health Solutions, the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Kovalchuk is exploring ways to tinker with plants’ genes. His goal: to produce hardier crops that are increasingly resistant to stress and even able to detect pollution. This capability, in turn, will help to improve the efficiency, profitability and overall success of farms.

Thanks to Kovalchuk, in fact, the Canadian Prairies could one day be dotted with fields of medicinal poppies. He is currently working with a Canadian biotech company that plans to develop a market for the high thebaine poppy industry in Canada. A significant cash crop opportunity, high thebaine poppies are used to create valuable medicines, but unlike their traditional counterparts, cannot easily be converted into heroin.

A significant cash crop opportunity, high thebaine poppies are used to create valuable medicines.

Meanwhile, Kovalchuk’s own company, Plantbiosis, is developing new varieties of plants that can sense and signal the presence of pollution. Such information could, for example, warn farmers if their well water is contaminated.

Clearly, the potential impact of Kovalchuk’s work is far-reaching. He is quick to point out, however, that his research has benefitted considerably from the time and talents of many U of L students.

“Without students, there simply wouldn’t be a plant biotechnology lab,” he says.

Over the years, Kovalchuk has trained more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows to assist with various aspects of his epigenetic studies. One of those emerging researchers is Aki Matsuoka (BSc ’10).

Now a PhD student in biological sciences, Matsuoka discovered her passion for research while completing an independent project as an undergraduate student in Kovalchuk’s lab.

“I learned to love biology research,” says Matsuoka. “It was great to have that opportunity available to students who were willing to learn and to work hard.”

Matsuoka went on to complete a summer placement in Kovalchuk’s lab, and remained there during her master’s studies before she eventually transferred to the PhD program. Today, Matsuoka’s research is supervised jointly by Kovalchuk and Dr. Alicja Ziemienowicz, a research biologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

“Both my supervisors have been training me to think critically, which has led me to expand my horizons and become a better researcher,” says Matsuoka. “I appreciate their support so much.”

Kovalchuk received the 2013 Innovation in Agricultural Science Award from ASTech, the Alberta Science and Technology Leadership Foundation. The honour recognizes an individual, team or company that has demonstrated exceptional innovation or has developed a technology of significance to Alberta's agriculture industries. Nominations for the 2015 ASTech awards open Apr. 1. For more information, or to nominate, visit the ASTech website.

U of L’s cryogenic testing facility will be unique in Canada

caroline.zentner — Tue, 20 Jan 2015 17:05:18 +0000

Funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation will help position the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge as a leader in cryogenic testing and open the doors to participation in future space missions.

The $150,000 announced today will go towards the purchase of a cryogenic testing facility (CTF) capable of testing instruments destined for space to ensure they work at very low temperatures. The total cost of the project, led by the U of L’s Dr. David Naylor, is slightly more than $375,000. The province is expected to contribute $150,000 to the project, with the final 20 per cent provided by the prime manufacturer, Quantum Technology, and funding from the European Union.

An example of the cryogenic testing facility

The Herschel telescope, active from 2009 to 2013, has provided the most detailed observations to date of the far infrared universe where stars and galaxies form. However, Herschel’s sensitivity was limited because of the relatively warm temperature of the telescope itself. Although cooled to approximately 80 Kelvin (-193 C), the telescope contributed a significant background noise component, against which the weak signals from distant galaxies had to be extracted, sort of like having a construction crew working in the background while an orchestra plays a symphony.

Obtaining more detailed pictures of the far infrared universe is possible if the telescope and all the on-board instrumentation can be operated at approximately 4 Kelvin (-269 C). The U of L’s CTF will allow for larger instruments to be tested in extremely cold conditions to ensure they work before being sent into space.

“The CTF will allow us to cool an instrument bigger than a large toaster oven,” says Naylor, a U of L physics professor and Board of Governors Research Chair. “We’ve never been able to do this before. We’ve been able to cool small things but this will allow us to cool very large instruments that will go into space.”

Naylor’s team, which has previously designed and built instrumentation that has gone into space, has the necessary expertise in low-temperature testing.

“There are a number of new space astronomy missions in the pipeline and all of them require that the instrumentation you use be cooled to exquisitely low temperatures,” says Naylor.

The CTF is a complex structure that will be installed in Naylor’s lab in ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Hall, with delivery expected sometime this spring.

“Right now, you test components in labs around the world and then you put them all together and you hope the integrated instruments work as you expect,” says Naylor.

The CTF is being designed to provide the most flexibility it can, given the rapid pace of technology development.

“We plan to participate in different space projects but each instrument will be of a different size and shape so this test facility has to accommodate instruments that people haven’t even thought of yet,” says Naylor. “It brings new equipment to our arsenal that doesn’t exist in Canada and positions us to become a partner of choice on future space missions from any space agency.”

Ed Holder, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced more than $35 million in research infrastructure funding for 37 universities across the country today.

“In our government’s updated Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy, we are making record investments necessary to push the boundaries of knowledge, create jobs and prosperity and improve the quality of life of Canadians. Canada has become a destination of choice for highly talented scientific researchers thanks in part to our support for world class university and college infrastructure which helps train the next generation of Canadian research talent,” says Holder.

Naylor will be talking about investing in space exploration Thursday evening as part of the PUBlic Professor Series. The event, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the U of L’s Dr. Foster James Penny Building at 324 5 St. S., is free and everyone is welcome to attend.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge C-CRAFT symposium to showcase power of fluorine and NMR spectroscopy

trevor.kenney — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 19:00:32 +0000

The first centre of its kind in Canada, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Canadian Centre for Research in Advanced Fluorine Technologies (C-CRAFT), presents a Symposium Celebrating NMR Spectroscopy and Fluorine Chemistry, Friday, December 5, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the U of L.

With plenary speakers Dr. Jean-François Paquin (Université Laval) and Dr. Klaus Schmidt-Rohr (Brandeis ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ) joining world-class researchers within C-CRAFT, the symposium will examine various applications of the element fluorine and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

“C-CRAFT is the first Canadian centre focusing on research and training around the element of fluorine and brings together a unique team of researchers with a wide range of expertise,” says Dr. Michael Gerken, a professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the director of C-CRAFT. “While we were formalized as a centre nearly one year ago, this symposium is somewhat of a launch event for C-CRAFT.”

Fluorine is a unique element because of its reactivity in the elemental form and the large number of applications of fluorine compounds. For example, it has been estimated that 20 per cent of pharmaceuticals on the market contain fluorine and 30 to 40 per cent of agrochemicals contain fluorine.

“Fluorine chemistry is definitely a strength that is unique to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, and this centre is a way to build on that strength by getting together scientists who are interested in this chemistry in order to share knowledge, conduct research together and to provide services and expertise that are helpful to industry,” says Gerken.

The symposium will feature a host of talks throughout the afternoon, beginning with Paquin’s address at 1:10 p.m. when he presents Revisiting the Use of Fluoride as a Leaving Group. The U of L’s Dr. Stacey Wetmore follows at 1:50 p.m. as she presents Using Fluorine to Understand DNA Damage. At 4:20 p.m., Nora Foroud and Jim Miller of the Lethbridge Research Centre – Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada present NMR Resolutions of Agricultural Traits: From Soil Chemistry to Crop Health.

“Since the centre was opened, we have added a 700 MHz NMR spectrometer, thanks to $1.6 million of funding through the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Alberta Government and the U of L,” says Gerken. “NMR spectroscopy is a powerful technique that allows for even more in-depth study of fluorine compounds and can be used in trans-disciplinary studies by researchers of various departments at the U of L and from other universities, research institutes and industry.”

C-CRAFT and the magnetic resonance facility at the U of L are already gaining a reputation as the hub for fluorine researchers across Canada and worldwide to collaborate with each other and share their expertise on fluorine and NMR spectroscopy for areas such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, plastics, oil production, biochemistry and neuroscience.

The symposium, to be held in C640, features a total of eight presentations.

Iwaniuk named a Tier II Canada Research Chair

trevor.kenney — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 16:20:06 +0000

Leading neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Iwaniuk, one of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s emerging young researchers, has been awarded a Tier II Canada Research Chair for a research program aiming to understand how the brain evolves into different sizes and forms in different species.

One of the U of L's emerging young researchers, Dr. Andrew Iwaniuk's research program aims to understand how the brain evolves into different sizes and forms in different species

The Canada Research Chairs program announced a total of 137 new and renewed research Chairs at 34 post-secondary institutions Thursday, committing $118 million to the program, with an additional $7.9 million in infrastructure support provided by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The Canada Research Chair program awards $500,000 over five years for Tier II awards.

“Since coming to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, Dr. Iwaniuk has consistently advanced his research program, all the while providing exceptional training for undergraduate and graduate students as well as post-doctoral fellows,” says Dr. Lesley Brown, the U of L’s Interim Vice-President (Research). “His program is an excellent example of the interdisciplinary work conducted on campus and encouraged between faculty members because he combines methods of diverse disciplines, specifically evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology and neuroscience.”

Over the past five years, Iwaniuk, now a Canada Research Chair in Comparative Neuroanatomy, has secured over $1.2 million in funding through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Alberta Ingenuity Fund, CFI and matching funds.

Toronto born, Iwaniuk grew up in Edmonton, Alta. and completed his undergraduate studies at Monash ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Australia. He made his way back to Alberta to study under Drs. Sergio Pellis and Ian Whishaw at the U of L, completing a master’s degree in psychology, before earning his doctorate upon return to Monash. He then worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta and Smithsonian Institution before joining the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge as a faculty member in 2008.

Through his research work, Iwaniuk has received international recognition as an expert in evolutionary neurobiology. At over 500 specimens representing 160 species, he boasts the largest comparative brain collection in Canada and the largest collection of bird brains in the world. One of his more recent studies found that a single brain region that processes visual motion is greatly enlarged in hummingbirds, thus allowing them to maintain a stationary position while feeding. This was the first evidence that hummingbird flight involves neural adaptation.

He says that despite decades of intense neuroscience research, how the brain evolves into different sizes and forms in different species remains a mystery.

“My research aims to resolve this mystery by specifically examining how the brain evolves and why, using a series of cutting edge technologies and analytical methods,” says Iwaniuk. “The results of these studies will yield new information on how the brain evolves, what evolutionary changes in brain anatomy have occurred and why these changes are necessary, all of which are fundamental to understanding brain function in all animals, including humans.”

By better understanding how the brain evolves, Iwaniuk will be able to provide new insights into what makes the human brain unique and why.

Faculty members at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge consistently demonstrate that they are among the very best researchers in Canada. Iwaniuk’s appointment as a Canada Research Chair in Comparative Neuroanatomy brings to 33 the number of research Chair appointments at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. More information on U of L researchers is available on the U of L research website.

Spencer seeking a view like no other

trevor.kenney — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 20:03:43 +0000

The history of human exploration is full of discoveries that were made in person, from finding new lands to touching the ocean floor. At the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge though, researcher Dr. Locke Spencer (MSc ’05, PhD ’09) is developing a sophisticated instrument that’s meant to do what humans cannot: investigate the most far-flung and inaccessible area of the final frontier.

Dr. Locke Spencer completed his master’s degree at the U of L and was the first graduate of its Earth, Space and Physical Science PhD program.

Spencer, a professor of physics and astronomy, is a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Experimental Astrophysics. The distinguished research professorship, which is supported by the federal government, provides $500,000 in funding over five years. And while the chairholder position may have attracted Spencer to the U of L from Cardiff ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ in Wales, it’s definitely not the astrophysicist’s first time on campus. He completed his master’s degree at the U of L and was the first graduate of its Earth, Space and Physical Science PhD program.

During his graduate studies at the U of L, Spencer worked with researcher Dr. David Naylor in the development and eventual deployment of the Spectral and Photometric Imaging Receiver, an instrument on the Herschel telescope. As a European Space Agency cornerstone mission, Herschel is the largest space telescope ever launched. While in Cardiff, Spencer also worked on the Planck telescope, which has provided the most detailed pictures available of the cosmic microwave background. Today, Spencer hopes to further advance our understanding of the universe by creating next-generation astrophysical instrumentation, and his work is helping to position Canada as a significant contributor to international research projects.

Specifically, Spencer is working to improve observations of our universe through the relatively unexplored far-infrared region of electromagnetic spectrum. Over half of the energy emitted by the universe appears in the far-infrared spectral region, and learning more about this area will provide clues about the formation and evolution of stars, galaxies and the entire universe.

“Right now, we’re missing pieces of information and we’re hoping to fill in the gaps,” says Spencer.

With more than $115,000 in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Spencer is creating a hybrid instrument that combines a Fourier transform spectrometer with a spatial interferometer. While the sensitive equipment will initially be developed in a lab, the aim of the program is to develop instrumentation that will one day be used aboard future space-based telescopes. This means the instrument must not only be compact, but also capable of surviving the turbulence of a launch and the harsh environment of space.

To move the project forward, Spencer has partnered with an international team working on related research, and anticipates that undergraduate and graduate students will soon play an important role in his growing research program. In fact, thanks to funding from the Mitacs Globalink international research internship program, an undergraduate student from India will work in Spencer’s lab this summer.

Ultimately, Spencer has two overarching goals in creating this new instrumentation: to improve upon the presently available low-resolution measurements from the far-infrared spectral region to allow for high-quality images (or “pretty pictures”) through upcoming next-generation space instruments; and to understand the spectra associated with these images in order to come to grips with the physics which is taking place at these distant scenes. The spectra allow researchers to garner minute details about these regions, such as their building blocks (solids, dust, molecules, gasses) and their respective properties (temperature, velocity, rotation, density, etc.).

“We want to see what’s really happening in space,” says Spencer. “We have to keep looking on the horizon and moving forward so we can advance Canada as an international player in the field of far-infrared space exploration.”

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