Honourable Ravi Kahlon
Email: [email protected]
British Columbians are benefiting from post-secondary research projects that are helping create jobs, protect biodiversity and the environment, and keep people healthy and safe.
“As part of our StrongerBC Economic Plan and commitment to prepare people for the jobs of tomorrow, we are investing in research capabilities at B.C. post-secondary institutions to help solve some of our society’s most pressing issues,” said Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation. “These investments – ranging from environmental health to vibration and acoustics research – allow researchers to create new and innovative technology that will improve the lives of people throughout B.C.”
Eight universities in British Columbia have received $30 million to support 120 post-secondary research projects through the BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF). The universities receiving funding include Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia, the University of British Columbia-Okanagan, the University of Northern British Columbia, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Langara College, Vancouver Island University and the University of Victoria.
“We are fortunate to have world-class talent at many of our post-secondary institutions,” said Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training. “By providing funding for new infrastructure through the BC Knowledge Development Fund, our researchers are able to acquire new state-of-the-art equipment that will help people and industry be future ready.”
Projects supported through the funding range from genomic and metabolic solutions for B.C. agriculture at Kwantlen Polytechnic University to studies on healthy brain development in pre-term infants at the University of British Columbia.
Through these types of investments, British Columbia can attract and retain world-class talent, develop new jobs and companies, and support the advancement of research and technology in a variety of sectors, such as health and life sciences, information and communication technologies, social sciences and humanities, clean technology, and natural resources.
The BCKDF is a strong contributor to the objectives of B.C.’s StrongerBC Economic Plan. It helps rebuild and grow the economy by improving B.C.’s productivity and competitiveness. Other benefits include potential commercialization, spinoffs and patents, as well as discoveries that directly affect the lives of British Columbians in medicine and the management of the environment.
By investing in research infrastructure, the B.C. government is continuing to support post-secondary institutions to build a more innovative, sustainable and inclusive future.
Quick Facts:
Learn More:
To learn more about the B.C. Knowledge Development Fund, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/technology-innovation/bckdf
To learn more about research at Simon Fraser University, visit: http://www.sfu.ca/research-at-sfu
To learn more about the University of British Columbia research department, visit: https://research.ubc.ca/
To learn more about the University of British Columbia-Okanagan research department, visit: https://ok.ubc.ca/research/
To learn more about the University of Northern British Columbia research department, visit: https://www2.unbc.ca/office-research-and-innovation
To learn more about Kwantlen Polytechnic University research department, visit: https://www.kpu.ca/research/
To learn more about research at Langara College, visit: https://langara.ca/about-langara/applied-research/index.html
To learn more about the Vancouver Island University research department, visit: https://research.viu.ca/ (can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com)
To learn more about research at the University of Victoria, visit: https://www.uvic.ca/research/index.php
Nine backgrounders follow.
Dugan O’Neil, vice-president research and international, Simon Fraser University (SFU) –
“BCKDF funding allows SFU’s researchers to continue their work in vital areas, such as health sciences, clean tech and advanced computing, while enabling the development of enhanced infrastructure to better serve and attract researchers and industry to B.C. This support helps our scientists pursue new collaborations and drives innovation that contributes to the social, environmental and economic well-being of the province.”
Santa J. Ono, president and vice-chancellor, University of British Columbia (UBC) –
“This investment in state-of-the-art scientific equipment and research infrastructure enables UBC faculty and students to conduct cutting-edge research that advances knowledge and creates new technologies and practices that address challenges in areas like health, clean technology, information technologies and public policy. With the support of the BC Knowledge Development Fund, our researchers will be well-positioned to lead B.C. into a more healthy, innovative and sustainable future.”
Lesley Cormack, principal and deputy vice-chancellor, University of British Columbia – Okanagan campus –
“From investigating ways to promote recovery after stroke to next-generation environmental monitoring and novel applications of Industry 4.0 platforms, researchers at UBC’s Okanagan campus are taking on critically important projects that will improve quality of life in B.C.’s Interior communities and beyond. I am grateful for this support from the Province through the BC Knowledge Development Fund and look forward to seeing how these innovative initiatives will contribute to ongoing socio-economic development and diversification in B.C.’s southern Interior region.”
Kathy Lewis, interim vice-president research and innovation, University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) –
“This funding ensures UNBC researchers and their colleagues across the province have the latest equipment and technology they need to conduct meaningful and exceptional research programs. Whether the topics are DNA, engineering, climate change or physics, BCKDF supports UNBC researchers to create new knowledge and develop local solutions that have a global impact.”
Diane Purvey, provost and vice-president academic, Kwantlen Polytechnic University –
“We are very grateful for this funding as it enables us to fulfil our mandate to engage in applied research that supports our programs and benefits our province. Our students develop through work-integrated learning opportunities that set them up for career success and become innovative contributors to B.C.’s vital agriculture sector.”
Nicole Vaugeois, associate vice-president research, Vancouver Island University –
“Vancouver Island University is committed to advancing knowledge related to rural, remote and coastal resilience and human adaptation to climate change. This funding will enable our researchers to investigate pressing issues, while providing high-impact training opportunities for students.”
Lisa Kalynchuk, vice-president research and innovation, University of Victoria (UVic) –
“UVic researchers work at the forefront of public and environmental health. This investment will help them make cutting-edge advancements in areas that matter to British Columbians. Safeguarding the health of people and the planet is a top priority for UVic, and our research community is committed to helping Canada meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.”
The BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) has awarded $6,165,312 for 23 research projects at Simon Fraser University. This investment helps ensure researchers at Simon Fraser University have access to state-of-the-art scientific equipment and infrastructure to be well-positioned to lead B.C. into the future.
ATLAS Tier-1 data centre, led by Bernd Stelzer.
BCKDF contribution: $2,169,812
Behavioural neuroscience laboratory, led by Brianne Kent.
BCKDF contribution: $350,000
The Precursor Laboratory: Emerging scenographic technologies for live performance, led by Wladimiro Woyno Rodriguez.
BCKDF contribution: $316,000
Cytocentric high-throughput stem-cell cultivation, phenotyping and characterization facility, led by Lorena Braid.
BCKDF contribution: $300,000
High-throughput stem-cell phenotyping and functional metabolic analysis facility, led by Lisa Julian.
BCKDF contribution: $300,000
HIV pathogenesis and immunity laboratory, led by Mark Brockman.
BCKDF contribution: $250,000
A comprehensive, experimental laboratory for microbial ecology of water treatment, led by Susan Fowler.
BCKDF contribution: $200,000
Computational cinematography, led by Yagiz Aksoy.
BCKDF contribution: $200,000
Development of an innovative combined optical-and-position calibration system for future neutrino telescopes, led by Matthias Danninger.
BCKDF contribution: $200,000
Innovative multifunctional materials for enhancing the performance and longevity of CO2 capture-and-conversion systems, led by Sami Khan.
BCKDF contribution: $200,000
Microscopy infrastructure for real-time quantitative imaging of molecular dynamics and cellular mechanics, led by Valentin Jaumouille.
BCKDF contribution: $200,000
Sustainable low-carbon fuels research lab, led by Gordon McTaggart-Cowan.
BCKDF contribution: $200,000
Quantifying forest and stream water sources and their sensitivity to a shifting climate, led by William Jesse Hahm.
BCKDF contribution: $155,000
Cardiovascular disease and its comorbidities: Identifying the regulators of cross-disease communication, led by Graeme Koelwyn.
BCKDF contribution: $150,000
Centre for Infectious Disease Genomics and One Health (CIDGOH), led by William Hsiao.
BCKDF contribution: $150,000
Centre for the Systems Biology of Host-Pathogen Interactions, led by Amy Lee.
BCKDF contribution: $150,000
Co-ordination of robot motion and human-robot interaction for large-scale multi-robot systems, led by Hang Ma.
BCKDF contribution: $100,000
Interactive learning of language in 3-D environments, led by Angel Chang.
BCKDF contribution: $100,000
Supporting and promoting post-graduate students' data-science literacy using DaTu, led by Tenzin Doleck.
BCKDF contribution: $100,000
The Landslide Field Laboratory: A remote sensing suite for multi-scale rock mass and slope modelling, led by Sergio Sepulveda.
BCKDF contribution: $100,000
Thermo-fluid test laboratory for optimized, additively manufactured designs, led by Colin Copeland.
BCKDF contribution: $100,000
Vehicle track interaction research laboratory, led by Kevin Oldknow.
BCKDF contribution: $100,000
Improvements for the Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy facility for the archaeological sciences, led by Francesco Berna.
BCKDF contribution: $74,500
The BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) has awarded $17,335,037 for 55 research projects at the University of British Columbia. This investment helps ensure researchers at the University of British Columbia have access to state-of-the-art scientific equipment and infrastructure to be well-positioned to lead B.C. into the future.
CGEn: A national platform for genome sequencing and analysis, led by Steven Jones.
BCKDF contribution: $3,229,712
iMAP: In vivo mesoscale assessment of neuro-projectomes, led by Timothy Murphy.
BCKDF contribution: $2,315,582
Phase I: Enabling the search for neutrino-less double-beta decays in Xe-136 with nEXO, led by Reiner Kruecken.
BCKDF contribution: $1,499,517
Canadian longitudinal study on aging (CLSA): A platform for interdisciplinary research, led by Teresa Liu-Ambrose.
BCKDF contribution: $1,480,000
CCAT-prime: A sub-millimetre wavelength survey telescope in Chile, led by Douglas Scott.
BCKDF contribution: $1,200,000
Single-molecule and single-cell microscopy platform for therapeutics research and development, led by Sabrina Leslie.
BCKDF contribution: $462,446
Advanced bioproducts from Canadian forests, led by Johan Foster.
BCKDF contribution: $400,000
Sensory system adaptions through electroreception: From molecules to behaviour, led by Duncan Leitch.
BCKDF contribution: $380,000
AI-driven platform for translating precision medicine discoveries in women’s cancers, led by Ali Bashashati.
BCKDF contribution: $325,000
Using fNIRS to uncover neurodevelopmental difference arising from prematurity, led by Lauren Emberson.
BCKDF contribution: $245,000
Developing breath as a diagnostic paradigm for human health, led by Jane Hill.
BCKDF contribution: $240,000
The RNA Regulation Laboratory (RRL): A platform for discovering the roles of RNA regulation in autism-spectrum disorders, led by Ethan Greenblatt.
BCKDF contribution: $220,000
Integrated in-situ observing system to track sources of atmospheric humidity in a warming Arctic, led by Anais Orsi.
BCKDF contribution: $192,000
Functional metabolism and transport using mass spectrometry (MeTSpec), led by Seth Parker.
BCKDF contribution: $180,000
Hyperpolarized 129-xenon pediatric functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), led by Jonathan Rayment.
BCKDF contribution: $175,000
Controlling the reaction environment in sustainable catalytic processes to produce fuels, chemicals and power, led by David Upham.
BCKDF contribution: $159,821
Mapping the virus-immune interactome, led by Maria Tokuyama.
BCKDF contribution: $150,000
Collaborative Digital Heritage Studio (CoDHerS), led by Ayinuerguli Kadeer.
BCKDF contribution: $130,000
A functional genomics platform for analysis of cancer-associated glycosylation, led by Simon Wisnovsky.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Advanced infrared spectroscopy system for the mechanistic study of catalytic carbon oxide reduction, led by Eva Nichols.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Automated growth and screening platform for elucidating crop water requirements, led by Thorsten Knipfer.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Cell competition analysis platform, led by Nika Shakiba.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Canadian Institutes of Health Research partnership grant, Canada Research Chair in senior care, led by Lillian Hung.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Control and instrumentation infrastructure for high-speed, bearing-less motors research, led by Minkyun Noh.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Controlled-environment facility for crop-pathology and genetics research (CEF-CPG), led by Gurcharn Singh Brar.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Canada Research Chair in engineered immune tolerance, led by Megan Levings.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Development of natural language processing and machine leaning to accelerate breast cancer outcomes research, led by Kathryn Isaac.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Infrastructure for investigations of the cognition, behaviour and ecology of urban wildlife, led by Sarah Benson-Amram.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Infrastructure to establish a combined regenerative and precision medicine reproductive research program, led by Ryan Flannigan.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Integrated SOILRES platform for advanced study of soil processes driving agro-ecosystem resilience under climate change, led by Jean-Thomas Cornelis.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Metabolic monitoring of immune cell function, led by Ramon Klein Geltink.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Modern data-analysis tools for reaction discovery and development, led by Jolene Reid.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Musculoskeletal health and mobility laboratory infrastructure, led by Jackie Whittaker.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Probing the interaction between representations and behaviour underlying navigation, led by Manu Sasidharan Madhav.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
RNA enhancement and clinical translation (REACT) platform, led by Anna Blakney.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Spatial characterization of human atherosclerotic disease for therapeutic and biomarker development, led by Ying Wang.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Spatial single-cell imaging in the lung, led by Tillie-Louise Hackett.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Targeted inhibition of oncogenic STAT3 signalling, using cutting-edge chemical-biology techniques, led by Brent Page.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
UBC nutritional epidemiology and big data analytics laboratory, led by Masha Jessri.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Wearable systems to characterize sensorimotor response to impulsive loads, led by Calvin Kuo.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
µXRF mapping for mineral exploration and mineral processing, led by Shaun Barker.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Optical coherence tomography to phenotype small airways in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, led by Janice Leung.
BCKDF contribution: $124,382
Naturalistic neuroimaging of child psychiatric disorders, led by Tamara Vanderwal.
BCKDF contribution: $124,319
Healthy brain development in pre-term infants, led by Manon Ranger.
BCKDF contribution: $123,640
Infrastructure for design, characterization and structural integrity analysis of advanced out-of-autoclave composites, led by Yasmine Abdin.
BCKDF contribution: $122,974
Simulation-based modelling of the industrial, large-scale fibre reinforced polymer composite 3-D printing, led by Sergey Kravchenko.
BCKDF contribution: $122,353
Innovations for traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, led by Julia Schmidt.
BCKDF contribution: $120,596
Pediatric brain development and rehabilitation, led by Jill Zwicker.
BCKDF contribution: $120,384
Beyond ratings: A neurophysiology lab to assess the neurobiology of pain, led by John Kramer.
BCKDF contribution: $109,397
Environment economics research unit, led by Frederik Noack.
BCKDF contribution: $107,575
Language and development lab, led by Alexis Black.
BCKDF contribution: $92,999
Maximizing value creation from Canada’s forests, led by Dominik Roeser.
BCKDF contribution: $90,684
Communicable disease: An interdisciplinary history, led by Heidi Tworek.
BCKDF contribution: $81,016
Fluvial landscapes platform (LegoFlume), led by Marwan Hassan.
BCKDF contribution: $74,488
The Experimental Linguistics and Fieldwork Lab, led by Christopher Hammerly.
BCKDF contribution: $61,152
The BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) has awarded $2,777,618 for 23 research projects at the University of British Columbia – Okanagan campus. This investment helps ensure researchers at the University of British Columbia – Okanagan campus have access to state-of-the-art scientific equipment and infrastructure to be well-positioned to lead B.C. into the future.
Investigating the mechanobiology of diseases at the single-molecule level, led by Isaac Li.
BCKDF contribution: $200,000
Earth observation and spatial ecology lab, led by Mathieu Bourbonnais.
BCKDF contribution: $150,000
Next-generation pulmonary in-vitro 3-D models to unravel the role of cell-cell and multi-organ crosstalk in lung disease, led by Emmanuel Osei.
BCKDF contribution: $150,000
The Canadian arcminute resolution magnetoionic medium survey (CARMIMS), led by Alex Hill.
BCKDF contribution: $140,000
Advanced MRI hardware laboratory, led by Rebecca Feldman.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Basic and applied investigations of motor imagery to promote recovery after stroke, led by Sarah Kraeutner.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Development of crack-resistant high-strength aluminium alloys for laser metal deposition, led by Michael Benoit.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Laboratory of next-generation video surveillance for environmental monitoring, led by Shan Du.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Multifunctional borylenes for metal- and boron-mediated reactions, led by Conor Pranckevicius.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Site/ation Studio: Indigenous land as art, led by Tania Willard.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Toward autonomy and resilience of control systems using an Industry 4.0 platform, led by Ahmad Al-Dabbagh.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Ultrafast laser system for terahertz development in food applications, led by Christopher Collier.
BCKDF contribution: $125,000
Truth and Trust Lab: A request for observational, physiological and social judgment research infrastructure, led by Leanne Ten Brinke.
BCKDF contribution: $121,376
Laboratory for emerging research in aerial visual extended surveillance, led by Mohamed Shehata.
BCKDF contribution: $116,854
Critical Future Studio/Lab, led by Megan Smith.
BCKDF contribution: $116,800
Quantitative ecology laboratory with a focus on animal conservation, led by Michael Noonan.
BCKDF contribution: $114,842
Microfabrication for next-generation thin-film solar cells, led by Ian Foulds.
BCKDF contribution: $109,101
Sonic production, intelligence, research and applications lab (SPIRAL), led by Miles Thorogood.
BCKDF contribution: $106,222
DARE | Digital Archaeology Research Environment Lab, led by Neha Gupta.
BCKDF contribution: $106,078
Investigating parent-adolescent dynamics in the emotion dynamics lab, led by Jessica Lougheed.
BCKDF contribution: $92,187
Mining and verifying specification of complex software systems, led by Apurva Narayan.
BCKDF contribution: $91,850
Patient-oriented health economics research laboratory, led by Jennifer Davis.
BCKDF contribution: $85,168
Advanced co-located mobile interaction laboratory, led by Mohammad Khalad Hasan.
BCKDF contribution: $77,140
The BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) has awarded $396,557 for four research projects at the University of Northern British Columbia. This investment helps ensure researchers at the University of Northern British Columbia have access to state-of-the-art scientific equipment and infrastructure to be well-positioned to lead B.C. into the future.
Enhanced infrastructure for wood building vibration and acoustics research, led by Jianhui Zhou.
BCKDF contribution: $99,979
Terahertz innovation hub, led by Matthew Reid.
BCKDF contribution: $99,969
Integrated analysis of myelin gene expression at the DNA, RNA and protein level, led by Kendra Furber.
BCKDF contribution: $99,459
Monitoring extreme climate and hydrometeorological events (MECHE), led by Stephen Dery.
BCKDF contribution: $97,150
The BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) has awarded $1 million for a research project at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. This investment helps ensure researchers at Kwantlen Polytechnic University have access to state-of-the-art scientific equipment and infrastructure to be well-positioned to lead B.C. into the future.
Genomic and metabolomic solutions for B.C. agriculture, led by Paul Adams.
BCKDF contribution: $1 million
The BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) has awarded $927,552 for a research project at Langara College. This investment helps ensure researchers at Langara College have access to state-of-the-art scientific equipment and infrastructure to be well-positioned to lead B.C. into the future.
Applied science for the Canadian cannabis industry, led by Kelly Sveinson.
BCKDF contribution: $927,552
The BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) has awarded $218,823 for three research projects at Vancouver Island University. This investment helps ensure researchers at Vancouver Island University have access to state-of-the-art scientific equipment and infrastructure to be well-positioned to lead B.C. into the future.
Tri-kingdom eco-evolutionary dynamics and implications for conservation, led by Jasmine Janes.
BCKDF contribution: $142,434
The view from 2117: Human actions, consequences and perspectives on mountain regions, led by Lindsay McCunn.
BCKDF contribution: $59,429
The human dimensions of sustainability and resilience (Canadian Research Chair Tier 2) – supporting infrastructure, led by Sean Sloan.
BCKDF contribution: $16,960
The BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) has awarded $1,694,873 to 10 research projects at the University of Victoria. This investment helps ensure researchers at the University of Victoria have access to state-of-the-art scientific equipment and infrastructure to be well-positioned to lead B.C. into the future.
Four-dimensional imaging of brain structure and function in real time, led by Craig Brown.
BCKDF contribution: $330,000
Infrastructure to establish a molecular health research centre for study of public health priority areas, led by Caroline Cameron.
BCKDF contribution: $310,000
Protein structural biology and molecular interactions facility, led by John Burke.
BCKDF contribution: $180,000
Orbitrap modifications to improve performance for biomedical analysis, led by David Goodlett.
BCKDF contribution: $175,000
Public and environmental health sequencing facility, led by Caetano Dorea.
BCKDF contribution: $175,000
Understanding people’s relationships with data to design better information futures, led by Miguel Nacenta.
BCKDF Contribution: $175,000
Electron paramagnetic resonance characterization of sensitive chemical species and systems under inert and controlled illumination conditions, led by David Leitch.
BCKDF contribution: $120,000
An adaptive genomics platform for crop improvement, led by Gregory Owens.
BCKDF contribution: $100,000
Past wrongs, future choices, led by Jordan Stanger-Ross.
BCKDF contribution: $65,000
Restoration futures laboratory (RFL), led by Nancy Shackelford.
BCKDF contribution: $64,873
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Province invests in research infrastructure, innovation at post-secondary institutions | BC Gov News – BC Gov News
