The Government of Canada has made a $1.9 million investment in the innovative ideas of eight early-career researchers from Dalhousie.

It’s part of the New Frontiers in Research Fund. Launched in December 2018, the new funding includes an investment of $275 million over the next five years, and $65 million per year ongoing, to support research that is international, interdisciplinary, fast-breaking and high-risk.  It also represents a fundamental shift in how Canada invests in research and supports collaboration among non-traditional partners.

The researchers from Dalhousie are among the first 135 early career researchers to receive the funding. The recipients were announced by The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, on Monday, May 13.

The initial investment of $38 million will support early career researchers with five years or less of experience since their first academic appointment. Each recipient will receive up to $250,000 over the next two years.

“I am pleased to celebrate the very first researchers to benefit from the New Frontiers in Research Fund,” said the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, in a news release. “Our government’s vision is for our researchers to take risks and be innovative. We want our scientists and students to have access to state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment, and we want the halls of academia to better reflect the diversity of Canada itself. This new fund will help us achieve that vision.”

Successfully funded researchers include:

Dr. Nandika Bandara
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Agriculture
Project: Renewable Feather Keratin Based Advanced Functional Materials: Nano-Reinforced, Biomimetically Modified Keratin/Chitosan Polymer Blends as wound Healing Material

Dr. Erin Bertrand
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science
Project: Glacier Meltwater Impacts on Marine Ecosystem Productivity in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Molecular, Indigenous, and Oceanographic Perspectives.

Dr. Kimberly Brewer
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine
Project: Novel PET/MRI-Based Radiomic Biomarkers for Gioblastoma Immunotherapy

Dr. Mita Dasong
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Science
Project: Plasmon-Enhanced Electrochemical Conversion of Nitrogen to Ammonia using Ceramic Nanoparticles

Dr. John Frampton
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine
Project: Flexible Biomaterial Fibers for Nerve Repair and Regeneration

Dr. Ghada Koleilat
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Engineering
Project: Self-Regenerative High-Efficiency Solar Cells

Dr. David Langelann
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine
Project: Rhodoquinone Biosynthesis as an Unorthodox Treatment for Microbial Infection and Oxygen Deprivation

Dr. Mikiko Terashima
Assistant Professor; Graduate Program Coordinator, Faculty of Architecture and Planning
Project: A Tactical Urbanism Approach to Assessing the Value of Accessible Public Spaces

For more information about the New Frontiers in Research Fund, visit the website.