$24M for research infrastructure support announced

Ottawa, ON – June 29, 2004 – The Canada Foundation for Innovation’s board of directors today approved $23.8 million to support 124 projects involving 140 researchers at 40 research institutions across Canada.

The support is coming through two funds: $18.3 million from the new opportunities fund for infrastructure support to newly recruited academic staff; and $5.5 million from the infrastructure operating fund, which assists universities with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with new infrastructure projects.

“We can say with conviction that Canada is becoming a place where world-class researchers want to be,” says Carmen Charette, interim president and CEO of the CFI. “This CFI investment will further develop Canada’s global reputation as a place where outstanding research and training is being conducted.”

Since its creation in 1997, the CFI says it has invested more than $225 million through its new opportunities fund and provided 2,080 newly recruited faculty members with state-of-the-art equipment.

The investments announced today cover a wide spectrum of cutting-edge research. For example, in Alberta, researchers are tackling issues such as hepatitis C, West Nile virus, Norwalk virus, and SARS. Researchers in Newfoundland and Labrador will help make Canada a world leader in the development of an improved baby formula to treat premature babies with gastro-intestinal diseases.

A selection of the projects includes the following:

Brock University:
– Infrastructure for Integrative Study of Behavioural and Physiological Trait Evolution, $59,990
– Integrated Tools for the Asymmetric Catalysis Laboratory, $58,580

Carleton University:
– Facility for Enzyme Kinetics and Gene Regulation Studies Investigating Sulfur Amino Acid Metabolism, $201,779
– Police Research Laboratory (PRL), $214,212

Dalhousie University:
– An Advanced Testing System for Innovative Masonry Materials and Structures Research, $131,814
– Novel Organic Electronics Fabrication and Characterization Laboratory at Dalhousie University, $139,412
– Ultrafast Optical Parametric Amplifier Laser Facility for Studies of Spin Coherence in Semiconductor Nanostructures, $229,992

Ecole Polytechnique de Montral:
– Fluid-Structure Interactions in Multi-Phase Flows, 223 104 $

Lakehead University:
– Infra-Red (IR) Spectroscopy and Hydrothermal Experimental Facility, $125,914
– Laboratory for Particle Science and Technology, $73,588

Laurentian University / Universit Laurentienne:
– Equipment to Facilitate Food Web Studies of Boreal Lakes, $50,321
– Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology of Mammals: Individual and Genetic Approaches, $44,725
– Surface Infrared Spectrometer for Characterization of Chemistry at the Liquid/Solid Interface, $60,517

McGill University:
– Advanced Polymeric Materials Laboratory, $159,313
– Design Automation of High-Speed Electronic Circuits and Systems, $87,834
– Establishing a Laboratory to Study Neural Correlates of Animal Auditory Perceptual Development and Human Auditory Perception, $175,155
– Establishment of a Methodological Research and Training Centre for Understanding Complex Neural Dynamics and Structure in the Human Brain, $56,047
– Establishment of a Multidisciplinary Unit for the Study of Neurobiological Mechanisms Implicated in Drug Abuse and Schizophrenia, $143,444
– Infrastructure for a Bioinformatics Laboratory, $124,423
– Into the Treetops: A Mobile Lift System to Access Forest Canopies for Arthropod Ecology Research, $112,351
– Investigation and Development of Methods and Software Tools for Technical Listening Skills Used in the Subjective Evaluation and Control of Sound Quality, $106,461
– Molecular Mechanisms Governing Breast Cancer Metastasis to Bone, $163,364
– Optoelectronic Plethysmography and Respiratory Laboratory for the Study of Mechanics of Breathing and Musical Performances, $186,806
– Spatio-temporal Filtering Properties of Electrosensory Neurons in Weakly Electric Fish, $185,001

McMaster University:
– A Molecular Analysis of Intracellular Signal Transduction in Cancer Progression, $100,081
– Cognitive Ecology Laboratory, $120,000
– Infrastructure for an Integrative and Molecular Physiology Program Examining the Regulation of Metabolism in Response to Environmental Stress and Exercise, $120,000
– Molecular Mechanisms of Allergic Airway Inflammation, $80,000

Memorial University of Newfoundland:
– A State-of-the-art Gene Discovery Research Laboratory for Newfoundland and Labrador, $208,157
– Cellular Electrophysiology and Photostimulation System for Investigation of Central Mechanism of Body Weight Control, $133,931
– Infrastructure to Study Amino Acid Requirements of Infants and Children in States of Health and with Intestinal Injury, $71,774
– Speech Sciences and Language Acquisition Laboratory, $49,892

Nipissing University:
– Reactive Oxygen Metabolism, Gene Expression, and Aging, $75,107

Nova Scotia Agricultural College:
– Infrastructure for the Newly Established Tree-fruit Bio-product Research Program, $218,224

Okanagan University College:
– Proposal to Develop a Natural Products Technology Centre (NPTC) at OUC, $99,983
– Sedimentology and Applied Geomorphology Laboratory, $46,763

Queen’s University:
– Enzyme Mechanisms and Protein Engineering, $124,800
– Gastrointestinal Epithelial Response to Allergy: Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms, $60,000

Ryerson University:
– Distributed Applications and Broadband Networks Laboratory (DABNEL), $47,304
– Space Avionics and Instrumentation Laboratory (SAIL), $63,514

Simon Fraser University:
– Mathematics Educational Neuroscience Laboratory (MENL) , $200,000
– Ultra Wideband Spread-Spectrum System Laboratory, $200,000
– Virtual Reality Cognitive Laboratory, $200,000

St. Francis Xavier University:
– High-Performance Computing Facility for Studies of the Dynamics of Self-Assembly in Block Copolymers, $73,102

Trent University:
– Establishment of a Bioarchaeology Laboratory, $127,937
– Establishment of a Confocal Microscopy Facility for Studying Poxvirus Replication, $155,540

Universit Laval:
– Mise en place d’une plate-forme pour la recherche de pointe en virologie alimentaire, 300 972 $

Universit de Moncton:
– Infrastructure pour la recherche en interactivit Personne-Systme, applique l’assistance des usagers dficients, 54 582 $

Universit de Montral:
– Establishment of an Electroanalytical Laboratory for the Comprehensive Characterization of Electrode Reactions in Bioelectrocatalytic Systems, 90 639 $
– Installation of a Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Laboratory, 150 610 $
– Plasticit sensorimotrice dans le vieillissement normal et pathologique, 151 713 $

Universit de Sherbrooke:
– Immunological Memory: Role of Suppressor Of Cytokine Signaling 1 (SOCS1) in Regulating Memory T Lymphocyte Homeostasis, 125 402 $
– Laboratoire de ralit augmente et de traitement de la vido, 83 626 $
– Microfabrication Facility for High Temperature Superconductor and Semiconductor-superconductor Hybrid Devices for Applied and Fundamental Research, 139 070 $

Universit du QC Institut national de la rech. Scientifique:
– Laboratoire d’analyses paloclimatiques haute rsolution (LAPAHR), 439 230 $
– Laboratory for Single High Energy Attosecond Pulses – SHEAP, 355 888 $

Universit du Qubec Chicoutimi:
– Instauration d’un laboratoire de calcul haute performance pour la modlisation et simulation numrique grande chelle des problmes physiques incidence industrielle, 319 698 $

Universit du Qubec Montral:
– Plate-forme d’intelligence stratgique et d’apprentissage distribu sur les entreprises de biotechnologie, 247 494 $
– tude en temps rel de la rponse calcique des cellules ostoblastiques, 261 206 $

Universit du Qubec Rimouski:
– Laboratoire d’cologie microbienne de niveau II , 111 401
$

University of Alberta:
– Autonomic Research Laboratory to Support Pancreatic Islet Cell Transplant Research for Diabetes Mellitus, $122,680
Scanning Microscopy and Vibrational Spectroscopy for Molecular Device Research, $235,000

University of British Columbia:
– Multiaxial Test Frame for Measurement of Mechanical Response in Materials Containing Fine-scale Multiphase Microstructures, $97,697

University of Calgary:
– Facility for the Spectroscopic Studies of Radical Intermediates Formed in the Hot-wire Chemical Vapor Deposition of Semiconductor Thin Films, $303,853
– Protein Crystallization, Macromolecular Interaction and Drug Design Infrastructure, $222,146
– Reconfigurable Systems Laboratory for Manufacturing and Intelligent Automation Robotic Research, $83,929

University of Guelph:
– An Integrated Set-up for the Metabolic Profiling of Eine Lactic Acid Bacteria and Yeast, and the Bio-chemical Grape and Wine Characterization, $160,014
– Equipment for the Study of Visio-locomotor Control in Complex Environments Across the Lifespan, $77,846
– Infrastructure for the Comparative Proteomics of Yeast Fermentations, $125,001
– Infrastructure for the Investigation of Sickness Behaviour in Swine, $65,707

University of Manitoba:
– Dissection of Plant Light Response, $83,959
– Laboratory for the Study of Bioprocesses in Freezing and Thawing Soil, $104,697

University of Northern British Columbia:
– Northern Soil and Groundwater Remediation Research Laboratory (NORREL), $212,609
– RNA Conformation Changes During pre-mRNA Splicing, $153,353

University of Ottawa / Universit d’Ottawa:
– Impact of Reinforcement Corrosion on Serviceability and Strength of Reinforced Concrete Structures, $54,304
– Infrastructure for Advanced Research in Portable Non-invasive Biomedical Monitoring Technologies, $48,707
– Laboratory for Qualitative Research Methods in Environment and Health Geography, $66,958
– Optimal Shape Design Laboratory (OSDL), $53,065
– Tunable Diode Laser Spectroscopy for Combustion and Emissions Research, $84,199

University of Saskatchewan:
– Mechanisms and Modulation of Mitochondria-derived Oxidative Stress, $63,893
– Rock Mechanics Laboratory Enhancement for Research in the Sustainable Development and Exploitation of Energy Resources, $74,800

University of Toronto:
– Activity-Induced Plasticity of Inhibitory Synapses, $152,000
– Corrosion Kinetics and Morphology, $203,729
– Establishing a Functional Genomics Laboratory to Study the p53 Network Using C. Elegans as a Model System, $254,941
– Establishment of a Cell Biology Laboratory for Research into Mammalian Cell Polarity, $80,145
– Facility for Analysis of Vertebrate Development, $191,761
– Facility for the Multi-Level Analysis of the Neurobiology of Respiratory Motor Control During Sleep, $180,320
– Infrastructure to Support the Establishment of a Radiopharmaceutical Discovery and Development Laboratory for Translational Cancer Research, $168,143
– Intelligent Sensory Integrated Systems Laboratory, $101,031
– Laboratory for Scanning 3D Shape and Physics, $200,000
– Lymph Node Microenvironments and the Regulation of T Cell Responses, $124,000
– Novel Therapeutic Interventions for Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: Targeting Oxidants and Growth Factors, $148,670
– The Role of Mismatch Repair in Somatic Hypermutation of Antibody Genes, $122,043

University of Victoria:
– Advanced Mechatronic Systems and Control Laboratory (AMSCL), $266,924
– Cracking the Gene Regulation Code: Combining Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology to Identify and Test the Regulatory Roles of DNA Motifs in Vertebrate and Invertebrate Model Organisms, $148,736
Establishment of Molecular Oncology Laboratory, $224,898

University of Waterloo:
– Buildup of a Femtosecond Laser Spectroscopy Laboratory for Biological and Environmental Studies, $172,489
– Creation of a High Performance Computational Facility for Quantum Chemistry, $269,424
– Development of “Green” Nano-Technology for Nano-Structured Polymers, $128,458
– Impact of Geological Uncertainty on Achieving Regulatory Compliance Objectives Used to Control Subsurface Waste Disposal or Remediation Projects, $141,075
Providing Research Infrastructure for Mathematical Excellence, $630,429

University of Western Ontario:
– An Applied Data Research Facility for the Understanding, Prevention, and Treatment of Kidney Diseases, $199,399
– Genetic Applications to the Study of Mouse Models of Human Disease, $224,571
– Genetic, Molecular and Physiological Basis of Mental Retardation, $254,452
– Laboratory for Advanced Digital Signal Processing Research (LASPR), $154,079

University of Windsor:
– High Performance Computing Cluster for Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Research, $50,000
– LINUX PC Cluster for Computational Studies and Optimization of Nano-Mechanical and Industrial Systems, $64,323

York University:
– 3-D Canopy Measurement and Modeling Facility, $83,650
– Molecular Regulation of Myogenic Progenitor Cells, $212,865