Canadian scientists and scholars win Killam Research Fellowships (February 20, 2008)

Ottawa, ON – Ten Canadian researchers have been awarded a total of $700,000 in the 41st annual competition for Killam Research Fellowships, administered by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Among Canada’s most distinguished research awards, the Canada Council for the Arts Killam Research Fellowships are made possible by a bequest of Mrs Dorothy J Killam and a gift she made before her death in 1965. The awards support scholars engaged in research projects of outstanding merit in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, engineering and interdisciplinary studies within these fields.

Killam Research Fellowships, with a value of $70,000 a year, enable Canada’s best scientists and scholars to devote two years to full-time research. The fellowships are awarded to the individual recipients, but the funds are paid to and administered by universities or research institutes. The recipients are chosen by the Killam Selection Committee, which comprises 14 eminent scientists and scholars representing a broad range of disciplines.

The science- and mathematics-related Killam Research Fellows for 2008 are as follows:

Biology: Beatty, J Tom, University of British Columbia: The High Resolution, 3-D Structure of a Protein Complex Essential for Conversion of Light to Chemical Energy in Photosynthesis

Chemical Engineering: Shoichet, Molly, University of Toronto: Three Dimensional Presentation of Immobilized Growth Factors to Guide and Control Cell Differentiation

Environmental Management: Rood, Stewart B, University of Lethbridge: Flowing to the Future: Impacts of Climate Change and River Regulation on Floodplain Forests in Western North America

Environmental Microbiology: Edwards, Elizabeth A, University of Toronto: Bioremediation in the 21st Century: Contaminant-Degrading Processes Revealed Through Metagenomic Analysis of Microbial Consortia

Pharmacology, Physiology: Funk, Colin D, Queen’s University: Sorting Out the Cardiovascular Consequences of COX-2 Inhibition: Towards a New Generation of Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Pain Therapies

Pure Mathematics: Darmon, Henri, McGill University: Elliptic Curves, Modular Forms and Algebraic Cycles