Funding to fuel research and innovation

Funding Announcement

Funding to fuel research and innovation

Queen’s researchers have been awarded more than $5 million from Canada’s federal research funding agencies to support their groundbreaking work from advancing green energy to decoding judicial systems.

By Mikayla Schoner, Communications and Strategic Initiatives Assistant

September 20, 2024

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Kingston Hall, Queen's University campus

Queen's University

Recently, the federal government announced a $200 million investment to empower researchers at all stages of their research in tackling the world’s biggest challenges through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight programs. Researchers at Queen’s will be receiving $5.4 million to fund critical research infrastructure such as technology to study the impact of radiation in energy production and support exploratory research related to concepts like public law and the justice system.

“The Government of Canada will continue to empower researchers, students, and institutions by providing the resources and opportunities to advance their groundbreaking work,” says the François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry. “By investing in their growth and development, we are reinforcing Canada’s leadership in global research and innovation and paving the way for a more prosperous and sustainable future for everyone.”

The JELF program provides vital infrastructure support to help Canadian researchers remain at the forefront of innovation. It assists universities in their efforts to recruit and retain outstanding researchers, acquire the tools that enable their work, and offer them research support in combination with partner organizations.

Included in this round of funding is support for Queen’s newest Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC). Announced this past winter, Paul Kubes and Yanwen Zhang have joined Queen’s to establish globally leading research programs. Both will be receiving $800,000 from JELF to support the infrastructure critical to their research. Dr. Kubes (Sinclair Cancer Research Institute) is the CERC in Immunophysiology and Immunotherapy, studying how and why changes in a person’s immune cell biology can alter the stability of the body’s chemical and physical state to decipher the complex immune pathways involved in cancer, infection, and chronic disease. Dr. Zhang (Mechanical and Materials Engineering) is the CERC in Impact of Radiation in Energy and Advanced Technologies, researching the degradation of alloys in the high-intensity environments of nuclear reactors to inform ways to build them to be safer and longer-lasting.

SSHRC’s Insight Development Grants support research in its initial stages, enabling the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches, or ideas. Funding is provided for short-term research projects of up to two years. Whereas Insight Grants provide support for larger-scale research initiatives and offer funding for between two to five years with the intention to develop understanding from interdisciplinary perspectives and mobilize knowledge. There is also a significant focus on providing high-quality research training experiences for students.

“Queen’s researchers are working to address the world’s most significant challenges, such as developing novel cancer treatments and achieving a low-carbon future. We are grateful for the funding from CFI and SSHRC which is helping our researchers advance all stages of their work – from supporting initial experimentation to acquiring the equipment that enables discovery,” says Nancy Ross, Vice-Principal (Research).

These programs support innovative research projects that address complex issues by advancing scientific knowledge, developing cutting-edge technologies, and tackling issues of local, national, and global significance. Learn more about the funded Queen’s projects:

John R. Evans Leaders Fund

Pouya Amiri (Kinesiology and Health Studies): Technologies for Neuromusculoskeletal Disorders – $144,000

Élise Devoie (Civil Engineering): Permafrost Hydrogeology in a Changing Climate – $90,000

Sarah Dick (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences): Cardiac Macrophage Subset Maintenance and Expansion in the Healthy and Injured Heart – $175,000

Hesham Elsawy (Computing): Diverse, Perceptive, and Intelligent Wireless Infrastructure for 6G and Beyond – $220,000

Paul Kubes (Sinclair Cancer Research Institute): Imaging Immunity in Chronic Disease and Cancer – $800,000

Nir Rotenberg (Physics, Engineering Physics, and Astronomy): Integrated Photonics for Massive Entanglement Generation – $402,000

Aaron Shugar (Art History and Art Conservation): Developing an Analytical Imaging Laboratory for Cultural Heritage Science – $100,000

Xian Wang (Mechanical and Materials Engineering): Magnetic Micromanipulation System for Mechanical Measurement and Stimulation of Brain Tumor – $120,000

Stephanie Wright (Civil Engineering): The Fractured Rock and Cryo-hydrogeology Lab – $100,000

Xiaying Xin (Civil Engineering): Nanobubble-aided Advanced Photocatalytic Treatment for Emerging Contaminant Removal – $100,000

Yanwen Zhang (Mechanical and Materials Engineering): Impact of Radiation in Energy and Advanced Technologies – $800,000

SSHRC Insight

Sari van Anders (Psychology): Gender Diversity and Disparities in Youth Educational Experiences and Outcomes – $250,529

Julian Barling (Smith School of Business): Becoming a Leader (or Not): Navigating First-Time Leadership Role Transitions – $253,592

Scott Berthelette (History): Indigenous Slavery in the Galley Fleet of Louis XIV: A Global Haudenosaunee History – $63,945

Pilar Camargo Plazas (Nursing): Sound the Alarms! The Rampant Escalation of 'No Money for Food': A Participatory Approach to Addressing Canada's Commitment of Food Security for All – $213,429

Jan-Mathieu Carbon (Classics and Archaeology): GRAMI: Graeco-Roman-Anatolian Miracle Inscriptions – $32,720

Diana Córdoba (Global Development Studies): Beyond the Plantation: Making Black Geographies Visible in Colombian Land Use Planning – $99,999

Joshua Karton (Law): Contracts All the Way Down: A Contractarian Theory of Arbitration – $89,720

Steven Lehrer (Economics):  A Peek Inside the Black Box of How Air Pollution Affects Adolescent Academic Performance: Incorporating Changes in Brain Development – $94,971

Margaret Moore (Political Studies): Referendums in Divided Societies – $92,962

Ashwini Vasanthakumar (Law): Transitional Justice for Everyday Oppression: Applying the Tools of Transitional Justice to Address Structural Injustice – $109,003

Grégoire Webber (Law): Exploring our Shared Human Vulnerability: On the Responsibility of Government and Law's Foundations – $58,700

SSHRC Insight Development

Thomas Abrams (Sociology): Digitally Divided: Representation, Agency, and Exclusion in the Lives of Disabled Dating Platforms Users – $62,301

Amarnath Amarasingam (Political Studies; Religion): Coercion Without Borders: Transnational Repression and Diaspora Activism in Canada – $73,937

Sari van Anders (Psychology): Testing the Novel "Race/Ethnicity Configurations Theory" Framework – $67,448

Julia Brook (DAN School of Drama and Music): Affordances & Limits of Motion Capture Video Analysis of Older Adults in "Real-World" Music and Movement Contexts – $74,929

Kesha Fevrier (Geography and Planning): Exxon, Chevron, and Emerging Petrostates in the Caribbean: Rethinking Regional Energy Security and the Myth of a Just Energy Transition – $60,284

Paul Gardner (Political Studies): How Parliament Constrains the Supreme Court: The Limits of Judicial Independence in Canada – $44,330

Lisa Guenther (Philosophy): P4W/ The Garden Project – $70,000

Jamie Van Gulck (Civil Engineering): Exploring the Impact of Knowledge Waste Reduction on Municipal Waste Reduction in Panniqtuuq, Nunavut – $74,885

Bhargav Gopal (Smith School of Business): The Effect of Non-Compete Agreements on Wages, Job Separation, and Employer-Provided Investment – $45,550

Fauzia Husain (Sociology): Schools, Sex, and Muslim Belonging – $69,535

Shota Ichihashi (Economics): The Economic Impact of Algorithmic Decision Making by Consumers – $32,267

Ceren Kolsarici (Smith School of Business): Online Gambling Marketplaces, Consumer Addiction, and Government Regulation – $49,817

Eun-Young Lee (Kinesiology and Health Studies; Gender Studies): Nostalgic Bliss or Sustainable Shift: Rethinking Outdoor Play in the Age of Climate Change – $50,616

Cherie Metcalf (Law; Economics): Culture and Private Enforcement Rights for Public Law – $73,300

Kristin Moriah (English): "Breaking Loose": Black Self-Publishing in Canada – $55,273

Ali Na (Film and Media): Hauntologies of Empire: Site-specific Disorientations of Marseille's "Staircase of the Colonies" – $69,724

Ekin Ok (Smith School of Business): Time and Money Prediction Biases in Online Gambling and Sports Betting – $46,679

Arts and Humanities
Business and Economics
Health and Medicine
Law, Governance, and Public Policy
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Social Sciences
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