Alliance researchers awarded funding from NSERC CREATE

Researchers at the University of Guelph have been awarded over $25.4 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR).

This funding is part of a $1.3 billion investment announced on July 9 by Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions and Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health that will support over 9,700 researchers and projects across Canada. 

“This investment will help fuel our mission to advance science, research and innovation,” says Dr. Shayan Sharif, interim vice-president, research & innovation. “It provides critical capacity to support research excellence across multiple disciplines – from artificial intelligence, food security and social justice to climate change and human and animal health.”

NSERC CREATE Program

For the first time since 2018, two U of G researchers received funding from the Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program. The program encourages collaboration and integration between large and medium or small-sized institutions and helps new researchers transition into the workforce. Each will receive $1.65 million in funding over six years.

• Alliance cybersecurity initiative leader Dr. Ali Dehghantanha, professor in the School of Computer Science, College of Computational, Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CCMPS) will build a cohesive, dynamic training program focused on cybersecurity, reliability and equity in smart agriculture. This six-year-long training program, SECURE-AGRO, aims to train over 100 students across Canada with the knowledge and skills needed to develop secure, dependable and reliable technologies that support smart agriculture activities. Dehghantanha leads cybersecurity initiatives at Ontario's agri-food research centres.
• Alliance Research Program Director Dr. Iris Joye, alongside Drs. Biniam Kebede and Alice Marciniak, professors in the Department of Food Science, Ontario Agricultural College (OAC), and colleagues from the University of Manitoba and University of Saskatchewan will create a multi-university training network ‘The Future is Gree(ai)n’ for students and researchers to advance green processing methods in the grain industry – a major part of Canada’s agri-food system. 

See the full list of 50 U of G researchers who were awarded funding for projects like discovering bee gut microbiomes, enhancing the resilience of livestock and aquaculture species to stressors, and understanding pollen-associated microbiome inheritance in corn.

Read the story: U of G Receives $25.4M for Cybersecurity, Sustainability, Social Justice, Health - U of G News