UCalgary receives federal funding for state-of-the-art research equipment

This week, Amarjeet Sohi, minister of infrastructure and communities, on behalf of Kirsty Duncan, minister of science and minister of sport and persons with disabilities, announced an investment of more than $42 million that will support 37 new projects at 186 universities and research hospitals across the country.

As part of this announcement, the University of Calgary will receive $810,000 to support five projects.

“I want to congratulate all of today’s recipients who will now have access to state-of-the-art tools and research infrastructure that will allow them to explore some of our most pressing questions. The answers they find contribute to the evidence our government needs to build a stronger economy and a more prosperous future for all people,” says Duncan in a news release.

The investments were made through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s (CFI) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), which helps universities attract and retain top researchers from around the globe — particularly early-career researchers — thanks to equipment that will give them a competitive advantage in their field.

“State-of-the-art facilities and equipment help us attract and retain innovative, driven researchers who share our priority of strengthening and diversifying our local, provincial and national communities for a better future,” says Ed McCauley, vice-president (research). “We thank the Canada Foundation for Innovation for its continued investment in research infrastructure that provides our scholars with the tools they need to pursue research of critical importance to Canadians.”

Kathy McCoy, PhD, is a UCalgary researcher in the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases and professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the Cumming School of Medicine, who received funding to support her research program. She studies the microbiome and how it influences human health and our susceptibility to disease — specifically, she looks at the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of the microbiome. McCoy is also the director of the International Microbiome Centre (IMC), which positions Alberta as a global leader in applied microbiome research. Research at the IMC has the potential to improve therapeutic and diagnostic technologies for our health and the environment, and trigger translational discoveries that will benefit millions of people in Alberta and also worldwide.

“This funding will have a huge impact on my research as it enables me to perform precise and in-depth experiments at the cutting edge of science that will greatly increase our understanding of the interactions between microbes and our immune system,” says McCoy.

Ultimately, the aim of her research program is to provide molecular information for the rationale design of microbial therapies aimed to decrease disease susceptibility, improve therapeutics, and promote health.

The full list of UCalgary CFI JELF recipients:

• Marie-Claire Arrieta, Cumming School of Medicine
• Kathy McCoy, Cumming School of Medicine
• Melanie Noel, Faculty of Arts
• William Brent Edwards, Faculty of Kinesiology
• Gareth Williams, Cumming School of Medicine