University of Ottawa receives $2.3 million for research projects

Ottawa, December 16, 2009 — The University of Ottawa was awarded $2.3 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) in support of eight projects, part of a nationwide funding initiative by the CFI totalling almost $60,000,000 in support of 262 projects at 40 institutions across Canada.

This funding will be shared among eight prominent uOttawa researchers:

Jean-Claude Béïque, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, receives $399,939 for his project Imaging Memory Formation.
Pierre Berini, professor at the School of Information Technology and Engineering, receives $399,942 for his project named Nanophotonics Research Facility.
Steffany Bennett, associate professor in the Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, receives $363,608 for her project called Neurolipidomics: Targeting the Metabolic Underpinnings of Neurodegenerative Disease.
Sandro Gambarotta, professor in the Department of Chemistry, receives $322,524 for his project called Molecular Structures for the Chemistry of Tomorrow.
Michel Godin, assistant professor in the Department of Physics, receives $189,282 for his project named Laboratory for Micro- and Nano-Scale Biophysical Sensing.
Diane Lagace, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, receives $325,325 for her project called Molecular Determinants and Behavioural Implications of Neurogenesis throughout the Lifespan in Naïve and Pathological Conditions.
Michael Wolfson, newly recruited at the Faculty of Medicine, receives $273,926, for his project called Virtual Health Populomics Lab.
Andrew Wright, assistant professor in the Department of Visual Arts, will receive $54,964 for his project named High Resolution Still, Moving, and Stereo Image Capture and Dissemination through the Creation and Exhibition of Innovative Artworks.

“This well-deserved funding underlines the leading-edge work our researchers carry out,” said Mona Nemer, vice-president, research. “For one of Canada’s top research institutions, this money is crucial in retaining these researchers and supporting them as they become tomorrow’s leading innovators.”

The University of Ottawa is committed to research excellence and encourages an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge creation, which attracts the best academic talent from across Canada and around the world.

For more information about the Canada Foundation for Innovation, visit: http://www.innovation.ca/en