Prince George, B.C. – Six University of Northern British Columbia faculty members, including many early career researchers, received Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) grants to continue research into areas as diverse as the impacts of glyphosate-based herbicides to vibrations in mass timber floor systems.

“It is gratifying to see the success of some of our early-career faculty members as they undertake leading-edge research in their respective fields,” says UNBC interim President Dr. Geoff Payne. “Funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council provides essential support to our researchers at all stages of their careers as they make discoveries and add to the global body of knowledge.”

Ecosystem Science and Management Assistant Professor Dr. Lisa Wood received two grants related to her research into the use of glyphosate-based herbicides. She earned a $132,500 award from the Discovery Grant program and an additional $149,226 from the Research Tools and Instruments Grant for equipment.

Ecosystem Science and Management Assistant Professor Dr. Heather Bryan received a Discovery Grant valued at $152,500 for research into how environmental stressors in a changing landscape affect the interactions between parasites and their hosts.

Northern Medical Program Assistant Professor Dr. Kendra Furber was awarded a Discovery Grant worth $162,500 for her project titled, Molecular determinants of oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelination.

Dr. Jianhui Zhou, an Assistant Professor in the Master of Engineering in Integrated Wood Design program, received a Discovery Grant valued at $127,500 to study effective floor vibration design methods and efficient acoustic treatment solutions as part of the systematic design of mass timber floor systems.

Ecosystem Science and Management Professor Dr. Dezene Huber was awarded a $165,000 Discovery Grant to study how disturbances, like the mountain pine beetle or wildfires, are having on the biodiversity of the insects and spiders that call the forest home.

Ecosystem Science and Management Professor Dr. Russ Dawson received a Discovery Grant worth $200,000 to study how avian parents allocate resources to maximize lifetime reproductive output, and how environmental constraints influence these strategies.

“These grants are fantastic examples of how our researchers are making discoveries that relate directly to our experiences in northern British Columbia while at the same time having a global impact in their fields of study,” says UNBC acting Vice-President Research Dr. Kathy Lewis. “The projects will also support the recruitment and retention of outstanding graduate students and post-doctoral researchers at UNBC.”    

This research is directly funded by NSERC. The Research Support Fund, a tri-agency initiative of NSERC, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), assists Canadian post-secondary institutions and their affiliated research hospitals and institutes with the expenses associated with managing the research funded by these three federal research-granting agencies.