UBC Applied Science projects receive $3M in research infrastructure investment

Nineteen UBC Applied Science research projects to improve people’s health and safety have been awarded over $2.9 million in research infrastructure support through the BC Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF).

The projects – led by professors in the School of Nursing, chemical and biological engineering, materials engineering, mechanical engineering, the School of Biomedical Engineering, and UBC Okanagan School of Engineering – tackle issues ranging from women’s cancers and preterm infant health to senior care, 3D printing and next-generation solar cells.

“We are fortunate to have world-class talent at many of our post-secondary institutions,” said Anne Kang, Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training in the provincial release. “By providing funding for new infrastructure through the BC Knowledge Development Fund, our researchers are able to acquire new state-of-the-art equipment that will help people and industry be future ready.”

Established in 1998, the BCKDF supports the development of vital research infrastructure, like labs and equipment, at public post-secondary institutions, research hospitals and affiliated non-profit agencies in British Columbia. The support helps to attract researchers, skilled technicians and research users, as well as foster innovation and collaborations with industry.

This year, 78 UBC-led projects were awarded a total of $20 million through the Fund.

The 19 UBC Applied Science-affiliated projects and their leads are:
 

• RNA Enhancement and Clinical Translation (REACT) Platform
  Anna Blakney (Biomedical Engineering / Michael Smith Laboratories)
  BCKDF contribution: $125,000
   
• CRC in Engineered Immune Tolerance
  Megan Levings (Biomedical Engineering / Surgery / BC Children's Hospital)
  BCKDF contribution: $125,000
   
• Control and instrumentation infrastructure for high-speed bearingless motors research
  Minkyun Noh (Mechanical Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $125,000
   
• Cell Competition Analysis Platform
  Nika Shakiba (Biomedical Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $125,000
   
• Controlling the reaction environment in sustainable catalytic processes to produce fuels, chemicals, and power
  David Upham (Chemical and Biological Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $159,821
   
• AI-driven platform for translating precision medicine discoveries in women’s cancers
  Ali Bashashati (Biomedical Engineering  / Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
  BCKDF contribution: $325,000
   
• Developing Breath as a Diagnostic Paradigm for Human Health
  Jane Hill (Biomedical Engineering / Chemical and Biological Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $240,000
   
• Healthy Brain Development in Preterm Infants
  Manon Ranger (Nursing / BC Children's Hospital)
  BCKDF contribution: $123,640
   
• Probing the interaction between representations and behaviour underlying navigation
  Manu Sasidharan Madhav (Biomedical Engineering / Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health)
  BCKDF contribution: $125,000
   
• Advanced Bioproducts from Canadian Forests
  Johan Foster (Chemical and Biological Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $400,000
   
• CIHR Partnership Grant CRC in Senior Care
  Lillian Hung (Nursing)
  BCKDF contribution: $125,000
   
• Infrastructure for design, characterization and structural integrity analysis of advanced out-of-autoclave composites
  Yasmine Abdin (Materials Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $122,974
   
• Simulation-based modelling of the industrial, large-scale fibre reinforced polymer composite 3D printing
  Sergey Kravchenko (Materials Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $122,353
   
• Wearable systems to characterize sensorimotor response to impulsive loads
  Calvin Kuo (Biomedical Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $125,000
   
• Mining and Verifying Specification of Complex Software Systems
  Apurva Narayan (UBCO School of Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $91,850
   
• Development of Crack-Resistant High Strength Aluminium Alloys for Laser Metal Deposition
  Michael Benoit (UBCO School of Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $125,000
   
• Toward Autonomy and Resilience of Control Systems Using an Industry 4.0 Platform
  Ahmad Al-Dabbagh (UBCO School of Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $125,000
   
• Ultrafast laser system for terahertz development in food applications
  Christopher Collier (UBCO School of Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $125,000
   
• Microfabrication for next-generation thin film solar cells
  Ian Foulds (UBCO School of Engineering)
  BCKDF contribution: $109,101

The Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (CFI JELF) also awarded $4.6 million to 20 UBC projects, including six led by Applied Science. This includes five of the BCKDF-funded projects led by Yasmine Abdin, Chris Collier, Ian Foulds, Sergey Kravchenko, and Calvin Kuo above.

The sixth project awarded by CFI JELF is:

• Infrastructure for AI-integrated Point of Care Ultrasound Imaging for Decentralized Healthcare
  Ilker Hacihaliloglu (School of Biomedical Engineering / Radiology)