$2.4M federal boost for Trent University research
NSERC Discovery Grant for 12 Trent scientists annouced
A dozen scientists at Trent University received $2.4 million in federal research funding on Tuesday to continue their work.
The research spans from biology to chemistry, touching on studies about the evolution and ecology of plant reproductive strategies to the fate of mercury on the environment.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grant will allow the scientists to plug away in their labs for the next five years.
Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef announced the funding at Trent’s science building Tuesday afternoon.
Monsef first took a trip to a lab to learn about the research happening there.
The MP said she believes there’s a place for research that’s conducted in small institutions, such as Trent – Monsef ’s alma mater.
“I think research coming from small institutions … is a significant aspect of the diverse range ideas that our country needs to be pursuing,” she said.
Spending on research at Trent is a vote of confidence in researchers at Trent, Monsef also stated.
That’s how Neil Emery feels, too. He’s the vice-president of research and innovation at Trent and a biology professor.
He’s also one of the 12 scientists to receive funding.
“The discovery grant program is really validation by Canadian peer scientists,” Emery said.
The professor is researching microbes, such as bacteria and viruses, that produce growth promoting hormones that make crop plants grow.
“So, if you add these bacteria to soy beans they can improve growth and yields in soy beans,” he said, as an example.
Emery has received NSERC’s Discovery Grant since 2000, reapplying every four years or so.
Christina Davy, who studies conservation ecology and wildlife conservation, also received money for her work.
Davy, a research scientist with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, works out of a Trent lab to collaborate with
Trent faculty.
She’s also an adjunct professor in environmental and life sciences at Trent. She supervises and shares a lab with graduate students who do additional research with the same resources.
Davy will use the funds to pay the grad students a better wage for their work. That way they won’t have to hold down a job while going to school.
“It means that I can support graduate students and they can focus on their studies while they’re doing this … and they can get the most out of it.”