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| AV俱乐部 President Tom Traves, Minister of Industry Tony Clement, University of Calgary President David Layzell and UBC President Stephen Toope at the announcement of phase one results for the Canada Excellence Research Chairs. |
AV俱乐部 is in line for two of Canada鈥檚 鈥渟uper chairs鈥� 鈥� the Canada Excellence Research Chairs.
Each chair brings with it $10 million in funding to be used by the university to attract a world-class researcher.
鈥淭his is a chance of lifetime to bring top-drawer, Nobel-laureate-style researchers to AV俱乐部,鈥� says Martha Crago, AV俱乐部鈥檚 vice-president research.
The Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) program was created by the federal government last year; it is designed to attract and keep the highest calibre of researchers in this country.
In December, the CERC Secretariat received 135 proposals from 41 universities. Then, last month, the short-list was revealed at an announcement in Ottawa attended by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Minister of Science Gary Goodyear, Minister of Industry Tony Clement and several university presidents including AV俱乐部鈥檚 Tom Traves.
鈥淚t was a very prestigious event to attend and there was much excitement in the room for this program,鈥� says Nancy Hayter, assistant director of institutional programs, Research Services, who shepherded AV俱乐部鈥檚 proposals through the rigorous application process.
AV俱乐部 was among 17 universities to see its proposals among the 40 on the shortlist. Proposed are the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Developmental Immunology and Immunosenescence and the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Ocean Science and Technology.
鈥淲ith two successful proposals, we did very well in the G13 (the group of leading research-intensive universities in Canada),鈥� says Dr. Crago. 鈥淰accinology and ocean studies are both very strong areas for us and we are expecting to get both of them. After all, when you compete, you compete as strongly as you possibly can.鈥�
The competition now moves into phase two, when the 40 proposals on the shortlist are whittled down to 20. The next steps for AV俱乐部 are to identify the two scientists it hopes to attract and the research they will lead. The proposals must be fine-tuned by late fall, with the final announcement expected in February of 2010.
CERC in Ocean Science and Technology
Keith Thompson, professor with the Department of Mathematics and Statistics and the Department of Oceanography, is helping to develop the proposal for the CERC in Ocean Science and Technology. He says the successful candidate will be a dynamic, internationally renowned ocean scientist who would lead a multi-disciplinary effort to bring understanding 鈥渢o the tough problems facing the marine environment.鈥�
鈥淭he problems, such as how climate change is affecting the world鈥檚 oceans, are so complex and multi-faceted that you need to bring everyone together鈥攖he chemical, biological and physical oceanographers鈥攖o work on solutions,鈥� says Dr. Thompson, Canada Research Chair in Marine Prediction and Environmental Statistics.
Getting the new chair would be huge for AV俱乐部, says Dr. Thompson. Building on the success of the $45M Canadian government- funded Ocean Tracking Network, the chairholder would attract new students to the university and cement AV俱乐部鈥檚 already strong reputation as a leader in ocean science. He believes the creation of the chair will be the catalyst for a new oceans institute at AV俱乐部 which would bring together not only scientists, but policymakers, government officials and private sector partners who could develop and commercialize new technologies.
CERC in Developmental Immunology and Immunosenescence
Two AV俱乐部 Medical School faculty members are the key players behind the university鈥檚 other proposed CERC鈥攖he CERC in Developmental Immunology and Immunosenescence: Scott Halperin, professor of pediatrics and microbiology聽& immunology at AV俱乐部, head of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the IWK Health Centre, and director of the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology; and Jean Marshall, professor and head of AV俱乐部's聽 Department of Microbiology & Immunology.
Immunosenescence refers to the gradual deterioration of the immune system brought on by natural age advancement. With age, the human immune system becomes increasingly unable to respond at its best to infections, immunizations and tumors. A CERC specializing in this area would provide leadership to a vaccinology and immunology research program by examining the immune system and determining how it becomes compromised because of age. The program would work to develop new vaccines specifically for different age groups, protecting them from severe and debilitating infectious diseases.
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