Meet the university’s 23 Canada Research Chairs
The federal government is investing $18.7 million in funding for 23 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs (CRCs) at the University of Toronto.
Researchers will use the funds to investigate everything from lung transplantation to the efficiency of wireless networks.
“The Canada Research Chairs program is a key component of the university’s efforts to attract and retain the world’s most promising researchers,” said Professor Peter Lewis, U of T’s associate vice-president, Research and Innovation. “We are grateful to the government of Canada for its continuing support of this program.”
The new CRCs are:
• Morgan Barense, Department of Psychology, CRC in Cognitive Neuroscience
• Kenneth Burch, Department of Physics, CRC in Spectroscopy of Novel Materials
• Brian Cox, Department of Physiology, CRC in Placental Development and Maternal-Foetal Health
• Marcelo Cypel, Department of Surgery and the University Health Network, CRC in Lung Transplantation
• Jason Fish, Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology and the University Health Network, CRC in Vascular Cell and Molecular Biology
• Glenn Hibbard, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, CRC in Cellular Hybrid Materials
• Ashish Khisti, Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, CRC in Wireless Networks
• David Lie, Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, CRC in Secure and Reliable Computer Systems
• Martin Pickavé, Department of Philosophy, CRC in Medieval Philosophy
• Michael Wilson, Department of Molecular Genetics and the Hospital for Sick Children, CRC in Comparative Genomics
• Minna Woo, Departments of Medicine and Medical Biophysics and University Health Network, CRC in Signal Transduction in Diabetes Pathogenesis.
U of T’s total number of Canada Research Chairs is 238, the largest number of any university in the country.
“Our government is committed to attracting and retaining the world’s best and brightest researchers, supporting innovation, creating jobs and strengthening our economy,” said Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology). “By investing in programs such as the Canada Research Chairs, we are fostering cutting-edge research and the generation of new innovations for the marketplace, for the benefit of Canadians.”
The announcement also included the advancement of two existing chairholders from Tier 2 to Tier 1. (Tier 1 Chairs are for outstanding researchers acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their fields. Tier 2 Chairs are for exceptional emerging researchers.) They are:
• Brendan Frey, Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Banting and Best Department of Medical Research, CRC in Biological Computation
• Wei Yu, Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, CRC in Information Theory and Wireless Communications.
Finally, 10 existing chairs were renewed:
• Maydianne Andrade, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, CRC in Integrative Behavioural Ecology
• Harald Bathelt, Department of Political Science, CRC in Innovation and Governance
• George Eleftheriades, Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, CRC in Microstructured and Nanostructured Metamaterials
• Patricia L. Howell, Department of Biochemistry and the Hospital for Sick Children, CRC in Structural Biology
• Stephen Kudla, Department of Mathematics, CRC in Automorphic Forms and Arithmetic Geometry
• Jeff Meyer, Department of Psychiatry and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, CRC of Neurochemistry of Major Depressive Disorder
• Peter Newman, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, CRC in Health and Social Justice
• Laurence Pelletier, Department of Molecular Genetics and Mount Sinai Hospital, CRC in Centrosome Biogenesis and Function,
• Ren-Ke Li, Department of Surgery and University Health Network, CRC in Cardiac Regeneration
• Molly Shoichet, Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry, and Institute of Biomaterials & Bioengineering, CRC in Tissue Engineering