The Short Report – Nov. 11th, 2020: IRAP receives $155M for COVID-impacted firms; U of Calgary's biosafety lab to reopen; and more...

COVID-19

The National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program is receiving an additional $155 million to extend support to Canadian businesses impacted by COVID-19. The extension of the IRAP Innovation Assistance Program will allow existing recipients meeting the eligibility criteria to access funding, on a priority basis, for the period of June 24, 2020 through December 19, 2020. In April, IRAP received $250 million, which it used to support over 2,200 firms that were not eligible for the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy program. – GoC

The federal government, members of industry and The Snyder Institute have provided funding through Western Economic Diversification Canada to reopen a Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) lab at the University of Calgary to continue vaccine and treatment research for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. – U of Calgary

The Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions is providing $23.3 million to the province’s 67 Community Business Development Corporations and Community Futures Development Corporations to help small- and medium-enterprises affected by the economic impacts of COVID-19. The funding is provided through the Regional Relief and Recovery Fund. - GoC

A new pilot program is matching college and university researchers with priorities of the City of Toronto as part of the COVID-19 response and recovery effort. The new partnership model was created by a working group chaired by Dr. Robert Luke, CEO of eCampusOntario. The first eight projects will study topics such as a low-cost decontamination process for personal protective equipment and ambient air quality impacts from COVID-19. Students who participate can earn micro-credentials. Funders include the Ontario Centres of Excellence, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Mitacs, Industrial Research Assistance Program and the Magnet career centre at Ryerson University. – eCampusOntario

Researchers at the Canadian Light Source and the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre are collaborating to understand how decontamination procedures affect the structure and potential reuse of N95 masks. The information will help in the development of more resilient masks and reusable masks.  – U of Sask

HEALTH            

The Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada, a Network of Centres of Excellence, partnered with Clearbridge Mobile to launch a web application to reduce emergency department visits and improve COVID-19 patient-driven care. The app allows patients and healthcare professionals to monitor, triage, and manage their treatment while limiting face-to-face interaction. - CANet

Mississauga-based Amgen Canada has launched the global pilot of a heart health app to support patients recovering from heart attacks. The app is the first-of-its-kind in Canada for heart attack survivors. – Amgen

Twenty neuroscientists in Canada have been awarded $100,000 each as part of Brain Canada’s Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research Program. The program is anchored by a $5-million gift from the Azrieli Foundation. Brain Canada will launch open funding competitions under this program every year for the next five years. – Brain Canada

QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY

Following their 2017 agreement to share quantum expertise through academic and business collaborations, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) have chosen eight competitions to share £2 million (UKRI) and $4.4 million (NSERC) in the first industry-led partnership between any two countries to develop quantum technologies. – NSERC

DIGITIZATION AND COMPUTING

The Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) and the National Heritage Digitization Strategy (NHDS) have transferred the NHDS secretariat to CRKN. The NHDS is a coalition of memory institutions sharing expertise and resources to support the digitization, preservation, and discovery of Canadian documentary heritage. Secretariat support for the NHDS was previously provided by Library and Archives Canada. - CRKN

NATURAL RESOURCES

The Great Lakes Protection Initiative will receive $5.1 million from the Canadian government to support 46 projects to protect and restore the Great Lakes through 2021. Key priorities are restoring areas of concern, preventing toxic and nuisance algae, reducing releases of harmful chemicals, engaging Indigenous Peoples on Great Lakes issues, and increasing public engagement through citizen science. – GoC

Over the next three years the newly-created Pan-Canadian Parks and Protected Areas Research Network (CPCIL) will share best practices and knowledge through an online platform and identify opportunities for collaboration on managing Canada’s protected areas. The network is comprised of scientists, researchers, Indigenous knowledge holders, students, and parks and protected areas specialists and managers. CPCIL is funded by the Canadian Parks Council and delivered by Mount Royal University’s Institute for Environmental Sustainability in collaboration with York University and the University of Moncton. – GoC

The Smart Freight Centre, a centre of excellence for goods movement, has announced a new research initiative, “CLUE: City Logistics for the Urban Economy,” funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.  Researchers will receive $11 million to study the movement of goods as they affect urban transportation policies in light of increased congestion on roadways due to delivery vehicles. The Smart Freight Centre is a collaboration between the Region of Peel, McMaster University DeGroote School of Business, the University of Toronto Transportation Research Institute and York University Lassonde School of Engineering. – Smart Freight Centre

THE GRAPEVINE

Dr. Kurt Samways at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) will hold the newly created Parks Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Restoration. The $500,000 chair is being funded through the Atlantic salmon recovery project. The chair will build on UNB’s focus on marine, coastal and freshwater science, and help students get hands-on experience in conservation biology and species at risk recovery. – UNB

Jennifer C. Hubbard has been appointed the new president of Polar Knowledge Canada while Joe Kunuk has been appointed chair. Karen Barnes, Kimberly Fairman and Jacqueline Pepper-Journal were appointed board members. Appointments were made by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of Northern Affairs and all appointments are for a period of five years.

Polar Knowledge Canada operates the Canadian High Arctic Research Station campus in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut and is responsible for advancing Canada's knowledge of the Arctic, strengthening Canadian leadership in polar science and technology and promoting knowledge of other circumpolar regions, including Antarctica. – GoC

Brigit Viens has been appointed director of the Strategic Development Initiatives office within the Office of the Vice-President, Research at the University of Ottawa. Viens has more than 20 years of experience in management and programs administration within funding agencies, including the Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Canadian Heritage and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council. She was most recently deputy director at the NCE.

Dr. Elena Verdu (McMaster University) has won the 2020 Outstanding Researcher award from Crohn’s and Colitis Canada and Pfizer for her contributions to inflammatory bowel disease research.   The Emerging Researcher award was given to Dr. Vivian Huang of Toronto’s University Health Network. – Crohn’s and Colitis Canada