August 13, 2007

ONTARIO RESEARCH FUND – RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM

The McGuinty government is helping researchers obtain the tools they need to stay on the forefront of innovation, including lab space, equipment and computer software through the Research Infrastructure program of the Ontario Research Fund. This round of funding under the program will provide $1,634,355 to support 10 world-class projects in Guelph.

University of Guelph

Centre for Organizational Studies
Developing new strategies for the changing workplace

Lead researcher: David Stanley and Harjinder Gill
Total project cost: $533,681
Provincial funding: $213,473

Ontario workplaces are changing rapidly and improved organizational practices are needed that benefit employees, organizations and communities. At the University of Guelph’s new Centre for Organizational Studies, researchers under the direction of Drs. David Stanley and Harjinder Gill are collaborating with psychologists at the University of Western Ontario and the University of Leeds in the U.K. to improve workplace effectiveness as well as job satisfaction for Ontario employees. The goal is to develop practical suggestions for managers that will improve organizational performance.

Computational Biomathematics Laboratory: Workstations and Compute Server
Adding computer processing resources to power new research

Lead researcher: Hermann J. Eberl
Total project cost: $300,969
Provincial funding: $119,014

Today’s leading-edge research requires tremendous computer processing power to manage huge amounts of data. At the University of Guelph, scientists under the direction of Dr. Hermann Eberl are combining their expertise in mathematics, life sciences and engineering to discover improved methods of wastewater treatment, soil remediation and food processing hygiene. A new server and five high-end Linux workstations will enable the team to develop innovative computer simulation tools and to carry out vital research experiments.

Infrastructure to Support Strain Measurements in Orthopaedic Soft Tissue
Reducing the impact of osteoarthritis

Lead researcher: Karen Gordon
Total project cost: $320,348
Provincial funding: $127,953

More than three million Canadians suffer from osteoarthritis, the biggest musculoskeletal problem in the Western Hemisphere and that number is growing as our population ages. At the University of Guelph, Dr. Karen Gordon has launched a ground-breaking research program that uses non-invasive technologies to measure the changing stresses and strains osteoarthritis places on ligaments and other soft tissues as the disease progresses. Working in collaboration with scientists from the fields of engineering, human health sciences and veterinary medicine, Dr. Gordon anticipates her multidisciplinary approach will produce a greater understanding of how osteoarthritis develops and how to better target and develop more effective treatments.

Integrated Program for Studies on Turfgrass Physiology, Integrated Pest Management and Soil Microbiology for the Purpose of Developing Environmentally Sound Urban Landscape Systems
Developing tougher turfgrass for our parks and urban ecosystems

Lead researcher: Katerina S. Jordan and Eric Lyons
Total project cost: $617,361
Provincial funding: $246,945

Turfgrass is one of the most common ground covers in urban environments. It’s also the key product of a multibillion-dollar industry in Ontario. But declining water availability, potential nutrient pollution from leaching and run-off, and public perception of pesticide and fertilizer use are critical challenges to the industry’s future and the future of turfgrass in our urban landscape. Now scientists at the University of Guelph, led by Drs. Katerina Jordan and Eric Lyons, have launched an innovative research program that will investigate various turfgrass ecosystems and help evaluate new turfgrass varieties that are better suited for Ontario’s climate and environment. The goal is to help create a more sustainable urban landscape in which turfgrass remains a vital element, from our lawns to neighbourhood parks to roadside green spaces.

Protein Structural Biology Facility
Finding new applications for designer proteins

Lead researcher: Steffen Graether and Matthew Kimber
Total project cost: $626,683
Provincial funding: $250,672

Over the past few years, a better understanding of protein structures has allowed scientists to design proteins with specific functions and to create effective new drugs targeting a variety of diseases. At the University of Guelph, Drs. Steffen Graether and Matthew Kimber are using the new, state-of-the-art lab equipment to investigate several significant protein structure challenges. They are working with academic and industry partners to identify potential “antifreeze” proteins that could extend the growing season for key Ontario crops.  The team is also developing novel antimicrobial proteins that could lead to innovative medical treatments.

Genomic Diversity Laboratory
Tracking the variety of species at the molecular level

Lead researchers: T.R. Gregory and R.H. Hanner
Total project cost: $625,959
Provincial funding: $249,586

As scientists become more aware of how profoundly human activities are affecting the diversity of life on earth, they are also honing powerful tools to study that diversity. University of Guelph biologists T. Ryan Gregory and Robert Hanner are outfitting a facility with the latest technology to study biodiversity from a genetic perspective.  First, they will be advancing methods for identifying species by their DNA, an approach that has been pioneered by researchers at Guelph and which is accelerating our ability to take stock of the biodiversity of Canada's lands and waters.  Second, they will be developing a high-throughput facility for quantifying genome size, or the amount of DNA in each species' chromosomes.  This varies more than 3,000-fold in animals and has remained a puzzle in genetics for over half a century.

Usability and Testing of Context Aware and Adaptive System
Giving our computers a broader perspective

Lead researcher: Judi McCuaig
Total project cost: $160,057
Provincial funding: $64,023

As powerful and efficient as many of our computer systems may be, they are poorly connected to the world at large, which hinders their effectiveness. Software that helps users schedule package delivery, for example, could incorporate information about an upcoming holiday or impending weather patterns that might delay delivery.  The software could then suggest alternate arrangements to the user to ensure a timely delivery.  Making use of  this kind of larger context is one of the latest frontiers of computer software design, an area that Guelph University Computing and Information Science Professor Judi McCuaig will frame. She and her team are establishing a computer laboratory that will look at ways of incorporating context into interactions between humans and computers, taking into account the myriad information that is available  including location, goals and possibly even the emotional state  of individual users.  In particular, such capabilities could especially enhance the practical value of mobile computing devices, which are widely used as well as manufactured in Ontario.

Genetic Determinants of Infectious Disease Susceptibility in Swine
Seeking the basis of healthier livestock

Lead researcher: Andrew Brooks
Total project cost: $288,603
Provincial funding: $115,141

Ontario’s swine industry, which provided some $4 billion and 33,000 jobs to the province’s economy in 2006, must cope with the challenges of infectious diseases affecting livestock. Many of these animals are innately resistant to such diseases, a trait that could be associated with genetic features that could then be used to breed much healthier future generations of pigs. Andrew Brooks, a member of the Pathobiology Department at Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College, is developing a research program that will seek out these desirable genotypes. By selecting swine with natural resistance, they would need to take fewer antibiotics than they do today, a factor that prevents pork exports to some markets. Based on the success of this approach, the identification of disease resistance could also be applied in the province’s cattle and poultry industries.

Starch Biology Laboratory
Revealing hidden dimensions of plant production

Lead researcher: Ian J. Tetlow
Total project cost: $308,572
Provincial funding: $123,429

As a foodstuff and a raw material for many industrial processes, starch is among the most important products synthesized by plants. Yet we know little about how plants produce the highly ordered starch granules we find so useful. University of Guelph biologist Ian Tetlow has already shed some light on this question, which has become the theme of a new facility dedicated to the biological production of starch. He and his team are looking forward to working directly with the cellular mechanisms that regulate this production, with the goal of improving both the quality and quantity of the resulting starch. Foods could eventually incorporate new types of starches that modulate digestion by our bodies, mitigating some of the problems posed by ailments such as colonic cancer and diabetes.

Infrastructure for the Study of Diversity in Cryptic Plants and the Development of Modern Molecular Taxonomic Tools
Identifying Ontario’s unknown botanic resources

Lead researcher: Steven Newmaster
Total project cost: $310,300
Provincial funding: $124,119

Many plant species resist straightforward classification, falling into a challenging category dubbed “cryptic”. Such plants are now being addressed with tools developed for analysing genomes, making it possible to classify these species in a much more efficient and systematic way. University of Guelph biologist Steven Newmaster will be integrating the work of a large number of field stations throughout Ontario to characterize many formerly unknown lichens, fungi and algae. The emerging database of new plants is expected to help the province’s forest industry develop new approaches to removing trees while retaining the native biodiversity of the landscape, as well as providing data essential to assessing the effects of climate change and invasive species. The molecular techniques being used by Newmaster and his team will also help Ontario herb growers  identify  potentially toxic constituents in their products, which will contribute to increased food safety.

Ontario Research Fund

The McGuinty government is investing $527 million over five years through the Ontario Research Fund. The fund is a key part of the government’s plan to promote scientific excellence by supporting research that can be developed into innovative goods and services that will boost Ontario’s economy. The fund also helps researchers move new ideas from Ontario’s labs to the global marketplace.

The fund provides one window for research funding. Proposals for funding are evaluated through a competitive, peer-review process.

The province matches funding commitments made by the Canada Foundation for Innovation through the Research Infrastructure program. Project funding is shared among the Canada Foundation for Innovation (up to 40 per cent), the province (up to 40 per cent), and the research institutions and industry partners (at least 20 per cent).

For more information about the Ontario Research Fund, please visit www.ontario.ca/innovation.