From genetic mapping to wind turbines, the University of British Columbia (UBC) has received $26.9 million toward 70 research infrastructure projects from the BC Knowledge Development Fund in 2014.

“Our government invests in innovation to grow and diversify our economy,” said Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services Andrew Wilkinson. “Development of research and innovation into commercial opportunities leads to the jobs and investments that make the technology sector a major contributor to the provincial economy.”

The BC Knowledge Development Fund was created in 1998 to help maintain B.C. as a leader in science and research. This year’s grant to UBC will support a wide range of specializations including cancer genomics treatments, fuel cell technology and planetary sciences.

“B.C. is home to world-class research that benefits our economy, our families and our future,” said Advanced Education Minister Amrik Virk. “Because of this funding, leading researchers will be working on important projects such as personalizing treatment for cancer patients and mapping the known universe. The knowledge and results gained from research projects funded at UBC will benefit our province, our country and even the world.”

Since 2001, government has invested more than $2 billion in research and innovation in B.C., leveraging an additional $1 billion in research funding from other sources, for a total of $3 billion. Of that total, $550 million has been awarded through the BC Knowledge Development Fund.

“Investment in such projects at UBC is having a transformative impact,” said UBC president, professor Arvind Gupta. “It is spurring innovation that makes B.C. a leader in areas as diverse as renewable energy and the treatment of devastating diseases. This in turn attracts more research and talent, enhancing the social and economic fabric that benefits all British Columbians.”

Learn More:

British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund: www.gov.bc.ca/citz/technologyandinnovation/Funding/BCKDF/index.html

Media Contacts:

Melody Wey
Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services
250 508-5030

Susan Danard
Director of Public Relations
University of British Columbia
604 822-2064

BACKGROUNDER

University of British Columbia - BC Knowledge Development Fund Projects

Large Research Infrastructure Projects

• Digital Radio Telescope for CHIME - Three Dimensional Mapping of the Largest Volume of the Universe to Date will study the dark-energy driven acceleration of the expansion of the universe - $1,685,372
• Envirotron for Plant Adaptation Research is a facility for growing plants under precise environmental conditions - $1,061,030
• Genomic Approaches to Personalizing Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment to support the personalization of cancer treatments - $5,681,816
• Immune System Polymorphism and Host/Pathogen Interactions to develop new vaccines against diseases - $2,104,522
• Molecules to Human: Enhanced Phenotyping will support research on heart, lung and blood vessel disease - $2,498,597
• Quantum Materials and Devices in the Microkelvin Regime will help to build the coldest experimental platform for electronics measurement in Canada for ultra-low temperatures - $659,400
• Quantum Materials Devices Foundry will contribute to training the new generation of scientists and engineers for quantum materials - $1,739,738
• Super Resolution Microscopy; Breaking the Diffraction Barrier by building a pioneering instrument for super-resolution imaging deep within living tissue - $1,407,645
• Systems Analysis of Single Stem Cells will apply the expanding power of live-cell imaging to thousands of single cells at once to help with improving drug responses and make personalized medicine a success - $2,977,910

Small Research Infrastructure Projects

• Aqueous Biomass Conversion Laboratory to research a program that creates biochemical and biofuels from biomass produced by the forestry industry - $152,972
• Biochemistry Laboratory for Exercise Metabolism and Inflammation Research to understand how impaired metabolic health in obesity contributes to inflammation and to study the therapeutic benefits of exercise - $125,000
• Bioinformatics on Next Generation Intel Multi-Core Central Processing to support a faster and more efficient version of a DNA sequencing computer system - $125,000
• Cardiomyocyte Imaging to provide imaging equipment for cardiac function research - $71,326
• Cardiopulmonary Laboratory for Experimental and Applied Physiology to study heart mechanics, cognitive function and structural deficits - $124,919
• Centre for Experimental Biogeography will improve the forecasting of climate change induced shifts in species’ geographic ranges - $124,307
• Comprehensive Geomicrobiology Lab to study the relationships and role between microbe in global change - $124,800
• Comprehensive Placental Processing Suite to research about the links between placental function and pregnancy outcome - $125,000
• Computational Infrastructure for Genomic Landscapes will lead to computational approaches to identify and characterize mutations in cancer - $265,680
• Computational Laboratory for the Study of Localized Patterns in Theory and Applications to conduct computer simulations and mathematical modelling - $121,645
• Computing Analysis Cluster for Complex Optimization Techniques and Test Stand for ATLAS Level 1 Calorimeter Trigger Upgrade enables rapid analysis of particle physics experiments - $112,560
• CRC in Knowledge Translation in Health Care: Health Decision Technology to help with the use of research knowledge in the management of chronic diseases such as arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions - $42,516
• Creating an Infrastructure to Better Understand COPD as a Systemic Disease to create a laboratory to conduct research into chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - $74,476
• Creating an Innovative, Safe and Hygienic Space for Inner City Medicine Research in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside to help identify solutions for improving health outcomes for inner city populations - $125,000
• Design and Development of a Mobile Sexual Health Research Data Collection System and Geographic Database to help to better understand the social and structural drivers of sexual health and HIV/AIDS - $75,000
• Elucidation of Driver Molecular Pathways in Human Leukemia will research less toxic therapies for patients - $75,000
• Facility for Integrated Protist Ecology will study the diversity of micro-organisms - $124,600
• Facility for Subcellular Physiological Research will focus on understanding mechanisms in animals who can survive for prolonged period of reduce oxygen intake may lead to treatments for oxygen-related diseases in humans - $40,000
• Facility for the Integrative Study of Species Ranges to investigate the ecology and evolution that impact avian species ranges and the biodiversity in mountain landscapes - $150,000
• Field Laboratory for Energy and Mass Exchange at Glacier Surfaces to enable physics-based modelling of all glaciers in Western Canada - $106,816
• Forest Carbon and Water Coupling Across Different Spatial Scales to conduct watershed-related research - $60,000
• High Performance Computing for Rapid Response Infectious Disease Epidemiology to analyse genomic sequence data and simulate disease outbreaks to help reduce tuberculosis outbreaks - $162,676
• Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory may aid in new visual treatments - $59,811
• Infrastructure for Developing Intravascular Biomaterials for Cardiovascular and Coagulation Disorders has the potential to benefit patients with diseased vasculature and substantially reduce health care costs - $125,000
• Infrastructure for Ecological Studies of Complex Environmental Variability will focus on oceans and aquaculture - $40,779
• Infrastructure for Research and Development of Power Converters and Controllers in Energy will develop controllers and converters to help build innovative energy storage technologies - $124,907
• Infrastructure for Silicon-Photonics Integrated Microsystem will help to create faster supercomputers and more efficient data centres - $159,544
• Infrastructure Support for UBC Steroid Profiling Laboratory will support research into the relationships among hormones, brain and behaviour, and immune function - $254,806
• Infrastructure to Study Stem Function and Tissue Generation for the study of stem cell function in tissue regeneration - $275,000
• Investigating the Role of Blood-Based proteolytic cascades in Health and Disease to analyse the coagulation system and immunity - $144,273
• Ion Channels in Excitability Disorders Translational Genetics Laboratory: Personal Molecular Diagnosis Risk Prediction will research the genetic basis of epilepsy and associated diseases - $175,456
• Lab for the Development of Quantum Dot Nanoparticles as Multifunctional Bio/Chemical Sensors and Probes to harness quantum dots for biological applications such as imagining cells and tissue samples and the delivery of drugs to specific sites in the body - $160,000
• Laboratory for New Anti-Infective Strategies to help develop new treatments and drugs to combat bacterial infections - $216,172
• Laboratory for Population Dynamics in Changing Environments will help understand how climate change affects native plants species and how to better manage invasive species - $124,261
• Laboratory for Solar Energy Conversion help develop new solar technologies and energy storage solutions - $200,000
• Liquid Chromatograph/Triple Mass Spectrometer for Micropollutant Detection in Wastewater Biosolids has the potential to lead to technologies to remove contaminants such as steroidal hormones from wastewater to improve environmental health - $114,000
• Mass Transport and Dynamic Feedbacks within the Lithosphere to study the chemical and mechanical evolution of the continental crust and the sub-continental mantle - $155,000
• Metabolic Engineering for Green Synthesis of Fuels and Pharmaceuticals to research the chemistry of processes that convert simple carbohydrates into reactive building blocks for manufacturing green fuels and pharmaceuticals - $150,000
• Molecular Basis of Oral and Cardiovascular Disease: Regulation by Platelet Signalling to increase understanding of platelets function to improve treatment for inflammatory diseases - $125,000
• Motivated Cognition Lab will focus on the neural underpinnings of how people process the emotional importance of events and how it affects attention and memory - $165,668
• Muscle Fatigue Research Laboratory to advance the understanding of how muscle performance decreased with age - $114,663
• Neuroscience of Vision and Eye Movements will focus on how humans use vision to control and coordinate the movements of the eyes - $78,834
• New Therapeutic Strategies for Stroke for a research program focusing on the prevention of death from strokes - $240,000
• Novel translational Approaches for Targeting Misfolded Proteins in Alzheimer’s Disease is hoping to lead to breakthroughs in understanding Alzheimer’s Disease which may lead to new diagnostic tests and treatments - $118,439
• Optical Characterization of Advanced Engine Combustion Strategies will work to optimize combustion processes with fuels such as natural gas or biofuels - $122,003
• Outcomes Research in Community Pharmacy Practice: Innovation Using EHealth will assess and improve medication adherence among patients - $38,464
• Personalized Genomic Medicine for Improved Paediatric Drug Safety and Effectiveness to improve drug safety and develop targeted, personalized cancer therapies - $110,698
• Quadruple time-of-flight Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometer help investigate new approaches for the treatment of tuberculosis - $125,000
• Recognition of High-Level Visual Form will investigate the processes in the human brain associated with vision and recognition - $45,649
• Scanning Electron Microscope with Comprehensive Energy Dispersive X-Ray Micro-Analysis System to conduct research into sensor development and develop repair systems for concrete structures - $100,000
• Seeking Sustainability: Innovating Modelling and Analysis of Complex Human-Environment Systems to benefit environmental management and conservation practices - $54,433
• Social Health Laboratory to examine how humans establish and negotiate social relationships - $124,971
• Stars, Planets and Debris: Development and Data Analysis Lab to support research into planetary science and astronomy - $29,600
• Statistical Inference will research techniques that can be applied to the monitoring of the quality of wood products - $24,999
• Surgical Tissue Bank for Endometriosis to help study gene mutations that may be responsible for endometriosis - $125,000
• Technical Support for Building NexGenU.org Research Infrastructure will look at using electronic media for health sciences education - $30,000
• The Centre for Environmental Assessment Research will focus on land-use planning and innovation in environmental assessment - $44,174
• The Exchange: A humanist Data Lab to improve the access and retrieval of knowledge - $48,040
• The Psychopathology, Lifespan and Neurocognitive Research Laboratory will create a research lab to study mental health issues that accompany aging in adulthood - $125,000
• Understanding the Formation and Resistance of Endodontic Biofilm to lead to the development of products that are more effective against resistant bacteria, improving oral health treatment - $123,365
• Wind Turbine Simulator for Experimental Validation of Advanced Control to determine how control techniques can improve energy capture and minimize vibration for offshore wind turbines - $65,921

Media Contacts:

Melody Wey
Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services
250 508-5030

Susan Danard
Director of Public Relations
University of British Columbia
604 822-2064