Two University of British Columbia researchers have been given Killam Research Fellowships. Among Canada’s most distinguished research awards, the fellowships provide $70,000 a year for two years to enable recipients to pursue independent research.
Prof. Dolph Schluter from the Dept. of Zoology and Prof. Chris Orvig from the Dept. of Chemistry are among eight fellowship recipients receiving a total of $1.12 million from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Schluter, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Biology, will undertake research with three-spined stickleback fish in British Columbia’s coastal lakes in order to understand the genetic changes that occur during evolution.
Orvig, one of Canada’s best known inorganic chemists who was recently elected a Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada, will focus on preclinical discovery and testing of novel compounds that will slow, halt or reverse the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s Disease.
The Killam Research Fellowships are made possible through the Killam Trusts. The awards support scholars engaged in research projects of outstanding merit in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences, engineering and interdisciplinary studies. Recipients are chosen by the Killam Selection Committee, which includes a panel of eminent scientists and scholars representing a broad range of disciplines.
Other recipients of this year’s Killam fellowships come from McGill University, the University of Toronto, Queen’s University, University of Calgary and McMaster University. For a complete list, visit http://www.canadacouncil.ca/news/.