The University of British Columbia will grow its research strength in areas ranging from HIV/AIDS and Urban Population Health to environmental history with the renewal of 13 previously appointed Canada Research Chairs valued at $13.7 million. This is the largest renewal awarded to a Canadian university in this recent competition.
The UBC positions are among 123 federally funded research positions, representing a total investment of $116.4 million distributed to universities across Canada today.
“The Canada Research Chairs Program plays a key role in building our capacity for research and allows our senior researchers to continue their important programs,” says David Farrar, UBC Provost and Vice President, Academic. “Both the university community and Canada will continue to benefit from the experience and leadership of these bright minds.”
UBC has appointed 142 of the 166 Canada Research Chair positions allocated to the university, in a program that began in 2000.
- Tina Loo is a Canada Research Chair in Environmental History who focuses on how government policies and public opinions on environmental issues have evolved over time. She hopes to shed new light on current debates and promote better environmental policies by investigating the social and political pressures that shape these approaches and ideas.
- David Brydges, who comes to UBC from the University of Virginia, is Canada Research Chair in Mathematical Physics. His research looks at applications of probability and statistical mechanics in complex systems, including those used in computer science.
- Dr. Martin Schechter, Canada Research Chair in HIV/AIDS and Urban Population Health, looks at ways in which economically disadvantaged people are more vulnerable to disease. He has designed a research program that will concentrate on injection drug users in the downtown Vancouver area. The study will monitor the incidence and risk factors for HIV and hepatitis C, and will try to determine the factors that either help or hinder the adoption of safer sex and drug behaviours.
Chair appointments provide research and salary support for either seven- or five-year terms. The seven-year terms are renewable more than once; the five-year terms can only be renewed once.
The Canada Research Chairs Program is designed to attract the best talent from Canada and around the world, helping universities achieve research excellence in natural sciences and engineering, health sciences, and social sciences and humanities. There are currently 1,855 research professorships at 70 universities across Canada. For more information on the Canada Research Chairs Program please visit: www.chairs.gc.ca
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