Eighteen York University researchers have received more than $3 million in combined funding from the government of Ontario in support of their innovative research projects designed to bring new products, ideas and technologies to the market.
The funding for York, totaling $3,166,842, comes from the Ontario Research Fund and the Early Researcher Awards. The funds are intended to help institutions attract and retain top research talent and to help grow Ontario’s innovation sector.
“York University makes innovation its tradition and we are grateful to the provincial government’s support of the ingenuity of our pioneering researchers,” said Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation. “Their projects hold the promise to stimulate growth, ignite creativity and fuel invention across a variety of industries in Ontario.”
Some of the York projects to receive funding include the creation of a new class of micro-mobility vehicles ($995,881), led by mechanical engineer Andrew Maxwell; the opening of a research apiary on campus to conduct cutting-edge studies on the genetics of bees ($212,990), led by biologist Amro Zayed; and the development of a new research field called global legal epidemiology to improve the equity and effectiveness of international law and to better prepare Ontario for global health threats ($200,000), led by health scientist and legal epidemiologist Steven Hoffman.
The York projects were among 406 projects to receive the new funding at universities, colleges, research institutes and research hospitals across Ontario.
“By investing in cutting-edge research, we are safeguarding Ontario’s position at the forefront of innovation that continues to be competitive on a global scale and has the ability to attract the best and brightest talent to our province,” said Jill Dunlop, minister of colleges and universities. “This will help ensure the social and economic opportunities that result from discoveries made in Ontario benefit Ontarians and the Ontario economy.”
The York projects to receive funding include:
Ontario Research Fund – Research Excellence
Andrew Maxwell, associate professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering
Creating a new category of micro-mobility electric vehicles for local and last mile fleet applications
$995,881
Ontario Research Fund – Research Infrastructure
Jennifer Pybus, assistant professor, Department of Politics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
The Centre for Public AI (CPAI)
$69,385
Deborah Harris, professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Next generation of neutrino detector for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment
$125,000
Shital Desai, assistant professor, Department of Computational Arts, School of the Arts, Performance, Media & Design
Social and Technological Systems (SaTS) lab
$50,000
Ozzy Mermut, associate professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Biophotonics Diagnosis, Treatment and Dosimetry in Age-Related Disorders and Human Diseases
$160,000
Matthew Keough, associate professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
Centre for Research on Addiction Vulnerability in Early Life (CRAVE Lab)
$50,000
Taylor Cleworth, assistant professor, School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health
Neuromechanics of Balance Deficits during Dynamic Stance
$125,000
Andrea Josse, assistant professor, School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health
Novel Targets of Whole-food Dairy Products for Human Muscoloskeletal and Cardiometabolic Health
$125,000
Steven Hoffman, professor, School of Health Policy & Management, Faculty of Health and Osgoode Hall Law School, Dahdaleh Distinguished Chair in Global Governance & Legal Epidemiology
Building infostructure for quasi-experimental analysis in global legal epidemiology
$200,000
Amro Zayed, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Research apiary to study honey bee behaviour, genetics and health
$212,990
Thomas Cooper, associate professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering
Multifunctional aerogel innovation platform
$140,000
Jaclyn Hurley, assistant professor, School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health
Exploring Variability in Musculoskeletal Anatomy and Biomechanics Related to Shoulder Movement and Health
$140,000
Andrée-Ann Cyr, associate professor, Department of Psychology, Glendon College
Effects of aging and curiosity-states on learning and memory
$75,001
Shayna Rosenbaum, professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
REIL: Realistic Environment Interaction Logistics
$140,000
Ali Abdul Sater, associate professor, School of Kinesiology & Health Science, Faculty of Health
Targeting TRAF1 to devise novel therapies for inflammatory arthritis
$140,000
Arash Habibi Lashkari, associate professor, School of Information Technology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Behaviour-Centric Cybersecurity Research Lab
$140,000
Reza Rizvi, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering
Raman Microscopy Facility for Nanomaterials Characterization in Clean Energy and Environmental Research
$138,585
Early Researcher Awards
Hossein Kassiri, associate professor, Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Lassonde School of Engineering
Next Generation Wireless and Battery-Less mm-Scale Implantable Optogenetic Neurostimulators
$140,000
For further information, read the government’s full announcement.