University of Lethbridge sign. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

UofL Receives Major Research Grants

$1.8-million in funding awarded to U of L researchers

Jul 22, 2019 | 11:28 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The University of Lethbridge’s research profile will be boosted significantly by a series of grants.

Coming from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Discovery grants will support 11 out of the 14 people who applied for them.

“This funding of almost $2-million demonstrates the calibre of research our scientists are engaged in and I congratulate each one of them,” says the U of L’s Vice President of Research Erasmus Okine.

Dr. Gerlinde Metz got the largest grant at $510,000. The neuroscience professor and her team will look into early life stress and its effect on brain plasticity, examining factors like how stress alters brain development, connections between neurons, and whether things like age and sex can determine the response to early life stress.

Biology professor Dr. Theresa Burg will use her funding to explore the evolution of species in high-latitude region and how they are linked to historical and present-day environmental changes.

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Dr. Dmytro Yevtushenko is a professor in the Department of Biology and the Research Chair in potato science. He will conduct research on the natural defense mechanisms of potatoes, believing his work could lead to higher crop yields, less crop loss, increased food safety, and could help improve disease resistance.

Dr. Borries Demeler wants to develop new analysis protocols and software tools that will benefit basic research in biochemistry, physics, and material science. He is a leading biophysics scientist with expertise in analytical ultracetrifugation, which is used to analyze molecules in a solution.

Other researchers who received grants include Dr. Jon Doan (kinesiology and physical education), Dr. Stewart Rood (biology), Dr. Lawrence Flanagan (biology), Dr. Anthony Russell (biology), Dr. Hadi Kharaghani (math and computer science), Dr. Matthew Tala (neuroscience), and Dr. Saurya Das (physics and astronomy).