Left to right: Dr. Roy Golsteyn, Paul Mahon, Paul Genest, Mike Mahon. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

U of L receives $400K in donations to support scientific breakthroughs

Jan 10, 2020 | 12:59 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A significant research project at the University of Lethbridge (U of L) and some of its research spaces are getting a financial boost from two Canadian corporations.

The Power Corporation of Canada (PCC) has donated $250,000 while Canada Life is giving $150,000.

“The overall gift is significant,” says U of L President and Vice-Chancellor Mike Mahon.

The contribution by PCC will go towards the Dr. Jim Coutts Prairie Research Program, which you can learn more about in the video below.

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It is being carried out by Professor Dr. Roy Golsteyn and a team of students and faculty members.

“One is, we’re looking for new chemicals from plants that grow here in the Prairies and the possibilities that these chemicals might become new medicines. The other is, we’re trying to train the next generation of students because there’s some very important and very interesting work to be done in the topic of natural products.”

Dr. Golsteyn says they are working in partnership with local First Nations who have traditionally used some of the Prairie grasses and plants for medicinal purposes.

Vice President of PCC Paul Genest believes these potential products could have great implications for the future of medicine in Canada and was amazed by everything the U of L’s new Science Commons facility has to offer.

“What we see in the University of Lethbridge is really cutting-edge research, a deep commitment to a first-class student experience here involving students actually in the research, and also the values of the place – there’s clearly a deep engagement with the community of Lethbridge.”

Genest and Paul Mahon, the Executive Officer of Canada Life, were taken on a tour of Science Commons prior to Friday’s announcement.

Paul Mahon says education is important to his organization and they wanted to support the U of L’s maker spaces and labs to spur further scientific advancements.

“We were looking at opportunities to make a difference in partnership with the Power Corporation of Canada. We saw the work that the University of Lethbridge was doing to advance education in a couple of different ways. We saw the diversity of bringing different sciences together [and] the whole idea of collaboration as well.”

The University’s SHINE campaign, which aims to spotlight its various corporate partnerships, has seen $88-million raised so far for the Science Commons building and all of the work it does.