Several research projects at the University of Lethbridge are receiving funding from the federal government. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Over $3 million awarded to U of L research projects

Jul 9, 2025 | 2:40 PM

The Government of Canada has approved funding for a wide range of research initiatives at the University of Lethbridge (U of L).

In total, over $1.3 billion will support more than 9,700 researchers and projects in the country through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

That includes over $3 million to 18 projects at the U of L.

Dr. Dena McMartin, Vice-President of Research at the university, says their students will benefit from increased opportunities to engage in research throughout their post-secondary careers.

“From brain plasticity and the mechanism of low-dose radiation to supporting newcomers through mentoring, these grants illustrate the diversity of research being done at the University of Lethbridge,” says McMartin. “This funding not only helps established researchers continue their work but also helps our early career researchers build their research programs.

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The NSERC’s Discovery Grants will bring in nearly $475,000 per year for the next five years to initiatives including:

• Dr. Gerlinde Metz (Neuroscience) will receive $96,000 per year for a study looking at the social determinants of experience-dependent brain plasticity.
• Dr. Stacey Wetmore (Chemistry & Biochemistry) will receive $89,000 per year for a project involving computer modelling of modified RNA.
• Dr. Olga Kovalchuk (Biological Sciences) was awarded $55,000 annually to study the fundamental mechanisms of low-dose radiation.
• Dr. Borries Demeler (Chemistry & Biochemistry) is set to receive $47,000 yearly for solution studies of interacting biopolymer systems.
• Dr. Hadi Kharaghani (Mathematics & Computer Science) will receive $32,000 a year for his project on special orthogonal matrices.

The University says the remainder of the recipients will receive funding for four years. These projects were approved for a Discovery Launch Supplement of $12,500 in addition to their Discovery Grant:

• Dr. Corina Birghila (Mathematics & Computer Science) was awarded a yearly amount of $31,000 for a project titled Optimal Decision under Uncertainty.
• Dr. Jessica Willi (Chemistry & Biochemistry) will receive $44,000 annually for a project on ribosome functions through synthetic biology.
• Dr. Vineet Rathod (Chemistry & Biochemistry) will receive $38,000 annually to examine the structure-function relationship of natural and engineered amyloid proteins.
• Dr. Dylan Girodat (Chemistry & Biochemistry) will receive $42,000 per year for a project on the structural dynamics of ribosomes during translation.

In addition, Discovery Development Grants, worth $22,000 each, were awarded to Drs. Christopher Hopkinson (Geography & Environment) and Marc Bomhof (Kinesiology and Physical Education).

• Hopkinson will use remote sensing to model vegetation and snowpack response to wildland fire in headwater basins.
• Bomhof intends to look at the interplay between exercise and dietary factors on appetite regulation.

Two U of L social science and humanities researchers were awarded $645,000 in SSHRC Insight Grants:

• Dr. Daniel O’Donnell (English) will work on a project involving Research Data Management and Research Data Infrastructure by Humanities researchers.
• Dr. Scott Rathwell (Kinesiology) wants to enhance sport participation, promote physical activity and improve health outcomes for aging adults by establishing a framework for effective sport programming in middle-aged and older adults.

As well, several researchers at the university are the recipients of Insight Development Grants totalling more than $291,000:

• Dr. Toupey Luft (Education) has designed a project to address the gap in understanding how arts-based mentorship may enhance a sense of belonging for newcomer young adults.
• Dr. Kenneth Holyoke’s (Geography & Environment) project investigates the nature and scope of climate impacts on the Wolastoqiyik and Wabanaki archaeological record in New Brunswick.
• Dr. Justin Raycraft’s (Anthropology) objective in this project is to increase understanding of the social dimensions of human-carnivore coexistence in the Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania.
• Dr. Jeffrey MacCormack (Education) will develop a professional development intervention consisting of a community of practice for teachers and principals where they learn evidence-based practices to support students with profound and multiple disabilities.
• Dr. Miranda Leibel (Liberal Education) will examine how the creation and maintenance of postal services are an important component of Canadian state- and nation-building.

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