U of T gains three new Canada Research Chairs
Better ways to process cells used in cancer screening. Extending the range of diagnostic tools like x-rays. Reducing medical errors. These are the questions that inspire U of T’s three newest Canada Research Chairs (CRCs).
The government announced funding Feb. 23 for these three new chairs.
Andreas Mandelis of mechanical and industrial engineering has been appointed the Canada Research Chair in diffusion-wave sciences and tTechnologies. A leading applied physicist and instrumentation scientist, he is working on extending the range of tools like x-ray and ultrasound.
Kaveh Shojania of medicine and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is the Canada Research Chair in patient safety and quality improvement. He is focusing on reducing medical errors and evaluating the effectiveness of patient safety and quality interventions in hospitals.
Yu Sun of mechanical and industrial engineering is the Canada Research Chair in micro- and nano-engineering systems. He is engineering high-speed, automated processes for handling cells that will be useful in a variety of fields from cancer screening to assisted reproduction.
“Our government recognizes the important role that research excellence plays in furthering innovation and competitiveness, two main elements in our science and technology strategy,” said Gary Goodyear, minister of state (science and technology). “This is why we announced a $5.1-billion investment in science and technology in Budget 2009—Canada’s Economic Action Plan. The Canada Research Chairs program helps universities attract and retain the best researchers in the world, which promotes job creation, enhances the quality of life of Canadians and strengthens the economy for future generations.”
“The CRC program is central to U of T’s research strategy—and to Canada’s,” said Professor Paul Young, U of T’s vice-president (research). “With each announcement of CRC funding, it is tremendously exciting to learn about the questions that are driving our researchers—and the innovations that will to emerge from their work. We are enormously grateful for this funding.”
In addition to funding three new chairs, the government renewed funding for 14 existing chairs: David Bazett-Jones of biochemistry and the Hospital for Sick Children (CRC in molecular and cellular imaging); Peter Cheung of medical biophysics, the Cancer Institute of Ontario and the University Health Network (CRC in chromatin regulation); Colleen Flood of law (CRC in comparative health law and policy); Paul Frankland of physiology and the Hospital for Sick Children (CRC in cognitive neurobiology); Scott Heximer of physiology (CRC in cardiovascular physiology); Alejandro Jadad of anesthesia, health policy, management, and evaluation and the University Health Network (CRC in eHealth innovation); Dylan Jones of physics (CRC in atmospheric physics); Sheena Josselyn of physiology and the Hospital for Sick Children (CRC in molecular and cellular cognition); Kevin Kain of medicine and the University Health Network (CRC in molecular parasitology); Beverley Orser of anesthesia (CRC in anesthesia); Emil Pai of biochemistry (CRC in structural biology); Chul Park of mechanical and industrial engineering (CRC in polymer processing technologies); Sam Roweis of computer science (CRC in statistical machine learning); and Bálint Virág of computer and mathematical sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough (CRC in probability).
