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Babin
Marcel Babin
Université Laval | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Remote Sensing of Canada’s New Arctic Frontier
Marcel Babin, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Remote Sensing of Canada’s New Arctic Frontier, is using the most recent advances in satellite remote sensing to develop new ways to monitor change, create advanced computer models of Arctic ecosystems and develop powerful new tools to archive and analyze the vast stream of research data about the North. Working with his research team at the Université Laval, the results of Babin's research will help stakeholders in government, industry and northern communities make effective decisions about Canada's North.
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Boyd
Robert W. Boyd
University of Ottawa | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Nonlinear Optics
Robert W. Boyd is a global leader in the field of photonics, the study of photons and their application in telecommunications and informatics. As Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Nonlinear Optics, he aims to establish a world-class research program in quantum nonlinear optics and nanophotonics at the University of Ottawa.
Boyd's multifold research as chair is using nanotechnology to make new materials for various cutting-edge technological applications in science and engineering. His breakthroughs in optics could have important implications for research across other disciplines, such as information and communications technology, solar energy conversion and biomedical imaging.
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Cory
David Cory
University of Waterloo | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Information Processing
Quantum information processing promises to touch nearly every aspect of our lives as researchers attempt to harness the building blocks of nature—quantum particles that underlie everything—to build unprecedented new technologies. Researchers in this new field are working to engineer the first generation of quantum computers—machines that, if built, would vastly outperform their classical counterparts. David Cory, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Information Processing, is a pioneer in this cutting–edge field. Cory is engineering the tools needed to navigate, control and exploit the quantum world. Called quantum sensors and actuators, these tools will form the building blocks for future quantum computers and technologies we have only begun to envision.
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Emadi
Ali Emadi
McMaster University | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Hybrid Powertrain
One of the keys to engineering the next generation of hybrid electric cars will be improving their powertrain, which transmits propulsion power. Canada Excellence Research Chair in Hybrid Powertrain Ali Emadi is at the leading edge of new developments in transportation electrification, including advanced electrified powertrains; the vehicle-to-grid interface of plug‑in vehicles with Smart Grid technology; powertrain components; hybrid battery/super-capacitor energy storage systems; and adaptive vehicle control and power management systems.
Emadi’s research provides solutions for industry and environmental policy-makers alike: it meets the current demands of the automotive sector and will further the growth of Canada’s economy, while maintaining a strong position for the future of Canada’s green technology industry.
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Ernst
Oliver Ernst
University of Toronto | CIHR
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Structural Neurobiology
As Canada’s population ages, our health-care system is increasingly faced with age-related neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
As Canada Excellence Research Chair in Structural Neurobiology at the University of Toronto, Oliver Ernst is focusing his research on the receptors involved in nerve cell communication and offering an important opportunity for Canada’s biotechnology industry to create new therapies that enhance the well‑being of patients and reduce the economic burden on their families and the health-care system.
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Farrer
Matthew Farrer
The University of British Columbia | CIHR
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Neurogenetics and Translational Neuroscience
Ten million Canadians—or nearly one-third of Canada’s population—will be affected by brain disease, disorder or brain injury at some time in their lives. Aside from the physical and emotional burdens for those affected, as well as for their families and caregivers, the financial burden of treating such diseases is estimated to cost Canadians $30 billion annually.
Although remarkable discoveries have been made throughout the last century about the brain’s anatomy and functions, far less is known about how best to intervene when these functions become disordered or diseased. Matthew Farrer, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Neurogenetics and Translational Neuroscience at The University of British Columbia, is working to pioneer new strategies for early detection and improved treatments for neurodegenerative diseases.
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Gardner
Ian A. Gardner
University of Prince Edward Island | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Aquatic Epidemiology
As global resources of wild fish are threatened by human activities, aquaculture is becoming an increasingly important source of high-quality protein for a hungry planet. The current global value of aquaculture is estimated at more than $70 billion, with an annual growth rate of 10 per cent, making it the world’s fastest-growing food production sector. Cultured fish and shellfish sales in Canada alone are valued at $1 billion per year.
Ian A. Gardner, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Aquatic Epidemiology, enhances Canada’s leadership in this industry by studying aquatic ecosystems and managing diseases in populations of sustainably produced aquatic food animals. Gardner is developing cost-effective testing strategies and surveillance programs for the prevention and control of diseases, and is investigating disease dynamics and health interactions between farmed and wild fish populations.
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Houghton
Michael Houghton
University of Alberta | CIHR
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Virology
Building on the knowledge he gained while making his breakthrough discovery of the virus that causes HCV and his identification of the hepatitis D viral genome, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Virology Michael Houghton is working to develop low-cost prophylactic vaccines against HCV and therapeutic vaccines for HBV.
Houghton’s commitment to developing low-cost vaccines could have enormous benefits for hepatitis sufferers in Canada and around the globe, helping them overcome these diseases and reducing the costs and impacts of HBV and HCV on sufferers and the health-care system.
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Messaddeq
Younès Messaddeq
Université Laval | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Photonic Innovations
In his Université Laval laboratory, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Photonic Innovations Younès Messaddeq and his team are doing research on glass and optical fibres that will have immediate industrial applications in the biomedical field, national security, and defence.
Messaddeq is also collaborating with his colleagues at Laval’s Centre d’optique, photonique et laser to develop new fibre lasers for conventional and aesthetic dentistry. With his industry partners, he is helping to advance the work on special fibre sensors based on infrared materials—an area of considerable interest to the environment and petroleum industries. His work with the Institut national d’optique will also lead to new technologies for monitoring nutrients in agriculture.
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Owen
Adrian Owen
Western University | CIHR
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging
Adrian Owen, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging, is addressing one of the most challenging topics in clinical medicine—residual brain function in patients that are non-responsive after suffering a severe brain injury.
Building on his earlier ground-breaking discoveries, Owen is using functional neuroimaging to detect and measure brain activity in patients who appear to be entirely vegetative. He is also developing new brain-computer interfaces that will allow these patients to communicate with the outside world and expand their choices for therapy.
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Pearson
D. Graham Pearson
University of Alberta | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Arctic Resources
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Arctic Resources D. Graham Pearson is creating the first detailed pictures of the rock formations hidden deep under the Earth’s crust in Canada’s Arctic region and revealing new data on the landmasses where diamonds are formed. Pearson and his research team are collecting rare rock samples of deep origin from volcanic diatremes—circular volcanic vents created by underground explosions—and studying the geochemical composition of these rocks using state-of-the-art tools.
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Reulet
Bertrand Reulet
Université de Sherbrooke | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Signal Processing
Right now, solid-state physics—the branch of physics that deals with electromagnetism, thermodynamics and the structural properties of solid materials—offers the most promising path to building a quantum information processor. Canada Excellence Research Chair in Quantum Signal Processing Bertrand Reulet is working toward engineering the first generation of quantum information processors by tackling the biggest obstacle currently facing quantum computing pioneers—electronic noise.
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Roth
Frederick Roth
University of Toronto | CIHR
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Integrative Biology
Building on a decade of outstanding innovation in experimental and computational genomics at Harvard University, Frederick Roth, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Integrative Biology, is helping us better understand what genes do and how they impact our health.
Working with his team at the University of Toronto and Mount Sinai Hospital, Roth is exploring new ways to experimentally determine which variants in individual genome sequences are likely to cause disease. They are also exploiting next-generation sequencing methods to map networks of protein interactions and determine which interactions change under different growth or disease conditions.
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Rysgaard
Søren Rysgaard
University of Manitoba | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Arctic Geomicrobiology and Climate Change
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Arctic Geomicrobiology and Climate Change Søren Rysgaard leads a research team at the forefront of knowledge about the causes and consequences of global warming. An expert in sea ice and benthos (organisms living in or around the seabed), Rysgaard, along with fellow University of Manitoba scientists at the Centre for Earth Observation Science, is exploring microbial activity and chemical transformations within sea ice and ocean sediments as they occur. His team will be the first to intensely investigate the Arctic at the micro scale.
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Thundat
Thomas Thundat
University of Alberta | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Oil Sands Molecular Engineering
Thomas Thundat, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Oil Sands Molecular Engineering, is developing new detection and extraction technologies to improve the overall efficiency of how Canada’s oil sands are processed. These tools will help establish a basic understanding of oil sands interfaces and will eventually lead to extraction processes that are more energy-efficient, use less water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
His research program will enhance the University of Alberta’s existing expertise in oil sands research and will bring together leading-edge researchers in nanotechnology, biomedical engineering, information communications technologies, and natural and energy resource management.
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Van Cappellen
Philippe Van Cappellen
University of Waterloo | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Ecohydrology
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Ecohydrology Philippe Van Cappellen is increasing our understanding of how groundwater and surface waters interact, how these interactions affect the health of aquatic ecosystems and, ultimately, the well-being of human populations.
In particular, Van Cappellen focuses on the movement of nutrients and toxic metals between groundwater and surface water. Combining laboratory and field experiments with mathematical modelling, he is able to define the accompanying biogeochemical changes and their impacts on water quality and ecosystem health.
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Wallace
Douglas Wallace
Dalhousie University | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Ocean Science and Technology
As Canada Excellence Research Chair in Ocean Science and Technology, Douglas Wallace leads a research team working to help us predict and prepare for rising sea levels, overfishing, habitat destruction and increasing acidity of ocean water by examining the causes and consequences of recent changes, and building tools to detect and address these threats.
With his team at Dalhousie University, Wallace is developing new observation instruments that are more sensitive to biogeochemical oceanic change than current methods of detection. Packages of these instruments are being stationed on research vessels, but also on commercial ships that will act as volunteer observing platforms as well as on autonomous vehicles.
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Wheater
Howard Wheater
University of Saskatchewan | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Water Security
Howard Wheater, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan, leads a team of experts in water-related science, health, social science and policy at the Global Institute for Water Security. Housed in Environment Canada's National Hydrology Research Centre in Saskatoon, this global institute is unique in Canada and represents one of the world's most important clusters of water-related expertise. At the institute, multidisciplinary science, engineering and social science teams work with industrial and government partners to address four broad research themes: climate change and water security; land-water management and environmental change; sustainable development of natural resources; and socio-hydrology.
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Diatchenko
Luda Diatchenko
McGill University | CIHR
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Human Pain Genetics
About 20 per cent of Canadians suffer from chronic pain, making it not only the number one reason why people seek health care, but also the number one concern of patients with long-term illnesses. This is why Luda Diatchenko, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Human Pain Genetics, is identifying the critical genetic mechanisms at the root of pain.
Chronic pain drains more than $10 billion annually in lost productivity and health-care services from the Canadian economy, which is more than the cost of heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. Moreover, there is a personal toll associated with chronic pain that cannot be measured in dollars and cents. Patients living with this condition face challenges, such as social isolation, increased risk of suicide and greater mortality rates.
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Bryant
Steven Bryant
University of Calgary | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Materials Engineering for Unconventional Oil Reservoirs
Modern societies rely on intensive energy consumption, a need which is being met largely by fossil fuel production. The scale of consumption is large enough to affect the planet’s biosphere. It continues to grow, presenting us with one of the greatest technical challenges humankind will face in the 21st century and a choice between meeting energy demand from available fuels and drastically reducing society’s environmental footprint.
Over the next few decades, Alberta’s oil sands will be a nexus for this challenge: a world-class petroleum resource, whose exploitation has left a legacy of environmental problems on the surface and increasingly in the subsurface. Current exploitation methods require large inputs of energy and water, and emit substantial volumes of greenhouse gases. Steven L. Bryant, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Materials Engineering for Unconventional Oil Reservoirs at the University of Calgary, is working to bridge the gap between the current technological status of the oil sands industry and where it needs to be to ensure a sustainable, globally competitive future.
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Lodi
Andrea Lodi
Polytechnique Montréal | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Data Science for Real-Time Decision-Making
Andrea Lodi, Canada Excellence Research Chair in Data Science for Real-Time Decision-Making, and his team’s work to develop new tools and methodologies will allow enormous volumes of data from multiple sources to be processed and analyzed in real time to obtain useable knowledge and to automate decision-making.
By combining processes for analyzing highly targeted data and real-time decision-making, their mathematical model-based tools will help organizations improve performance by creating highly customized outputs and taking into account the environments and the needs and individual behaviours of their clients or users. The tools will also help improve supply processes and resolve unforeseen problems.
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Kochian
Leon Kochian
University of Saskatchewan | NSERC
Canada Excellence Research Chair in Food Systems and Security
As a world leader in crop adaptation to marginal soil environments and Canada Excellence Research Chair in Food systems and Security, Leon Kochian will lead a multidisciplinary program that aims to unlock the secrets of the plant’s hidden half—the root system—previously an unexplored aspect of plant breeding.
Kochian’s transformative research program will develop new root-based approaches to crop improvement that will enable breeding for improved root system structure and function, producing new crop varieties with higher yields and greater capacity to thrive in marginal conditions.
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