2017 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships recipients Jacqueline Hay and Deirdre Khan. Not pictured: Nickolas Kosmenko.
Three U of M students earn recognition with Vanier Scholarships
Three University of Manitoba graduate students are recipients of 2017 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships.
These awards, considered the Canadian equivalent of the United Kingdom’s Rhodes Scholarships, help recruit and keep in Canada top doctoral students from across the country and around the world. Each recipient will receive $150,000 over three years towards his or her research.
The recipients of these prestigious awards are: Jacqueline Hay, Deirdre Khan, and Nickolas Kosmenko.
Hay’s Vanier-supported work will explore the complex interactions between genes, the ecosystems of bacteria in the gut, and personal lifestyle factors to see how they relate to risk factors for chronic diseases. Khan will focus on how we can improve canola seed yield and nutrition. And Kosmenko will investigate the factors that influence rural Indigenous athletes’ participation in varsity sport.
“All three of these students have demonstrated a high calibre of research excellence and we are very proud of their tremendous accomplishments,” said Todd Mondor, Vice-Provost, Graduate Education and Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies, at the University of Manitoba. “They are leaders and role models whose research impact will resonate across our province, country and global community.”
The Vanier Scholarships recognize students who demonstrate leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health sciences. Students are nominated by their university. Nominees are evaluated by multi-disciplinary peer-review committees and selected by a board composed of world-renowned Canadian and international experts.
“Research by these graduate students investigates issues that matter to us all,” says Digvir Jayas, vice-president (research and international) and Distinguished Professor at the U of M. “I congratulate them on receiving this highly competitive and prestigious award which supports their research journey here at the U of M.”
In nine years 24 U of M students have received Vanier scholarships.
About Vanier Scholarships
The scholarships are administered by Canada’s three federal granting agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
The Vanier program honours distinguished Canadian soldier and diplomat Major-General the Right Honourable Georges Philias Vanier (1888-1967), who served as Governor General of Canada from 1959 to 1967.
Research at the University of Manitoba is partially supported by funding from the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.