NSERC announces more than $13M in funding for U of M

On Oct. 9, Federal Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan announced more than $558 million in discovery research funding, as part of the Government of Canada’s plan to attract global talent, promote diversity, and provide nearly 4,300 researchers and students with the means to pursue world-leading discovery work across the country.

This is the largest investment in research from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) this year and it includes $70 million in new funding announced in Budget 2018. With this investment, the Government of Canada is delivering on Budget 2018’s commitment to science by giving more support to researchers and students.

More than $13 million in research funding and scholarships has been announced for researchers and students at the University of Manitoba, across all disciplines, from psychology to mathematics, and from medicine to engineering.

“These funds will ensure that their research excellence continues to grow and that their investigations lead to discoveries that benefit all.” – Dr. Digvir Jayas

“The University of Manitoba employs thousands of people, contributes one billion dollars to Manitoba’s economy, and is a world leader in many fields, including infectious diseases, climate change, agriculture, intelligent infrastructure, and the humanities. I am proud that our federal government’s investment of more than $13 million in discovery research funding will give the researchers, scientists, and students at the U of M the support they need to work on cutting-edge research that will impact the wellbeing of all Canadians,” says Terry Duguid, Parliamentary Secretary and Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South.

“I offer my sincere congratulations to the researchers and their teams and to the scholarship recipient students on their success in receiving these highly competitive grants and scholarships,” says Digvir Jayas, U of M Vice-President (Research and International) and NSERC Vice-President and Chair of its council. “These funds will ensure that their research excellence continues to grow and that their investigations lead to discoveries that benefit all.”

This year, the NSERC program is providing more than $5 million in additional supplements for early-career researchers, ensuring the next generation of scientists, engineers and researchers will have the tools they need to flourish.

At the U of M, that includes the research being done by Filiz Koksel in Food and Human Nutritional Sciences, who demonstrated to dignitaries and media on Oct. 12 a food product manufacturing device that allows the creation of aerated puffed products like cheese puffs.

Koksel explains: “As a general rule of thumb, when the protein and fibre content is increased in an aerated food, overall textural and physical quality degrades. I am investigating how food structure can be tailored to generate foods that are not only high in protein and fibre but also palatable and appealing.”

Koksel is receiving funding to focus on processing Canadian pulses and cereals as protein-rich food products and will receive additional supplement as an early career researcher.