Eight Faculty of Medicine learners have received the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS) and Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships for their work on crucial health research topics including diabetes, lung disease and cancer.
The recipients are among a group of UBC researchers who were awarded more than $500,000.
The Vanier CGS program awards up to $50,000 per year for three years for students working in social sciences and humanities, natural sciences, engineering and health. The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships are worth $70,000 per year for two years. Across Canada, 166 doctoral students received the 2023 Vanier CGS, while 70 researchers received the 2023 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship. The recipients were revealed as part of a Government of Canada announcement on August 28, 2023.
“Congratulations to these talented recipients from all across the country who are doing the groundbreaking work that will contribute not only to Canada’s health and well-being but also to the world’s,” said The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “Through this funding, the Government of Canada is investing in the next generation of researchers and inspiring them to continue to think outside the box and tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow.”
Scholarships are distributed equally between the three federal granting agencies: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
Faculty of Medicine 2023 Vanier Scholars
Vriti Bhagat, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Research Proposal: Identifying impairments in beta cell prohormone processing in diabetes
Sameeksha (Maggie) Chopra, Experimental Medicine, MD/PhD
Research Proposal: Deep Immunophenotyping of the Immune Response in Interstitial Lung Disease: Developing a Cellular and Protein Biomarker Discovery Pipeline for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.
Elizabeth Gregory, Experimental Medicine, MD/PhD
Research Proposal: Individualized Functional Targets for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: Does Targeting sgACC-DLPFC Connectivity Lead to Better Outcomes?
Ahmed Kabil, Biomedical Engineering
Research Proposal: Development and functional diversity of innate lymphoid cells
Abisola Kehinde, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Research Proposal: Understanding the metabolic consequences of the systemic alanine depletion in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
Zakir Tahiry, Oncology
Research Proposal: Investigating the function and alterations of chondroitin sulfate glycocalyx in prostate cancer.
Faculty of Medicine 2023 Banting Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Jesse Charlton, Biomedical Engineering
Project title: Exploration and exploitation. A stimulus-response model of movement variability and motor adaptation during human ambulation
Dr. Soh Ishiguro, Biomedical Engineering
Project title: A high-throughput technology to decipher quantitative developmental trajectories in mouse embryogenesis.