Three UBC Medicine researchers are leading projects recently awarded funding through the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF).
Dr. Nadia Fairbairn, Dr. Joerg Gsponer and Dr. Calvin Kuo are among eleven UBC principal investigators receiving a combined total of $2.8 million through the NFRF’s Exploration stream.
The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of National Revenue, on behalf of the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, recently announced the funding. This year, $33 million was awarded to 133 research projects through the NFRF Exploration stream.
The NFRF Exploration stream supports projects that bring disciplines together to reach beyond traditional disciplinary or common interdisciplinary approaches by research teams. Researchers are encouraged to undertake research that would defy current paradigms; bring disciplines together in unexpected ways and from bold, innovative perspectives; and have the potential to be disruptive or deliver game-changing impacts.
The Faculty of Medicine recipients are:
Dr. Nadia Fairbairn, Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Project: Evaluating Longitudinal Evidence for using health incentiVes to Address and Treat Opioid Use Disorder Effectively (The ELEVATE Study)
UBC Medicine co-applicants: Dr. Brittany Dennis (Medicine); Dr. Paxton Bach (Medicine); Dr. Maria Eugenia Socias (Medicine); Dr. Seonaid Nolan (Medicine)
Dr. Joerg Gsponer, Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Project: Out of time: Combining AI, Statistical Physics and Biochemistry to Develop In-silico techniques for molecular scale simulation of nucleation events
Dr. Calvin Kuo, Assistant Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering
Project: The Role of Risk-Taking and Exploration in Motor Learning for Children
UBC Medicine co-applicant: Jill Zwicker (Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy)