USask researchers awarded NSERC funding for future innovation in science, health and engineering

The funding will be used to pursue new long-term research projects rooted in the natural sciences and engineering sectors as well as to build new tools to aid in future research work.


The below list are the recipients of the 2022 Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grants Discovery Grant amounts are awarded in instalments over a period of five years. Early career researchers were also eligible to receive a $12,500 supplement to kickstart their research program.

Julia Boughner
Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology – College of Medicine
The Evo-Devo of Vertebrate Teeth & Jaws
$280,000

Michelle Collins
Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology - College of Medicine
Exploring calcium signaling in the heart
$185,000
Discovery Launch Supplement for Early Career Researchers recipient - $12,500

Peiqiang Yu
Animal and Poultry Science – College of Agriculture and Bioresources
In-Depth Study of Feed Internal Molecular Structure and Nutrient Make-up within Cellular and Sub-cellular Dimensions Using Advanced Synchrotron Radiation Based Bioanalytical Techniques
$217,360

Kerry Lavender
Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology - College of Medicine
IFNa subtype-specific modulation of intrinsic, innate and adaptive immunity
$140,000
Discovery Launch Supplement for Early Career Researchers recipient - $12,500

Anil Kumar Victoria Ansalem
Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Immunology - College of Medicine
Discovery and Characterization of Cellular Factors Modulating Type III Interferon Induction and Signaling
$140,000
Discovery Launch Supplement for Early Career Researchers recipient - $12,500

Philip McLoughlin
Biology – College of Arts and Science
Hierarchical density dependence in large animal ecology and evolution
$200,000

Bishnu Acharya
Chemical and Biological Engineering – College of Engineering
Valorization of agriculture and organic biomass to high value bioproducts
$195,000

Ramin Azargohar
Chemical and Biological Engineering - College of Engineering
Synthesis of advanced carbon materials from waste biomass and their applications in energy and electronic devices
$130,000
Discovery Launch Supplement for Early Career Researchers recipient - $12,500

Oon-Doo Baik
Chemical and Biological Engineering - College of Engineering
Why Radio frequency heating is more effective to deactivate and release non-nutritive components from pulses
$140,000

Timothy Kelly
Chemistry - College of Arts and Science
Upscaling organic and hybrid optoelectronics: synthesis, processing, and advanced characterization
$310,000

Christopher Phenix
Chemistry - College of Arts and Science
Exploring Fundamental Strategies For Imaging Hydrolytic Enzymes
$180,000

David Sanders
Chemistry - College of Arts and Science
Using Structural Studies to Investigate the Relationships Between Enzymes and Ligands
$170,000

Christopher Hawkes
Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering - College of Engineering
Assessing the technical aspects of spent nuclear fuel storage in deep horizontal boreholes
$155,000

Laura Smith
Civil, Geological and Environmental Engineering - College of Engineering
Developing novel in situ methods to monitor and quantify groundwater storage changes in cold regions
$135,000
Discovery Launch Supplement for Early Career Researchers recipient - $12,500

Ian McQuillan
Computer Science - College of Arts and Science
Algorithms and Inference of Grammars and Natural Computing Models
$205,000

Cody Phillips
Computer Science - College of Arts and Science
Developing Games and Tools to Overcome Procrastination
$125,000
Discovery Launch Supplement for Early Career Researchers recipient - $12,500

Takuji Tanaka
Food and Bioproduct Sciences - College of Agriculture and Bioresources
Directed Evolution of Lactococcus lactis Xaa-Pro dipeptidase based on the rationales given through X-ray crystallographic studies
$165,000

Xulin Guo
Geography & Planning – College of Arts and Science
Integrating measures of grassland function using Remote Sensing
$180,000

Cherie Westbrook
Geography & Planning - College of Arts and Science
Impacts of Beaver Systems on Lateral and Downstream Hydrological Connectivity
$255,000

Ingrid Pickering
Geological Sciences - College of Arts and Science
Chemistry of Selenium in Life and Interplay with Toxic Elements
$310,000

Alexander Weekes
Mathematics and Statistics - College of Arts and Science
Interactions between representation theory, algebraic geometry, and physics
$130,000
Discovery Launch Supplement for Early Career Researchers recipient - $12,500

Curtis Wendlandt
Mathematics and Statistics - College of Arts and Science
A rational approach to affine quantum algebras
$130,000
Discovery Launch Supplement for Early Career Researchers recipient - $12,500

Donald Bergstrom
Mechanical Engineering - College of Engineering
Improved computational models for particle transport in turbulent wall-bounded flows
$160,000

James Johnston
Mechanical Engineering - College of Engineering
Development of Automated Techniques for Modelling Cartilage Morphology and Mechanics
$230,000

Amir Masoud Ghezelbash
Physics and Engineering Physics - College of Arts and Science
Aspects of Black Holes in Modified Theories of Gravity: Holography, Weak Gravity Conjecture and Wedge Algebra
$120,000

Alexandre Koustov
Physics and Engineering Physics - College of Arts and Science
Study of the Earth's ionosphere with ground-based radars and Swarm satellites
$140,000

Andrei Smolyakov
Physics and Engineering Physics - College of Arts and Science
Equilibrium, fluctuations, and transport in magnetically controlled plasmas
$250,000

Timothy Sharbel
Plant Sciences - College of Agriculture and Bioresources
Fixing heterosis in Canola using apomixis
$140,000

Lorin Elias
Psychology - College of Arts and Science
Side Effects: How our lopsided brain influences everyday behaviour
$140,000

Adelaine Leung
Veterinary Biomedical Sciences – Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Neural mechanisms integrating metabolism and reproductive behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster
$160,000

Suraj Unniappan
Veterinary Biomedical Sciences - Western College of Veterinary Medicine
Hormonal Regulation of Feeding, Metabolism, Growth and Reproduction in Fish
$325,000

Arinjay Banerjee
Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO)
Bats as a model to understand the evolution of coronavirus-host interactions
$185,000
Discovery Launch Supplement for Early Career Researchers recipient - $12,500

Aaron White
Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO)
Transmission and biofilm formation by pathogenic Salmonella strains
$160,000


These grants are designed to support the purchase of research equipment for use in natural sciences and engineering research that will build the research team’s capacity for discovery and innovation.

David Cooper
Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology (APP) - College of Medicine
High Efficiency X-ray Macroscope for Imaging of Musculoskeletal Development and Aging at the Canadian Light Source Synchrotron
$150,000

Neil Chilton
Biology – College of Arts and Science
Replacement quantitative real-time PCR detection system for studies in parasitology, animal physiology and environmental toxicology
$28,364

Tara Kahan
Chemistry - College of Arts and Science
Replacement mobile laboratory for indoor chemistry
$122,503

Timothy Kelly
Chemistry - College of Arts and Science
SEC/GPC System for Polymer Characterization
$149,042

Kate Congreves
Plant Sciences - College of Agriculture and Bioresources
Trace gas analyzer for climate-smart agriculture research
$122,038