Researchers at Western University are getting a major financial boost from the federal government, to the tune of $20.6-million.
London-area MPs Peter Fragiskatos and Kate Young made the announcement Friday in support of fundamental research at the university. It is the largest sum Western has ever received through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
"This really shows that Western is doing things that are remarkable as far as research in Canada is concerned. This isn't research that will be finished in a couple of years, this is on-going research," said Young. "Whether it's biology, health sciences, and some of the amazing work that is going to be done as far as viruses in birds. These are types of research that will help us as Canadians and the future of the world as well."
Associate biology professor Beth MacDougall-Shackleton, who studies the affect of parasites in migratory birds, is getting $260,000 over five years to aid her research.
"My research is motivated by the threat of infectious disease contacting naive populations of wild life," said MacDougall-Shackleton. "If we know more about how being infected with malaria parasites effects the timing of migration or effects whether birds successfully migrate, then we can predict the spread of infectious diseases."
She will use her share of the funding to attract new graduate students to her research team and to purchase equipment to track wild birds in real time.
"Birds have always been environmental indicators. When birds start to die off or start to disappear from an area that is often an early warning signal that something is wrong with the health of the environment," said MacDougall-Shackleton.
Four Western student scientists were also announced Friday as recipients of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. Marat Slessarev, Charles Yin, Christy Caudill, and Leanne Grieves will each receive $50,000 for their work which spans health sciences, natural sciences, and social sciences.