Fifteen Acadia University researchers have received more than $1.8 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Announced Friday, Sept. 8, 2017 by Minister of Science, the Hon. Kirsty Duncan, 11 faculty members and four students from the Acadia community have been awarded a combined total of $1,854,988 from the NSERC’s 2017 competitions for Discovery and Research Tools and Instruments Grants, and graduate and post-graduate scholarships.  

“These NSERC awards recognize the high quality and impact of research undertaken by faculty and students at Acadia.  We look forward to supporting and celebrating the research activities and outcomes of these and many other research funding successes at the University,” said Dr. Anna Redden, Dean of Research and Graduate Studies.

Dr. Allison Walker is one of Acadia’s newest NSERC scholars, receiving an award of $130,000 over five years for her project, “Biodiversity and Hydrocarbon Degradation Capacity of Marine Fungi.” She is interested in the species of fungi that grow naturally in the Bay of Fundy and the extent to which these species have natural resilience to marine oil spills. Dr. Walker’s lab is the first to take a molecular ecology approach to understanding the biodiversity and oil degrading capacity of marine fungi. Her research will have broad implications for remediation of oil spills in cold water marine ecosystems.

 “The Government of Canada is committed to investing in fundamental research and engineering that will improve and enrich our country’s knowledge economy. We believe in encouraging scientists’ cutting-edge ideas that will lead Canada to greater social and economic growth. I am particularly proud of the support offered to postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows who, thanks to today’s investment, will be exposed to advanced training experiences that will prepare them for the jobs and opportunities of tomorrow,” said Duncan.

A detailed list of Acadia University’s 2017 NSERC recipients can be found here.

About NSERC

NSERC invests over $1 billion each year in natural sciences and engineering research in Canada. Their investments deliver discoveries—valuable world-firsts in knowledge claimed by a brain trust of over 11,000 professors. Their investments enable partnerships and collaborations that connect industry with discoveries and the people behind them. Researcher-industry partnerships established by NSERC help inform R&D, solve scale-up challenges and reduce the risks of developing high-potential technology.

NSERC also provides scholarships and hands-on training experience for more than 30,000 post-secondary students and post-doctoral fellows. These young researchers will be the next generation of science and engineering leaders in Canada.