Six London-based research teams – five based at Western, one at the Lawson Health Research Institute – will share more than $7.4 million from the Ontario Research Fund-Research Infrastructure (ORF-RI) program to further their discoveries. London North Centre MPP Deb Matthews announced the grants this morning at Robarts Research Institute.
“We are grateful the province continues to fund research that has impact both within Ontario and abroad,” said Amit Chakma, Western president. “By supporting our researchers, the provincial government helps improve health care, bolster economic prosperity and ensure Ontario’s social and cultural institutions thrive.”
ORF-RI provides grants to Ontario universities and research hospitals to help obtain equipment and resources for research labs. The fund helps researchers in a range of disciplines generate new ideas, stimulate technology development and support the growth of strong regional economies.
The six funded projects announced today include:
- Centre for the development and testing of MR-compatible medical devices and technology, led by Physics and Astronomy professor Blaine Chronik, $705,911;
- National Centre for Audiology, led by Communication Sciences and Disorders professor Prudence Allen, $765,565;
- Facility for load-bearing imaging, biomechanics and clinical orthopaedics research (LIBCOR), led by Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry professor David Holdsworth, $1,342,675;
- Advanced Facility for Avian Research (AFAR) takes flight: New technologies to study global, regional and local-scale movement ecology of free-living birds, led by Biology professor Christopher Guglielmo, $1,171,999;
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, led by Schulich professor Ravi Menon, Canada Research Chair in Functional and Metabolic Mapping, $2,494,098; and
- A large area detector dual energy CT scanner for low radiation dose functional imaging research in oncology and cardiology, led by Schulich professor Dr. Ting-Yim Lee, through the Lawson Health Research Institute, $961,524.