Tri-Council Funding

During the 2018-19 fiscal year, Ryerson was pleased to be awarded its first-ever Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) — the only chair in social sciences and humanities awarded during this round. One of the most prestigious and generous awards available globally, the CERC program enables scholars from the international research community to conduct ambitious work at a Canadian university. The CERC is a Tri-Council initiative of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Anna Triandafyllidou (Sociology) will hold the CERC in Migration and Integration and commence a seven-year research program exploring the challenges facing Canada and the world in the areas of immigration, settlement and refugee and diaspora studies. Her work aligns with Ryerson’s international reputation for community-engaged city building and cultural diversity and inclusion.

The Canada Research Chair (CRC) program provides post-secondary institutions with the opportunity to retain or attract scholars to advance their fields of inquiry, be it engineering and natural sciences, health sciences, humanities or the social sciences. In 2018-19, Ryerson’s allocation of CRCs was 23, a notable increase over the previous fiscal year’s allocation of 20 CRCs.

This year saw two newly named CRCs — David Gauntlett and Sharareh Taghipour — and the CRC renewal of Ali Mazalek.

David Gauntlett (Creative Industries) was named a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Creative Innovation and Learning. His research experiments with platforms for creativity, creative identities, leadership and public understanding of creative practice — all of which are essential to the development and design of content and technologies in business, media, educational organizations and cultural institutions.

Sharareh Taghipour (Mechanical and Industrial Engineering) was named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Physical Asset Management. By developing state-of-the-art methodologies, she will address the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in industries like transportation, commercial building and heavy manufacturing, as well as carbon-intensive industries like mining, iron and steel.

Ali Mazalek (Media), Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Digital Media and Innovation, will continue her work at the forefront of new modalities that integrate the digital and physical to interface between humans and computers. Her work in tangible design and embodied cognition is innovating areas such as scientific modeling, computer engineering and inclusive technologies for children with special needs.

Tri-Council support of Ryerson’s SRC activities enables our researchers to activate new investigations and research studies, to further already established fields of inquiry, or to start projects that allow for experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students.

In 2018-19, Ryerson researchers were recognized by the Tri-Council agencies with approximately $17.1 million in funding, including a prestigious Collaborative Health Research Project grant and, in a Ryerson first, a Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

A joint initiative between the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), CHRP grants support interdisciplinary health sciences research that serves to improve the health and well-being of Canadians. This year, Michael Kolios (Physics) received a CHRP grant in collaboration with Sunnybrook Hospital's Odette Cancer Centre to investigate the use of conventional ultrasound and photoacoustic methods to predict the efficacy of breast cancer therapies during treatment. These functional imaging methods are non-invasive, portable and inexpensive, and their use over traditional anatomical assessments may help to spare patients from the side effects that arise from many weeks of chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Trevor Hart (Psychology) is investigating the integration of cognitive behavioural therapy for social anxiety disorder with HIV risk reduction counselling for HIV-negative gay and bisexual men who are at high risk of contracting HIV.

Karen Milligan (Psychology) is conducting research into the rising problem of substance abuse amongst mothers, investigating both the underlying causes as well as ways to build capacity for integrated, evidence-based services in Ontario.

Mark Towler (Mechanical Engineering) is developing a proprietary adhesive for use in closing up the sternum after an operation. The research has the potential to decrease wound infection rates and to improve recovery times for patients undergoing open-heart surgery.

Atefeh Mashatan (Information Technology Management) received a Collaborative Research and Development Grant to work with industry partner NXM Technologies Inc. to address the security and data integrity of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices for connected and autonomous vehicles.

Qinmin (Vivian) Hu (Computer Science) is developing a novel cognitive framework based on machine learning that can answer web search queries with direct, context-driven answers instead of algorithm-generated lists of articles commonly derived from search engines.

Stephen Waldman (Chemical Engineering) is Ryerson’s first-ever recipient of a grant from the NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program. The grant will go towards the MedTech Talent Accelerator, an innovative program co-designed with industry partners to help students in science and engineering disciplines gain the knowledge and skills needed in Canada’s rapidly growing medical technology field.

Natalie Alvarez (Performance) is advancing problem-based scenario training that focuses on de-escalation strategies for police officers responding to individuals experiencing mental crises. Participating test sites include the Ontario Police College and the Durham Regional Police.

Robert Burley (Image Arts) is analyzing and documenting the Greater Toronto Area’s fast-changing suburban settlements and social spaces. The project’s collaborators include researchers working in spatial analysis, urban and regional planning and geographic analysis.

Tony Hernandez (Retail Management) is building a comprehensive database of shopping centre transformation projects in Canada, providing objective data and insights that can serve to inform public policy and private sector decision-making and investment.