Ontario’s universities have laid out their role as active and willing partners in securing a more vibrant and prosperous future for students, communities and the province, in a new report called Partnering for a Better Future for Ontario. The campaign report commits Ontario’s universities to working with the government, municipalities, business, and public sector institutions to help students thrive, build strong communities, and drive a growing and dynamic province. The report—which includes 24 recommendations to government—caps…

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This post originally appeared on the COU website. Each year, the Government of Ontario awards a prize of $20,000 to five young researchers who are carrying out exceptional work in the areas of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology/Medicine, Literature and Economic Science. The Prizes, which this year celebrate their 30th anniversary, were established by the provincial government in honour of the achievement of John Charles Polanyi, recipient of the 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. These are this…

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Her goal is laser-focused—Alicia Martin wants to help improve cancer treatment. The fourth-year Brock University physics student has been conducting research in partnership with the Niagara Health System (NHS) as part of an experiential learning opportunity, investigating ways to make radiation therapy more efficient. Martin has been working closely with Dr. Ranjini Tolakanahalli, Manager of the NHS’s Department of Medical Physics at the Walker Family Cancer Centre, to improve the effectiveness of external beam therapy, a…

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Dr. Mona Nemer (second from left) at the Research Matters annual Parliament Hill Pop-Up event in Ottawa. Photo by Dave Chan. Research Matters congratulates Dr. Mona Nemer on her new role as Canada’s Chief Science Advisor. The three-year appointment was announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday (Sept. 26) at the House of Commons. Nemer will report to the Prime Minister and Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan, advising the federal government on all science-related policy and…

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The adaptive rowing team working with Laurentian University researcher Thomas Merritt for the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto. Photo credit: Thomas Merritt Researcher Thomas Merritt arrived at Laurentian University to study genes. He knew little—nor did he need to know—about parasports, accessibility, and adaptive rowing. That was 10 years ago. This week, Merritt is in Toronto for the 2017 Invictus Games, as a technical expert on the biomechanics of adaptive rowing and parasports, and has…

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Kip Pegley knows what kind of impact music can have on people’s lives. As an associate professor of musicology and ethnomusicology, the power of music is all around her. In her current research, the Queen’s University researcher is looking at the role that music plays within the lives of Canadian Forces personnel, in particular those who have been deployed and returned to Canada, including those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). What she has found…

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“I had a snake and a turtle in my hand as a kid,” says Jackie Litzgus. “That’s how I built empathy.” The Laurentian University professor recalls childhood memories of foraging through the ravine and woods for snakes, toads, and turtles with her brother. These early experiences ignited a lifelong passion to study nature conservation and biology, particularly turtle conservation. “There is inherent worth and beauty in nature that should not be taken for granted,” she…

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Stephanie Lee (far right) is one of the Assistant Directors of Public Affairs for Laurier’s International Students Overcoming War (ISOW) program. Taking your research from the classroom or lab and into the real world is always a goal of many university researchers. For Wilfrid Laurier professor and global affairs researcher Gavin Brockett, the wheels were set in motion almost four years ago during a first-year seminar on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As the students were finishing…

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SMART Lab’s senior choir, Brainstem Malfunction, performs with director Frank Russo on guitar and graduate student Ella Dubinsky on keyboard. Researchers at Ryerson University’s SMART Lab are making more than just music. With the help of the Chang School, industry partners, and a couple of dozen or so seniors, they’re making a social impact as well. Frank Russo, psychology professor and director of the Science of Music, Auditory Research, and Technology (SMART) Lab, and graduate…

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This post is an updated version of an older researcher profile on Laurentian University’s Thomas Merritt. Can fruit flies and microbes help lessen the damage caused by mining? That’s a question Thomas Merritt, Canada Research Chair in Genomics and Bioinformatics, is working to answer. Merritt and collaborator Nadia Mykytczuk, NOHFC Industrial Research Chair in Biomining, Bioremediation and Science Communication, are working to find ways to mitigate the damage caused by acid mine drainage—the highly acidic waste…

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