This article is part of a monthly series celebrating research breakthroughs and successes at Brock University over the past 60 years. To read other stories in the series, visit The Brock News.

In 1991, Susan Clark accepted a proposal that set Brock on a path to decades of impactful industry collaborations.

The then-Vice President, Academic had a meeting with scientist Erica Besso, a former program officer with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), a federal granting agency.

Besso told Clark and then-Dean of Mathematics and Science Bill Cade about a growing trend at NSERC that saw grants supporting university-industry research partnerships. She hoped to help Brock University make the most of this opportunity.

Clark and Cade jumped at the offer. Under Cade’s direction, Besso proceeded to set up the Brock University-Industry Link Development (BUILD).

“We’re building a bank of expertise at the University and taking that to the community,” Besso said in the March 13, 1991, issue of Campus News. “We want to serve both needs: competitiveness in the business world and the educational focus of the University.”

Besso’s words are as relevant today as they were more than 30 years ago, says Acting Vice-President, Research Michelle McGinn.

“Industry collaborations give our students front-row, hands-on opportunities to build the knowledge and skills needed for their future careers,” she says. “Brock’s research is expanded and enriched as faculty and students support industry within and beyond Niagara.”

Throughout the decades, industry-Brock research partnerships made inroads in such areas as agriculture pest control, yeast molecular biology, environmental analysis and metal extraction and recovery.

Since opening in 1996, for example, Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) has created numerous research partnerships with local, national and international organizations in the grape and wine sector.

With a growing reputation as a solid industry partner, Brock has established several structures in recent years to foster research collaborations.

In early 2012, the federal government granted Brock more than $800,000 to establish a new centre, called BioLinc, in the Roy and Lois Cairns Health and Bioscience Research Complex, which was just months away from its official opening at the time.

Among its many activities, BioLinc connected science researchers with local entrepreneurs to create bio-manufacturing businesses. The centre also contained several labs made available to industry partners and Brock researchers for their projects.

One such team using the Cairns Complex labs was Professor Emeritus of Chemistry Ian Brindle (MSc ’72) and his partners at the Niagara-based copper extraction company Destiny Copper. In that space, the team developed new methods to produce copper — work that continues to this day.

The University received a huge boost towards growing its industry research connections in 2019 launch of the Brock-Niagara Validation, Prototyping and Manufacturing Institute (VPMI).

With a $5-million investment by the federal government, the VPMI houses cutting-edge equipment, technical expertise, technology transfer and training, and other supports for Brock researchers and their partners in southern Ontario’s bioproducts, bioscience, bioagriculture and chemical manufacturing sectors.

The VPMI works alongside the Brock LINC innovation hub, with both entities building on the work of their predecessor, BioLinc. Officially opening in the Rankin Family Pavilion in 2020, Brock LINC provides a range of programs and services to support research commercialization, entrepreneurship and industry partnerships.

The growth of University structures and supports has allowed Brock-industry partnerships to expand from an early focus on natural sciences into new disciplines, such as projects aiming to:

• Develop a drug to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which was carried out by Associate Professor of Kinesiology Val Fajardo (BSc ’09, MSc ’12) and the UK-based AMO Pharma Inc.
• Evaluating whether a new technology created by Niagara-based Clean Works Inc. could be used as a control measure for late-stage multicoloured Asian lady beetles, which was conducted by CCOVI Scientist Malkie Spodek
• Combine social network analysis with current prediction models to see if this method helps companies be nimbler and more responsive to market changes, which was investigated by Professor of Information Systems Anteneh Ayanso, post-doctoral researcher Leila Tahmooresnejad and the local data analytics firm Rel8ed – a Coface Company

McGinn says she’s excited to see how units across campus are establishing and strengthening research partnerships.

“These collaborations enable our researchers and students to play dynamic roles in Niagara’s innovation,” she says. “Together we are creating breakthroughs that build sustainable futures for those in our community and far beyond.”