News

Town of Lincoln, Brock launch Living Lab initiative

Monday, October 16, 2017 | By Amanda Smits

Mayor: partnership will help guide policy development, decision-making

NEWS Oct 06, 2017 by Scott Rosts Grimsby Lincoln News

Town of Lincoln CAO Michael Kirkopoulos and Mayor Sandra Easton sign documents with Brock University president Gervan Fearon and Brock’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre director Ryan Plummer to formally launch the Brock-Lincoln Living Lab partnership. The Living Lab will focus on addressing specific local needs around community sustainability and wellbeing and will assist with guiding policy development nad decision making, said Easton. – Courtesy Photo

LINCOLN — The Town of Lincoln and Brock University have formally launched a partnership that will help guide the town with future policy development and decision-making.

On Oct. 3, Brock and town officials celebrated the launch of the Brock-Lincoln Living Lab at an event at Vineland Estates Winery. The goal of the initiative is to have university students, through Brock’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, contribute to the Living Lab’s work through their research and the partnership offers a conduit for experiential education that extends curriculum into the community.

Ryan Plummer, director of Brock’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, says efforts will focus on addressing specific local needs around sustainable municipal planning and advancing areas such as economic, social and community development.

“It’s a platform to interact and bring together community leaders, policy-makers, researchers and students who all have a shared commitment to explore and investigate issues vital to the community and its well-being,” Plummer said. “It’s working together to figure out what the issues and questions are and then developing on that, with students embedding their research, our course projects and coop experiences in the community.”

Specific outcomes, he said, will be the result, meaning it doesn’t end up being a study that sits on shelf for years.

“That’s exactly why it’s so important. It’s not a one-off study. It’s a systematic partnership over a five-year time frame that will actively engage people on issues that address community challenges and opportunities,” he said.

Specific targets over that five-year time frame include a needs assessment to help get the project started, community engagement sessions, research projects, exploring mutually beneficial opportunities such as grant proposals and community forms.

Plummer said it’s a great example of an opportunity to extend Brock’s educational reach with students into the real world on issues ranging from urban planning and development pressures to biodiversity to climate change to water resources, and more.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn experientially on a first-hand basis on the situation communities are experiencing,” he said. “We can’t create that in our institution, so that is a rich learning experience we’re excited about.”

Lincoln officials are also excited about the potential.

“The benefits of this co-operative venture are vast. With access to research specific to our community, we are better able to guide policy development and decision-making,” said Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton.

Lincoln chief administrative officer Michael Kirkopoulos said partnerships with post-secondary educations like Brock has been a focus for council this term, noting there are great benefits for both the students and the residents of Lincoln.

“Complete, dynamic and evolving communities try to always work with schools at all levels to ensure the community sees benefits. In this case, having a Brock presence, the Living Lab, that incubator for ideas and learning in Lincoln will be significant for us as we evolve, prosper and change,” he said. “This is not only for the well-being of the community, but conversely for students and researches to take back what they hear and learn on the ground and bring it back to their labs and classrooms. It benefits both of us.”

The launch formalizes the memorandum of understanding Brock and the town signed back in February, but an example of the type of hands-on learning that will come out of the Living Lab started this summer when Brock master of sustainability co-op student Meghan Birbeck worked at the Town of Lincoln on initiatives such as sustainable development of the town’s future transit system and other community programs.

“The relationship between Brock and the Town of Lincoln is blossoming and represents a wonderful example of how collaboration can benefit everyone,” said Brock University president Gervan Fearon. “Brock is a comprehensive university with a clear mission to serve local communities and the announcement today directly speaks to this mission.”

Story from Niagara This Week
Two members of the ESRC awarded NSERC Funding

Monday, October 16, 2017 | By Amanda Smits
2017 Discovery Accelerator Supplements Competition Results

Pisaric, Michael
From cells to biomes: the impacts of recent climate change on northern ecosystems
$39,000.00

Discovery grants program, individual

Cheung, Stephen
Integrating mechanisms of thermal impact on neuromuscular function
$28,000.00

Read full story below or visit The Brock News

Brock researchers awarded $3.8 million NSERC funding, up $1.4 million from last year

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 08, 2017 | Posted by Brock University
MEDIA RELEASE: 8 September 2017 – R00157

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has awarded more than two dozen Brock University faculty and student researchers $3.8 million in this year’s funding round, Niagara Centre Member of Parliament Vance Badawey announced at Brock Friday, Sept. 8.

Provided through NSERC’s Discovery and student awards programs, funding is up $1.4 million from last year and supports an array of research looking at topics such as risky behaviours in teens, loss of memory control while aging and the reproductive behaviour of carpenter bees.

“This announcement, once again, affirms our government’s commitment to scientific research and the understanding of its importance in our society,” Badawey said. “Niagara is, year by year, continuing to establish itself as a centre of ground-breaking research and by providing much needed resources, we are enabling our brightest minds to meet challenges both today and into the future.”

The announcement was made within Brock’s Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex, where much of the University’s research takes place.

“In my 28 years at Brock, this is the best round that I can remember for funding success through the NSERC Discovery programs,” said Interim Vice-President, Research, Joffre Mercier. “I am very proud of our faculty members, and I congratulate them for the outstanding work.”

The success rate for renewing NSERC grants is 80 per cent.

“The Government of Canada is committed to investing in fundamental research and engineering that will improve and enrich our country’s knowledge economy,” said the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, who was in B.C. Friday to announce total funding being granted to researchers across the country. “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.”

Examples of Brock research that received Discovery Grants funding include:
- Determining how much of a role intuition plays when teens choose to pursue risky behaviours
- Identifying what causes us to lose control over our memory as we age
- Understanding how muscles work by better interpreting electrical signals coming from electrodes placed on the skin
With her Discovery Grant funding, Assistant Professor of Psychology Elizabeth Shulman will be able to purchase specialized equipment to study risky behaviour in adolescence.

“This research is important for understanding the most effective ways to keep adolescents safe — when they are a little bit more vulnerable to risk-taking — without going overboard or keeping them from having experiences that will allow them to learn,” Shulman said.

Also included in the $3.8 million are NSERC’s Canada Graduate Scholarship Master’s, the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship and the Postgraduate Scholarship-Doctoral awards.

Examples of NSERC-funded student research include:
- Examining how sexual selection influences the reproductive behaviour of male carpenter bees
- Understanding the effect of high-intensity exercise training on bone and bone-regulating proteins in Olympic-level female rowers
- Fine-tuning molecular properties for use in advanced computing technologies
Honoured to be a Vanier scholar, PhD student Caitlyn Gallant said the award enables her to research how people with mild brain injuries and those with autism spectrum disorders can better understand and interpret other people’s thoughts and emotions.

“It is a wonderful recognition of the work I have put into academics, research and community service and inspires me to invest greater effort in my research and community,” she said.

For a full list of Brock’s NSERC-funded research, see the story in The Brock News.
Brock University students making Lincoln a better place

Monday, October 16, 2017 | By Amanda Smits

By Allan Benner, The Standard

Thursday, October 5, 2017 5:28:21 EDT PM

Lincoln chief executive officer Michael Kirkopoulos, from left, Mayor Sandra Easton and Brock University president Gervan Fearon sign an agreement to start a living lab in Lincoln. (Allan Benner/St. Catharines Standard/Postmedia Network)

Town of Lincoln buses are expected to begin rolling through the community in November, as part of a pilot project to carry passengers to stops throughout the growing town.

Lincoln chief executive officer Michael Kirkopoulos said while municipal staff have spent months planning for the launch of the service, that would also link with GO bus services, much of the work was done by someone who would actually use the service — a student.

Brock University master of sustainability student Meghan Birbeck “almost single-handedly looked at the route map and said, ‘No, here’s where it should go,’” he said.

He said the 24-year-old student who worked as an intern at town hall during the summer months “uses every sort of bus and active transportation network we have.”

Although “it’s great for us as bureaucrats to sit there and tell you, ‘Here’s where the stops should be and here’s the frequency,’” Kirkopoulos said Birbeck provided insight into the development of that transit service that town staff overlooked.

“It’s a user-design as opposed to an experiment and experience design,” he said. “It brings that lens.”

Considering how much Birbeck’s assistance improved plans for the transit service, Kirkopoulos said he’s excited to see what other students contribute in the months and years to come.

The town signed a memorandum of understanding in February to launch the initiative which has evolved in the months that followed into a “living lab” that was officially launched this week, during an event at Vineland Estates Winery.

It’s a long-term partnership through Brock’s environmental sustainability research centre that will give students like Birbeck an opportunity to use their knowledge in practical applications, while also benefitting the town and residents by providing access to research and expertise of students.

Brock president Gervan Fearon said the living lab agreement with Lincoln is a first for the university. He hopes it won’t be the last.

“This agreement and the MOU with the Town of Lincoln, as well as the activities that we’ve already conducted through the environmental sustainability research centre as well as through the living lab, is exactly the kind of relationship that we’d like to forge with communities across the region,” Fearon said.

“It allows us to bring not only our faculty and staff, but indeed our students to be able to participate in real-life, hands-on opportunities to contribute to the betterment of communities. It allows us to partner with communities such as the Town of Lincoln, in order to have them move forward with some of their agenda items and priorities and have a resource for them in supporting community development.”

As a result of the initiative, Kirkopoulos said he hopes to see many more students at town hall as a result of the partnership.

“The more the merrier for us. The more we have the better,” he said.

The work the students are doing transcends the environmental lens, he said.

“It’s everything from shoreline protection to what happens if we put up multi-storey buildings. How does that change the composition of a community?” he said.

Kirkopoulos said there will be a strong, visible Brock University presence on the first floor of town hall in the months to come.

He said the challenge and opportunity for the town and university will be expanding that relationship.

“This is for us the start of a further conversation,” Kirkopoulos said. “We’re going to have a cohort of students working in town hall, sharing space with us and then where it goes from there, those are the opportunities.”

Story from The St.Catharines Standard.
Liette Vasseur: Adaptation to Coastal Storms in Atlantic Canada

Monday, October 09, 2017 | By Amanda Smits

UNESCO Chairholder and ESRC Core Faculty Member, Liette Vasseur has published a new book based on an analysis that was performed on a series of winter storms in 2010/ 2011 that caused considerable damage to coastal communities in Atlantic Canada.

Adaptation to Coastal Storms in Atlantic Canada, which was co-authored by Brock University’s Mary J. Thornbush and PI Steve Plante, of the Université du Québec à Rimouski, summarizes the results of the project and provides a perspective on how people in 10 coastal communities perceive and experience extreme weather events, and enhance their capacity to adapt and improve their resilience. It describes the outcome of two series of interviews and activities that were conducted during the project, as well as the lessons learned and general elements that should be considered when researchers collaborate with communities to define adaptation and resilience strategies.

With coastal storms increasing both in frequency and intensity, the book provides a guide that allows communities to better understand the priorities and options available to them in order to then take an active role in adaptation to climate change in their communities.

“We tried to find ways that the tools would be simple enough that the communities can use them and use a participatory approach,” said Vasseur. “It’s not only for coastal zones and it can be used in other countries. Because this was a large project of six years, we were able to develop a lot of tools that are now being used in other places, such as in a project in Ecuador.”

To learn more or purchase the e-book, visit the publisher’s website.
Brock-Lincoln Living Lab a benefit to students and residents

Monday, October 09, 2017 | By Amanda Smits
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 03, 2017 | by Dan Dakin
From left, Town of Lincoln CAO Mike Kirkopoulos, Mayor Sandra Easton, Brock University President Gervan Fearon and Environmental Sustainability Research Centre Director Ryan Plummer are pictured during the signing of an agreement to create the Brock-Lincoln Living Lab Tuesday, Oct. 3.
A unique partnership formally connecting a community and a university was officially launched Tuesday afternoon.

Officials from Brock University and the Town of Lincoln launched the Brock-Lincoln Living Lab at an event at Vineland Estates Winery, kicking off a long-term relationship that will benefit current and future students at the University along with current and future residents in the southern Ontario town.

Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton listens as Brock University President Gervan Fearon speaks Tuesday.

Brock and Lincoln signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February with the goal of creating opportunities for students and advancing the Town’s overall development. The Brock-Lincoln Living Lab that was launched Tuesday will focus on addressing specific local needs around community sustainability and well-being. Brock faculty and students will contribute to the Living Lab’s work through their research and the partnership offers a conduit for experiential education that extends curriculum into the community.

The Brock-Lincoln Living Lab will provide real benefits to the community of Lincoln and to the Brock community by leveraging the resources, capacities and talents of both communities.

“The relationship between Brock and the Town of Lincoln is blossoming and represents a wonderful example of how collaboration can benefit everyone,” said Brock University President Gervan Fearon. “Brock is a comprehensive university with a clear mission to serve local communities and the announcement today directly speaks to this mission.”

Town of Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton said the partnership is an important step in the Town’s growth.

“The development of the Living Lab further demonstrates a greater Brock presence in our community, meeting one of Council’s goals this term,” she said. “The benefits of this co-operative venture are vast. With access to research specific to our community, we are better able to guide policy development and decision making.”

The partnership with the Town of Lincoln is through Brock’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre. Director Ryan Plummer said the Living Lab will enrich the experience of students studying in the Sustainability Science and Society program, as well as others taking courses in environmental sustainability.

Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton listens as ESRC Director Ryan Plummer speaks Tuesday.

“These direct experiences complement classroom learning by students and offer powerful benefits of situating learning in the community, bridging the ‘theory-practice’ divide, and enriching understanding of complex problems,” he said.

An example of the type of hands-on learning that will come out of the Living Lab started this summer when Brock Master of Sustainability co-op student Meghan Birbeck worked at the Town of Lincoln on initiatives such as sustainable development of the Town’s future transit system and other community programs.

“We’re proud to be the first community in Niagara to establish this innovative approach and partnership that brings Brock to Lincoln,” said Michael Kirkopoulos, CAO, Town of Lincoln. “The Living Lab is a way to benefit from the research and work the University does to enhance the services we deliver to residents, businesses and visitors. I look forward to continuing to work with Brock in the future.”

The Brock-Lincoln Living Lab is initially set to last five years. Among some of the more specific targets the two sides are working toward are:

Conduct a needs assessment within the first year of operations identifying priorities, proposed activities and objectives to be achieved within the first five years

Hold public events each year pertaining to knowledge mobilization and community engagement

Engage graduate and undergraduate students in co-operative education, course projects and independent research projects

Initiate research projects by Brock faculty

Explore and pursue mutually beneficial opportunities of shared interest such as grant proposals and community forums

Promote the Living Lab locally and develop networks nationally and internationally

Support Lincoln in following other national or international initiatives that can help promote community sustainability and are in line with the spirit of the Living Lab

Story from The Brock News
Media Release: Brock University and Town of Lincoln to launch Living Lab partnership

Wednesday, September 27, 2017 | By Amanda Smits

MEDIA RELEASE

27 September 2017 R00170 Brock University — Communications & Public Affairs

Brock University and Town of Lincoln to launch Living Lab partnership

Brock University will embark on an unprecedented mission with one of its host communities next week, when it partners with the Town of Lincoln on a project that will give the Town important support for planning sustainable growth, and provide valuable experiential learning opportunities for Brock students and researchers.

Brock’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre and the Town of Lincoln will officially launch their new Living Lab collaborative project on Tuesday, Oct. 3 at Vineland Estates Winery. The event will be held in the winery’s Carriage House starting at 5 p.m. with remarks to begin at 5:15 p.m.

The partnership is the result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the University and the Town in February aimed at enriching opportunities for students and advancing the town’s economic, social and community development. The Brock-Lincoln Living Lab will focus on addressing specific local needs around sustainable municipal planning. Master of Sustainability students will find hands-on opportunities to contribute to the Living Lab’s work through experiential education placements and research projects.

On Tuesday, Town of Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton and CAO Michael Kirkopoulos will join Brock President Gervan Fearon and Ryan Plummer, Director of the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre in launching the first collaborative project.

Media are invited to attend the launch of the Brock-Lincoln Living Lab. Interview opportunities will be available.

Quick Facts What: Launch of new partnership between Brock University and Town of Lincoln When: Tuesday, Oct. 3, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Where: Vineland Estates Winery, Carriage House, 3620 Moyer Rd., Vineland Who: Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton; Brock President Gervan Fearon; Lincoln CAO Michael Kirkopoulos; and Brock University ESRC Director Ryan Plummer.

For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

* Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

Brock University Marketing and Communications has a full-service studio where we can provide high definition video and broadcast-quality audio.
Master of Sustainability graduate’s research wins Best Paper at International Conference

Wednesday, September 13, 2017 | By Amanda Smits

By: Lydia Collas

Brock University’s Dr. Gary Pickering (left) is awarded Best Paper at the 2017 International Conference on Food and Agriculture Technologies (ICFAT) from Professor Byoung Ryong Jeong (right), Gyeongsang National University, Korea.

Research of Samantha Stea, an alumnus of the Sustainability Science and Society (SSAS) graduate program, has recently been awarded Best Paper at the 2017 International Conference on Food and Agriculture Technologies (ICFAT) in Bali, Indonesia.

Stea investigated consumer perspectives on the environmental impacts of red meat production, as well as effective means for encouraging people to reduce their consumption of red meat.

“We knew there had not been much research done on this topic, especially considering the environmental angle, so we decided it would be a unique research opportunity” said Stea, “It was immensely satisfying to get to do research that involved people’s day-to-day lives and spread some understanding of how their daily lives can have an impact on the environment.”

Livestock farming is a major cause of deforestation worldwide. This is because of the extensive land needed for grazing and the production of food, such as grain, for these animals. It also uses more water, and creates more greenhouse gas emissions than plant-based foods.

Stea began her research by identifying peoples’ motivations to eat red meat. She used her findings to design different messages about the negative environmental impacts of meat production. Several respondents indicated that they would reduce their red meat consumption, indicating the effectiveness of the messages.

Stea’s research was supervised by Dr. Gary Pickering, Professor of Biological Sciences and Psychology who presented the research at ICFAT 2017 on behalf of Stea, “Our lab is very interested and active in research that aims to understand why, as consumers, we make decisions that harm the environment.”

Pickering is keen to pursue further research in this area, “We also conduct empirical research on how we can optimize environmental messaging to promote pro-environmental behaviors. Sam’s research on red meat consumption combined both of these themes, and we are building on this success with several other projects through the SSAS programme.”

Stea expressed her delight at her work being named Best Paper at ICFAT 2017, “We knew we had tackled a novel research question, so it was exciting to get some external validation for it. I am very grateful and appreciative that our paper was chosen, I know all the submissions were high quality.”

Following her graduation from the SSAS program, Stea speaks highly of its impact on her future aspirations, “The SSAS program has led me to continue to pursue a career where I can help people and organizations to understand sustainability and how it can fit into their lives. I believe we can all live a little bit more sustainably, and this program has given me the tools and knowledge to make that happen.”
Featured in The Brock Press: Brock University offers new Environmental Sustainability minor

Monday, September 11, 2017 | By Amanda Smits

Brock University offers new Environmental Sustainability minor

September 5, 2017 Elizabeth Martin

brocku.ca

With extreme weather becoming more prominent in the world, the need to address and help prevent further climate change has become more necessary than ever. Brock University is now providing students with an opportunity to be a part of that prevention with a minor in Environmental Sustainability provided through the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC). With Hurricane Harvey, the first major hurricane to touch landfall in the U.S. since Hurricane Wilma, the timing couldn’t be any more perfect.

The new minor aims to combine the study of social and environmental sciences with economics, ideally suited to equip the student not only with an understanding of how to protect the natural environments that are necessary for survival, but to do so in a way that helps protect and even improve the overall quality of human life. For instance, what ways can we protect the environment from worsening climate conditions while still supporting the overall population through its continued growth.

While it is easy to see the larger picture, it is hard to consider the impact of even the smallest actions of an individual on the environment’s overall health. Looking at extreme weather over the past few decades in the form of hurricanes like Katrina, Sandy, or most recently Hurricane Harvey, make it easier to see why it is so important to integrate environmental sustainability into society.

This new minor will allow students the opportunity to delve into the subject while still in their undergraduate degrees, inspiring more students to consider future paths in green energy, and in protection of the natural environment that is in need of addressing. Additionally, Environmental Sustainability does not only address current issues of climate change, but touches on all aspects of life through addressing the environment and our relationship to it.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the new minor is how varying the range of co-operating centres and departments involved are, from Earth Science and Economics to Studies in Arts and Culture and even Visual Arts. This is for a very specific reason, particularly that the new minor, while being about Environmental Sustainability, is, at its core, about breaking barriers between subjects, working in tandem to provide students with a wider, more nuanced understanding of environmental issues. Additionally, the minor aims to take “ a transdisciplinary orientation to encourage connections among ideas and prepare students to engage with a dynamic and complex world.”

With the program involving so many different transdisciplinary aspects, the minor is a suitable addition to many different fields of study, so students outside of Geography and Earth Sciences might find this to be an interesting choice in further enriching their educational experience.

Though the Environmental Sustainability minor is still under development, two second year courses will be available online for the fall semester: Introduction to Environmental Sustainability (ENSU 2P01) which involves a look into the overall concepts and importance of Environmental Sustainability, and Environmental Sustainability in Practice (ENSU 2P02) which involves an introduction into the practice of Environmental Sustainability in a variety of fields.

Additional third year courses are also available and while they do not have the second year courses listed as prerequisites, students are strongly recommended to take the second year courses first. A minor in Environmental Sustainability will require 1.5 ENSU credits to be quantifiable as well as an additional 2.5 credits from a list of approved courses. Students are allowed to take an Environmental Sustainability course without minoring, however registration will favour those who are minoring first.

While there is only a minor currently available in Environmental Sustainability, if students wish to continue exploring the subject post-undergrad, Brock University also offers The Sustainability Science and Society (SSAS) graduate program, first available in 2014. This program offers students the chance to gain a Master of Sustainability within either 16 months or 24 months, as the program is offered in two different paths: Scheme A which includes classroom studies and practical experience, or Scheme B which involves extensive research experience. The program totes an emphasis on “overcoming barriers among traditional disciplines and sectors”.

Story featured in The Brock Press
Christine Diagle awarded a Partnership Development Grant for “Posthumanism research network”

Monday, September 11, 2017 | By Amanda Smits
Brock awarded $2.2 million in SSHRC funding in 2017

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2017 | by Cathy Majtenyi
Brock Professor Angela Book has received a grant from the federal government’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to continue her research into what psychopaths look for when they choose their next victim.
What do psychopaths look for when they pick their next victim? And how do psychopaths come across when they lure in those victims?

Brock psychologist Angela Book’s previous research has shown that the way that a person walks — shuffling, looking at the ground, hunched over — can make them a potential target for a psychopath.

Now the associate professor of Psychology is taking her work one step further by researching the personality traits that would make someone likely to become a victim.

With her grant from the federal government’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Book and Lakehead University Assistant Professor of Psychology Beth Visser will be running a series of experiments that will assess where participants fall on the HEXACO scale, a model co-developed by Brock and the University of Calgary that measures six major dimensions of personality. The scale measures: honesty-humility; emotionality; extraversion; agreeableness (versus anger); conscientiousness; and openness to experience.

“Our new project is going to look at the personality associated with being gullible and vulnerable to such manipulation or victimization,” says Book. “The second part of our research is to look at whether that translates into accurately predicting victimization.”

In the federal government agency’s 2017 competition, Brock received a total of $2.2 million from SSHRC’s Insight Grants, Insight Development Grants, Partnership Development Grants, and student research awards.

This total includes graduate student scholarships and fellowships.

“Brock continues to do very well in receiving funding from SSHRC,” says Brock’s Interim Vice-President Research Joffre Mercier. “The applications go through a very competitive process, and Brock’s success is a clear demonstration of the excellence of our researchers in humanities and social sciences research.”

Book says her research results will help people to better understand their own vulnerabilities, taking the randomness out of abuse and hopefully preventing victimization from taking place.

“It’s amazing that SSHRC gives the opportunity to do this kind of research,” says Book. “There’s no way I could afford to do this without the funding.”

Brock researchers awarded Insight Grants in 2017 are:

Natalie Alvarez, Department of Dramatic Arts, “Scenario training to improve interactions between police and individuals in mental crisis: impacts and efficacy”

Angela Book, Department of Psychology, “Psychopaths as social predators: victim selection, social mimicry, and interpersonal interaction”

Chantal Buteau, Department of Mathematics, “Educating for the 21^st Century: post-secondary students learning progmastics, computer programming for mathematical investigation, simulation, real-world modelling”

Jane Koustas, Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, “Contemporary Irish and Quebec theatre: national identity/global reach”

Jennifer Rowsell, Department of Teacher Education, “Maker literacies”

Louis Volante, Department of Teacher Education, “Immigrant student achievement and education policy: a Pan-Canadian analysis”

Anthony Volk, Department of Child and Youth Studies, “Reconceptualizing bullying: strengthening the foundation for measurement, research, interventions and policies”

Dawn Zinga, Department of Child and Youth Studies, “Breaking down barriers: first generation students and programming that addresses barriers to post-secondary achievement”

Brock researchers awarded Insight Development Grants in the 2017 are:

Jin Lei, Department of Finance, Operations and Information Systems, “Credit risk spillovers and corporate financial policies”

Robert Steinbauer, Department of Organizational Behaviour, Human Resources, Entrepreneurship and Ethics: “How do mentors affect student entrepreneur proteges’ moral cognition and ethical conduct?”

Dawn Zinga, Department of Child and Youth Studies, “Why do competitive dancers commit to dance? Exploring the lived experiences of young competitive dancers within a motivational framework”

Brock researchers awarded a Partnership Development Grant in 2017 are:

Christine Daigle, Department of Philosophy, “Posthumanism research network”

SSHRC’s Insight Grants program provides funding for three to five years for research that accomplishes a number of goals, including: building knowledge and understanding; supporting new approaches to research; and providing training experiences for students.

SSHRC’s Insight Development Grants program supports research in its initial stages. The grants enable the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and/or ideas.

Partnership Development Grant proposals are expected to respond to the objectives of the Insight program or the Connection program, or a combination thereof.

Story from The Brock News
Researchers tackling allergies and climate change receive CFI funding

Wednesday, August 16, 2017 | By Amanda Smits

TUESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2017 | by Cathy Majtenyi

Adam MacNeil will use funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to continue his allergies research.

It’s the peanut that has Adam MacNeil so concerned.

Thinking back to his schoolyard days, the assistant professor in Brock’s Department of Health Sciences says children with peanut allergies were a rarity — a far cry from today’s youth.

“Allergies are absolutely an epidemic,” he explains, adding that up to 50 per cent of school-aged Canadian children suffer from allergic diseases. “It’s very much a combination of our environment, our immune system and how they interact with one another.”

MacNeil is one of two Brock professors who will be able to take their research further thanks to $311,821 in federal funding announced Tuesday, Aug. 15 by Minister of Science Kirsty Duncan. The research dollars, received through the Canada Foundation for Innovation John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), will also benefit Kevin Turner.

The assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies spends his time examining temperature and landscape data gathered on his many research trips to a lake-rich area of the Yukon called Old Crow Flats, the traditional territory of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation.

Kevin Turner will use funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to further his work on the impacts of climate change in the lake-rich area of the Yukon called Old Crow Flats.

“The North is a very important place to understand how climate is affecting the land, wildlife and natural resources because it is undergoing greater amounts of change than anywhere else,” Turner says.

JELF funding is used by the CFI to help Canadian institutions attract and retain top researchers, by providing the infrastructure they need to remain or become leaders in their field.

MacNeil’s research focuses on mast cells — specialized cells of the immune system that arise from stem cells. They normally play important roles in fighting infection and maintaining healthy tissues where they are found.

But mast cells can also act out and react to substances in the environment that pose no real threat. Known as allergens, contact with the likes of pollen, mould and certain foods, can cause mast cells to release various biologically potent substances leading to tissue damage.

The release of these biological substances causes inflammation, mucus production and other allergy symptoms.

“We’re looking at the molecular and genetic changes that happen to bone marrow-derived stem cells that allow them to ultimately become the mast cells found in other tissues,” MacNeil says. “We’re interested in how those mast cells then function and whether we can find innovative strategies to target mast cells and block their ability to create allergic inflammation.”

To find those strategies is no easy task. Samples that researchers pull from bone marrow contain a huge number and variety of cells that regulate all aspects of immunity. MacNeil says there’s a lot of “background noise” that interferes with examining the development of mast cells closely.

With his JELF funding, MacNeil will purchase a cell sorting and analysis suite — a group of instruments that will allow him to suck out and isolate stem cells developing into mast cells for intense examination.

Turner’s research, on the other hand, documents how the impacts of climate change are transforming the landscape of Old Crow Flats by eroding river shorelines, increasing shrub vegetation and destabilizing lake water levels.

Also of huge concern are the presence and movement of carbon in the area’s water system.

Rising temperatures are causing permafrost to thaw which, in turn, triggers ‘thaw slumps’ (landslides) in many areas, especially along river banks.

Carbon is a chemical element that is an important component of greenhouse gases.

Permafrost locks in large amounts of carbon, which can be released to lakes, rivers or the atmosphere, potentially perpetuating changing climate, Turner says.

With his JELF funding, Turner will obtain drones and GPS systems that he will use to create three-dimensional maps twice each season over several years. These maps will be used with sampled sediment, vegetation and water to document rates of landscape changes and associated influences on the carbon balance and river and lake environments.

“It is important for us to continue development of innovative and integrated approaches to monitor landscape changes and impacts across vast northern regions,” he says. “Findings will improve predictions of how these important landscapes will respond to future climate change.”

Brock’s Interim Vice-President Research Joffre Mercier said it is gratifying for the University to receive funding that is earmarked for the country’s most significant research projects.

“This will enable two of our researchers to make significant contributions to Canada’s health care and environmental conservation efforts,” he said. “We’re all very proud of the exceptional research performed at Brock, and I look forward to seeing the results.”

Story from The Brock News