Media releases

• Brain signalling research among projects bolstered by $2.4M in federal funding

  Tuesday, July 07, 2026 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE — July 7, 2026 — R0061

  Retinoic acid may be a small molecule, but it has mighty impacts.

  Essential for brain and nervous system development, the product of Vitamin A usually works by changing the expression of genes. What intrigues Brock University researcher Gaynor Spencer, however, is its ability to induce rapid changes to cells through lesser understood “non-genomic” processes.

  “These non-genomic effects of retinoic acid are important for directing nerve outgrowth and controlling communication between neurons in the brain,” says the Professor of Biological Sciences.

  Spencer and her team are researching the topic with funding from the Government of Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

  She is among 10 Brock researchers who have received a total of more than $2.4 million in 2026 NSERC Discovery Grants and Research Tools and Instruments grants, announced Tuesday, July 7.

  “Creativity and innovation drive the research that improves lives and strengthens communities in Canada and around the world,” says Chris Bittle, Member of Parliament for St. Catharines. “Through the Discovery Grants Program, our government is proud to support Brock University researchers whose groundbreaking work is helping shape a stronger future.”

  Since joining Brock more than 25 years ago, Spencer has been studying how retinoic acid is involved in regenerating neurites — an outgrowth of a brain cell much like branches from a tree trunk — through processes other than changes in gene expression.

  She and her team, including Biological Sciences PhD student Alicia Piazza, have shown that retinoic acid plays a role in the movement of growth cones, structures that guide neurites to other neurons like a GPS signal.

  In this latest research, the team will take a closer look at how retinoic acid guides neurite outgrowth as well as how disrupting retinoic acid signalling might affect the operations of neuronal circuits within the brain. By examining how retinoic acid also affects circuits, they can understand how it is involved in memory processing, Spencer says.

  “Studying retinoic acid’s non-genomic effects give us some insight into how the connections between neurons are changing and how these changes affect learning and memory,” she says.

  Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon says insights from this work and the other projects receiving support are examples of the many ways Brock research makes a difference in Canada and beyond.

  “Health, the environment and technology development are among major areas of concern,” he says. “The breadth and depth of these projects yield greater knowledge that we share beyond the University.”

  Brock’s 2026 NSERC Discovery Grants recipients include:

  • Assistant Professor of Physics Gavin Hester (Faculty of Mathematics and Science) — “Amorphous Magnetic Materials for Quantum Technologies and Magnetocaloric Cooling”
  • Professor of Biological Sciences Fiona Hunter (Faculty of Mathematics and Science) — “Biting flies and other insects: changing distributions, arboviruses and behaviours”
  • Associate Professor of Health Sciences Rebecca MacPherson (Faculty of Applied Health Sciences) — “Characterizing regulatory pathways for amyloid precursor protein processing”
  • Assistant Professor of Computer Science Blessing Ogbuokiri (Faculty of Mathematics and Science) — “Beyond Demographics: Provably Fair and Scalable Contrastive Representation Learning”
  • Professor of Engineering Shahryar Rahnamayan (Faculty of Mathematics and Science) — “Sustainable AI for People and Planet: Gradient-Free Multi-Objective Optimization for Compact, Fair, and Efficient Deployment”
  • Professor of Biological Sciences Gaynor Spencer (Faculty of Mathematics and Science) — “Understanding the role of retinoids and their receptors in nervous system functions”
  • Professor of Biological Sciences Glen Tattersall (Faculty of Mathematics and Science) — “Shifting Set-Points: Integrative Mechanisms of Behavioural and Physiological Thermoregulation”
  • Professor of Chemistry Tony Yan (Faculty of Mathematics and Science) — “Chemical modification, structural and functional study of nucleic acids”

  Brock’s 2026 NSERC Research Tools and Instruments grant recipients include:

  • Professor of Biological Sciences Fiona Hunter (Faculty of Mathematics and Science) — “Keyence digital photomicroscope for insect taxonomy to replace obsolete film-based photomicroscope”
  • Associate Professor of Engineering Moshin Jamil (Faculty of Mathematics and Science) — “Real-Time Simulation and Optimization Platform for Advanced Power Electronics and Clean Energy Systems”
  • Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Alonso Zavafer (Faculty of Mathematics and Science) — “Fourier Transform Raman Microspectrometer to Enable Advanced and High-Throughput Characterization of Biological and Functional Materials”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  *Maryanne St. Denis, Associate Director, Strategic Communications, Brock University, [email protected] or 905-246-0256

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  Categories: Media releases

• Canadian limitations will help curb prediction market risks — but issues remain, says Brock expert

  Tuesday, June 30, 2026 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY — JUNE 30, 2026 — R0060

  Will the U.S. government announce that aliens exist? Where will Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce tie the knot?

  Questions like these — along with geopolitically charged ones like the timing of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s capture — have been bet on by millions of people worldwide using prediction market websites.

  As these platforms surge in popularity, with a planned launch in Canada this summer, Brock University Professor of Finance Ernest Biktimirov is sounding the alarm on the problematic nature of their structure and their potential for exploitation and manipulation.

  Prediction markets — Polymarket and Kalshi among the most popular — allow people to trade on the outcome and timing of future events by buying and selling online contracts. The price of contracts range between one and 99 cents, with the price reflecting the market’s estimated probability of occurrence and the number of buyers on either side.

  “Because many contracts are set up as event X will happen by time Y, prediction markets provide financial incentives for sharing and trading insider information,” Biktimirov says. “What’s worse is that, in some cases, they are essentially putting a price tag on war and on peace, with the outcomes associated with these contracts affecting the lives of thousands of people.”

  The Canadian government has imposed restrictions on Wealthsimple’s planned prediction market platform that will limit available contracts in this country — a move Biktimirov supports.

  “These contracts resemble traditional financial derivative instruments, with payoffs tied to economic, financial or weather-related outcomes,” he says. “As a result, they are more likely to attract people who have at least some familiarity with financial markets and understand risk-return trade-offs, rather than the much broader audience drawn to sports and entertainment-related prediction markets.”

  Restricting political contracts, he says, also avoids concerns that prediction markets could be used to influence or create the perception of influencing political outcomes.

  However, Canadians may choose to circumvent geographic restrictions, using VPNs to access U.S. markets and contracts unavailable locally, Biktimirov says.

  Contrary to other gambling platforms where betting takes place against a “house,” traders in prediction markets bet directly against one another.

  “These firms try to create the illusion that it’s easy to make money in this market, but it’s usually a very small number of people that profit,” Biktimirov says. “It’s also basically a zero-sum game: How much money I will win is exactly how much money the person on the other side of the transaction will lose.”

  He says the way the market is structured also allows it to be easily manipulated.

  “When the market is thin, if there aren’t enough trades and somebody submits a big contract, it suggests a high probability of that event occurring and could sway public opinion,” he says. “We have to recognize, however, that even though the platforms provide aggregate opinions, they may not always be accurate, especially if traders are intentionally trying to impact the market.”

  For instance, three political candidates in New York were suspended from Kalshi earlier this year after betting on their own campaigns.

  “By purchasing contracts that pay off if a candidate wins, the price of those contracts will go up, leading people to think that candidate is going to win, so maybe they shouldn’t go to the polling station,” Biktimirov says.

  The public nature of these wagers is especially problematic when military actions or other geopolitical developments are being wagered on, he says.

  “When the value of a contract suddenly starts to go up, it may drive pre-emptive actions based on this information,” he says. “It can give a warning to adversaries or other parties and jeopardize the success of the military action, for instance, or even incentivize executing an attack and reaping the financial benefits from doing so.”

  Biktimirov will be watching the evolution of the market, saying its addictive nature and penchant for accuracy means it will undoubtedly have staying power — problematic or not.

  Brock University Professor of Finance Ernest Biktimirov is available for media interviews on this topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  *Maryanne St. Denis, Associate Director, Strategic Communications, Brock University, [email protected] or 905-246-0256

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  Categories: Media releases