USask awarded $1.7 million for “high-risk, high-reward” research projects

Seven innovative new projects from researchers across the University of Saskatchewan (USask) campus have received funding to help make them a reality.

The New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) Exploration grants are meant to provide opportunities and support for “high-risk, high-reward” Canadian-led research projects.  

“USask research continues to lead, pioneer and innovate new techniques and new technologies across our fields of expertise,” said USask Vice-President Research Dr. Baljit Singh (PhD). “These bold initiatives and the funding received from the NFRF program are a testament to USask’s efforts to be the university the world needs and underscore the groundbreaking research and training happening on this campus every day.” 

Below are all the USask projects which received funding through the NFRF Exploration grant program:

  • Dr. Amira Abdelrasoul (PhD), College of Engineering – Creating an Evidence-Based Biomimetic Hemodialysis Membrane Inspired by Glomerular Basement Membrane (GBM) - 3D Modeling and Mimicry – $250,000 
  • Dr. Arinjay Banerjee (PhD), Western College of Veterinary Medicine – Field-to-lab: Mechanistic interrogation of factors that drive virus spillover from bats – $247,912 
  • Dr. Markus Brinkmann (PhD), School of Environment and Sustainability – Revolutionizing the Tracking of Microplastics: Novel DNA-Labelled Plastics for Environmental and Toxicological Studies – $250,000 
  • Dr. Amanda Froehlich Chow (PhD), School of Public Health – Nîsowak ~ Walking Together: Co-Creating Indigenous-Rooted, Land-Based and Physical Literacy Enriched Early Learning Environments – $199,937 
  • Dr. Ali Honaramooz (PhD), Western College of Veterinary Medicine – Novel Approaches to Generating Transgenic Pigs Suitable for Organ Xenotransplantation – $250,000 
  • Dr. Tara Kahan (PhD), College of Arts and Science (Department of Chemistry) – Assessing and communicating opportunities and barriers to improving indoor air quality in Canadian residences – $250,000 
  • Dr. Cari McIlduff (PhD), College of Medicine – Indigenous Community Ethics Approval Required – A Determinant of Health and Mental Health Resulting from Self-determined Research Ethical Protocols – $249,800 

Together, we will undertake the research the world needs. We invite you to join by supporting critical research at USask.