USask Canada Research Chairs focus on One Health, wholistic health, energy security

As a new Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Zoonotic Virus and Animal Reservoirs, Banerjee hopes to expand on his work in the field of One Health, which focuses on the interconnected nature of animals, the environment and humans. As a virologist, Banerjee’s research aims to safeguard human health by understanding how viruses that transmit from animals to humans grow and evolve within their natural hosts.

As a new chairholder, Banerjee will expand the significant work of his research group at USask’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO).

“This Canada Research Chair position will enable us to continue to study emerging high consequence zoonotic viruses that pose a serious risk for the next pandemic,” said Banerjee. “We will study these viruses with the purpose of understanding how they coexist with their wildlife host and develop medical countermeasures against these viral threats.”

Along with this CRC, Banerjee also received a John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) Partnership to develop a world-class research program, studying the relationship between coronaviruses and bats. The program will focus on the evolution of novel antiviral strategies in bats with the goal of developing cutting-edge antiviral countermeasures for humans.

Named the new Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Wholistic Health and Well-Being Through Physical Activity for Indigenous Peoples, Foulds is looking to continue her work on the importance of community, culture and physical activity for Indigenous health.

“My work focuses on recognizing that connecting to culture is an important way of staying healthy. For Indigenous Peoples it is also a determinant of health,” said Foulds.

Foulds is an associate professor in USask’s College of Kinesiology and a former Heart and Stroke/CIHR Early Career Indigenous Women’s Heart and Brain Health Chair. As a Métis woman, Foulds has reconnected and engaged with her culture through Métis dancing and has witnessed first-hand the positive impact of cultural activities.

“In my PhD, I worked on a project that assessed an Indigenous walk/run program looking specifically at community-based activity on the land, outside. One of the big findings was that Indigenous Peoples who were connected to their culture and had a strong sense of identity also had lower rates of high blood pressure or hypertension,” said Foulds.

For the last seven years, Foulds has been working on a research project focused on the benefits of Métis dancing and hopes to expand on this work as a chairholder.

“We’re looking at what we need to do to make these kinds of traditional activities more accessible to the community, such as dancing on the land rather than being inside, and going out to communities to build on that research of physical activity grounded in culture,” said Foulds.

USask’s Dr. Xiaodong Liang (PhD), professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering, received a renewal of her Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Technology Solutions for Energy Security in Remote, Northern and Indigenous Communities.

Liang’s work aims to find sustainable energy solutions for communities that generally rely on diesel for electricity generation and heating. As a chairholder, Liang is researching alternative methods, such as renewable energy, energy storage and small modular reactors, that can provide communities with clean energy and withstand harsh weather conditions.

During her first CRC term, Liang’s research was focused on developing cutting-edge renewable energy-based microgrid technologies for electrification of remote communities.

“These technologies can reduce diesel consumption, improve energy security and support healthier and more sustainable communities,” said Liang.

In this new term, Liang will develop new technologies to integrate renewable energy sources and small modular reactors (SMRs) into the energy landscape of remote, northern and Indigenous communities.

“We will focus on optimal planning, energy management and advanced control for multimicrogrids and SMR-renewable hybrid microgrids, creating new knowledge towards a sustainable future in the Canadian North and beyond,” said Liang.