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June 15, 2021

3 UCalgary faculty named Canada Research Chairs

Chairholders pursue groundbreaking discoveries and mentor next generation of researchers

The Canada Research Chairs Program (CRCP) named three University of Calgary faculty members to its ranks today, in recognition of their achievements and pursuit of research excellence. UCalgary is now home to 69 active Canada Research Chairs (CRCs). Two additional scholars have also had their CRCs renewed.

“The Canada Research Chairs Program helps us to build a community of innovative and accomplished scholars,” says Dr. William Ghali, vice-president (research). “They are responding to society’s most pressing challenges, while also mentoring the next generation of researchers. Their contributions are of tremendous value, and we look forward to all that they will achieve.” Today's announcement is part of a major federal funding announcement, investing over $635 million in Canadian research.

The CRCP is the centre of a national strategy to make Canada one of the world's top countries in research and development. It invests approximately $295 million per year to reinforce academic research and training excellence in Canadian post-secondary institutions. 

“We are proud to continue investing in, and celebrating, the creativity and innovation that are at the heart of Canada’s research ecosystem,” says François-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry. “It is inspiring to see the ingenuity and dedication Canadian researchers embrace in exploring big ideas that will fuel the discoveries and innovations of tomorrow to make our world a better place and create prosperity for Canadians.”

The complete list of new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at the University of Calgary:

New CRCs:

  • Dr. Susan Kutz, PhD - NSERC Tier 1 CRC in Arctic One Health (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine)    
  • Dr. Susan Samuel, MD - CIHR Tier 1 CRC in Precision Medicine and Data Science (Cumming School of Medicine)
  • Dr. Li-Fang (Jack) Chu, PhD- CIHR Tier 2 CRC in Cellular Reprogramming (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine)                    

Renewals:

  • Dr. Seonghwan (Sam) Kim, PhD - NSERC Tier 2 CRC in Nano Sensing Systems (Schulich School of Engineering)       
  • Dr. Sheri Madigan, PhD - SSHRC Tier 2 CRC in Determinants of Child Development (Faculty of Arts) 

This prestigious group represents the breadth and depth of the research and expertise at the University of Calgary, representing a number of the institutes within the Cumming School of Medicine, including the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI), the Owerko Centre at ACHRI, the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), The Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education at the HBI, the O’Brien Institute for Public Health and the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases