Six MSL Faculty Awarded NSERC Discover Grants

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) recently announced $29.2 m of funding over five years for 181 UBC led research projects. Six MSL faculty have been awarded NSERC Discovery Grants and supplemental program funds. The projects funded span a diverse range of research focuses, from immune system biology to plant genetics and single molecule biophysics.  

The NSERC Discovery Grant program aims to recognize creative and innovative research by supporting long term project goals. Distributed over five years, these grants provide operating funds often in tandem with other support programs. Researchers receiving funds have the flexibility to pursue activities that extend beyond their original proposals, as well as collaborative projects. 

Left to right, top row: Drs. Wilf Jefferies, Jim Kronstad, Sabrina Leslie. Left to right, bottom row: Drs. Xin Li, Marco Todesco, Nobuhiko Tokuriki

MSL faculty led Discovery Grant funded projects include: 

Dr. Wilfred  Jefferies 
Cellular and molecular biology underlying priming of the immune system  
$ 225,000 

Dr. James Kronstad 
Molecular Genetics of Smut Fungi 
$ 430,000

Dr. Sabrina Leslie 
Biophysics of molecular interactions at the single-molecule level  
$ 295,000 

Dr. Marco Todesco 
Understanding the genetic basis of local adaptation in wild sunflowers  
$ 245,000 plus $12,5000 Discovery Launch Supplement

Dr. Nobuhiko Tokuriki 
Evolutionary Mechanisms for Novel Metabolic Pathways  
$ 360,000 

Additionally, 14 projects led by UBC researchers were awarded NSERC Research Tools and Instruments grants that support the discovery, innovation and training capability of university researchers in the natural sciences and engineering by enabling the purchase of research equipment.

MSL faculty led NSERC Research Tools and Instruments projects include: 

Dr. Xin Li 
A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system for analyzing plant defense hormone salicylic acid  
$88,923 

Quick links: 

• Read the full funding announcement from UBC’s Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation
• Read highlights from the projects led by UBC Faculty of Science
• Learn more about NSERC’s Discovery Grant program