Two MSL faculty awarded 2026 NSERC Funding

Announced today by the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions along with Karim Bardeesy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry, and Dominique O’Rourke, Member of Parliament for Guelph, is an investment in research of over $630 million, awarded through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Research Program.

More than $47.6 million of this funding will support 199 new projects led by UBC researchers, of which 183 received individual Discovery Grants. One of these grants was awarded to MSL faculty member Dr. Peter Zandstra. 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.

Also announced were the recipients of the NSERC Research Tools and Instruments grants, funding which supports researchers in purchasing equipment to enhance the discovery, innovation and training capacity of their labs. Dr. Xin Li has received one of these grants this year to support the purchasing of a fluorescence microscope.

MSL faculty grants:

Dr. Peter Zandstra – Michael Smith Laboratories, School of Biomedical Engineering
Engineering Cell and Gene Therapy Bioprocesses through Systematic and Computational Approaches
NSERC Discovery Grant
$190,000 (5 years)

Dr. Xin Li – Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Botany
A fluorescence microscope for observing fungal pathogens
NSERC Research Tools and Instruments Grant
$149,374

Quick links:

• Learn more about all projects funded at UBC
• Read the full announcement from NSERC
• Learn more about the Discovery Grants program