Canada Research Chairs
The Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program invests $300 million each year to attract and retain some of the world's most outstanding researchers. There are two types of awards:
Tier 1 Chairs are outstanding researchers acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their fields.
Tier 2 Chairs are exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field.
OAC is proud to host eight Canada Research Chairs and one Premier's Research Chair:
Madhur Anand, Department of Environmental BiologyCanada Research Chair in Global Ecological Change Madhur Anand, formerly a biology professor at Laurentian University, recently joined the Department of Environmental Biology and was named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in July 2006. Her overall objective is to improve understanding of biodiversity structure and dynamics on a global scale, and to use this understanding to predict responses to accelerated change. She will focus on forest systems, with the methodology developed having applications to other complex systems. |
Christian Blodau, School of Environmental SciencesCanada Research Chair in Environmental Geology and Biogeochemistry Christian Blodau joined the School of Environmental Sciences as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in September 2009. Blodau is conducting research that will contribute to the understanding of element cycling, in particular carbon, nutrients and toxic trace elements, in Canada's northern wetlands, lakes and freshwater reservoirs under conditions of climate and land use change. He recently headed the Research Station for Chemical Limnology as senior lecturer at the University of Bayreuth, Germany. |
Milena Corredig, Department of Food ScienceCanada Research Chair in Food Nanostructure Milena Corredig was named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in July, 2006. Her research specialty is dairy technology and she studies the assembly, breakdown and behaviour of structures formed by food polymers in order to make the most of their nutritional value and ultimately make the resulting product appealing to consumers. Her research program focuses on developing new ways to incorporate health-enhancing ingredients into food products. |
James France, Department of Animal & Poultry ScienceCanada Research Chair in Integrative Modelling of Biological Systems James France was awarded a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in July, 2003. His research involves the use of integrated modelling to improve the understanding of nutrient utilization by farm livestock. His objective is the creation of an academic centre to facilitate methods for predicting and managing nutrient use on farms to minimize pollution. |
J. Christopher Hall, Department of Environmental BiologyCanada Research Chair in Recombinant Antibody Technology Christopher Hall has been at Tier 1 Canada Research Chair since April, 2002. His research seeks to replace animal-derived antibodies with those derived from plants. The program aims to create a basic research platform for screening and maturing antibodies and then, producing and purifying antibodies on a large scale from genetically modified tobacco. The program will provide high quality antibodies from plants for applications in environmental detection and monitoring, food safety, discovery of new lead chemistries, purification of nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, and animal and human immunotherapy. |
Alejandro G. Marangoni, Department of Food ScienceCanada Research Chair in Food and Soft Materials Science Alejandro Marangoni was named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in May 2001. His research examines the basic structure and physical properties of fats and oils, including milk fat, butter, cocoa butter or other substances. He is examining the formation of the fat crystal network within these products, which can affect such things as how easy it is to spread margarine, butter and other fat-containing products, or the consistency of chocolate. This research has key industrial applications for creating new food processing methods and manufacturing value-added products. |
Georgia Mason, Department of Animal and Poultry ScienceCanada Research Chair in Food Animal Behaviour and Welfare Georgia Mason was named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in September 2004. Her research looks at why some animal behaviour patterns become abnormal in captivity as well as why different species differ in their response to captive husbandry. She wants to understand what this response reveals about the evolutionary function of behavioural needs, such as the need to forage for food, for instance, even when food is being provided. This work could have a significant impact on the economics of the agricultural and animal health sectors. |
Amar Mohanty, Department of Plant AgriculturePremier's Research Chair in Biomaterials and Transportation Amar Mohanty was selected following an international search to join the University as the Premier's Research Chair effective September 2007. Mohanty's research focuses on developing biobased materials and biofuels, which he calls the "wave of the future", to provide sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based resources. His ultimate goal is to facilitate a transition to a biobased economy by providing a foundation of economic and environmental sustainability for the materials industries, especially the automotive sector. He also serves as director of the new Bioproducts Discovery Centre, which will be the hub for the University's bioproducts research. |
Rickey Yada, Department of Food ScienceCanada Research Chair in Food Protein Structure Rickey Yada has been a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair since September 2003. His research aims to make the most of existing food protein sources and understand how to tailor new proteins for specific uses. He hopes to find more efficient uses of food-related enzymes and aid in the design of new enzymes with desired functions. The main goals of his research are to identify the role(s) played by specific regions of these enzymes; relate the regions to their structural characteristics; and study how changes to these regions affect their activity. |
For more information about the program, visit the Canada Research Chairs website.
