Three UBC Science Canada Research Chairs appointed

UBC statistician Gabriela Cohen Freue, immunologist Ken Harder and evolutionary biologist Loren Rieseberg earned support from the Canada Research Chair program, it was announced today.

UBC Science's chairs are among 120 federally funded research positions awarded or renewed today. UBC boasts a total of eight appointments – five new and three renewals – valued at $4.5 million.

"The Canada Research Chairs program has played an instrumental role in attracting the brightest minds in a wide range of disciplines to Canada – and just as importantly, keeping them here," says John Hepburn, Vice President Research and International at UBC.

"The scientific and societal impact of their investigations and discoveries are nothing less than extraordinary."

The three UBC Science CRCs appointed are:

Gabriela Cohen Freue, CRC in Statistical Genomics

Freue is developing new computational approaches to discover blood-based biomarkers that indicate the progression of disease, or organ rejection after transplant

Ken Harder, CRC in Laboratory for Host-pathogen and Tumour Biology
Harder’s research is focused on identifying genes and regulatory pathways governing key components of our immune system in order to better understand and control disease.

Loren Rieseberg, CRC in Plant Evolutionary Genomics
Rieseberg is developing genomic tools and resources for sunflower and related species in the Compositae family. Insight into the evolution and biology of sunflowers may help increase the world’s food supply.

The federally funded Canada Research Chair program was launched in 2000 to build Canada’s research capacity. UBC holds the second largest complement of CRC allocations – 186 – at any university in the country.