NBIF awards $550,000 to student researchers

The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF) today announced $550,000 in funding to support 58 student research assistants at the province’s universities. Working with one of the Foundation’s funded applied researchers, each student will earn wages while they learn valuable experience in the lab. The funding was awarded in partnership with the New Brunswick Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training & Labour (PETL).

Funded projects range from new cancer tumor imaging agents to advanced Java-based software tools for the next generation of high-speed consumer electronic devices and video game consoles.

“There are hundreds of applied research projects underway in New Brunswick that show great potential for creating new and valuable innovations,” says NBIF president and CEO Calvin Milbury, “timing is everything, and putting students to work in the lab is one way we help researchers keep pace and move closer to commercialization.”

One student team, led by Dr Christopher Gray, will participate in a project involving the extraction of antibiotic and cancer fighting compounds found in six New Brunswick plants. The plants under investigation were first identified by First Nations Peoples as ones traditionally used for healing.

Another project by Dr Sophie Yao will allow students to learn how to measure the affect of fatigue on driver performance, and participate in the development of new driver assistance systems for the automotive industry.

“The province’s contribution to NBIF’s Research Assistantship Initiative demonstrates our commitment to innovation and ensures that students with an interest in R&D get the training they need to consider it as a viable career option,” says Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Martine Coulombe.

Since 2003, NBIF and PETL have worked together to award over $6.5 million, leveraging $27.5 million more to create 758 research assistantships in New Brunswick.

For contact information and photos regarding the research projects highlighted in this release, plus a complete listing of funded projects, click here.

Download 300dpi high-resolution picture of Dr Gray and his team. Left to right: Taryn O’Neill, Haoxin Li, Andrew Flewelling, and Dr Christopher Gray

ABOUT NBIF:

The New Brunswick Innovation Foundation is an independent corporation that makes investments in new growth oriented companies and applied research. Its mandate is to provide the capital and professional support needed to build a bridge between R&D and enterprise.

For more information please contact:

Chet Wesley
Director of Communication & Marketing
New Brunswick Innovation Foundation
877-554-6668