Student research assistance supported

By Yvon Gagnon – Times & Transcriptj | link to original article

University researchers working on projects ranging from cancer tumour imaging agents to advanced Java-based software tools for electronic devices are going to have help this summer in the form of research assistants thanks to funding support from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation.

The foundation has announced $550,000 in funding to support 58 student research assistants who will earn wages while gaining valuable experience in the lab as a result of the NBIF's Research Assistantship Initiative.

The funding is in partnership with the New Brunswick Department of Post-Secondary Education, Training & Labour.

“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.”

Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Martine Coulombe said the province's contribution to the initiative shows its commitment to innovation while helping students interested in research and development get the training they need to consider it as a viable career option.

One project supported involves the extraction of antibiotic and cancer fighting compounds found in six New Brunswick plants first identified by First Nations Peoples as ones traditionally used for healing.

Another will study the affect of fatigue on driver performance and try to develop new driver assistance programs.