Alberta Ingenuity supports star researchers chasing big questions with big impacts for Alberta
Alberta Ingenuity will invest nearly $4 million this year in some of Alberta's most inventive researchers through its New Faculty Award program.
These academic leaders of tomorrow are focusing on strategic areas of importance to the province, from water research management and oil industry innovation, to drug therapies for treating diseases with global impacts.
At the University of Lethbridge, Dr.Hans-Joachim Wieden
(Chemistry and Biochemistry) is the institution’s recipient of the New Faculty Program and is also a Canada Research Chair in physical biochemistry.
Among many projects, Wieden researches ways of making antibiotics more effective by focusing on a specific part of a bacterial cell, called the ribosome.
He also recent led a team of six undergraduate students to Boston, Massachusetts to the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM) where they competed against more than 50 team from around the world, received a gold medal award for their quality of research and for building a biological system called a bio-prospector which can operate in living cells.
"These researchers have proven they are good at asking questions and chasing answers that will ensure the sustainability and diversity of Alberta's future," said Dr. Peter Hackett, President and CEO of Alberta Ingenuity. "This program gives new faculty outstanding start-up opportunities to set up their labs with the best tools and to recruit the best people."
By supporting some of the most promising new faculty in all three of Alberta's universities, Ingenuity is helping them transform Alberta through their knowledge and ongoing discoveries.
This targeted support provides up to $100,000 per year, for three years, and recognizes new faculty members who have demonstrated balanced excellence in research and mentoring young researchers.
The funding is being used to recruit top graduate students who are fast becoming the leaders in their fields and to buy state-of-the-art equipment.
Ingenuity has invested in 45 researchers to date, providing more than $7.2 million in funding since 2003. The researchers are working in nearly every area of science and engineering research.
The Alberta Ingenuity Fund supports science and engineering research and innovation of the highest calibre to create a strong and prosperous future for the province. It draws funding from a $1-billion endowment established by the Government of Alberta to build the capacity for innovation in areas with enduring social and economic impact.
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Background information -- Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden
U of L researcher Funded by Alberta Ingenuity eavesdrops on life's smallest cellular machines - to discover new ways of managing problems like disease and pollution
Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden came to the University of Lethbridge from Germany in 2005 because he was eager to do research and build multidisciplinary teams of researchers who could speak more than just the dialects of their areas of science.
These integrated researchers, from diverse fields such as computer science, chemistry, biology and physics will allow his team to find more complete answers to the questions he's chasing.
Since coming to Canada, Wieden has been focused on creating value from his time in the lab and in getting some serious work done with his collaborative teams of students.
With support from Alberta Ingenuity's New Faculty program, Wieden is developing insightful ways to eavesdrop on complex cellular machines through four-dimensional computational models that can be prodded into action to reveal the secrets of things like antibiotic reactions in cells.
His intelligence on cellular machines is also spilling over into a new project he's undertaken that includes six undergrad science students who competed in iGEM, the International Genetically Engineered Machines competition in Cambridge Massachusetts at MIT.
Wieden is helping the students develop a bio-prospector that uses genetic engineering tools. These bio-prospectors can be programmed to track down commercially valuable compounds and subsequently make them available for humans. These well-trained bacteria could also be used for detecting things like toxins in water.
The competition is allowing local students to compete in an international arena, to build bridges between disciplines, while working with senior scientists. The students are also gaining valuable understanding of the complexities of goal-driven research.
Wieden says he's amazed at how quickly these young students have come up to speed and how they help each other fill in the gaps of understanding between their discreet disciplines.
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For a complete list of New Faculty award recipients, visit the Programs link at http://www.albertaingenuity.ca
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U of L Communications and Public Relations Contact:
Bob Cooney, Communications and PR Officer (403) 382-7173
Alberta Ingenuity will invest nearly $4 million this year in some of Alberta's most inventive researchers through its New Faculty Award program.
These academic leaders of tomorrow are focusing on strategic areas of importance to the province, from water research management and oil industry innovation, to drug therapies for treating diseases with global impacts.
At the University of Lethbridge, Dr.Hans-Joachim Wieden
(Chemistry and Biochemistry) is the institution’s recipient of the New Faculty Program and is also a Canada Research Chair in physical biochemistry.
Among many projects, Wieden researches ways of making antibiotics more effective by focusing on a specific part of a bacterial cell, called the ribosome.
He also recent led a team of six undergraduate students to Boston, Massachusetts to the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM) where they competed against more than 50 team from around the world, received a gold medal award for their quality of research and for building a biological system called a bio-prospector which can operate in living cells.
"These researchers have proven they are good at asking questions and chasing answers that will ensure the sustainability and diversity of Alberta's future," said Dr. Peter Hackett, President and CEO of Alberta Ingenuity. "This program gives new faculty outstanding start-up opportunities to set up their labs with the best tools and to recruit the best people."
By supporting some of the most promising new faculty in all three of Alberta's universities, Ingenuity is helping them transform Alberta through their knowledge and ongoing discoveries.
This targeted support provides up to $100,000 per year, for three years, and recognizes new faculty members who have demonstrated balanced excellence in research and mentoring young researchers.
The funding is being used to recruit top graduate students who are fast becoming the leaders in their fields and to buy state-of-the-art equipment.
Ingenuity has invested in 45 researchers to date, providing more than $7.2 million in funding since 2003. The researchers are working in nearly every area of science and engineering research.
The Alberta Ingenuity Fund supports science and engineering research and innovation of the highest calibre to create a strong and prosperous future for the province. It draws funding from a $1-billion endowment established by the Government of Alberta to build the capacity for innovation in areas with enduring social and economic impact.
- 30 -
Background information -- Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden
U of L researcher Funded by Alberta Ingenuity eavesdrops on life's smallest cellular machines - to discover new ways of managing problems like disease and pollution
Dr. Hans-Joachim Wieden came to the University of Lethbridge from Germany in 2005 because he was eager to do research and build multidisciplinary teams of researchers who could speak more than just the dialects of their areas of science.
These integrated researchers, from diverse fields such as computer science, chemistry, biology and physics will allow his team to find more complete answers to the questions he's chasing.
Since coming to Canada, Wieden has been focused on creating value from his time in the lab and in getting some serious work done with his collaborative teams of students.
With support from Alberta Ingenuity's New Faculty program, Wieden is developing insightful ways to eavesdrop on complex cellular machines through four-dimensional computational models that can be prodded into action to reveal the secrets of things like antibiotic reactions in cells.
His intelligence on cellular machines is also spilling over into a new project he's undertaken that includes six undergrad science students who competed in iGEM, the International Genetically Engineered Machines competition in Cambridge Massachusetts at MIT.
Wieden is helping the students develop a bio-prospector that uses genetic engineering tools. These bio-prospectors can be programmed to track down commercially valuable compounds and subsequently make them available for humans. These well-trained bacteria could also be used for detecting things like toxins in water.
The competition is allowing local students to compete in an international arena, to build bridges between disciplines, while working with senior scientists. The students are also gaining valuable understanding of the complexities of goal-driven research.
Wieden says he's amazed at how quickly these young students have come up to speed and how they help each other fill in the gaps of understanding between their discreet disciplines.
-- 30 --
For a complete list of New Faculty award recipients, visit the Programs link at http://www.albertaingenuity.ca
---
U of L Communications and Public Relations Contact:
Bob Cooney, Communications and PR Officer (403) 382-7173