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Backgrounder

Backgrounder: Additional U of R research projects receiving federal funding

Release Date: July 31, 2025 1:08 PM

University of Regina researchers receive $8 million in federal funding 

Also announced were the Canada Graduate Scholarships for doctoral and master’s students, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grants, Discovery Development Grants, Subatomic Physics Grants, Research Tools and Instruments Grants, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Insight Grants and Insight Development Grants.  

The following University of Regina researchers received awards as part of the federal government funding announcement: 

Canada Graduate Scholarships: Doctoral 

Peri Moulding (CIHR): Disrupting bacterial polyamine detoxification to combat virulence and antibiotic resistance, $120,000 

Jessica Ollinik (NSERC): Development of a new in-hive passive sampler for monitoring insecticide and fungicide contamination in honey bee colonies, $120,000 

Johnna Parenteau (NSERC): “On the distribution of the distinct eigenvalues of a graph, $120,000 

Kelsey Haczkewicz (SSHRC): Coping with moral distress: predictors and outcomes among Canadian long-term care staff, $120,000 

Denise Kennedy (SSHRC): A study of reclaiming domains to revitalize Anihsinapemowin, $120,000 

Laura Kinsman (SSHRC): Understanding spanking beliefs and intentions: A mixed methods study, $120,000 

Keetyn Maxwell (SSHRC): Exploring family sport culture: The role of youth sport and leisure in Canadian contemporary families, $80,000 

Elise Melanson (SSHRC): Chat, is this real? The intersection of the manosphere and strength training, $120,000 

Christie Newton (SSHRC): Understanding political information avoidance in the digital age, $40,000 

Tammy Ratt (SSHRC) Within the space of a birch tree: Arts-based approaches to inter-generational Indigenous language, $40,000 

Canada Graduate Scholarships: Master’s 

Carissa Melnyk (CIHR): Examining the effects of social support and psychological flexibility on mental health in people with central sensitivity syndromes: A mixed methods study, $27,000 

Kathryn Most (CIHR): Comparative and functional pathogenomics of Pantoea septica, an emerging opportunistic pathogen of humans, $27,000 

Mohammed Quraishi (CIHR) Master’s: Characterization of the identity, distribution, and role of Pantoea-encoded virulence factors, $27,000 

Gracie Farago (NSERC): Exploring mechanisms of desiccation tolerance in rhizobium, $27,000 

Emily Lightheart (NSERC): Investigating the regulation of gene transfer based on environmental and population signals in E. coli, $27,000 

Sydney Plante (NSERC): Beta-delayed charged-particle emission from magnesium-20, $27,000 

Zoe Hoyda (NSERC): Computational and experimental spectroscopic and thermodynamic Examination of Zirconium Metal as a Redox Buffer Agent in Molten Fluoride Salts, $27,000 

Natalia McCullough (NSERC): Does Executive Function Predict Eye Control? $27,000 

Briana DeRoo (SSHRC): Telephone-based wellbeing program for informal caregivers of long-term care residents: A pilot study, $27,000 

Venezya Thorsteinson (SSHRC): A case control study of the influence of migraine with and without premenstrual exacerbation on anxiety and depression, $27,000 

Katherine Engel (SSHRC): Unveiling Bias: How victim age and education influence juror perceptions of cybersex crimes, $27,000 

Autumn Brambell (SSHRC): Unveiling Bias: How victim age and education influence juror perceptions of cybersex crimes, $27,000 

Vanit Shah (SSHRC): School climate factors influencing remote mental health help-seeking among adolescents, $27,000 

Taryn Whal (SSHRC): Beyond regret: Future family visions among trans and gender-diverse youth and their caregivers, $27,000 

Manahil Fatima (SSHRC): The role of callous unemotional traits and empathy on childhood deception, $27,000 

Timothy Yu (SSHRC): Examining the moderating effects of existential wellbeing (EWB) in palliative care: The development and validation of a new EWB scale, $27,000 

Raelynne Minel (SSHRC): Explaining intentional behaviour: Perspective taking and political ideology, $27,000 

NSERC Discovery Grants 

Vanessa da Silva Figueiredo: Developing human-centred methods to optimize machine learning fine-tuning for personalized instruction in K-12 education, $192,500  

Liming Dai: Advancing accuracy and reliability of semi-analytical and numerical solutions for complex nonlinear dynamic systems made of functionally graded materials, $215,000 

East, Allan: Improving the understanding of ion structure and mobility in modern electrolytic materials, $180,000 

Joseph Eremondi: Improving usability of dependently typed programming languages, $222,500 

Shaun Fallat: Connections and applications between matrix theory and discrete mathematics, $170,000 

Douglas Farenick: Advances in the theory of operator algebras and operator systems, $185,000  

Remus Floricel: Product and subproduct systems, $170,000  

Gordon Huang: Real-time assimilated optimization-driven equilibrium analysis for net-zero emission transition in Canada's distributive energy and environmental systems, $215,000 

Karen Meagher: Algebraic graph theory and Erdos-Ko-Rado theorems, $166,000 

Mehran Mehrandezh: Perception-aware motion planning of autonomous systems using event-based imaging, $190,000 

Affan Shoukat: Hybrid Computational Methods Integrating Mechanistic Models and Machine Learning with Applications in Epidemiology, $167,500 

Christopher Somers: Resource use and subdivision in animal populations, $195,000 

Dae-Yeon Suh: Discovery, mechanism and evolution of enzymes in the biosynthesis of sporopollenin and sporopollenin-like materials in streptophytes, $195,000 

Maria Velez Caicedo, Tropical freshwater ecosystems through the Quaternary as reconstructed on the basis of diatom and sedimentary records, $180,000 

Daoyong Yang: Integrated Performance Evaluation and Optimization of Horizontal/Multilateral Wells Conditioned to Matrix and Fracture Dynamics in a Subsurface Reservoir under Uncertainty, $215,000  

NSERC Discovery Grants: Subatomic Physics 

Gwen Grinyer: Precision spectroscopy of exotic nuclei, $570,000  

Zisis Papandreou: Hadron Spectroscopy and Rare Eta Decays at GlueX/JE, $489,000  

NSERC Discovery Development Grants 

Shahid Azam: Clay-atmosphere-environment interactions for sustainable geomaterials, $44,000 

SD Jacob Muthu: Characterization and optimization of polymer layered nanocomposite liners for mitigating hydrogen embrittlement in transporting hydrogen blend using experimental and physics-driven machine learning techniques, $44,000 

Fanhua Zeng: Advanced fundamental studies of multiphase fluid flow and geomechanics in CO2 geological storage processeses, $44,000 

NSERC Research Tools and Instruments 

Zhanle Wang: Battery cycler system for second-life electric vehicle battery testing and modelling, $150,000 

SSHRC Insight Grants 

Raymond Blake: Revolutionary in the Palace: A Political Biography of Joseph R. Smallwood, $137,138 

Janine Brown: Understanding the Impact of the Social-Political Contexts in Shaping Older Adult Canadians End-of-Life Planning, $358,300  

Shela Hirani: Role of Public Libraries in Supporting Integration of Refugee and Immigrant Families Migrating to Canada: A Critical Ethnography, $170,210   

Margot Hurlbert: The māmawāyāwin nîkānîmakan nipîy sohkastwāwin ekwa tipeyicikîwin (Indigenous community-led water governance), $369,667 

Nathalie Reid: Shifting the focus: Understanding the downstream impacts of educator wellbeing on students' attendance, engagement, and wellbeing, $320,046  

SSHRC Insight Development Grants  

Ahlam Bavi: Bridging Communities and Cultural Heritage: Ethical Decolonial Preservation Practices at the Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq, $74,129 

Kaila Bruer: Enhancing adolescent eyewitness reliability: Developing evidence-based confidence assessment protocols for police lineups, $69,828 

Shasanka Chalise: DEI disclosures and employee outcomes: Role of source, content, and context of disclosures, $71,814 

Magda Cismaru: Transforming higher education with artificial intelligence: How can universities optimize the shift? $70,318  

Yu (Hade) Han: Enhancing career adaptability and resilience: An evidence-based competency training program for international students in Canada, $61,195  

Alexandra Lefcoe: When positivity becomes toxic: A study of the proximal and distal outcomes of toxic positivity in the workplace, $71,189 

Akram Mahani: Youth engagement and well-being: Exploring the role of public art co-creation in marginalized urban communities, $74,982  

Heather Nelson: Exploring the impact of intergenerational collaboration on ageism through the co-creation of short films, $64,794 

Kathleen Nolan: From resilience to flourishing: Improving the mathematical experiences of minoritized students in STEM subjects, $63,088 

Arjun Tremblay: Democratic decline and multinational federalism: What can diversity-oriented federal models tell us about the permutations, causes, and checks against the end of democracy? $68,987 

Kedi Zhao: Older East and Southeast Asian adults’ perceptions and coping strategies of anti-Asian racism in the post-pandemic era: A mix-methods exploration, $74,346.00

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