U of S Awarded $5.27 M for Three New Research Chairs and Equipment

Posted October 23, 2003


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - October 23, 2003 2003-10-26-OTHER

U of S Awarded $5.27 M for Three New Research Chairs and Equipment

Today the University of Saskatchewan was awarded $5.27 million over the next
seven years for three new Canada Research Chairs and associated equipment.

The new Chair holders will conduct research to help create better crop
varieties and explore ways to preserve our rural communities. One will use
the Canadian Light Source (CLS) synchrotron (www.lightsource.ca), due to
open next year on the U of S campus, to explore how plants manufacture the
chemicals we use for both foods and medicines.

The total amount includes $4.3 million for the Chairs, as well as $970,126
for research equipment to be provided by the Canada Foundation for
Innovation, the University and other partners.

"We are delighted to have recruited these outstanding scientists to the
University of Saskatchewan," said U of S President Peter MacKinnon. "Their
work will strengthen research in areas of critical economic and social
importance, as well as create new opportunities for graduate training in
exciting areas of life and social sciences."

The new Chair holders, who will assume their positions in October 2003 to
January 2004, are:

- Federica Brandizzi -- Canada Research Chair in Plant Cell/Molecular
Biology

Plants are chemical engineers without equal, producing a wide range of oils,
starches and proteins for food, plus complex molecules for medicine.
Molecular farming aims to use plants to efficiently manufacture these
high-value products for potentially a fraction of the cost.

Recruited from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom, Federica
Brandizzi will use the CLS synchrotron to examine the workings of the
endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This plant cell structure literally feeds the
world, as it is responsible for manufacturing most of the seed proteins that
we eat every day. Understanding the ER biology is critical to building a
molecular farming industry.

- Ravindra Chibbar -- Canada Research Chair in Crop Quality (Molecular
Biology and Genetics)

Canadian farmers produce some of the highest quality cereal grains and pulse
crops in the world. Consumer demand for quality is increasing along with
incomes, as is competition from other countries. To hold Canada's position
and to diversify, new crop varieties are needed, tailored for specific
products and markets.

Recruited from the National Research Council Plant Biotechnology Institute,
Ravindra Chibbar will develop designer crops for specific market niches.
Chibbar, in collaboration with colleagues in the U of S Crop Development
Centre, has developed a modified starch wheat (amylose-free waxy wheat) for
the noodle market which is due to reach Canadian fields this year. He will
also focus on understanding the genes and gene regulation in pulse crops,
with the aim of producing superior varieties with traits demanded by the
marketplace.

- Mark Partridge Canada Research Chair in The New Rural Economy

Technological change on the Canadian Prairies has driven people away from
rural communities as fewer workers are needed to farm the land. Since 1936,
the country's population tripled, while Saskatchewan's increased by nine per
cent. Clearly, a new approach is needed if rural communities are to survive.

Recruited from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, Partridge will
examine links between technological change and economic growth. Partridge
will identify barriers to growth such as tax regimes and business knowledge,
as well as advantages of rural living, such as close-knit communities, clean
environment and affordable housing. Armed with this knowledge, businesses,
municipal governments and policy makers can work to create an environment
that fosters rural communities.

With the addition of the three new Chairs, the U of S has now been awarded
over $19 million to support 18 Chairs, as well as nearly $2.7 million in
related CFI and partner infrastructure funding.

Today's announcement was made in Toronto by Industry Minister Allan Rock as
part of a $102.2-million investment to create 118 new Canada Research
Chairs, along with $15.6 million in CFI infrastructure support.

"Today, more than 1,000 Chairs in universities across Canada are helping
make the quality of life of Canadians better every day," said Minister Allan
Rock. "Thanks to the research of all the Chairs, Canada is closer than ever
to its goal of becoming one of the top five countries in the world for
research and development performance -- a priority in the Government of
Canada's Innovation Strategy."

A team of academic peers chooses the most outstanding candidates from
nominations submitted to the Chairs program by universities. U of S research
priority areas for the Chairs are biotechnology, environmental sciences,
health sciences, identity and diversity, materials science, and technology
and change.

The $900-million Chairs Program was created to enhance universities as
centers of world-class research excellence by attracting and retaining
excellent researchers in Canadian universities. By 2005, Canadian
universities will have 2,000 new Canada Research Chairs. For profiles of U
of S Chair holders, visit http://www.usask.ca/crc or the national Canada
Research Chairs Web site at http://www.chairs.gc.ca

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For more information, contact:

Kathryn Warden
Research Communications Officer
Office of the Vice-President Research
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-2506
kathryn.warden@usask.ca
http://www.usask.ca/research/