Ten McMaster researchers will receive nearly $2 million in infrastructure funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to advance their research in a variety of fields.

The funding, which comes from the John R.  Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), is designed to help universities attract and retain the very best researchers by providing them with the foundational equipment and facilities to ensure they become leaders in their field.

McMaster’s vice-president of research, Rob Baker, says these types of early infrastructure investments play a critical role in developing major research programs from which everyone benefits.

“This funding is pivotal for our researchers as it puts them on the cutting-edge; it provides increased opportunities for our students; and it ensures McMaster retains its best and brightest.”

The awards were announced by the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport.

Recipients include:

Michael Carter, assistant professor, kinesiology

Project title: Establishment of the memory, action, & cognition laboratory for the study of human sensorimotor neuroscience

Award: $127,514

Tohid Didar, assistant professor, mechanical engineering

Project title:  Platform for smart biomaterials

Award:  $200,000

Drew Higgins, assistant professor, chemical engineering

Project title:  Catalyst nanomaterial synthesis, characterization and device integration suite for sustainable energy technologies

Award: $150,000

Alexander Hynes, assistant professor, medicine

Project title:  Bacteriophages & the gut microbiome

Award: $160,000

Michelle Kho, associate professor, rehabilitation science

Project title:  Early rehabilitation to improve patient-centered outcomes in critical care

Award: $72,000

Colin Kretz, assistant professor, medicine

Project title: Investigating the genetic and biochemical pathways that regulate homeostasis

Award:  $400,000

Jakob Magolan, associate professor, biochemistry and biomedical sciences

Project title: Synthetic medicinal chemistry platform for antimicrobial drug discovery

Award: $200,000

Katherine Morrison, associate professor, pediatrics

Project title: Human energy balance and metabolic phenotyping laboratory

Award: $395,000

Mehdi Narimani, assistant professor, electrical and computer engineering

Project title: Fault management power electronics laboratory

Award: $80,000

Anthony Rullo, assistant professor, pathology and molecular medicine

Project title: Chemical strategies to modulate ternary complex protein assembly

Award: $180,000

The awards are named after John R. Evans who was the founding dean of McMaster’s Faculty of Health Sciences and CFI’s first Board Chair.