Queen鈥檚 invests in 20 faculty researchers

Queen鈥檚 invests in 20 faculty researchers

By Phil Gaudreau

May 30, 2017

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Queen鈥檚 University will be funding the research of 20 faculty members following their successful applications to the Queen鈥檚 Research Opportunities Fund (QROF). Launched in 2015, QROF represents a strategic internal investment in areas of institutional research strength that provides researchers and scholars with the opportunity to accelerate their programs and research goals.

鈥淩esearch is a core component of the mission of Queen鈥檚 University, and a key driver of our Strategic Framework,鈥 says John Fisher, Interim Vice-Principal (Research). 鈥淭hrough the QROF program, we are making important internal investments that present new opportunities to build on research excellence and to enhance success of our faculty with external agencies and non-governmental organizations. I look forward to seeing the project outcomes for this year鈥檚 recipients.鈥

See the full list of funded projects, and learn more about one of the funded projects, below.


[Dr. Karine Bertrand]
Karine Bertrand, one of this year's recipients of QROF funding. Dr. Bertrand is an associate professor within the department of Film and Media, and teaches a course in Indigenous Women's Film and Media. (University Communications)

Film can be used to educate, to document, and to tell stories. Video works can also spark conversations about topics both inspiring and difficult. In doing so, film can build culture and understanding among different peoples 鈥 and, sometimes, we discover we are not so different after all.

This has been one early finding of Assistant Professor Karine Bertrand鈥檚 work through her project, 鈥淔rom Arnait Video Productions (Nunavut) to Video in the Villages (Brazil): developing a network of the Americas for Indigenous women filmmakers鈥. Dr. Bertrand, who teaches in the Department of Film and Media, is working to establish a film database for Indigenous women filmmakers to help them leverage what some call the modern 鈥榯alking stick鈥 鈥 a way for Indigenous women to make their voice heard on important subjects.

Dr. Bertrand is one of the recipients of funding through QROF 2017 under the category of 鈥淩esearch Leaders.鈥 With this funding, one of her goals is to build a network that will allow Indigenous women filmmakers across North and South America to communicate with, support, and learn from each other. She is partnering with Indigenous filmmaker Sonia Bonspille Boileau, as well as Indigenous elders and Indigenous students at Queen鈥檚, to help bring her vision to life.

鈥淚 have been teaching a course on Indigenous women鈥檚 film and media for the last few years and looking at a lot of different video works from the Americas and Oceania, and I realized that it is really hard to get a hold of these films,鈥 Dr. Bertrand explains. 鈥淎nd, despite the fact many of these female Indigenous filmmakers are thousands of miles away from each other, they are living the same realities. If they could share and communicate about their experiences, it might be able to help them in the healing process. It is so inspiring to think that maybe we can make a difference for these women.鈥

Dr. Bertrand hopes to launch the database within two years, and is currently consulting with the filmmakers about the best approach and seeking tech-savvy students who could assist. In the meantime, she has successfully reached out to the Four Directions Aboriginal Student Centre, whose elders are from Tyendinaga, and local Indigenous communities, including her community in Kitigan Zibi and the Outaouais region, to seek their blessing on the project.

With the support from the QROF, Dr. Bertrand also aims to establish a Minority Women鈥檚 Film and Media Production Centre here at Queen鈥檚, and host a biennial conference showcasing minority women鈥檚 cinema with the first conference taking place in 2018. She believes there would be significant interest in the topic 鈥 99 per cent of students enrolled in her Indigenous Women鈥檚 Film and Media course are non-Indigenous, and many of her fellow faculty have expressed their support for such a centre.

Below, please find the full list of this year鈥檚 QROF recipients. Thank you to all researchers who applied, and congratulations to all recipients.


Research Leaders鈥 Fund

Crudden, Cathleen

Chemistry

Carbon-based ligands for metal surfaces: a revolution in biosensing

$50,000

Jessop, Philip

Chemistry

Application of green chemistry concepts to CMF derived biofuels

$50,000

Lai, Yongjun

Mechanical and Materials Engineering

Novel wearable technology for better vision

$49,112

Renwick, Neil

Pathology and Molecular Medicine

Accelerating RNA-guided diagnostics through accurate RNA detection in neuroendocrine tumor liquid samples and cell lines

$50,000

Bertrand, Karine

Film and Media

From Arnait Video Productions (Nunavut) to Video in the Villages (Brazil): developing a network of the Americas for Indigenous women filmmakers

$50,000

International Fund

Cramm, Heidi

Rehabilitation Therapy/CIMVHR

Military & veteran family health research: a global alliance

$20,000

Aldersey, Heather

School of Rehabilitation Therapy

Setting priorities for sex and relationship education for women with intellectual disabilities (ID) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and their families

$20,000

Mousavi, Parvin

School of Computing

Improved diagnosis and prognosis of prostate cancer using deep learning and multi-parametric medical imaging

$15,000

Cunningham, Michael

Chemical Engineering

Sustainable materials derived from natural polymers as substitutes for petroleum-based synthetic polymers

$20,000

Ross, Robert

Kinesiology and Health Studies

Exercise and metabolomics 鈥 a novel approach to understanding the mechanisms by which exercise improves cardiometabolic health

$16,750

Fichtinger, Gabor

School of Computing

The integration of the Dartmouth electrical impedance imaging technology with the Queen's NaviKnife real-time electromagnetic breast surgery navigation system

$4,100

Post-Doctoral Fellow Fund

Mousavi, Parvin - Anas, Emran Mohammad Abu

School of Computing

No Title

$45,000

Mulligan, Lois - Moodley, Serisha

Cancer Biology & Genetics

Evaluating RET-inhibitors in lung cancer growth and metastasis

$45,000

French, Simon - Auais, Mohammad

Rehabilitation Therapy

No Title

$45,000

Arts Fund

Artistic Production

Renders, Kim

Dan School of Drama and Music

Rhinoceros or What's Different 成人大片 Me

$5,000

Rogalsky, Matthew

Dan School of Drama and Music

Purchase of specialized loudspeakers for investigation and experimentation on an Indigenous language sound installation project

$2,742

Anweiler, Rebecca

Fine Art (Visual Art) Program

Animal/S茅ance: exhibition at Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre's State of Flux Gallery, Kingston, Ontario

$4,900

Wanless, Gregory

Dan School of Drama and Music

Support for The Eliza Show

$5,000

Visiting Artist Residency

McKegney, Sam

English

鈥淐onversation over co-existence: The limitless possibilities of poetic practice鈥
A Writer鈥檚 Residency featuring Karen Solie

$13,000

Kibbins, Garry

Film and Media

Richard Ibghy and Marilou Lemmens: The golden USB

$9,401

 

To learn more about the QROF program, click .

Arts and Science
Smith Engineering
Health Sciences