The Year in Research 2023

Written by:

Justine Pineau

Arts and Science

Education

Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs

December 13, 2023

Justine Pineau

December 13, 2023

Teaser:

Celebrating the achievements of the Queen鈥檚 research community that have defined the last 12 months.

Deck:

As we bid farewell to 2023, we鈥檙e taking a moment to remember some of the milestones, funding, awards, and discoveries that shaped the Queen鈥檚 research community this annum.

Memorable moments

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The year began on a high note with the announcement of a transformative聽$30 million investment聽from alumnus Bruce Mitchell (Sc鈥�68, DSc鈥�20), aimed to bolster research intensity, elevate graduate student recruitment efforts, and foster collaboration among scholars. The gift also established a funding avenue for the recruitment of聽50 new doctoral trainees, broadening the landscape of high-quality research training environments at Queen鈥檚.

In May,听Science Rendezvous Kingston聽saw its most successful event to date, with over 5,300 attendees and 400 volunteers engaging in science outreach activities. The full-day festival featured distinguished guests, including Arthur McDonald, 2015 Nobel laureate and Queen鈥檚 professor emeritus, and Alejandro Adem, President of the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada.

May also saw the community celebrate the wrap up of the聽WE-CAN Project, designed to empower and equip women entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups or sectors with the resources to take their businesses to the next level. Over three years, the program supported over 1,300 entrepreneurs in Kingston and the region, and due to its success, it will continue to offer programming to women in business.

This summer, Queen鈥檚 secured the position of 3rd globally and 1st in North America out of over 1,700 participating universities in the聽2023 Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, marking its best performance to date. The rankings measure contributions to the United Nations鈥� Sustainable Development Goals through research, teaching, and outreach activity.

Research leadership

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Queen鈥檚 researchers again earned widespread recognition through national and international honours. Claire Davies (Mechanical and Materials Engineering) received one of eight聽Dorothy Killam Fellowships聽to advance her research in accessible communications. Praveen Jain (Electrical and Computer Engineering) was one of five researchers nationally to receive a聽Killam Prize, which recognized his world-leading research in power electronics.

The prestigious聽NSERC John C. Polanyi Award聽was awarded to Cathleen Crudden (Chemistry) for her innovative work on protecting metal surfaces using organic molecules. Recently, it was announced that Paul Kubes will join Queen鈥檚 as the聽Canada Excellence Research Chair in Immunophysiology and Immunotherapy, to advance critical research on cancer and chronic disease.

John Smol (Biology) was honoured for lifetime research achievements with the聽Vega Medal, the Nobel Prize-equivalent in geography, awarded by the King of Sweden. He was also recognized by the聽Royal Society of Canada聽with the Sir John William Dawson Medal and appointed to the聽Order of Ontario, for his groundbreaking work on protecting lakes and ecosystems.

The Canada Research Chair in Youth and African Urban Futures, Grace Adeniyi-Ogunyankin (Geography and Planning; Gender Studies) was named a Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research鈥檚 new聽Humanity鈥檚 Urban Future聽program. 脡lise Devoie (Civil Engineering) was named a Canadian Institute for Advanced Research聽Azrieli Global Scholar, for her research in permafrost loss and its impact on ecosystems and Indigenous communities.

Post-doctoral researcher Irsa Wiginton (Cancer Research Institute) was presented with the聽Mitacs Global Impact Entrepreneur Award聽for her groundbreaking work launching a liquid biopsy for metastatic breast cancer. Recently, Queen鈥檚 graduate student and activist Glenda Watson Hyatt (Mechanical and Materials Engineering) also received a Mitacs Award, for聽Outstanding Innovation. Her research has been pivotal in empowering individuals with speech impairments to access employment opportunities.

Cao Thang Dinh (Chemical Engineering) won the Falling Walls international聽Science Breakthrough of the Year in Engineering and Technology聽for his research that investigates how to use carbon dioxide to generate sustainable fuels and chemicals.

Funding future research

The Government of Canada pledged $105.7 million from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund to support a new interdisciplinary research initiative,听Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Healthy, Just Society. This collaborative project between Queen鈥檚 and York University is assessing the risks and benefits of technology for humanity.

In August, the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, announced $23.9 million for Queen鈥檚 researchers across disciplines 鈥� advancing research from neutrino detection and climate action, to ensuring equal access in sport for Canadians with disabilities. The Queen鈥檚 funded projects include:

鈥⒙犅犅犅�Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council 鈥� Partnership: Amy Latimer-Cheung (Kinesiology and Health Studies) and Heather Aldersey (Rehabilitation Therapy) received more than $4 million in Partnership Grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to advance their work on equity and inclusion for people with disabilities.
鈥⒙犅犅犅�Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council 鈥� Insight: 30 Queen鈥檚 researchers were awarded over $3 million from SSHRC through Insight Development Grants, which support early research in its initial stages.
鈥⒙犅犅犅�Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council 鈥� Discovery: $14.3 million in funding was awarded to advance innovative STEM and health research projects. In total, 43 Queen鈥檚 researchers were recipients of Discovery and RTI program grants.
鈥⒙犅犅犅燙anada Foundation for Innovation 鈥撀�John R. Evans Leaders Fund: $2 million in funding was announced to equip Queen鈥檚 researchers with leading-edge labs and equipment.
In September,听George diCenzo received $3 million聽in funding from Genome Prairie鈥檚 Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Systems initiative to co-lead a project targeting agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by improving alternative microbial fertilizers.

[Drs. Heather Aldersey and Amy Latimer-Cheung]

^{Drs. Aldersey and Latimer-Cheung received over $4M in the latest round of Partnership Grants from SSHRC.}

Additional funding that will support Queen鈥檚 future research includes:
鈥⒙犅犅犅�The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant: ten successful Queen鈥檚 applicants received $6.48 million for projects spanning from cancer to autism and social determinants of health.
鈥⒙犅犅犅燦ine Queen鈥檚 programs received $3 million from the federal government through the聽New Frontiers in Research Fund听(狈贵搁贵).
鈥⒙犅犅犅燪ueen鈥檚 secured over $15 million in support from the聽Canadian Institutes for Health Research鈥檚 Project Grant program聽to pioneer innovations and address critical health challenges. Research teams secured 12 of the competitive grants. CIHR also announced the recipients of their聽Team Grants聽with three projects led by Queen鈥檚 researchers receiving $5.71 million to advance innovative health research.
鈥⒙犅犅犅�The Queen鈥檚-Oasis Team聽received $1.8 million in funding from the Government of Canada鈥檚 Age Well at Home Program to establish new locations in Ontario, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia, to promote healthy aging and overall wellbeing within Canada鈥檚 aging population.

Breakthrough research that made headlines

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This year, the聽Gazette聽published dozens of research profiles and stories highlighting new research discoveries and publications, many of which made headlines across Canada and internationally.

While the mysteries of dark matter continue to elude us and inspire聽new experiments, in April, the SNO+ experiment,听captured neutrinos produced in nuclear reactors聽hundreds of kilometres away using pure water, for the first time.

In July, Ontario鈥檚 Crawford Lake caught the world鈥檚 attention when it was recommended as the聽geological landmark to mark the start of the Anthropocene. Brian Cumming (Biology) and his lab were part of the interdisciplinary research effort to champion the site, which represents the newest chapter in our planet鈥檚 narrative and a pivotal moment in our collective environmental history.

Scientists also cracked the code of聽what causes diamonds to erupt. Christopher Spencer (Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering) collaborated with a team of international researchers to examine the effects of global tectonic forces on these volcanic eruptions spanning the last billion years. With findings published in聽Nature, their discovery identified the breakup of tectonic plates as the driving force behind the generation and eruption of diamond-rich magma from deep inside the Earth.

September saw a group of international astronomers, including Nathan Deg and Kristine Spekkens (Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy), identify two potential聽polar ring galaxies聽鈥� the type of galaxy that exhibits a ring of stars and gas perpendicular to its main spiral disk. These new findings suggest polar ring galaxies might be more common than previously believed.

Researchers from Queen鈥檚 and Environment and Climate Change Canada discovered that accelerated 21st-century warming has triggered a striking shift in algae composition in聽Great Slave Lake, North America鈥檚 deepest lake. The team鈥檚 findings, led by Kathleen R眉hland (Paleoecological Environmental Assessment and Research Lab) and published in the journal聽Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggest that declining ice coverage and other climate-related changes have marked the crossing of an important ecological threshold.

Clinician scientist, Maria Velez (Obstetrics and Gynecology), led a breakthrough study examining聽infertility and risk of autism spectrum disorder聽(ASD), which included data from 1.3 million children born in Ontario between 2006 and 2018. Published in聽JAMA Network Open, findings suggest that children born to individuals who have been diagnosed as having fertility issues are at a slightly higher risk of ASD.

We continued our partnership with聽The Conversation Canada, the online news platform that pairs academic experts with experienced journalists to write informed content that can be shared and repurposed by media outlets worldwide. This year, 54 Queen鈥檚 researchers published 52 articles that garnered over 1.1 million reads. Some of our most popular articles covered topics like the impacts of聽,听,听, as well as聽.

Mobilizing research

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Queen鈥檚 aims to inspire emerging researchers, create research processes that are equitable and inclusive, and establish meaningful connections between academia and the wider community.

Our annual photo contest,听Art of Research, showcased the beauty of research at Queen鈥檚 and recognized six outstanding winning photo and video entries. With a continued focus on the UN SDGs, the competition placed a spotlight on the intrinsic connection between research and social impact.

In November, a delegation of Queen鈥檚 researchers traveled to Ottawa to participate in the聽15th Canadian Science Policy Conference聽and discuss how the federal government can support major research facilities and transformative research programs. Panel participants engaged in thoughtful deliberations on what Canada needs to emerge as a global leader in science.

Autumn also saw Queen鈥檚 gear up for the launch of its聽total solar eclipse聽campaign, a once-in-a-lifetime event that will occur on April 8, 2024, with Kingston in the path of totality. Robert Knobel, head of the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics, and Astronomy is leading efforts to ensure the community can聽safely observe and learn聽about this rare celestial event.

This year, the university increased funding for undergraduate student research to bolster inquiry-based learning across various disciplines with an expansion of the聽Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowships (USSRF) and Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA)聽programs. With 178 positions supported, these programs provide enriching learning experiences that contribute to the development of future research leaders and innovators.

As move into 2024, we remain committed to creating the right conditions for research to thrive so we can remain at the forefront of academic excellence and societal impact.

Topics:

Understanding the Universe

Exploring human dimensions and culture

Protecting our environment and energy systems

Advancing human health and wellbeing

Technology and intelligent systems

Equity, diversity and inclusion

Future skills and innovation