LSI researchers awarded funding through NSERC Discovery Research Program

July 11, 2025

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) is investing $589.7 million in 2,950 new Discovery Research Program awards—NSERC’s largest investment area and a key driver of Canada’s leading scientific and engineering breakthroughs.

An additional $70.6 million will fund one-time, one-year extensions to existing Discovery research grants. These investments are part of a broader federal research funding announcement made by the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, through programs administered by Canada’s three federal granting agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).

See below for a list of LSI researchers awarded 2025 NSERC Discovery Research Program grants.

Discovery Grant Recipients

The NSERC Discovery Grants program supports ongoing programs of research with long-term goals rather than a single short-term project or collection of projects. These grants recognize the creativity and innovation that are at the heart of all research advances.

Vanessa Auld (Zoology)

Genetic dissection of peripheral glia and glial sheath development

John Beatty (Microbiology and Immunology)

Molecular biology of genetic exchange mediated by virus-like gene transfer agents

Sean Crowe (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences)

Microbes, Minerals, and Metabolism-Geomicrobiology fundamentals for translational outcomes

Phillip Domeier (Microbiology and Immunology)

Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin Signaling in T Follicular Regulatory Cells and Germinal Center Manipulation*

Michael Gordon (Zoology)

Homeostatic regulation of nutrient intake in Drosophila

Sarah Hedtrich (School of Biomedical Engineering)

Generating complex, immunocompetent organ models of the human skin and lung epithelium

Ivan Nabi (Cellular and Physiological Sciences)

Dynamic regulation of endoplasmic reticulum membrane contact sites: Impact on lipid homeostasis

Ivan Sadowski (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)

Modulation of the mediator protein kinase Cdk8/19 by cell growth and differentiation signals

Research Tools and Instruments Grant Recipients

The NSERC Research Tools and Instruments grants foster and enhance the discovery, innovation and training capability of university researchers in the natural sciences and engineering by supporting the purchase of research equipment.