Photo courtesy of: Trent University
Three Trent University researchers are receiving more than $643,000 in federal funding to purchase advanced equipment supporting research into aging, environmental contaminants and medical innovation.
The combined $643,477 is being provided through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund.
Trent University president and vice-chancellor Dr. Cathy Bruce said access to advanced equipment can help researchers push their work further while attracting talent to the university.
“Thanks to the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Trent researchers can equip campus spaces and labs with state-of-the-art tools and equipment that help attract world-class talent to the University and push discovery further,” Bruce said.
At Trent University Durham GTA, psychology professor Dr. Raheleh Saryazdi will use the funding to support research in the Cognition, Health, Aging, and Technology Lab.
Her team will use equipment including eye-tracking technology and a social robot to study how sensory and cognitive changes affect communication as people age. The research could help develop interventions for people experiencing hearing loss or dementia and improve technologies designed for older adults.
Chemistry professor Dr. Michael Burt will acquire a titanium-sapphire laser for Trent’s Spectroscopy and Optics Lab at Trent Lightsource. The equipment will allow researchers to examine how complex molecules change during chemical reactions, with potential applications in areas including greenhouse gas storage and medicinal chemistry.
Dr. Mary-Claire Buell, an assistant professor in the Trent School of the Environment and Forensic Science, will acquire a high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer for the university’s Water Quality Centre.
Her research team is studying PFAS, commonly known as “forever chemicals,” and other emerging contaminants in freshwater and coastal environments.
“The new mass spectrometry equipment has greater sensitivity that will allow researchers to identify contaminants at very low concentrations and determine how much is present in water, soil and traditional food sources,” Buell said.
The equipment will also be available to researchers and students in several other disciplines at Trent, along with collaborators from government, other universities and the private sector.
Trent says more than 75 faculty, staff, students and post-doctoral researchers used Water Quality Centre facilities over the past year.
