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  Research News  

Bruce Mitchell Postdoctoral Fund

The Vice-Principal Research Portfolio (VPR) stewards the Bruce Mitchell Program (a $30M donation by alumnus Bruce Mitchell (Sc’68, DSc'20) to ignite research) and is pleased to announce that six postdoctoral fellows were awarded two years of salary support through the Program’s Postdoctoral Fund. The Postdoctoral Fund attracts outstanding postdoctoral fellows to Queen’s University, providing $50,000 per year in support of research training. Ongoing support from the Bruce Mitchell Program will enable strategic support for existing areas of research strength and the recruitment of scholars in innovative areas of research.

Learn more about the Postdoctoral Fund

SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG) Awardees

Offered through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, approximately $225,000 was awarded to 41 researchers for small-scale research and research-related activities. Researchers applied for up to $7,000 under either the Explore or Exchange grant themes, for project development research or knowledge mobilization, respectively. Projects will explore a breadth of research topics of social importance including gender expression in schools, community action against oil and gas waste disposal in Guyana, the function and affect of music in federal election campaigns in Canada, a national student mental health network, and more. Congratulations to the successful SIG funding recipients.

View the awardees on our SIG webpage

Research Opportunities for Undergraduate Students

Embedding research experience in undergraduate education integrates learning and research to enhance the research experience. As such, the faculty orientation and the Summer Orientation to Academics and Resources events highlighted undergraduate research opportunities to both new faculty and incoming students. One example of activities related to undergraduate research is the Principal’s Undergraduate Research Leaders (PURLs) opportunity. The six PURLs facilitate research experiences for undergraduates and provide support for the development of resources and materials, such as a Student Guide on Undergraduate Research. This guide highlights the benefits of engaging in research and the wide variety of research opportunities available at the University.

Learn more about the PURLs

Canada Research Chairs Update

The Canada Research Chair (CRC) program recognizes emerging and outstanding global research leaders and is funded by the federal government to make Canada one of the world's top countries in research and development. With a focus on inclusive excellence and areas of research strengths, Queen’s is committed to the recruitment, hiring and retention of CRCs to align with the Queen’s CRC EDI Action Plan and the Strategic Research Plan (2018-2023). An internal competition was held in the spring and the 13 applicants selected are currently finalizing their nominations for submission to the Tri-Agency Institutional Programs Secretariat for evaluation. We expect decisions in April 2024.

The following chair tier level and tri-agency are to be submitted:

• one Tier 1 SSHRC, one Tier 2 SSHRC;
• three Tier 1 NSERC, four Tier 2 NSERC; and
• three Tier 1 CIHR, one Tier 2 CIHR.

Queen’s Support for Research Security Mitigation

Canada’s research environment aims to be open and collaborative, a posture that enhances research impact and requires researchers to consider and respond to geopolitical threats from foreign actors. To support the research community at Queen’s, the Vice-Principal Research Portfolio is proactively identifying risks and taking precautionary steps to mitigate them. The VPR research security team will:

• conduct due diligence exercises using open-source tools;
• coordinate a town hall and education sessions;
• engage in targeted outreach to assist in reaching all researchers impacted on campus; and
• establish a VPR protocol around the conduct of research security risk assessments to minimize any negative impacts on researchers as a result of race, ethnicity or nation of origin.

This activity will put Queen’s in a position to support researcher and institutional compliance with government requirements and minimize the risk of unauthorized access to exemplary research.

The VPR’s implementation of research security processes have not occurred in isolation and are part of a multi-institutional effort; team members work closely with federal and provincial government and academic partners, including Public Safety Canada, Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities and the U15. There is constant dialogue with and access to the Research Security Centre, coordinated by Public Safety Canada. As the research security landscape continues to evolve, the VPR will track changes and provide structure to the community to ensure a transparent and predictable approach that is sensitive to the researcher experience.

The diagram below illustrates resources deployed to support research security, internal to the Vice-Principal Research Portfolio, and connections across campus.

Learn more at the Government of Canada's portal.