research

2014-15 Food Safety Research Program: Open Call for Letters of Intent

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The Food Safety Research Program is an open, competitive research fund with the mandate to support food safety research in three broad areas:

  • Development / validation of testing methods for pathogen and chemical detection in food and water;
  • Data to support risk assessments / risk assessments, including the identification of emerging hazards and contaminants; and
  • Risk management and control in food safety.
  • Research Priorities

Proposals are being solicited that will generate new knowledge and/or technologies in the following areas:

  • Analysis of food safety economics;
  • Threat identification and prioritization;
  • Detection and surveillance;
  • Pathway analysis; and
  • Prevention and control of disease.

For the 2014 call, we have identified a number of research needs, such as:

  • Development and validation of food safety interventions for small and medium scale operators;
  • Validation of manufacturing processes related to various ready to eat food
  • products such as dried/dehydrates meats;
  • Identification and prevention of food safety risks associated with fish processing activities; and
  • Interventions to reduce risks of environmental impacts on food safety (e.g. climate change).

Application Process

Interested applicants must apply to the call through a Letter of Intent (LOI) by the submission deadline of Thursday, May 29, 2014 at 4:00 pm EST. Successful applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal.

Who May Apply

We invite applicants from universities, research institutes, industry, government agencies and partnership networks with demonstrated capacity to perform quality research to submit a Letter of Intent. Applicants outside the province of Ontario are eligible but must clearly indicate how their proposed research will benefit Ontario’s food safety system. Staff from Ontario provincial ministries cannot apply as Lead Applicant to this program.

How to Apply

Researchers apply using the Research Management System (RMS), OMAF and MRA’s on-line system for managing and administering Ministry-funded research programs. If you have previously applied to a research program through the RMS, log in to your Researcher Workbench to access the Call documents and application form.

If you have not previously applied to a Ministry-funded research program through the RMS, you will need to register to create a user file before you can apply:

  • Click here if you are an applicant with a Research Office or other approval Authority  (such as applicants from colleges, universities, hospitals, government)
  • All other applicants click here (i.e. applicants from business, commodity groups, industry, municipal organizations, Non-Government Organizations etc.)

More information about the 2014 Food Safety Research Call can be accessed from the program’s homepage.

Information Session

An information session to provide an overview of the 2014 Food Safety Research Program will be hosted on May 7, 2014 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm in the Conference Centre (Room 3) at 1 Stone Road West, Guelph, Ontario. Interested applicants may attend in-person or via Webex. To register for the information session, please contact Stacy Favrin, Senior Research Advisor (519-826-5178)

Today: IRES Seminar Series with Peter Arcese

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When: March 18th, 12.30pm-1.20pm, AERL 120
Speaker: Peter Arcese, Professor, Forestry Renewal BC Chair in Conservation Biology
Title: Empiricists and Environmental Policy: Designing Research to Address Multiple Audiences

Abstract: Many conservation biologists are ‘converted’ empiricists in ecology and evolution. I followed that path intentionally because of an assumption that some mechanistic understanding would be necessary to predict how species and ecosystems might respond to the direct and indirect effects of humans on environment. I describe how empirical approaches to understanding have influenced conservation policy, wildlife harvest and over-fishing in Africa by identifying and testing critical assumptions of policy hypotheses, and by applying simple economic models to human-wildlife systems. I then show how empirical understanding can shape land use policy in the Georgia Basin, BC, again by understanding the cultural and economic drivers of ecological change.

Innovative Dissemination of Research Award (Deadline Extension)

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Established by the UBC Library in 2010, this Award focuses on new and innovative ways of communicating and disseminating knowledge. The Award honors UBC faculty, staff and students who are expanding the boundaries of research through the creative use of new tools and technologies that enhance the research findings being disseminated. The nomination deadline is 5pm on November 29, 2013.

What is meant by research findings?

“Research findings” is meant to be interpreted broadly and to encompass a range of scholarly activity including educational, knowledge translation and other research tools such as altmetrics. The committee will focus on the innovative vehicle used for dissemination, specifically on how that vehicle enhances the impact of the research findings.

Who is eligible?

All faculty, staff, and students of the University are eligible.

Criteria

Given the nature of the award, the committee will consider nominees by reviewing each in light of a series of questions.

  • How is this format different from what has happened in your discipline in the past?
  • Does the dissemination model for the information significantly enhance the audience experience?
  • Does the dissemination model suggest new ways of applying the knowledge by the manner in which it is packaged?
  • Does the dissemination model for the information engage/attract a different audience in the use of material?
  • Does the vehicle merge forms of communication in new ways to give the recipient enhanced options? – video, text, images, software manipulations etc.

Award

The award consists of a framed certificate of recognition and a $2,000 cash prize.

Nomination Procedure

All UBC faculty, staff, and students may nominate themselves or others as candidates for the Library Innovative Dissemination of Research Award. Complete the attached form. Add any additional information which you believe the committee would find helpful. Ensure that you have included a mechanism for reviewing the actual material such as a URL or copy of the research vehicle.

Visit the Award website for additional information.