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Biologist nets major funding to fight bugs
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Contact:
Gerhard Gries, 604.291.4392/5939/3804, gries@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, Media & PR, 604.291.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca
Gerhard Gries, 604.291.4392/5939/3804, gries@sfu.ca
Carol Thorbes, Media & PR, 604.291.3035, cthorbes@sfu.ca
February 2, 2005
Bed bugs, mosquitoes, moths and other tiny pests that wreak untold misery, disease and economic devastation on society had better beware. Gerhard Gries is now armed with a $2.5 million renewable grant over five years, enabling him to intensify his earth-friendly war on household, forest and agricultural insect pests. The Simon Fraser University biologist specializes in the chemical and bioacoustic communication of insects.
Gries is the first researcher at SFU to garner an Industrial Research Chair (IRC) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council in 12 years. The federal agency awarded only 17 of the coveted research grants to university scientists nationally in 2003-04. The official tally for this year has yet to be determined, but Gries is a recipient.
Gries' $2.5 million consists of $1.160 million from NSERC, and an equal cash amount, leveraged by the agency and Gries, from high profile companies involved in pest management. The grant includes another $100,000 in in-kind industry contributions, and $105,000 from SFU for new equipment and lab renovations.
Gries and his team have identified chemical and bioacoustic signals that insects exploit to find food, fend off attackers and entice mates. They have also discovered that insects pay attention to the presence and type of microorganisms on a resource when they decide where to lay their eggs.
"Many of the insecticides we use today have been linked to water contamination and cancers," notes Gries. "Once we understand how insects communicate, we can come up with synthetic attractants that fool, lure, sterilize and even kill bugs without using toxic insecticides.”
Gries' IRC will enable him and industrial sponsors to fine-tune their understanding of how bioacoustic and semiochemical (message bearing) signals emitted by insects can be turned against them. Gries' IRC will also enable SFU to hire a plant or microbial chemist who will accelerate discoveries in the field of chemical ecology by bridging chemical and biological research.
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(electronic photo file available on request)
Websites:
Gerhard Gries, SFU Biological Sciences: www.sfu.ca/biology/faculty/gries/
Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council: www.nserc.gc.ca/index.htm
Gries is the first researcher at SFU to garner an Industrial Research Chair (IRC) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council in 12 years. The federal agency awarded only 17 of the coveted research grants to university scientists nationally in 2003-04. The official tally for this year has yet to be determined, but Gries is a recipient.
Gries' $2.5 million consists of $1.160 million from NSERC, and an equal cash amount, leveraged by the agency and Gries, from high profile companies involved in pest management. The grant includes another $100,000 in in-kind industry contributions, and $105,000 from SFU for new equipment and lab renovations.
Gries and his team have identified chemical and bioacoustic signals that insects exploit to find food, fend off attackers and entice mates. They have also discovered that insects pay attention to the presence and type of microorganisms on a resource when they decide where to lay their eggs.
"Many of the insecticides we use today have been linked to water contamination and cancers," notes Gries. "Once we understand how insects communicate, we can come up with synthetic attractants that fool, lure, sterilize and even kill bugs without using toxic insecticides.”
Gries' IRC will enable him and industrial sponsors to fine-tune their understanding of how bioacoustic and semiochemical (message bearing) signals emitted by insects can be turned against them. Gries' IRC will also enable SFU to hire a plant or microbial chemist who will accelerate discoveries in the field of chemical ecology by bridging chemical and biological research.
-30-
(electronic photo file available on request)
Websites:
Gerhard Gries, SFU Biological Sciences: www.sfu.ca/biology/faculty/gries/
Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council: www.nserc.gc.ca/index.htm