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Two new national chairs appointed at SFU
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June 25, 2002
A scientist who is internationally recognized for his expertise on parasites and insect immunity and a researcher whose expertise crosses the boundaries between evolutionary biology and economics are Simon Fraser University’s newest Canada Research Chairs.
Carl Lowenberger is currently a professor of animal health and biomedical sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The former graduate of SFU’s master’s in pest management program is coming home to continue exploring the innate immune response of disease carrying insects. Lowenberger is trying to figure out why insects that transmit diseases to humans allow parasites to develop in their bodies when their immune system could kill the invaders. Solving this mystery could lead to the development of novel antibiotics that slow or prevent the alarming spread of exotic, insect-borne diseases worldwide, such as malaria and yellow fever.
Lowenberger’s renewable junior-level chair ($100,000 annually for five years) in the biology of parasites and disease vectors comes with a Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) grant. Lowenberger will receive $166,299 over one year to help him start a new lab for insect rearing, isolation and analysis at SFU.
Arthur Robson, an economics professor, comes to SFU from the University of Western Ontario. Robson has contributed greatly to theoretical understanding of the biological underpinnings of human economic behaviour. A widely published leading game theorist, Robson has sought to determine how evolution influences the strategies that humans employ over time, under uncertainty, and in interactions with each other.
As a renewable senior-level chair ($200,000 annually for seven years), Robson will use observations of present-day hunter-gatherer economies to make inferences about our evolutionary history. His conclusions are expected to impact economic theory.
The total value of today’s announcement concerning SFU is $1.9 million. The appointments of Lowenberger and Robson bring to 11 the number of Canada Researcher Chairs filled so far at SFU. The total value of those chairs is $12.7 million. Many of them are accompanied by CFI grants, which address the infrastructure needs of chair recipients. The CFI grants, to-date, are worth $1.18 million collectively.
Federal Industry Minister Allan Rock announced Canada’s latest chairs today: "These Canada Research Chairs will enable Canadian universities to achieve the highest levels of research excellence and become world-class leaders in the global knowledge-based economy."
The Canada Research Chair program is a federally funded initiative that aims to keep leading edge researchers in Canada and attract new ones. Universities across Canada nominate appointees to fill the chairs awarded them. SFU has 27 chairs left to fill.
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CONTACT
Carl Lowenberger, 604.291.3985, clowenbe@sfu.ca
Arthur Robson, 519.661.2111 ext. 85235
arobson@uwo.ca
Carol Thorbes, Media & PR, 604.291.3035
Carl Lowenberger is currently a professor of animal health and biomedical sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The former graduate of SFU’s master’s in pest management program is coming home to continue exploring the innate immune response of disease carrying insects. Lowenberger is trying to figure out why insects that transmit diseases to humans allow parasites to develop in their bodies when their immune system could kill the invaders. Solving this mystery could lead to the development of novel antibiotics that slow or prevent the alarming spread of exotic, insect-borne diseases worldwide, such as malaria and yellow fever.
Lowenberger’s renewable junior-level chair ($100,000 annually for five years) in the biology of parasites and disease vectors comes with a Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) grant. Lowenberger will receive $166,299 over one year to help him start a new lab for insect rearing, isolation and analysis at SFU.
Arthur Robson, an economics professor, comes to SFU from the University of Western Ontario. Robson has contributed greatly to theoretical understanding of the biological underpinnings of human economic behaviour. A widely published leading game theorist, Robson has sought to determine how evolution influences the strategies that humans employ over time, under uncertainty, and in interactions with each other.
As a renewable senior-level chair ($200,000 annually for seven years), Robson will use observations of present-day hunter-gatherer economies to make inferences about our evolutionary history. His conclusions are expected to impact economic theory.
The total value of today’s announcement concerning SFU is $1.9 million. The appointments of Lowenberger and Robson bring to 11 the number of Canada Researcher Chairs filled so far at SFU. The total value of those chairs is $12.7 million. Many of them are accompanied by CFI grants, which address the infrastructure needs of chair recipients. The CFI grants, to-date, are worth $1.18 million collectively.
Federal Industry Minister Allan Rock announced Canada’s latest chairs today: "These Canada Research Chairs will enable Canadian universities to achieve the highest levels of research excellence and become world-class leaders in the global knowledge-based economy."
The Canada Research Chair program is a federally funded initiative that aims to keep leading edge researchers in Canada and attract new ones. Universities across Canada nominate appointees to fill the chairs awarded them. SFU has 27 chairs left to fill.
—30—
CONTACT
Carl Lowenberger, 604.291.3985, clowenbe@sfu.ca
Arthur Robson, 519.661.2111 ext. 85235
arobson@uwo.ca
Carol Thorbes, Media & PR, 604.291.3035