Ten postdoctoral fellows from the University of British Columbia have received 2016-2017 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships, out of seventy fellowships awarded nationally. These prestigious fellowships provide each researcher with $70,000 each year for two years, to support research that will positively contribute to Canada's economic, social, and research-based growth.
Neuroscientist Nicholas Weilinger, one of this year's Banting Fellows, recognizes all of the institutions and mentors that helped him reach this level. "Winning a national fellowship award, especially a Banting, is a true honor," he says. "I am very grateful for the recognition, but also appreciate that these fellowships are meant to award many aspects of my training arc, especially the quality and dedication of my past mentors and current supervisor. This underscores the importance of not only improving my research acumen over the course of my career, but to continue to hone my mentorship skills so that I am best positioned to train the next generation of young scientists."
UBC 2016-2017 Banting Postdoctoral Fellows
Laura Vang Rasmussen, Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences, Faculty of Forestry, supervisor: Jeanine Rhemtulla
Research focus: Can agricultural intensification and expansion perversely lead to lower food security among local people?
Mayuri Sengupta, Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice, Faculty of Arts, supervisor: Leila Harris
Research focus: Gendered subjects and natural forest management in Tripura (Northeast India)
Brianne Kent, Division of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, supervisor: Haakon Nygaard
Research focus: Investigating peripheral circadian oscillators as therapeutic targets for Alzheimer's disease
Jelena Kolic, Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, supervisor: James Johnson
Research focus: Genetic Determinants of Individualized Islet Responses to Dietary Macronutrients
Travis Salway, School of Population and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, supervisors: Mark Gilbert and Jean Shoveller
Research focus: Can specialized sexual health clinics address unmet mental health needs of Canadian sexual minorities?
Nicholas Weilinger, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, supervisor: Brian MacVicar
Research focus: Investigating a novel target for cerebral edema during stroke
Daniel Anstett, Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, supervisor: Amy Angert
Research focus: How does rapid evolution in response to climate change vary across spatiotemporal scales?
Benjamin Freeman, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, supervisor: Dolph Schluter
Research focus: Speciation on the Bird Continent: The evolution of song, plumage, and reproductive isolation in South American passerines
Jonathan Rolland, Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, supervisor: Dolph Schluter
Research focus: Reconstructing niche evolution in vertebrates and its consequences on the origin of latitudinal diversity gradient and extinction risk.
Gonzalo Saldías, Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Faculty of Science, supervisor: Susan Allen
Research focus: The impact of numerous submarine canyons on upwelling of deep/slope water onto the continental shelf.
About the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program
The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships Program provides the opportunity to bring top talent to join the research community at UBC. Fellowships are awarded to the very best postdoctoral researchers, both nationally and internationally, who will positively contribute to Canada's economic, social and research-based growth. Emphasis is placed on the synergy of research goals and projects between applicants, supervisors, and host institutions.
Seventy fellowships are awarded each year and are equally distributed among candidates from Canada's three Tri-Council Agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
More information about the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is available from the Postdoctoral Fellows Office.