Grants and Contributions

River Restoration 2023

Restoration and offsetting of boreal caribou habitat in the context of impact assessments in Canada

The purpose of the Oceans Management Contribution funding is to support the development and implementation of oceans conservation and management activities in Canada.

Contributes to the recovery of endangered, threatened, and other species of concern, by engaging Canadians in conservation actions to benefit wildlife and to protect aquatic species at risk.

The Achilles tendon is critical to walking, yet can be impaired after long period of immobility or lack of gravity, in space or on earth. Our study aims to investigate whether artificial gravity can reduce the effect from lack of gravity on the Achilles tendon, and explore whether male or female respond differently to artificial gravity.

Muscle wasting occurs in consequence to pathological conditions, including aging (sarcopenia). In space, healthy astronauts experience severe wasting of the anti-gravity muscles, the muscles that are normally engaged on Earth to maintain posture. Adjunct therapies are required to mitigate the risk of muscle wasting to enable human exploration of space. In this proposal, the research team use genetic tools in the mouse to reveal how protein synthesis, a major determinant of muscle mass, is remodeled in aging mice. Understanding how protein synthesis is remodeled under conditions of muscle wasting on Earth and in space is the first step towards identifying drug targets.

Astronauts, space tourists, and bedridden people on Earth remain at risk for anemia. This project will add to the growing body of research with the hopes of discovering effective ways to mitigate this risk.

Light-headedness and fainting occurs when the cardiovascular system is unable to maintain arterial pressures during rapid changes in posture, such as standing up from a horizontal position. Some astronauts experience such symptoms after returning to Earth from space and the underlying factors are still poorly understood. The research team will analyze data from the recent CIHR-based Bed Rest Study of 55-65-year-old men and women wich they propose can provide information on how the blood supply to the brain is related to fainting. The results will be an important step towards the prevention of fainting in astronauts and people on Earth.

Findings from Viking and Phoenix Mars landers have revealed the widespread presence of perchlorates in Mars regolith at concentrations that are toxic to humans and plants. The MARSCROP project will explore the use of perchlorate reducing bacteria associated with willow roots to mitigate regolith toxicity as well as determine the potential for co-cropping of willow with tomato and soybean to produce safe fresh food for astronauts on the surface of Mars. The project findings will hope to exploit multisystem biology which has evolved on earth to help solve complex challenges and safeguard astronaut health on the Martian surface.

Vision loss due to Space Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS) is observed in many astronauts, is poorly understood, and remains one of the most feared hazards of space flight. The loss of gravity causes shift of fluids, including blood to the upper body, and these disturbances around the eye, especially in the choroid, the most vascularized tissue in the body, may be an important piece of the puzzle. Novel non-invasive eye imaging techniques will be used to examine blood vessel changes in the choroid for the first time in a model of SANS. Discovering biomarkers of excess and persistent blood and fluid entry into the eye will be an important step toward understanding and predicting SANS and preventing vision loss from SANS in astronauts.