TWU gains third research chair
Stringham’s efforts earn prestigious reward
January 23, 2007
Rhoda Dyck, Staff Writer
Trinity Western University’s Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences received a vital boost through a $500,000 grant recently awarded to genetics researcher Dr. Eve Stringham.
Initiatives from the Canada Research Chairs program fund the Tier Two award in Developmental Genetics and Disease, an association that seeks to find and fund Canada’s best minds.
According to Stringham, the funding is needed to “keep Canadian talent and not lose it.”
This is TWU’s third research chair grant. Dr. Peter Flint received a Tier One research chair for Biblical Studies in 2004 and Dr. Jens Zimmermann received a Tier Two Research chair for Religion, Interpretation, and Culture in 2006.
The recent support of Stringham’s work will open new avenues into some of the most groundbreaking incentives to cure certain diseases.
“It all starts with a good question, a simple question, and then you figure out ways to answer that question, then it leads to another question and another question,” said Stringham of her research. “And a fundamental question is, how does an organism with lots of cells get patterned correctly so that these cells know where they’re supposed to be?”
Stringham has devoted much of her time towards studying Caenorhabditis elegans, a soil nematode useful for research in that it exhibits physiological pathways similar to those that occur in the human body.
“My research is involved with cell migration and division,” Stringham said. “We can use genetics to discover the genes that affect the behaviours of certain cells. You characterize what the genes are doing to help you understand how the process leads to disease. When you understand that, you start to find solutions.”
The recent influx of funding for Stringham’s research is expected to further the processes involved in finding these solutions. An additional grant from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) has enabled the university to expand its resources with the planned acquisition of a High Resolution Microscopy and Live Imaging Laboratory.
According to Stringham, “The new microscope is the most critical thing—it makes a huge difference.”
The Canadian Research Chair money will go towards funding the salaries and operating costs involved with hiring grad student researchers, as “it costs about $10-15,000 per year for one person to work full time in the lab-and that’s just for the chemicals.”
Some of the funds will also benefit a wide population of students through a planned seminar series featuring “some of the best [researchers] from around the world,” Stringham said.
As well, a grant such as this has great potential to expand a university’s reputation, Stringham noted.
“If you are really good at science, you are at a great institution—science takes a lot of infrastructure,” she said. “A lot of people would be surprised at a university of our size with a NSERC [Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council] grant.”
Stringham’s current position in a largely male-dominated field has given her a platform from which to encourage the progress of women desiring work in scientific fields.
“I have always felt the responsibility, as a woman, to be a role model,” Stringham said. “Female students can [pursue science] and have a successful career.”
Stringham’s husband teaches business law and molecular genetics at TWU. They have two children.
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