Western Secures $31.6M Boost for Impactful Research
From disaster preparedness to artificial intelligence to wastewater treatment, new government funding will support Western researchers prioritizing innovative and creative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.
The federal government is investing $1.3 billion in new research funding. Grants, scholarships and fellowships were announced by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) on July 9.
Western was awarded more than $31.6 million in research funding for projects led by more than 150 scholars.
“Federal investments in research enable made-in-Canada solutions that will help shape a better future for all,” said Penny Pexman, vice-president (research).
The funding from Canada’s three federal granting agencies includes significant investments across faculties, including scholarship in the arts, sciences, health and engineering. It also supports the seven PhD students who received Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships and two postdoctoral researchers with Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships.
“Research happening at Western leads to innovation and discoveries that ultimately improve the lives of Londoners and people across the country,” London Centre MP Peter Fragiskatos said.
“Whether it’s novel treatment for a devastating disease, a new material or technique to support Canadian industries or fresh ideas to help those in vulnerable regions fight climate change, this work benefits us all. I’m pleased that such significant federal funding will support research – and all its future potential – right here in our community.”
Isaac Luginaah, professor in the department of geography and environment, received the largest grant at nearly $2.5 million, to support work that will take place over the next seven years. He’s spearheading the Participatory Agroecological Research for Transforming Knowledge and Equity in African Communities (PARTAKE Africa), supported by a SSHRC Partnership Grant.
“We’re so excited about the global collaboration and impact of PARTAKE. Our project will facilitate collective development and sharing of knowledge, training the next generation of interdisciplinary scholars, community workers and small-scale farmers in concepts like agroecology, biodiversity, plant ecophysiology, gender equality, food loss and food safety,” Luginaah said.
“We will mentor over 90 researchers at the master’s, PhD or postdoctoral level, both in Canada and Africa, and work with over 1000 smallholder farmers.”
The global project involves researchers from 13 universities across eight countries working alongside five community partners. Their goal is to develop climate-resistant farming practices to address food security in Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zambia.
PARTAKE also explores ways to reduce post-harvest food loss, improve health, promote environmental sustainability and address gender, intergenerational and socio-economic inequalities in rural communities.
“Fossil-fuel based agrifood systems are making soil and water problems worse, especially as they interact with climate change, including drought, dry spells and heat stress. Yet, those same systems fail to provide adequate, nutritious food for rural communities in Africa,” Luginaah said.
His team will deploy cutting-edge ecological science to improve soil and crop resilience and address food security, income, health and biodiversity. PARTAKE will tap into nutritional science and Indigenous knowledge to reduce food loss by adapting local seeds and strategies.
The project combines scientific study with community expertise to drive change, with a major focus on developing “gender-transformative and youth-inclusive” initiatives in partnership with local advocates. PARTAKE pairs agroecology – which applies ecological and social principles to agriculture to create sustainable food and farming practices – with a participatory research approach.
That means the PARTAKE team will ensure smallholder farmers – small-scale, typically family-run operations – and local community members, especially women and youth, play a central role in shaping solutions to impact their lives. As part of the project’s central goals, farmers will be connected with policymakers to advocate first-hand for farmers’ rights and effective policies.
“Since all transformative changes must come from within, we want to ensure rural women and youth farmer researchers are at the forefront of testing innovative strategies to address intense climate hazards alongside economic and social challenges,” Luginaah said.
PARTAKE plans to train over 1,000 farmers and youth. That will include farmer-to-farmer training and work to build capacity and new skills in women, men, youth and graduate students across the Global North and South.
Dozens of Western researchers also received NSERC Discovery Grants. Rajni Patel, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, was awarded $270,000 over five years for his work with surgical robotics.
“This funding gives us the opportunity to explore some of the broader theoretical and computational issues in a relatively new area of robotics – soft robotics. This is likely to lead to innovative technologies with real-world impact, especially for surgical interventions,” Patel said.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for robotics research. We’re developing intelligent systems that can adapt, learn and augment human performance in reliable new ways. It’s rewarding to know this work could help shape the future of surgical technology and improve outcomes for patients.”
Patel’s project focuses on modeling and control issues in robotics that arose from two NIH-funded grants in surgical robotics, in which he participated as a co-investigator with a group at Harvard Medical School.
Utilizing advanced robotic technology, machine learning and remote operation, Patel and his team are searching for ways to better model and control the movement and function of a class of soft robots called continuum robots – ultra-flexible robots that can respond to their surroundings and adapt to confined spaces.
Patel’s research deals with two types of continuum robots for specific surgical applications. Currently, these robots are difficult to control to achieve the desired level of accuracy and reliability needed for surgical interventions. Patel and his team are looking to help tackle these challenges with their project so they can be safely used in surgical procedures.
Patel’s goals extend to developing smart robotic systems that can perform certain surgical tasks on their own or with minimal guidance, particularly in Robotics-Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery (RAMIS).
The idea is to have surgical robots “observe and analyze” how expert surgeons perform certain tasks; then use machine learning to process and utilize that performance data. The ultimate goal is to build what Patel calls an “Intelligent Virtual Expert.” This technology could be used as a “robotic tutor” that can substitute for an expert surgeon and provide offline training and performance feedback.
https://news.westernu.ca/2025/07/western-research-grants-32m/