Organization: Univ of Toronto

SSHRC announces Partnership Grant recipients

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) has finally announced the results of its latest Partnership Grants (PG) and Partnership Development Grants (PDG). The granting council is investing $44 million in 15 PGs and 57 PDGs with the largest grant ($2.9 million) going to the Univ of Toronto‘s Creating Digital Opportunity project (see page…

NSERC provides $9.8 million for more CREATE grants

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) has announced $9.8 million to support the second tranche of this year’s Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE ) grants. The funding will allow the six training programs at five Ontario-based institutions to train graduate students in the skills they require to work in industry. Grants for…

Investments in imaging research generate returns

A commissioned study by RTI International shows that investments in medical imaging research at four Canadian universities generated a 28% return on investment. The study — supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research —examined outcomes from $387 million in investments in facilities, equipment and research programs at McGill…

NSERC announces network and project strategic grants

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) has awarded $36 million to 83 scientific teams through its Strategic Projects Grants (SPG) program. SPGs are intended to encourage collaboration between academic, industrial and government partners. NSERC also announced the winners of two Strategic Network Grants worth $9.4 million. A multi-sectoral team led by the Univ…

McGill and U of T join edX on-line learning service

McGill Univ and the Univ of Toronto have joined edX, a $60-million on-line learning initiative launched by Harvard Univ and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012. The two Canadian institutions are part of a tranche of six non-US universities that doubles edX’s membership. Members gain access to MIT’s open-source MITx platform and massive datasets…

New institute to move discovery into clinical trials

University Health Network and the Univ of Toronto have launched The Techna Institute for the Advancement of Technology for Health to integrate and fast track the R&D and commercialization of new healthcare technologies. The institute was launched with $10 million in start-up funds. The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation committed $4 million after receiving a $5-million…

Government launches second CERC competition

A second smaller round of the Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CECR) program has been launched, with 10 chairs worth $10 million each up for grabs in the four large priority areas outlined in the 2007 S&T strategic plan with an added emphasis on the digital economy. The two-stage process for selecting the winners involves universities…

SGC launches third phase with $49.9 million in funding

The Toronto-based Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) has received $48.9 million to launch its third four-year phase. The funding is 30% less than in previous phases due primarily to the closure of the SGC laboratory at Karolinska Institutet in suburban Stockholm last June. The funding — 45% of which comes from commercial entities — will support…

IBM acquires Toronto-based Platform Computing Inc

IBM Corp, Armonk NY, has purchased Toronto-based Platform Computing Inc for an undisclosed sum to boost its capabilities in the emerging high-performance computing sector. As an early entrant into the field of grid computing, Platform has seen success with its Load Sharing Facility software which allows information technology departments of companies to manage exploding data…

DVS Sciences receives $14.6 million in series A financing

DVS Sciences — a Univ of Toronto spin-off — has secured $14.6 million in series A financing, the largest venture-based series A equity financing in the life sciences and medical technology fields in recent years. DVS has developed CyTOF, an analytical instrument that dramatically speeds up the analysis of biomarkers. It recently analyzed 34 biomarkers…