Researchers and students from the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College recently received more than $1.4 million from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), a funding agency supporting Canada’s science and engineering research community. The award, announced on the college’s website in early July, is part of a larger sum U of G received in the amount of nearly $11.5 million to support the work of 80 faculty, researchers and students. The collective funding spans six colleges and numerous departments. Most projects are supported for five years. “This funding will enable U of G faculty members at all career stages to leverage their discoveries into new knowledge and applications,” said Malcom Campbell, Ph.D., vice president (research). For example, Ontario Veterinary College professor Nicole Nemeth, DVM, Ph.D., received a $125,000 grant. “It will allow me to lay the groundwork for establishing a research program in the evolving field of arthropod-borne viruses,” she said. Initially, Dr. Nemeth will focus on the Powassan virus. Related to West Nile virus, this rare virus can spread to wildlife and humans through tick bites. In humans, it can cause encephalitis, and be fatal. With the grant, Nemeth will study pertinent tick species, viral prevalence in mammals and ticks, and effects of changing land use and climate. She hopes to help improve disease surveillance and control, according to the university.
