Message from the Minister

Research has the potential to improve every aspect of our lives – from our economy to our environment to our health. That’s why the government of British Columbia has invested more than $1.7 billion in research and innovation – including over $56 million in the Leading Edge Endowment Fund.

This greenhouse effect is good for BC

Most people think horticulture is just about ornamental plants. It’s not. It’s also about flowers, fruits and vegetables. Deborah Henderson is the newly appointed BC Regional Innovation Chair in Sustainable Horticulture at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Langley, BC. “Horticulture is the art and science of growing plants for every human purpose,” she explains.

With its School of Horticulture plus an Institute for Sustainable Horticulture, Kwantlen has assumed a major role in BC’s agriculture industry. And by securing a LEEF Chair for Dr. Henderson, Kwantlen has ensured that it has the kind of expertise the industry can count on. (more…)

This scientist’s PET project promotes cancer research

François Bénard is the BC Leadership Chair in Functional Cancer Imaging at The University of British Columbia (UBC) and the BC Cancer Agency Research Centre. For him, pursuing a career in scientific research was like going into the family business. His father was a medical researcher who helped establish the medical school at the Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec. François considered going into engineering or organic chemistry, but in the end, chose medicine at Sherbrooke. There he specialized in nuclear medicine. Why? Because it played to his academic strengths in physics, biology and chemistry while satisfying his interest in caring for patients.

“I thought this was a very ‘cool’ area to work in,” he says, “because you deal with patients, diagnosis, treatment and research - - all in one job. (more…)

A Chair for BC's future in wood

How does one go from being a passionate environmentalist to being a world-famous forest scientist? Ask Philip Evans, recently appointed BC Leadership Chair in Advanced Forest Products Manufacturing Technology at The University of British Columbia. Because he did it!  

As a student in the United Kingdom in the 1970s, he took part in demonstrations spearheaded by organizations such as Greenpeace. He eventually became disillusioned. “From my perspective the environmental movement felt like a club, with social lives planned around the next demonstration. I shared the concerns of the protest movement, but I wanted to do more. So I chose a career in wood technology. (more…)