Research Nova Scotia convenes project teams to address gaps in current research, take advantage of fast-moving opportunities, or commission research in important areas that are excluded from, not suitable for, or are too small for existing funding opportunities. Recently funded strategic research initiatives are listed below.
Learn more about Research Nova Scotia’s mission-oriented strategy.
Dalhousie University
Dr. Alana Westwood
Assistant Professor, School for Resource and Environmental Studies
Project: Maximizing positive outcomes for biodiversity, recreation, and carbon market valuation through Nova Scotia’s transition to ecological forestry: A five-year interdisciplinary program for research and knowledge exchange
Transitioning Nova Scotia’s forestry sector to the ecological forestry model changes both the forest landscape and forest management practices. This project involves an academic-led, partner-driven five-year research and knowledge mobilization program to create new knowledge in the forestry sector and communicate this knowledge directly with practitioners, landowners, and policymakers. The program is aligned with the needs, gaps, and opportunities identified by Research Nova Scotia and the Lahey Report. The project will 1) measure how changing forestry practices impact biodiversity and landscape connectivity (particularly through impacts of changing road networks), 2) evaluate recreation opportunities arising from changing forestry practices, 3) value carbon as part of forest lands in the province, 4) investigate and undertake effective knowledge exchange with woodlot stewards and operators and registered professional foresters, and 5) support Mi’kmaq-led forestry. Targeted research projects will study impacts of ecological forestry relating to, broadly, biodiversity, habitat connectivity, carbon sequestration and valuation, and opportunities for human recreation, while involving partners across most sectors of the forest industry.
Funding Contribution: $1,574,720
Dr. Lord Abbey
Associate Professor, Amenity Horticulture
Project: Bio-Efficacy of Wood Vinegar on Fire Blight and Scab Fungi Diseases Damaging Apple and Pear Trees in Nova Scotia
Dr. Lord Abbey, a Truro-based agriculture researcher, had positive early results from a study to determine if a natural product, wood vinegar, could be used to prevent two viruses that are hampering apple and pear production in Nova Scotia. RNS is collaborating with ACOA and an industry partner to allow Dr. Abbey to scale up his original findings and conduct trials in the Annapolis Valley. If successful, this research will lead to positive impacts for fruit growers and the environment, in addition to a potential spinout company.
Funding Contribution: $310,070
Dr. Claver Diallo
Professor, Engineering
Project: Integrated framework for waste glass recycling in Nova Scotia: economical, engineering and sustainability assessments
Funding Contribution: $100,000
Although, there are many benefits to waste glass reuse and recycling, it can be impractical or expensive for many reasons such as breakage of the collected glass, contamination by other waste products, different colours/chemical composition and material properties. The use of waste glass mixed with other products can induce serious quality variability in the by-products obtained at the end of the reuse/recycling process. The first objective of the project is to design an integrated collection, transportation, sorting, cleaning, reuse and recycling systems that considers the whole lifecycle of the glass products, the production and environmental trade-offs. The second objective is quantify the influence of the ground glass particle size and the percentage of cement/sand replacement on the mechanical and durability properties of concrete to determine optimal matching of size-content combination with reuse options, taking the environmental impact and economic feasibility into account.
Dr. Graham Gagnon and Dr. Amina Stoddart
Professor | Assistant Professor, Civil and Resource Engineering
Project: Research Project to Track Presence of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia Wastewater
Funding Contribution: $851,730
Dr. Graham Gagnon
Professor | Assistant Professor, Civil and Resource Engineering
Project: Water Surveillance: Emergency Preparedness and Innovation Opportunities
Funding Contribution: $1,103,660
Dr. Ruth Lavergne
Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine
Project: Building Research for Integrated Primary Healthcare in Nova Scotia (BRIC NS)
Funding Contribution: $600,000
Engage Nova Scotia Civic Engagement Society
Danny Graham
Chief Engagement Officer
Project: Bringing community and research together
Funding Contribution: $45,000
Working with Engage Nova Scotia, this effort is identifying the research priorities of, and collaboration opportunities with, the African Nova Scotian communities. Its objective is to develop improved pathways for research projects led or co-created by African Nova Scotians, and potential barriers to retention of African Nova Scotian students and researchers within the research endeavour.
Danny Graham
Chief Engagement Officer
Project: Partnering to Implement Engage Nova Scotia’s Sustainable Development Goals Program
Funding Contribution: $7,500
Genome Atlantic | Small-Scale Climate Change Fund
Ryan Barrett, Canadian Milking Shorthorn Society
Project: Pursuing Genomic Evaluation for Milking Shorthorn Dairy Cattle to Improve On-Farm
Efficiency and Climate Friendly Milk Production
Funding Contribution: $16,325
Growing domestic interest in Canada’s relatively small population of Milking Shorthorn dairy cattle has sparked the need for genomic evaluations in the breed. The moderate-sized breed has gained a reputation for its high efficiency in converting forage to milk containing high-valued fat and protein. The Canadian Milking Shorthorn Society, headquartered in Kensington P.E.I., wants to start the evaluation process by building a reference population of genotypes – a compilation of the genetic makeup of individual members of the dairy breed in Canada. As a first step, the society wants to work with Milking Shorthorn breeders in Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to genotype most of the cattle resident in those provinces. The work will also provide a template for additional genotyping of other Milking Shorthorn dairy cattle across the country as well as for testing genetic material from existing gene banks.
Dr. Rod Beresford, Verschuren Centre
Project: Rapid Detection of Perkinsus marinus to Protect the Atlantic Canada Oyster Industry from a Climate Change Threat
Funding Contribution: $39,917
Building on ongoing research to develop protocols for two- to three-hour field-based detection of the oyster parasite, Haplospordium nelsoni, a Cape Breton research group will expand its work to add rapid detection for another oyster parasite, Perkinsus marinus. The oyster industry is a multi-million dollar industry in Atlantic Canada. While H. nelsoni devastated the Bras d’Or Lake industry early this century, P. marinus is an impending threat for oyster growers, starting in southern Nova Scotia. The protozoan parasite has spread northward along the U.S. eastern seaboard over the past 20 years due to increasing water temperatures, which are now affecting Atlantic Canada. Southern Nova Scotia’s water links with the U.S. via marine and boat traffic leave that area vulnerable to the arrival of P. marinus. Quick and early detection of this oyster pathogen, however, could mean mitigation measures could be taken to avert a commercial calamity for the industry.
Dr. Erin Cameron, Saint Mary’s University
Project: Tracking invasive earthworms through eDNA: a proof of concept
Funding Contribution: $14,411
Researchers at Saint Mary’s University in Nova Scotia and the Canadian Forest Service in New Brunswick and Quebec, want to get a handle on the variety of earthworms in Atlantic Canada, about which little is known, by using environmental DNA. The technique involves using soil samples to analyze tell-tale genetic material left behind by the worms, to indicate the species present. If it proves practicable, the methodology could be time saving, cost efficient and more accurate than conventional searches for species identification. The technique could also fill a major information gap on earthworm distribution in Atlantic Canada. Without the data government and researchers cannot model or understand the effects of large-scale earthworm invasions, which are likely to increase with climate change. Earthworms, because of their ability to change soil properties can either increase or decrease soil carbon storage. They have been found to reduce the amount of carbon stored in the soil organic layer by more than 50 per cent, but they can also increase storage by mixing carbon into deeper layers of soil. The differing effects are believed to be related to the earthworm species, their habitat and the surrounding climate.
Dr. Fraser Clark, Dalhousie University
Project: Baseline Molecular Epidemiologic Risk Assessment for Shell Disease in the Atlantic Canadian Lobster Fishery
Funding Contribution: $37,500
This project will look at establishing the risk of epizootic shell disease (ESD) and its potential for damage to Canada’s east coast lobster industry. There are concerns the warmer, more acid waters created by climate change that have facilitated the prevalence of ESD in the Gulf of Maine could creep north into Canadian waters. Landings from the once lucrative lobster fishery, south of Boston Mass., is down by more than 85 per cent since 1997. While poorly understood, ESD is believed to be caused by chitinolytic bacteria, which produces lesions in lobster shells. Once the risk is known, Canadian management practices may be better able to minimize the potential impact here.
Dr. Ramon Filgueira and Dr. Tiago Hori, Dalhousie University
Project: Exploring Adaptation and Plasticity to Ocean Warming in Blue Mussels
Funding Contribution: $27,044
With Prince Edward Island’s blue mussel production coming under increasing pressure from warming coastal waters, the suspected higher thermal tolerance of mussels from Sober Island Pond, N.S. may offer a potential genetic solution. Preliminary research suggests the Sober Island Pond mussels can withstand higher water temperatures than their cousins in St. Peter’s Bay, P.E.I. Mussel grower, Atlantic Aqua Farms Ltd. of Borden-Carleton P.E.I., and a Dalhousie University researcher who specializes in an ecosystem approach to aquaculture want to compare the two populations to find their thermal thresholds and consider whether genes from the Nova Scotia mussels might improve the environmental heat tolerance of P.E.I. mussels. This research could be important for the future of the island industry, which currently supplies 80 per cent of the North American mussel market.
Drs. Graham Gagnon, Amina Stoddart, and Crystal Sweeney, Dalhousie University
Project: Enhanced Climate-based Monitoring of Algae and Algal Toxins Through Passive Sampling
Funding Contribution: $18,000
Harmful algal blooms produced by cyanobacteria have become an important priority in Atlantic Canada. As a result of climate change, these bacteria have begun to turn up with greater frequency and for longer durations in lakes across Nova Scotia. Under certain circumstances, cyanobacteria can release toxins and other compounds that affect water quality. Sampling approaches are needed to better understand, monitor, and prioritize risks associated with algae and algal toxins. A research team from Dalhousie University plans to take a state-of-the-art passive sampling approach to monitor cyanobacteria, based on its recent success in developing a passive sampling device to monitor SARS-CoV-2 in various wastewater environments.
Dr. Diane Hollett, Memorial University of Newfoundland / NL Marine Organics
Project: Carbon Sequestration & Food Security through Metabolomic Approaches to Soil Microbiomes
Funding Contribution: $74,000
One way to step up carbon sequestration is to enhance the soil microbiome – the mixture of organisms in the soil with essential microbes and fungi so the soil can hold more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. NL Marine Organics, an enriched fish-based fertilizer producer, in Portugal Cove St. Phillips, N.L. wants to determine how growing livestock forage with rejuvenated soil microbiomes could be made more affordable for agriculture. The project plans to collect baseline data from soil samples on farms using different soil management practices; consult farmers to identify change management issues; denote practices that impact the soil microbiome and the economic factors that could persuade the agricultural sector to adopt a new, environmentally friendly approach to soil management.
Dr. Xiuquan (Xander) Wang, University of Prince Edward Island
Project: Identification of Climate-Resilient and Wart-Resistant Potato Varieties for PEI – A Literature-Based Genetic Research Initiative
Funding Contribution: $30,000
A multidisciplinary team versed in climate change, gene sequencing, agriculture diseases and precision agriculture will comb the scientific literature to collect potato gene-sequencing data that could make P.E.I. potatoes more resilient to climate change and resistant to potato wart. Last year, the disease caused significant economic loss to the island’s potato industry after it was found in potatoes on two P.E.I. farms. The discovery prompted suspension of all shipments of P.E.I. seed, table and processing potatoes to the U.S. for about three months.
Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
Dr. Jennifer Green
Assistant Professor, Division of Craft, Textiles
Project: The Flaxmobile Project: From Producer to Maker, Closing the Material Security Gap Across Mi’kma’ki
Funding Contribution: $232,524.52
The Flaxmobile Project is a mobile teaching and flax processing facility for educational immersion in sustainable textiles and rural development. From 1 July 2022 to 31 December 2024, Associate Professor Jennifer Green (NSCAD University) will travel across Mi’kma’ki in a specially converted cargo van to share the stages of flax farming, from seeding to processing. In each growing season, Green will work with fifteen small-scale farms interested in exploring a meaningful revitalization of this once thriving local industry. In parallel with fieldwork, Green will collaborate with two in-house researchers at the Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design (CBCCD) to develop the craft sector by exploring the capacity for increased raw fibre production across Mi’kma’ki. Researchers will cultivate skill development and training by working together with farmers in a hands-on way to produce a grower’s guide for fibre flax; create new materials, products, and markets by engaging craftspeople in the transformation of flax into linen textiles and garments, and flax by-products into natural home building materials; and carry out supply chain mapping to visualize the textile ecologies that currently exist across Mi’kma’ki and to establish relationships between farmers and craftspeople. A primary aim of the Flaxmobile Project is to raise awareness about how our clothing is produced and to propose sustainable solutions that may be carried out in harmony with the land and in collaboration with local communities.
Nova Scotia Health
Dr. Kenneth Rockwood
Professor of Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Community Health, Epidemiology
Project: Project to determine if UV-C light can reduce infections in Long-Term Care facilities
Funding Contribution: $1,339,132
Dr. Kenneth Rockwood
Professor of Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, Community Health, Epidemiology
Project: Do far-UVC light devices reduce the incidence of influenza-like illnesses, respiratory illnesses, and COVID-19 infections in long-term care facilities?
Funding Contribution: $1,108,594
net zero Atlantic
Alisdair McLean
Executive Director at Net Zero Atlantic
Project: The Atlantic Canada Energy System Modelling Network
Funding Contribution: $198,154
The Government of Canada and Atlantic Canada’s provincial governments have committed to ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets. Realizing these goals will require a substantial transformation of our region’s energy system over the next few decades. In this context, OERA is building an open-source energy system model for Atlantic Canada (ACES) that will serve as a shared tool for Atlantic Canadians to answer questions about the future of our region’s energy system and to contribute to the path to net-zero emissions.
OERA’s energy system model will be most impactful if a broad, diverse user base use, improve and further localize ACES. The development of the model will therefore be accompanied by efforts to reach out to and engage with a variety of stakeholders across Atlantic Canada. Supported by Research Nova Scotia and ACOA, OERA will conduct engagement sessions during which a diversity of stakeholders in Atlantic Canada will be trained on the model and asked to provide feedback that will be used to improve and further localize the model.
PIER LABS
Jennifer McGill
Executive Director at Pier Labs
Project: Behavioural Science Poverty Research Program: Increasing Uptake in Supportive Programming
Funding Contribution: $100,000
PRUDENTIA INSTITUTE
Dr. Kristin Williams
Managing Director, Principal Researcher
Project: Empowering Women and Girls
Funding Contribution: $125,000
SAINT Mary’s University
Dr. Steven Smith
Professor of Psychology
Project: Using a Mobile App to Support Former Youth in Care
Funding Contribution: $40,000