Research

University of Lethbridge researchers secure SSHRC funding

Four University of Lethbridge researchers were successful as principal applicants in earning funding support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The projects were part of 809 research initiatives from across Canada that received more than $175 million in funding.

This investment, through SSHRC’s Partnership GrantsPartnership Development GrantsInsight Grants and Aid to Scholarly Journals grants, supports research, research partnerships, and knowledge mobilization across a multitude of issues of critical relevance to Canadian society. Funding is provided to researchers, research teams and publications for projects of up to seven years.

“Now, more than ever, social sciences and humanities research plays an integral role as we navigate through the post-COVID-19 reality and continue to build a healthier, stronger and more prosperous Canada,” says the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “These grants enable scholars to address complex issues about communities and societies, and further our collective understanding so we can build a better future for all Canadians.”

Social sciences and humanities research such as this is essential to help Canadians understand and address some of the biggest challenges of our times.

ULethbridge projects include an examination of postpartum depression and maternal mental illness from Dr. Heather Stanley (history); a look at cancel culture from a marketing perspective by Dr. Rhiannon Mesler of the Dhillon School of Business; a study on successfully managing physical activity, from Dr. Scott Rathwell (kinesiology & physical education); and historian Dr. Kristine Alexander’s study, Children of the State: Age, Race, and Settler Colonialism in Canada.

“There’s a great breadth of expertise reflected in these successful projects and the culmination of their teams’ work will enhance our understanding of some very important issues,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, ULethbridge vice-president (research). “Research work like this in the humanities and social sciences creates insight and perspectives on key societal interests and sets the stage for the development of policies and practice.”

As well, ULethbridge researchers such as Dr. Carly Adams (kinesiology & physical education), secured funding as co-applicants on other projects. Adams is part of a Partnership Grant led by the University of Victoria, Past Wrongs, Future Choices, that examines the mid-20th century internment, dispossession and displacement of people of Japanese descent (Nikkei) in allied countries. She also partnered with the University of Manitoba on an Insight Grant, The People’s History of Sport in Canada.

Following is a list of SSHRC grant recipients as principal applicants for the University of Lethbridge:

Insight Grant

Dr. Heather Stanley, History, Maternal Darkness: Postpartum Depression and Maternal Mental Illness in Western Canada — $91,319 (5 years)

Insight Development Grant

Dr. Rhiannon Mesler, Dhillon School of Business, Marketing, Cancel Culture: An Examination of Individual and Situational Drivers — $74,636 (2 years)

Dr. Scott Rathwell, Kinesiology & Physical Education, Getting Back on Track: A Mixed Methods Study of Successful Management in Physical Activity — $74,170 (2 years)

Dr. Kristine Alexander, History, “Children of the State”: Age, Race, and Settler Colonialism in Canada — $25,459 (2 years)


The Research Support Fund supports a portion of the costs associated with managing the research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, such as salaries for staff who provide administration support, training costs for workplace health and safety, maintenance of libraries and laboratories, and administrative costs associated with obtaining patents for inventions.