Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka has secured a 500,000 Canadian dollars research grant which will span a period of four years.
The grant which is over 250,000,000 naira followed the approval of Benneth’s Joint Canadian Israel Research Programme to be conducted at the University.
Vice-Chancellor of DELSU, Professor Andy Egwunyenga announced this on Wednesday while addressing a Press Conference on the 15th convocation ceremony of the University.
Professor Egwunyenga said the research team is led by Dr Ben-Azu, DELSU Head of the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, who has research interest spanning the study of Neuropsychiatry (neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders) and Neuropharmacology; brain diseases including schizophrenia, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and stress-related neuropathological conditions.
According to him, “The research grant is to investigate the outcomes of senescence on microglial physiological and immune functions: implications for viral infection and Alzheimer’s disease pathology along the ageing trajectory, which is jointly funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the International Development Research Center (IDRC), the Israel Science Foundation (ISF), and the Azrieli Foundation.
“The grant is to be independently hosted by three Co-principal investigators (PIs): here at Delta State University (DELSU), in the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Dr Marie-Ève Tremblay (from the Division of Medical Sciences University of Victoria), and Dr Dan Frenkel of the Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv, Israel.
“The Joint Canada-Israel Health Research Program provides funding for researchers from Canada, Israel, and low- and middle-income countries to form multidisciplinary teams and work on cutting-edge biomedical and global health research. Additionally, the Canadian Israel Phase II grant is partly aimed at training postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows as well as undergraduate students for a period of 4 years.
“Also, this grant would feature the exchange programme of trainees (postgraduates and a postdoc) between the three Universities and PIs, as well as organizing symposiums during the study across the different Universities involved. Ultimately, this grant will pave the way to further strengthening research capacity at Delta State University,” said Professor Egwunyenga.
