32 researchers and students from the University of Regina are receiving federal funds through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Over $4.4 Million is being allocated to studies at the U of R, most of which coming from the Discovery Grants Program that has recently announced $588 Million in funding across the country.

Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale said with the funding, you see several ways in which the U of R is helping the world.

“You see everything from more efficient, more effective resource extraction, to how do you clean up waste deposits,” Goodale said. “How do you prevent deaths in hospitals from diseases that are spread and contained within medical facilities and so forth.”

President and Vice-Chancellor of the U of R Vianne Timmons said the funding will have a great impact on their studies.

“It provides funding for graduate students, for field research, so that’s very positive,” Timmons said. “The research that our researchers make a difference of people’s lives, one of the researchers has money now to look at how mercury in our wetlands, and how that affects our habitat.”

Timmons said one of the studies receiving funds has a personal connection to her.

“One of the young doctoral students got money to research antibiotic resistance,” Timmons said. “I speak personally, I lost my father-in-law to a hospital infection for example, this research has the potential to change people’s lives all over the world.”

Timmons adds that study will see work being done at Oxford University.