Scholarship, Research, and Creative Activity

Thank-you to everyone who participated in VIU CARES: Collaborative Applied Research Engagement Symposium

The symposium, held on Thursday Feb. 18th, was attended by over 70 participants throughout the day and featured presentations, panel discussions and Pecha Kucha videos about projects supported through VIU's Regional Initiatives Fund (RIF) that has enabled collaborative applied research on community planning with Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners, air and water quality, affordable housing, fish health and habitat, marmots, tourism, impacts of COVID-19, and more. Check out the recorded Pecha Talks on VIUTube here:

Sylvie LaFreniere and the Mt. Arrowsmith Vital Signs Project
Jamie Gorrell and the Vancouver Island Marmots Project
Shannon Dames and the Psychedelic Medicine Assisted Therapies Project
Michael Lait and the Place-Based Housing in Cowichan Project
Pam Shaw and the Komoks First Nation Community Pulse Project

‘Zoom into Lunch & Learn‘ 2021!

This series provides presenters and attendees with opportunities to share, learn, and discuss their insights, research, and ideas. Held on the following Tuesdays from 12 to 12:45pm. Upcoming sessions:

Tuesday February 23rd - Ann Rogers: 'Canadian Anti-terrorism Study’
Tuesday March 16th - Dr. Christian Lange: 'Applied Phylogeography - Searching for the origins of Ebolaviruses'
Tuesday April 20th - Piera Jung, Kelly Zhang, Marti Harder: ‘What Matters Most 2.0: Views of Older Adults with Chinese Descent’

Check out the VIU Research Highlights Report 19/20

Includes news articles written throughout the year by VIU Communications, research stats and more. Click on the image or link to it here.

What's Happening

What Happens When Sea Otters Eat 15 Pounds of Shellfish a Day?

Sea otters are voracious eaters. On the surface of the water, they tend to lounge about and adorably hug their little babies. Beneath the surface, sea otters will dive down over 150 feet to reach prey like abalone, sea urchins, crabs, and clams, which they can crack open using rocks. VIU Biology Professor Dr. Jane Watson has studied sea otters for decades.

Researchers from VIU study pandemic schooling and children’s mental health

Tara Cooper is a fourth year undergraduate honours student studying psychology at VIU conducting research under professor Marla Morden, with the aim of better understanding the mental health impacts of pandemic related school changes on children across Canada. Morden’s team is performing a longitudinal study over five years that is “trying to shed light on how to support families should a pandemic happen again.”

Grant Funds Prototype of Resilience Education Video Game

VIU Professor Dr. Leigh Blaney received a $10,000 grant to develop Firefighter Edge, a video game that could help firefighters cope with stress and anxiety experienced on the job. Blaney and her research partner Robert Fell, a volunteer firefighter and owner of tech company HYPERSURGE, are developing a prototype firefighter resilience education video game called Firefighter Edge that can be used in resilience training worldwide. Read more.