Carleton Scientist Wins Early Researcher Award

Ottawa – A rising researcher at Carleton’s Faculty of Science who is researching alternatives to synthetic antibiotics was honoured this week with an Early Researcher Award (ERA).

Dr. Anatoli Ianoul, an associate professor of chemistry, was among more than 300 Ontario researchers recognized by the Honourable John Milloy, Minister of Research and Innovation and Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.

“We are investing in the bright ideas and bright future of 338 up-and-coming researchers across Ontario. The McGuinty government understands that when we invest in our research talent, we are investing in the future of our health care, the environment and the economy,” said Minister Milloy.

Ianoul will be awarded $140,000 in provincial funding with an additional $50,000 from the university to help build his research team of undergraduates, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, research assistants, associates and technicians.

Antibiotic resistance – the ability of bacteria to develop strains that can resist certain antibiotics – is a serious health care problem related to the widespread use of antibiotics in Ontario and around the world. Dr. Ianoul is researching antimicrobial peptides – substances that could become an alternative to synthetic antibiotics. His detailed investigations of these peptides could lead to progress in the treatment of infectious diseases and improvement in the quality of health and life around the world.

“Dr. Ianoul is a gifted scientist who is engaged in solving a serious real-world problem. In an era when the population is aging, and when international travel facilitates the spread of disease, Dr. Ianoul’s work is of vital significance,” said Dr. Roseann O’Reilly Runte, president and vice-chancellor of Carleton University.

Through the province’s Early Researcher Awards program, $11.5 million is being invested in 82 research projects across Ontario.