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Federal fund supports U of G research activities affected by COVID-19 pandemic
Wikimedia Commons
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous U of G research projects continued during the past 18 months thanks to federal funding support and a cross-campus team of University of Guelph experts.
Almost 1,000 researchers and 425 research projects have received support from the Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF), created to mitigate COVID-19 impacts on research initiatives and to protect research investments during the pandemic.
U of G received almost $6.5 million to pay wages and incremental costs for essential research-related activities...
Researchers Aim to Improve Rural Representation in COVID-19 Policies

(Jack Sharp/ Unsplash)
By Otaiba Ahsan
A new University of Guelph study led by Dr. Leith Deacon found that people living in rural Ontario experienced significant declines in mental health, employment satisfaction and personal safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, former SPARK writer Otaiba Ahsan looks at how adequate representation in provincial and federal pandemic countermeasures can have potentially detrimental effects on rural communities...
Evaluating animal health surveillance practices during the pandemic

(Unsplash)
By Caitlin Ford
Despite COVID-19 lockdown measures, livestock health and animal health surveillance have remained robust during the pandemic, according to a University of Guelph study.
During Ontario’s first lockdown in the spring of 2020, Dr. Zvonimir Poljak, a professor in the Department of Population Medicine, and his research team studied changes in health surveillance and analyzed poultry and swine screening trends from previous years.
Test samples from livestock are routinely submitted to the University of Guelph’s Animal Health...
Lessons Learned From Pandemic Can Help Hospitality Industry Be More Prepared, U of G Report Says

(SrockSnap/ Pixabay)
By Cate Willis
University of Guelph professors Dr. Kevin James, Department of History, and Dr. Mark Holmes, School of Hospitality, Food and Tourism Management, along with history graduate student Jose Gabriel Alonzo created a report with recommendations to prepare business operators for another pandemic or local or global crisis. In this article, Cate Willis looks at what lessons can be learned from SARS and...
Mental Illness: New Smartphone Apps Can’t Replace Traditional Therapy, U of G Study Finds

(Pixabay)
By Caitlin Ford
The demand for mental health support during the pandemic has far exceeded the supply and some companies have migrated their psychotherapy practices to virtual platforms. In a new article, SPARK writer Caitlin Ford discusses University of Guelph professor Dr. Joshua Skorburg’s research on how effective these online resources are for treating mental illness...
Impacts of social policy changes on individuals living with poverty

Drs. Laura Pin and Leah Levac
By Mya Kidson
The Ontario government’s policy changes during the pandemic have disproportionately impacted people living with poverty, say University of Guelph researchers.
Their study found that the provincial government’s policy changes excluded the needs of community members living with poverty. Care networks comprising neighbours, friends and service providers had to step in to support people whose existing disparities were often worsened by the pandemic.
“Social policy changes, such...
Connecting generations through journaling

By Caitlin Ford
Kids and seniors – two groups that have been especially vulnerable to pandemic isolation – are getting together through a University of Guelph journaling project.
In summer 2020, Dr. Kimberley Martin, a professor in the Department of History, organized a journal exchange to connect seniors living in long-term care and children living in single-parent and low-income households.
This project, Connecting Generations, grew from her previous pandemic ...
New festival helps artists perform during COVID-19

By Otaiba Ahsan and Cate Willis
A new University of Guelph project has enabled people to build community during the pandemic and to find solace and inspiration through art and improvisation.
Dr. Ajay Heble, a professor in the School of English and Theatre Studies and the director of U of G’s International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI), launched the Improvisation Festival (IF) as an online celebration of improvisational arts in August 2020.
“We thought we would mount an improvisational arts festival across the...
Examining history to better understand social health inequalities during COVID-19

Drs. Catherine Carstairs and Tara Abraham
By Otaiba Ahsan
Understanding the history of how infectious disease has exacerbated social and health inequalities can help policy makers control the spread of COVID-19 and protect vulnerable groups, say U of G historians.
Drs. Tara Abraham and Catherine Carstairs, both in the Department of History, used historical literature and media to identify groups of people with disproportionate infection rates. They found that meat-packing employees, working mothers and migrant workers were at greater risk of infection than other groups.
“COVID-19 has...
HELD: U of G’s Literary Journal for Traditionally Marginalized Communities

By Caitlin Ford
HELD Magazine, a new online artistic literary journal run by University of Guelph students, amplifies marginalized voices and creatively narrates global events. In her recent article SPARK writer, Caitlin Ford, explores the impacts of the magazine started by School of English and Theatre Studies professor Catherine Bush...
Who We Are
The Office of Research oversees a $186 million research enterprise across seven colleges, our regional campus at Ridgetown, 15 research centres, and the University of Guelph/Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Agreement. We are committed to supporting the research programs of University of Guelph faculty across all disciplines.