Photo of Western University by Flickr user Lars Plougmann, used under a Creative Commons licence.

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More research dollars are coming to Western University.

It was announced Thursday that Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute are receiving nearly $20-million from the Ontario Research Fund.

New locally-led initiatives in biomedical imaging received more than $9.5-million in Research Excellence funding, while a project led by investigators at Sunnybrook Research Institute and Robarts Research Institute is receiving $1.8-million.

The funding is going toward developing new, easier to use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems, to advance novel therapies for musculoskeletal disorders, and to improve methods for early diagnosis and preventive care for heart disease.

“Biomedical Imaging is a major area of strength at Western and in London as it is so strongly linked to the excellent research being done by our experts in neuroscience and musculoskeletal health,” says John Capone, Western’s vice president (research). “Western is extremely proud of all of the researchers as these funded projects significantly enhance our capabilities for basic discovery and will also have a positive economic impact in the region.”

Projects funded by the Ontario Research Fund Research Excellence program are matched with funding from private sector partners and local institutions, bringing the total funding to more than $28-million over the next five years.

Additional funding of almost $7-million will support building a new facility for biomaterials to be studied in 3D, and for an unique laboratory designed to conduct scaled physical modeling of geotechnical problems.

More than $1.3-million from the Early Researcher Awards program was given to new researchers to help build new teams.