Last
week,
this
year's
Vanier
Scholarship
award
winners
were
announced.
Among
the
prestigious
group
was
2019
and
2020 Nanofellowship
winner Christian
Ieritano,
one
of
three
winners
from
UWaterloo.
Each
of
these
scholars
will
each
receive
$50,000
over
three
years
from
the
Natural
Science
and
Research
Council
(NSERC).
The Vanier
Scholarships were
developed
by
NSERC
to
attract
and
retain
world-class
doctoral
students
from
around
the
world
and
to
establish
Canada
as
a
global
centre
of
excellence
in
research
and
higher
learning.
Vanier
scholars
are
chosen
based
on
their
academic
excellence,
research
potential,
and
leadership
qualities.
Chemistry PhD
student
Christian
Ieritano,
working
with
WIN
member
Professor
Scott
Hopkins (WIN
member),
will
be
using
this
scholarship
to
further
his
research
of
rapid
molecule
testing
and
prediction
to
aid
in
the
drug
discovery
process.
Traditionally,
screening
for
appropriate
and
effective
pharmaceutical
drug
molecules
has
been
a
long
and
expensive
process.
Ieritano
is
working
on
a
system
which
uses
Differential
Mobility
Spectrometry
(DMS)
to
quickly
characterize
molecules,
and
then
uses
machine
learning
and
artificial
intelligence
to
accurately
predict
which
molecules
are
likely
candidates
for
drug
development.
This
combination
of
techniques,
pioneered
by
the
Hopkins
lab,
has
the
potential
to
significantly
increase
the
speed
and
reduce
the
cost
of
drug
discovery.
“It’s
nice
to
be
recognized
for
doing
research
that
others
can
see
the
benefit
in,”
said
Ieritano.
This
award
will
allow
him
to
travel
to
international
conferences
-
when
that’s
an
option
again
after
COVID-19!
Congratulations
to
this
year's
winners!
