University of Saskatchewan's Fedoruk Centre recieves $400,000 bump from province for nuclear energy research

The Saskatchewan government feels that nuclear energy could be the future of the province'shealth-care system and economy.

Innovation Saskatchewan announced $400,000 in additional money for nuclear energy research projects at the University of Saskatchewan's Fedoruk Centre, a not-for-profit corporation that specializes in nuclear sciences.The $400,000 is in addition to $2.5 million budgeted for the Fedoruk Centre in Innovation Saskatchewan's 2024-25 budget.

"This will help not only attract and retain top talent in the province, but help to develop the next generation of scientists on emerging technologies and research priority areas, driving economic growth and job creation for the permits," said Jeremy Harrison, the minister responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan, at the announcement.

"It also means putting Saskatchewan at the forefront of this glowing, growing global demand for nuclear energy and medical research, and positioning the province as a global leader in nuclear innovation."

The money will fund eight separate research projects. Some are underway while some have yet to be planned.

"We're very happy if a project has to do with nuclear medicine, health care [and]research," said John Root, executive director of the Fedoruk Centre.

One of the centre's key areas of research is medicine. For instance, nuclear technology can be used for cancer screenings and treatments.

Some of the Fedoruk Centre's research is done with its Saskatchewan Cyclotron Facility. A cyclotron isa kind of particle accelerator that can produceradioactive isotopes used for nuclear imaging.

"The Saskatchewan Cyclotron Facility has drastically increased health-care services in the province over the last 10 years through production of medical isotopes required for PET imaging at the Royal University Hospital, which has vastly reduced wait times," said Harrison.

"Previously this was sourced out of province, which really put us at the vagaries of supply chains and events that were beyond our control."

More than 3,000 PET scans are performed at RUH every year using material produced at the Fedoruk Centre, according to Harrison.

The Fedoruk Centre said the money will also go toward recruiting new graduate students and postdoctoral fellows,and fortechnology those researchers will be using.

"It's the facilities which bring top notch talent from around the globe," said Baljit Singh, vice president of research at the U of S.