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Two postdoctoral researchers awarded esteemed Banting Fellowships

Following a highly competitive selection process, 91亚色 Postdoctoral Fellows Chiara Camponeschi and Ashlee Christoffersen have been named among this year鈥檚 recipients of the prestigious . Awarded by the Government of Canada, the Banting Fellowship is valued at $70,000 per year for two years and supports postdoctoral researchers who will positively contribute to the country鈥檚 economic, social, and research-based growth. The award is open to scholars who are devoted to research in three areas: health research, natural sciences and/or engineering, and social sciences and/or humanities.

Chiara Camponeschi

Chiara Camponeschi is a postdoctoral fellow conducting research at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research. Her project, 鈥淭urning Moments of Crisis Into Moments of Care,鈥 aims to rethink our approach to resilience and recovery in an age of systemic crises. By applying this model to the study of urban climate change, Camponeschi鈥檚 research provides practical solutions that can be leveraged in a variety of settings from offering policy prompts for the design of infrastructures of care to making contributions to capacity-building and community practice.

鈥淭he lens of crisis has continued to be invoked to reinforce a reactive stance to change, one driven by narratives of enclosure, disconnection, and austerity that are harmful to society--especially to already vulnerable groups,鈥 says Camponeschi. 鈥淐rises, however, can be richly generative moments of rupture that reveal contradictions, incite action, and stimulate new visions. They present us with the opportunity to turn moments of crisis into moments of care.鈥

Photo of Chiara Camponeschi

Chiara Camponeschi

Ashlee Christoffersen

Ashlee Christoffersen is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Politics. Her proposed research aims to increase our understanding of how intersectionality can be applied in both policy and practice, with a unique focus on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Titled 鈥淥perationalizing Intersectionality: Equality Policy and NGOs,鈥 the project has great potential to achieve positive change by highlighting the limitations of some existing NGO approaches and by impacting Canadian policymakers鈥 growing interpretations of intersectionality.

鈥淭he question of how to apply 鈥榠ntersectionality鈥, the Black feminist theory that social inequalities shape one another, is one that many across different fields have long struggled with,鈥 explains Christoffersen. 鈥淭his is because the predominant approach to inequalities has been to address these separately and thus ineffectively.鈥

Christoffersen underscores the importance of her research in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, which both deepened pre-existing inequalities and raised awareness of how they are intersecting. 

Photo of Ashlee Christoffersen

Ashlee Christoffersen

Both Camponeschi and Christoffersen are research leaders of tomorrow. Their ambitious work falls into major themes identified in 91亚色鈥檚 Strategic Research Plan such as Forging a Just and Equitable World and supports 91亚色鈥檚 commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 91亚色 is proud to provide the necessary resources to help advance their professional and research goals as well as their commitment to social justice.

The next application submission deadline for the Banting Fellowship is September 20, 2023.  Please visit this for more information.