_{A photo of Adeola Adedapo}

Adedapo is completing his PhD in chemistry at the University of Pretoria. His research project is an investigation of nanoplastic accumulation in drinking water supplies with a lens on risk assessment and sustainable development. He will be supervised by Stephanie Gora in the Civil Engineering Department of the Lassonde School of Engineering.

鈥淚t is an honour to receive the Provost's Postdoctoral Fellowship for Black and Indigenous Scholars at 91亚色,鈥� Adedapo said.

鈥淢y gratitude goes to 91亚色 for its commitment to fostering diversity and excellence, and to my host supervisor, Prof. Stephanie Gora, for her unwavering support. This unique opportunity will allow me to contribute to advancing sustainable solutions for drinking water management while mentoring the next generation of scientists/engineers. I am excited to embark on this journey of impactful research and intellectual growth as a Black scholar.鈥�

Blayone completed his PhD in digital media studies at the Technology University of Dublin. His research area of interest is Indigenous-AI relations. He will be supervised by Sean Hillier, of the Faculty of Health and Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages (CIKL).

鈥淚 am honoured to join 91亚色 as the 2025-26 Provost's Indigenous Postdoctoral Fellow (M茅tis Nation of Ontario) with the supervisory support of Professor Sean Hillier,鈥� Blayone said.

^{A photo of Todd Blayone}

鈥淢y two-year plan of work features several integrated projects positioned at the intersection of machine intelligence and Indigenous sociocultural resurgence. The foundations are interdisciplinary, incorporating social psychology, computer science, Indigenous studies and hands-on technical exploration. Importantly, I adopt a pragmatic 鈥榦pportunity perspective鈥� catalyzed by human agency, open-source ecosystems and hacktivist culture. The guiding question is: how is (and how might) emerging intelligent systems (e.g., human + GenAI) be used to facilitate and investigate Indigenous sociocultural resurgence at the level of individuals and small groups?鈥�

Learn more about the Provost鈥檚 Postdoctoral Fellowships for Black and Indigenous Scholars at 91亚色 by visiting the Faculty of Graduate Studies鈥� website.

The institutional authority for postdoctoral fellowships is the Vice-Provost and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS). If you intend to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship, or if you are a current postdoc at 91亚色 looking to apply for grant funding, please reach out to the Postdoctoral Services & Professional Skills Coordinator in FGS as soon as possible to notify us of your plans and discuss specific requirements. This outreach will help you confirm which institutional approvals are required before you submit your application to the relevant funding agency. Depending on the funding opportunity, the following may be required:

• An institutional letter of support signed by the Vice-Provost and Dean of FGS 鈥� Must be requested at least 10 business days before the competition deadline
• An signed by the Vice-Provost and Dean of FGS 鈥� Must be requested at least 7 business days before the competition deadline in order to satisfy ORS deadline requirements

Institutional Letter of Support

Requirements vary based on the funding opportunity and are determined by external funder requirements and institutional policy. Many postdoctoral fellowship applications require an institutional letter of support that must be signed by the Vice-Provost and Dean of FGS. If your application requires an institutional letter, you will need to send a copy of the application to the Postdoctoral Services & Professional Skills Coordinator for review and must have confirmation of any commitments from 91亚色. Specific opportunities may involve additional requirements.

Additional Details on Applications Requiring ORS Approval

• An must be filled in and signed by the postdoctoral researcher on page 2 as the applicant. No department chair鈥檚 signature is required. The Postdoctoral Services & Professional Skills Coordinator will facilitate the Dean鈥檚 signature.
• Many funding applications from postdoctoral researchers do not include institutional commitments from 91亚色. If the application includes institutional commitments (cash or in-kind resources committed by a unit at 91亚色 above and beyond the regular operating infrastructure available to you as a postdoc), the commitments must be confirmed in writing (on the ORS Checklist or by e-mail) by the source (i.e., the supervisor鈥檚 Dean鈥檚 Office, Research Centre or Institute Director). Questions about institutional commitments should be directed to the Postdoctoral Services & Professional Skills Coordinator.
• The proposed supervisor must provide an emailed confirmation to the Postdoctoral Services & Professional Skills Coordinator that they agree to hold the cost centre (the account at 91亚色 with the funding) in their name should the application be successful.
  • The email confirmation should also include a statement that they support the application and will provide the applicant with the necessary supports to carry out the proposed research.
• A complete copy of the application, together with a completed and fully signed ORS Checklist, must be submitted to the ORS by e-mail to researchapps@yorku.ca for review and institutional approval by the deadline set by ORS (typically 48 hours before the competition deadline).

For competition-specific information on external fellowship opportunities, please visit the Guide for Supervisors Supporting Applications for Externally-funded Postdoctoral Fellowships.

_{^{A photo of John Doyle Raso}}

Knowledge syntheses are comprehensive analyses of literature and other forms of knowledge on a particular question or issue. All types of knowledge synthesis approaches, tools and protocols, such as scoping reviews, systematic reviews and narrative syntheses, are encouraged under this funding opportunity. Knowledge Synthesis Grants are intended to support the synthesis of existing research knowledge and identify knowledge gaps. This call is particularly focused on the state of research produced over the past 10 years.

Doyle-Raso says the team will draw on their various linguistic and disciplinary areas of expertise to analyze literature from the past decade.

The SSHRC program was set up in 2019 to mobilize, examine and synthesize social sciences and humanities research on Evolving Narratives of Cultures and Histories, one of 16 global future challenges identified through SSHRC鈥檚 Imagining Canada鈥檚 Future initiative.

These complex issues, which were identified by SSHRC after an extensive foresight exercise, reflect key challenges that Canada and the world are likely to face in the coming decades. All of the challenges cross multiple sectors and research disciplines and require broad collaboration to address.

According to SSHRC, the effects of colonialism, racism and slavery continue to inform understandings of, and engagements with, cultures and histories. For example, in Canada, reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and M茅tis requires settlers and newcomers to reconsider dominating historical and cultural narratives and respectfully engage with Indigenous Knowledge systems, cultures and traditions.

_{Image of Ashlee Christoffersen's book cover}

Her research concluded that there is not one, but five, applied concepts of intersectionality used in equality organizing and policy鈥攁n integral insight because some of these advance intersectional justice while others actually serve to further entrench inequalities.

As a result of her research, Christoffersen says she is currently supporting the Canada-based International Institute for Sustainable Development around applying intersectionality in policymaking for climate change adaptation.

鈥淚 think the lessons learned can be applied to NGOs elsewhere though they will be more relevant in some contexts than others,鈥� Christoffersen says. 鈥淭he NGO sector in Canada faces similar challenges and contexts.鈥�

The book, The Politics of Intersectional Practice: Representation, Coalition and Solidarity in UK NGOs will be published by Bristol University Press in Canada and the US on June 25.

Announced as part of , the increased money will be funded through Canada鈥檚 federal granting agencies鈥攖he , the and the .

The Honourable Fran莽ois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health announced Friday that students receiving scholarships and fellowships from the funding agencies will see increased award values take effect September 1. The annual value of all current and new master鈥檚 and doctoral student scholarships will increase to $27,000 and $40,000, respectively and current and new postdoctoral fellowships will increase to $70,000.

鈥淏y increasing the value of scholarships and fellowships provided by the government鈥檚 research granting councils, the Government of Canada is reaffirming its support for Canadian research talent. This will ensure the next generation of scientific leaders remain here in Canada, where their work has the potential to lead to a better quality of life and improved health for us all,鈥� Minister Holland said.

In addition to the increased award values, the government, in their budget proposed to increase the number of scholarships and fellowships provided, building to approximately 1,720 more graduate students and fellows benefitting each year

The Vanier and Banting programs will continue under their current parameters, $50,000 and $70,000 per year respectively.

Additional details will be communicated to award holders in July 2024.

The Government of Canada鈥檚 research agencies and funded partners鈥攖he Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) promote innovation in research and reward academic excellence by offering a number of valuable and prestigious scholarships and awards.

Valued at $70,000 per year for two years, the fellowship allows ambitious scholars to conduct their research and devote substantial time to work without the financial pressures that might typically arise. The successful applicants were reviewed against three equally weighted selection criteria: 1) Applicant鈥檚 research excellence and leadership in the research domain; 2) Quality of applicant's proposed research program; and 3) Institutional commitment and demonstrated synergy between applicant and institutional strategic priorities.

Saba Asaad, EECS, Lassonde (NSERC)

Asaad鈥檚 research project, titled 鈥淥ver-the-Air Federated Learning via Benchmark Wireless Network,鈥� develops algorithmic and analytic frameworks to address essential issues arising in the implementation of federated learning (FL) in practical wireless networks. Asaad鈥檚 project proposes an alternative method, over-the-air FL, which leverages the superposition property of multiple access channels to realize the predefined aggregation policy directly over-the-air.

鈥淔ederated learning was first designed for ideal communication networks. However, in realistic edge-learning scenarios the edge-devices, connected to the parameter server via wireless links, face several challenges due to uncertain wireless conditions and limited resources,鈥� explains Asaad.

The approach that is taken by the project can be leveraged in the development of a large variety of services that deal with the concept of distributed learning.

_{A picture of Dr. Saba Asaad}

Stephen Melly, Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde (NSERC)

Melly鈥檚 proposed research, titled 鈥淒evelopment of the computational constitutive model for super-soft 4D bioprinted materials,鈥� aims to formulate computational models that capture the complex mechanical characteristics of super-soft materials. This research has the potential to enhance our understanding of super-soft materials in 4D bioprinting using virtual experiments, facilitating advancements in the field and the development of reliable and customized artificial tissues that match the specific needs of individual patients.

鈥淪uccessful design and fabrication of engineered tissues necessitate a comprehensive grasp of the mechanical characteristics of super-soft materials. This guarantees the efficacy of biomedical applications, as differences in mechanical properties between the engineered tissues and the surrounding biological tissues may result in complications like rejection,鈥� shares Melly.

The cutting-edge project fills the growing demand for accurate computational models that describe the complex mechanical behaviors of super-soft tissues.

_{A picture of Dr. Stephen Melly}

Lynn Yu Ling Ng, Department of Politics, LA&PS (SSHRC)

Ng鈥檚 project, titled 鈥淐are for All is Care that Pulls Us Through,鈥� employs an advanced critical intersectional approach to analyze care work and the presence of distinct forms of structural inequality (e.g. age, race, gender, class, nationality), which influence migrant care workers (MCWs) and their capacity to care for elderly persons. The project鈥檚 guiding questions are: 1) How do MCWs make sense of caring for the elderly and for themselves, and how do they strive to protect these visions of care?; and 2) How can these imaginaries of care be accounted for and integrated into care and labour migration policy?

鈥淓ldercare is rarely framed from the perspective of MCWs beyond the common identity debates of race, gender, and class. Neither has much attention been given to their rich migratory experiences and expert knowledge of care work,鈥� reveals Ng.

The anticipated outputs can be a valuable source of information for policy development in the field of eldercare.

_{A picture of Dr. Lynn Yu Ling Ng}

For more information about the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship please visit the .