is a podcast about academic research and why it matters. Join podcast host (professor of Accounting at Schulich School of Business) for a special 10-part series featuring extraordinary researchers and creators at 91亚色 and their innovative methodologies and approaches. A new episode is launched every month.

Podcast or Perish is supported by 91亚色鈥檚 Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation in partnership with Schulich School of Business.

Episodes:

, of 91亚色鈥檚 Osgoode Hall Law School, holds a Canada Research Chair in Environmental Law & Justice. Her work examines the problematic jurisdictional reality that shapes the transition to a green economy, as Canadian mining companies seek to develop resources on land belonging to the First Nations.

 of 91亚色 studies motherhood from a profoundly feminist perspective. Deconstructing the taken-for-granted, culturally normative image of mothers has led her to publish over 20 books on mothering. Her most recent work explores the inordinate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mothers.

, of the Faculty of Education at 91亚色, studies the impact that the core beliefs and values of teachers have on classroom practice. She talks here about the emotional experience of online learning and how this has affected teachers and students during the pandemic.

, Chair of the Department of Dance at 91亚色, is an award-winning filmmaker whose documentaries capture the beauty of motion and the dreams of possibility among dancers in the Philippines. His work is gorgeous and human, with carefully framed images and haunting, evocative soundtracks.

, Canada Research Chair in Supply Chain Management at the Schulich School of Business, is a leading expert on the subject of supply chain disruptions. His research on quality management, mass customization, and supply chain relationships has helped supply managers and public policymakers minimize disruptions.

, of the School of Health Policy & Management in the Faculty of Health, studies the emotional, psychological, and contextual factors that shape how healthcare workers do their jobs. Her research has helped thousands of oncologists and neurosurgeons understand how they process grief and how their emotional connection to patients influences life-or-death decisions that they face every day.

, James and Joanne Love Chair in Environmental Engineering at Lassonde School of Engineering, studies emerging contaminants in wastewater. She creates the techniques to identify new pollutants such as pharmaceutical compounds that are hazardous at extremely low concentrations, and then eliminate them in ways that contribute positively to the ecosystem.

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The study, published in the journal听Sociology of Health & Illness, considers progress to reduce health inequalities through public policy action is difficult in Canada, and though researchers and advocates provide data on the sources of these inequalities and means of reducing them, it does not provoke action.

Conducted by researchers from 91亚色 and Ontario Tech University, the study states the causes of health inequalities 鈥� particular groups in Canada coming to sicken and die due to their living and working conditions 鈥� have been neglected by governing authorities. Despite numerous studies suggesting public policies that would address these causes, little if anything is being done.

In this inquiry, researchers examined whether polemics and anger mobilization 鈥� usually absent in health inequalities research and advocacy 鈥� could influence Canadian governing authorities to address health inequalities through public policy action.

Usually, terms such as health inequalities, health inequities and adverse health outcomes are used to describe these processes. To move the health equity agenda forward, the research explores the potential use of high-valence terms 鈥� such as structural violence, social death and social murder 鈥� to force government to understand, and act upon, the sources of health inequalities

鈥淲e conclude by outlining the potential benefits and threats posed by polemics and anger mobilization as means of promoting health equity.

Previous studies show there are two primary approaches taken by Canadian researchers and advocates to create impetus for action: providing statistical data that reflects the extent and sources of health inequalities; and, documenting the lived experiences of those encountering these adverse health outcomes. It has also been reported that researchers who undertake critical analysis of the structures and processes contributing to adverse health dispute the view that providing information to governing authorities will, by itself, provoke action.

鈥淚n this paper, therefore, we explore the value of making explicit the adverse health effects of what the World Health Organization (2008) terms 鈥榓 toxic combination of poor social policies and programmes鈥� by adding terms such as structural violence, social death and social murder to health inequalities discourse,鈥� the study states.

The researchers are documenting the frequency of use of terms such as structural violence, social death and social murder in the academic literature as well as in mainstream and social media, and will investigate the reactions these terms elicit from researchers, advocates and students.

鈥淭hese inquiries will help determine whether polemics and anger arousal are productive ways of provoking public policy responses to health inequalities or, instead, lead to the dismissal of researchers鈥� and advocates鈥� arguments, thereby creating an additional barrier to reducing health inequalities. Evidence of initial success in Canada would see the placing of health inequalities on the public policy agendas of governing authorities,鈥� the study states.

Read the study听.

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Researchers at 91亚色鈥檚 Stem Cell Research Group in the Faculty of Health studied the role of a protein called p107, which they uncovered to be a key and fundamental component of the cellular metabolism network during cell division. The results provide a conceptual advance for how muscle stem cells in vivo and in vitro use energy to divide.

These findings on the role of the p107 protein have been published in the journal听Nature Communications, and show it can manipulate the energy generation capacity of mitochondria, which results in a direct reduction of cell division. The p107 protein expression is found in most dividing cells and the findings now identify a potential universal cellular mechanism that could have implications for studies on cancer cell proliferation and stem cell fate decisions.

Corresponding author Anthony Scim猫, a 91亚色 associate professor and leader of the Stem Cell Research Group, Molecular, Cellular and Integrative Physiology in the Faculty of Health, and his team say p107, a protein in the retinoblastoma (Rb) family, accomplishes this by sensing the overall energy requirements of muscle stem cells. It blocks energy production from the main source, known as the mitochondria, by repressing mitochondrial-encoded gene transcription. This reduces the production of ATP or energy in the cell by limiting electron-transport-chain-complex formation. The findings provide a conceptual advance for a universal mechanism for how cells regulate energy production to control cell division, which might include cancer cell division.

鈥淭his was really a very novel finding because no one suspected that: a) this historically known cell cycle protein would be involved in regulating metabolism; and b) that it would do it by actually entering into the mitochondria and downplay the ATP or energy produced,鈥� said Scim猫. 鈥淲e found that if we sustained the levels of the protein p107 only in the mitochondria, we were able to stop the cell cycle and stop the cells from dividing. ATP output, controlled by the mitochondrial function of p107, is directly associated with the cell cycle rate.鈥�

During the study, researchers looked at muscle stem cells and used a multitude of experimental techniques and methods involving molecular, cellular and whole-body applications. Different types of stem cells can be found throughout the human body and several can only differentiate into cells that belong to the same tissue or organ. In several subsequent experiments, Scim猫 and his team measured the amount of total energy made by muscle stem cells while they were growing in the presence or absence of p107. These experiments showed that p107-deleted muscle stem cells generated more energy than the controls. Scim猫 says keeping p107 from the mitochondria had the opposite effect and resulted in an increase in the number of muscle stem cells that would be available for new muscle.

These findings suggest that during the cell cycle, p107 is monitoring how much energy the cell has, and if the cell has too much it will move into the mitochondria and slow down the ATP (energy) production.

The fine-tuned function of stem cells is essential for tissue function. Muscle diseases such as muscular dystrophy, and complications such as muscle loss during aging, are associated with poorly functioning muscle stem cells. These stem cells are required to make fresh muscle that are lost in these disorders. Researchers say an understanding of how muscle stem cells work is critical to finding new treatments.

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The paper, published Oct. 7, finds that the health-promoting possibilities of unionization and working under collective agreements are a neglected area among HPI contributors.

The research team 鈥� 91亚色 graduate students听Jessica Muller,听Faisal A. Mohamed,听Mary Catherine Masciangelo,听Morris Komakech,听Anum Rafiq听and听Azeezah Jafry, along with 91亚色 Professor听听and Ontario Tech University Associate Professor Toba Bryant 鈥� explored reasons for this by drawing on an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development report.

The report looks at the importance of collective bargaining and was used to identify areas for health promotion research and action.

Researchers considered 2,443 articles published in HPI since its inception and found that only 87 (3.6 per cent) mention unions, unionization, collective agreements or collective bargaining, with most saying little about their role in promoting health.

Further, the study shows that 20 articles make cursory references to unions, or refer to them as providing support and engagement opportunities for individuals, while 45 depict unions or union members as involved in a health promotion program or activity carried out by the authors or by government agencies.

The study shows that only 33 articles explicitly mention unions, unionization or collective agreements as potentially health promoting, which represents just 1.3 per cent of total HPI content since 1986.

With these findings, the paper suggests the journal can support the promotion of health research and action, and raise awareness, by:

• encouraging engagement with this article through HPI-invited commentaries;
• addressing the issue through special issues with a focus on union and labour influences on health and health-related public policy, as well as industrial relations and health; and
• creating an ongoing section dedicated to industrial relations.

Unionization and working under collective agreements appear to provide many health benefits, said Raphael. The benefits include improving the quality and equitable distribution of the social determinants of health of income through wages and benefits (Western and Rosenfeld, 2011), enhanced job security (Hagedorn et al., 2016) and better working conditions (Zoorob, 2018).

As well, enhanced wages and benefits achieved through unionization positively affect additional social determinants of early child development, food and housing security, and reduce social exclusion.

鈥淐onsidering the growing influence of the corporate sector upon public policy in Canada and the declining numbers of Canadians belong to unions, refocusing on the health-promoting effects of unionization and working under collective agreements seems especially timely,鈥� said Raphael.

To read the full study. 鈥淎 bibliometric analysis of Health Promotion International content regarding unions, unionization and collective agreements,鈥� visit听.

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Election to fellowship in the academy is considered one of the highest honours for individuals in the Canadian health sciences community. It carries with it a covenant to serve the academy and the future well-being of the health sciences irrespective of the Fellow鈥檚 specific discipline.

鈥淚 extend my听congratulations听to professors Hoffman and Pillai Riddell,鈥� said 91亚色鈥檚 Vice-President of Research and Innovation听Amir Asif. 鈥淭hese fellowships recognize their outstanding contributions to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences through leadership, academic performance, scientific creativity and willingness to serve. Their recognition will benefit both 91亚色 and Canadian health, and I hope you will join me in congratulating them on this prestigious honour.鈥�

Professor Steven J. Hoffman (Osgoode Hall Law School, Faculty of Health)
Dahdaleh Distinguished Chair
Director, Global Strategy Lab

Professor Hoffman is a world-leading authority on global health law and the global governance of health threats that transcend national borders. He has achieved important scientific breakthroughs and policy impacts by combining law and epidemiology to address challenges faced by the numerous national governments and United Nations agencies that rely on his advice. As a Canadian Institutes of Health Research scientific director, he is a leading voice in public health and champion for integrating research evidence into policy-making processes. Hoffman is a Distinguished Research Chair at 91亚色, director of a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre and frequent contributor to news media.

Professor Rebecca Pillai Riddell (Faculty of Health)
Associate Vice-President Research

Professor Pillai Riddell has focused her research in the pediatric behavioural and biobehavioural sciences. As a professor of psychology and an expert in pain, she has built the first and largest cohort in the world studying young children through painful vaccinations over the first years of life. Pillai Riddell has generated an unrivalled published literature on the biopsychosocial dimensions of infants鈥� and young children鈥檚 acute pain. She is a tireless advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion and strives to create systemic infrastructure that supports a more just future for patients, their families, health professionals, research trainees and researchers.

To learn more about the fellowships, see the听听website.

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The Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages (CIKL) is led by inaugural Director听, an associate professor at 91亚色 and the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice at Osgoode Hall Law School. The new ORU will host Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers and students engaged in these areas of scholarship, and aims to facilitate knowledge production and dissemination that re-centres Indigenous knowledges, languages, practices and ways of being. Moreover, CIKL will support research involving both traditional and contemporary knowledges, as care-taken, shared and created by Indigenous scholars at the University and from Indigenous knowledge holders in the community.

Cross-appointed between Osgoode Hall Law School and the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, McGregor is Anishinaabe from Whitefish River First Nation, Birch Island, Ont. She has an extensive research background focusing on Indigenous knowledge systems and their applications in water and environmental governance, environmental and climate justice, and sustainable self-determined futures.

McGregor notes that 鈥渢he Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages offers a generative space within and beyond 91亚色 to advance Indigenous scholarship, research theories, methodologies and practices that supports a keen understanding of the goals and aspirations of Indigenous Peoples. CIKL will foster collaborations and partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and others that create ethical space for dialogue on how research relationships can be envisioned, negotiated, practised in support of Indigenous futurities. Creating this ethical space in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples and our colleagues across the University also creates opportunities for critical dialogue, reflection and change to take place in addressing some of the world鈥檚 most pressing challenges.鈥�

Joining McGregor as a research leader is 91亚色 Professor听, who will become CIKL鈥檚 associate director. Hillier has recently been appointed a 91亚色 Research Chair in Indigenous Health Policy & One Health. He is a queer Mi鈥檏maw scholar from the Qalipu First Nation, and an assistant professor at the School of Health Policy & Management. His collaborative research program spans themes of aging, living with HIV and other infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance, all with a focus on policy affecting health-care access for Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

鈥淗aving dedicated Indigenous research resources and space, as offered by the new CIKL, which is run by and for Indigenous Peoples on campus, is a critical first step,鈥� says Hillier. 鈥淭his centre will assist 91亚色 in becoming a research-intensive institution and serves the principals of the Indigenous Framework and University Academic Plan.鈥�

Amir Asif, 91亚色鈥檚 vice-president of research and innovation, says, 鈥淭he establishment of CIKL creates a vital space for Indigenous researchers and all those engaged in decolonizing scholarship at 91亚色 and beyond. The centre will play an important role in invigorating and disseminating groundbreaking, Indigenous-centred research taking place at and beyond 91亚色.鈥�

Stayed tuned for upcoming events and initiatives at CIKL.

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Appointed for one year, each of the recipients will work to enhance collegial capacity at an institutional level to advance the priorities of the University Academic Plan (UAP) in demonstrable ways. The Provostial Fellowships also provide an opportunity for a diverse group of tenured faculty to gain hands-on experience in university leadership.

鈥淚 am thrilled to have these four faculty members dedicating some of their time and energy to help lead the implementation of our UAP. The University will benefit from their expertise and ideas, and I hope they too will find this a valuable opportunity to grow and develop as leaders and institution builders,鈥� said Provost and Vice-President Academic Lisa Philipps. 鈥淭he launch of Building a Better Future: 91亚色 Academic Plan 2020-2025 established six exciting and important priorities for 91亚色. As a community, we now look to work together in advancing these.鈥�

Fellows will work with the provost and relevant members of the senior leadership on a project or initiative intended to advance one of the UAP priority areas at an institutional level.听Each project also seeks to enhance and intersect with the University-wide challenge to elevate institutional contributions to the听United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Professor, Public Policy and Strategic Management
Schulich School of Business

Professor Eberlein鈥檚 project, 鈥�91亚色鈥檚 Journey toward Carbon Neutrality,鈥� seeks to identify and advance specific and impactful initiatives that the University can take to reduce its carbon emissions.

Associate Professor, Department of Biology
Faculty of Science

Professor Sharma鈥檚 project, 鈥淲orking Towards Equitable Access to Clean Water,鈥� looks to address the billions of people worldwide, including in Canada, who do not have access to clean freshwater. This project will seek student, faculty and staff collaborations across the University with a goal of raising awareness and identifying solutions to this critical issue, and will culminate with an event celebrating听.

Associate Professor, School of Nursing
Faculty of Health
Associate Professor, School of Gender, Sexuality and Women鈥檚 Studies/Children, Childhood & Youth Studies Program.
Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Professor van Daalen-Smith鈥檚 project, 鈥淢ore than Bees and Trees: Seeing the SDGs in our Curriculum 鈥� A Pan-University Community Development Initiative,鈥� seeks to track, weave, inspire and amplify curricular SDG initiatives and advance 91亚色鈥檚 commitment to interdisciplinarity.

Associate Professor
Faculty of Education

Professor Zha鈥檚 project, 鈥淩eimagining and Transforming Liberal Arts Education with a Trans-Continental Partnership,鈥� looks to explore a new model for practising liberal arts education in the current contexts of mass higher education, knowledge societies and globalization, including the prospects for infusing the concepts derived from the SDGs and promoting global competence.

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Four faculty members were recognized with the annual Dean鈥檚 Awards, which reflect excellence and innovation within the Faculty.

This year's recipients are: Mathieu Poirier 鈥� Dean鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership, Pedagogical and/or Curricular Innovation; Julie Conder 鈥� Dean鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Teaching; Adrian Viens 鈥� Dean鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Service & Engagement Impact Award; and Amy Muise 鈥� Dean鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Research.

The annual awards alternate each year between 鈥渆arly career鈥� faculty and 鈥渆stablished career鈥� faculty in the categories of Teaching, Research and Service. This year鈥檚 awards cover the 2020-21 academic year for early career faculty.

鈥淭hese faculty awards recognize the excellence of four individual faculty members whose dedication and expertise have enabled us to achieve our mission of providing an innovative and supportive environment for learning, teaching and discovery,鈥� said Faculty of Health Dean Paul McDonald. 鈥淥n behalf of all faculty, staff, students and community partners, congratulations and thanks to this year鈥檚 winners.鈥�

Dean鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership, Pedagogical and/or Curricular Innovation

Award recipient: Mathieu Poirier, School of Global Health

Nominated by Assistant Professor Tarra Penney

This award recognizes outstanding educational leadership, pedagogical and/or curricular innovation.

Poirier is an innovative educator who has demonstrated leadership in internationalizing pedagogical approaches to experiential learning. For example, he has taken the lead to co-ordinate several projects delivered through our Costa Rican partners and campus. Poirier volunteered to be the faculty lead on a documentary film project that explored the determinants of health of migrant workers in Costa Rica during COVID-19. The documentary was released this summer, with plans to produce many more episodes that focus on various topics.

Poirier is 91亚色鈥檚 leader in the Globally Networked Learning Environment partnership with universities in Germany and Romania. This network was launched in the fall of 2020 with the course he created titled Global Health Policy: Power & Politics. Over 200 students participated from three countries and had the opportunity to develop policy briefs, supporting podcases and policy solutions to a range of pressing issues such as mitigating the medical, social and economic impact.

His nominator, Assistant Professor Tara Penny, wrote that Poirier "embraces the opportunities and the challenges in the course of planning and implementing pilot initiatives and has not been deterred to work through them. These innovative approaches to pedagogy and curricular development are laying the groundwork to internationalize our course offerings and deeply integrate experiential education learning into the fabric of our School of Global Health.鈥�

Dean鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Teaching

Award recipient: Julie Conder, Department of Psychology

Nominated by University Professor Suzanne MacDonald

This award recognizes outstanding commitment to high-quality teaching.

Conder's love of teaching and dedication to students manifests itself through the innovative ways she engages with them. She is leading the way in creating innovative teaching resources that she openly shares with her colleagues. Here are just two of her outstanding contributions:

• "A Roadmap to Learning" is a series that she spearheaded to provide resources and training to psychology faculty and graduate students, enabling them to develop more effective online courses.
• A collaboration with the Faculty of Science to host a science communication panel provided students with an opportunity to learn how to effectively communicate science to the public.

She teaches in the areas of critical thinking, writing and communication in psychology. In her nomination letter, Conder's colleagues shared praise of her teaching and noted they look to her for tips that they can use in their own teaching.

Dean鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Service and Engagement Impact

Award recipient:听Adrien Viens,听School of Global Health

Nominated by Assistant Professor Oghenowede (Ede) Eyawo

This award recognizes the outstanding service and impact of faculty members in the Faculty of Health who has gone beyond the usual service expectations.

Viens has been a stellar colleague who has made service contributions at all levels of the University from his School to the University Senate. He stepped forward to serve as the inaugural Chair of the School of Global Health. For the last several months he has also served as it undergraduate program coordinator. As Chair of the new school, he has been developing innovative strategies to increase student recruitment and successful career development.

In addition to co-leading and contributing through his membership on committees that range from hiring, curriculum, EDI and tenure and promotion, Viens also led the school鈥檚 first cyclical program review. As an example of his contributions, Viens volunteered to assist another unit鈥檚 UPD when they experienced an unusually high volume of Academic Honesty meetings.

In addition to University service, Viens serves on provincial and national committees providing advise on COVID-19-related strategy. He continues to engage in service internationally, with his leadership as Editor-in Chief of a highly regarded international Journal of Health, Philosophy and Policy.

Dean鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Research

Award recipient:听Amy Muise,听Department of Psychology

Nominated by Associate Professor Jennifer Steele

The Dean鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Research recognizes a Faculty of Health faculty member whose research is making an impact through its innovation, level of excellence and commitment to dissemination.

Muise joined 91亚色 in 2016. Her research focuses on the successful maintenance of romantic relationships, a key contributor to overall health and well-being. Muise鈥檚 work has had a national and international impact.

• In 2016, the Canadian Psychological Association president recognized her with a New Researcher Award.
• The Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science gave her an Early Research Award in 2018.
• Also in 2018, she received the Caryl E. Rusbult Early Career Award from the Relationships Research Interest Group of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.
• In 2019, she was awarded a 91亚色 Research Chair in Relationships and Sexuality.
• In 2020, she received the Sage Young Scholars Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, and the Gerald R. Miller Early Career Achievement Award from the International Association of Relationship Research.

Muise has secured more than $1.8 million in Tri-Council research funding. In the past three years, she has published 45 articles in some of the highest impact journals in her field. She has been a frequent invited speaker and conference presenter, and has already mentored more than 30 graduate students.

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With a scarcity of COVID-19 vaccines in many African countries and the rise of new variants of concern, the听Africa-Canada Artificial Intelligence and Data Innovation Consortium听(ACADIC) is playing a pivotal role in providing locally nuanced analysis of data to inform public health decision making, as well as vaccination rollout strategies.

The interdisciplinary consortium is directed by 91亚色 Professor  from the Faculty of Science. Also serving on the executive committee from 91亚色 are: Distinguished Research Professor , director of the  in the Faculty of Science and ACADIC co-president; Professor James Orbinski, director of the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research and ACADIC executive committee member; and LA&PS Associate Professor , associate director of the  and ACADIC executive committee member. ACADIC brings together an interdisciplinary team of data scientists, epidemiologists, physicists, mathematicians and software engineers, as well as AI, disaster and emergency management, clinical public health, citizen science and community engagement experts. It is leveraging big data and AI-based techniques in nine African countries, with experts from 11 different countries 鈥� Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Eswatini, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

These techniques help identify and analyze emergent COVID-19 hotspots and outbreaks, and develop strategic, highly targeted and staged delivery plans for vaccines to priority areas. The team is also using ongoing monitoring to enhance COVID-19 testing to ensure public health interventions are equitable and effective.

Half of the world鈥檚 doses of vaccines have been secured by a handful of economically developed countries, but most African nations have received very few and continue to prepare and test their vaccination campaigns for when sufficient vaccine doses are made available.

A defining challenge is to develop local strategies that will reduce the number of COVID-19 cases, even as variants of concern circulate amidst a dearth of vaccines.

Some areas of focus for 91亚色 researchers involved in ACADIC include:

• making big data and AI actionable for real-time delivery of reliable and comprehensive information to predict the spread and impact of an epidermic, and to guide governmental policies and best practice in an epidemic;
• the role of big data and AI in understanding and intervening in pandemics;
• big data, AI and COVID-19 in Africa;
• the听;
• vaccine acceptance/hesitancy across Africa;
• incorporating AI and mathematical modelling for smart vaccination rollout in vaccine-limited regions;
• clinical public health practices in epidemics and pandemics;
• intervention systems in disasters and health emergencies;
• disease dynamics and modelling;
• transferring lessons learned from mass vaccination simulation to Africa;
• disease modelling and simulation in refugee camps in Africa; and
• use of AI to model economic impacts of COVID-19 in Africa.

The post How artificial intelligence and big data are fighting COVID-19 in Africa appeared first on Research & Innovation.

This two-year award, valued at $70,000 per year, seeks to address underrepresentation in many disciplines and fields by providing Black and Indigenous scholars with the ability to dedicate their time to pursuing new research, while accessing the collegial resources, faculty supervision and mentorship for which 91亚色 is well known.

91亚色 has a strong commitment to the pursuit of justice. Integral to this pursuit is an understanding of knowledge as multifaceted and plurally constituted. For the sake of knowledge, diversity is fundamental. While the Provost鈥檚 Postdoctoral Fellowship Program provides new opportunities for Black and Indigenous scholars, most importantly it seeks to attract superb scholars who will help to push the boundaries of knowledge in necessary ways.

Professor Lisa Philipps, 91亚色鈥檚 provost and vice-president academic, believes that 鈥渂uilding new paths and welcoming spaces for diverse voices to thrive in the academy and beyond is vitally important.鈥� She continues by saying that the Provost's Postdoctoral Fellowships for Black and Indigenous Scholars are 鈥渁 reflection of the inclusive higher education environment that we are committed to creating at 91亚色.鈥�

Professor Thomas Loebel, associate vice-president graduate and dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, adds: 鈥淎s a program, these fellowships manifest a challenge that 91亚色 has put to itself, which is to work with emerging scholars in individualized ways and to understand their needs as these emerge through the research process. Our goal is to help connect postdoctoral scholars to the incredible community that is 91亚色, so that with this program we can create something truly career developmental.鈥�

Godwin Dzah (Osgoode Hall Law School)

Dzah comes to 91亚色 having recently completed a doctorate in law at the University of British Columbia. His research proposes a fundamental re-evaluation of how international environmental law deploys concepts of crisis in ways that limit the potential for more sustained and complete forms of transformation. "The historical significance of this award is an ever-present reminder of the unfinished task of addressing systemic challenges," says Dzah. "I am looking forward to advancing this cause by expanding my teaching and research interests, which sit at the intersection of international law and the environment, by demonstrating the common interests and connections between the peoples of the Global South and their counterparts 鈥� the Indigenous Peoples in the Global North 鈥� in the context of the law and politics of international environmental law. I am grateful to the leadership at Osgoode Hall Law School; my supervisor, Professor听Obiora Okafor; and especially to 91亚色 for this exciting opportunity."

Don Davis (Faculty of Science)

Davis is currently a postdoctoral researcher at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg. His research investigates a novel approach to the causes of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, arguing that processes of forgetting are naturally amplified in major neurodegenerative diseases. 鈥淭he Canadian Indigenous population has an increased prevalence and earlier onset of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease than the Canadian non-Indigenous population," he says. "This opportunity will allow me to establish a research program to study Alzheimer鈥檚 disease within the Indigenous community and accelerate growth in scholarly diversity through development of an academic pipeline for Indigenous scientists. I am very grateful for the advice from Dr. Steven Connor, who will be mentoring me during my postdoctoral fellowship.鈥�

De-Lawrence Lamptey (Faculty of Health)

Lamptey is currently a postdoctoral Fellow at Mount Saint Vincent University in Nova Scotia. His research introduces an intersectional approach to the study of the material, social, and financial barriers Black children and their families are faced with in Canada. 鈥�91亚色鈥檚 commitment to support Black and Indigenous scholars is very remarkable," says Lamptey," and I am proud to be an inaugural recipient. This fellowship is a recognition of the unique and complex challenges that Black and Indigenous scholars often confront as we pursue our career ambitions. My research will be exploring the intersectionality of race/ethnicity and disability among children and youth in Canada. I look forward to making a positive difference in society through this fellowship.鈥�

Ruth Murambadoro (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies)

Murambadoro is currently a lecturer at the Wits Schools of Governance at the University of Witswatersrand in South Africa. Her research explores how women who have experienced state-sanctioned violence in Zimbabwe deploy narratives to advance the goal of gender justice. 鈥淢y project, 鈥楪ender justice and narratives of violence by women in post-colonial Zimbabwe,鈥� involves working with women鈥檚 social movements and the diaspora to produce new insights on how networks of women provide avenues for healing, justice and peace, outside the auspices of the state," she says. "This work focuses on women鈥檚 encounters of state-sanctioned violence and living under dictatorial rule for the past 40-plus years. I am delighted to join the Centre for Feminist Research at 91亚色 to work closely with Dr.听Alison Crosby听as a Fellow under the Provost鈥檚 Postdoctoral Fellowships for Black and Indigenous Scholars.鈥�

The post Meet the inaugural recipients of the Provost鈥檚 Postdoctoral Fellowships for Black and Indigenous Scholars appeared first on Research & Innovation.