Bialystok, a Distinguished Research Professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Health, is known internationally for her research on language, bilingualism and cognitive development. The award was announced in April by the Canada Council for the Arts, which administers the .

One of the most important research prizes in the world, the Killam Prize is awarded annually to five eminent Canadian scholars for their distinction in health sciences, engineering, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. Bialystok is being recognized for her work in the social sciences category.

Right: Ellen Bialystok

The first in her field to research claims of cognitive deficits in bilingual children, Bialystok discovered that bilingual children and adults have distinct advantages over unilingual people when completing both linguistic and non-linguistic tasks. Her research is now revealing that this advantage continues for bilingual people as they age; she is part of a team of Canadian researchers who recently uncovered that bilingualism can delay the onset of Alzheimer鈥檚 by up to five years.

Bialystok has also been recognized by the international linguistics community for her body of work on theories of language processing and on practical issues related to foreign and second-language education.

When the prize was announced, 91亚色 President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri remarked that the Killam Prize 鈥渞ecognizes Professor Bialystok鈥檚 groundbreaking contributions to psychology and confirms the international excellence of her achievements. Her success contributes to the growing national and international leadership of 91亚色鈥檚 faculty in health-related research as they respond to medical, social and environmental challenges facing Canadians and people around the world.鈥�

Bialystok was awarded a Killam Research Fellowship in 2001 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. In November 2009, she received the 91亚色 President鈥檚 Research Award of Merit in recognition of her research contributions.

Faculty of Health Dean Harvey Skinner commented that Bialystok鈥檚 work is changing our understanding of language acquisition and literacy, as well as cognition and aging, by using both behaviour and neuroimaging approaches. 鈥淗er research, and the collaborative research of many other faculty researching developmental and cognitive processes, reflects the Faculty鈥檚 goals of innovative research that helps keep more people healthier, longer.鈥�

The Killam Prizes were inaugurated in 1981 with a donation by Dorothy聽J.聽Killam in memory of her husband, Izaak Walton Killam. The prizes were created to honour eminent Canadian scholars and scientists actively engaged in research, whether in industry, government agencies or universities.

Republished courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin

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Bialystok, a Distinguished Research Professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, is known internationally for her research on language, bilingualism and cognitive development. She received the award from the , which administers the .

One of the most important research prizes in the world, the $100,000 Killam Prize is annually awarded to five eminent Canadian scholars for their distinction in health sciences, engineering, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. Bialystok was recognized for her work in the social sciences category. Bialystok is the only woman to be recognized this year.

The full announcement and event details are available on the .

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer.

The post Professor Ellen Bialystok to receive Killam Prize in Ottawa December 14 appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Above: The 91亚色 Research Tower, which opened in September 2009, features聽some 84,000 square feet of space and houses 12 research centres and two research project teams

鈥�91亚色 is a leading university in social sciences and humanities research, and nothing proves that more than a peer-review process,鈥� said Mamdouh Shoukri, 91亚色's president聽& vice-chancellor, referencing the recent successes of 91亚色 researchers in securing a Killam Prize, two out of four of the Social Sciences聽& Humanities Research Council of Canada鈥檚 (SSHRC) Major Collaborative Research Initiative awards, and a SSHRC Community-University Research Award.

鈥淏ut having excellent researchers puts another level of responsibility on the University, which is to make absolutely sure that we have the environment and the support they need to reach their potential,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his building represents 91亚色鈥檚 commitment to building a research culture for success.鈥�

The 10-storey building, which recently received聽, opened in September 2009 and聽features approximately 84,000 square feet (net) with wireless Internet access. It currently houses 12 research centres and two research project teams, and also provides office space for the and (ABEL) group, which provide support services for researchers. The Office of the Vice-President, Research & Innovation, Office of Research Ethics and Office of Research Services occupy the fifth floor, along with extensive conference and meeting facilities (full occupant list).

鈥淚 think this is the best facility for social science and humanities research in the country, and our researchers deserve it,鈥� said Stan Shapson (left), vice-president research聽& innovation. 鈥淚n addition to many new technologies, it鈥檚 built on the Greek agora model of community that allows researchers to come together and collaborate, both with researchers across the University and with external groups. Some of the issues they鈥檙e studying can鈥檛 be solved in isolation. No one has all the knowledge or the strategy to do it all聽鈥� we have to collaborate, which is also why we want the YRT to be a meeting place for the community to work with us.鈥�

Chad Gaffield (left), , was also present for the event as part of a daylong visit to 91亚色鈥檚 Keele campus. 鈥淲e use e-communications to deepen and enrich relationships that are, at least periodically, complemented by physical contact,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he genius of the YRT is its confirmation of the importance of creating face-to-face contact and then complementing those interactions through information communications technology. It鈥檚 a new model of engaged scholarship and research.鈥�

Professor (below, right), director of the Centre for Refugee Studies on the research tower鈥檚 eighth floor, spoke about the importance of creating neighbourhoods for researchers. Since moving into the building, McGrath has formed new research connections with peers in the 91亚色 Centre for Asian Research, the Centre for Research on Latin America & the Caribbean, and , all of which are her neighbours on the聽eighth floor.

鈥淗aving neighbourliness, good meeting space and research resources under one roof is great,鈥� said McGrath. 鈥淚 hosted colleagues from all around the world here for a three-day session in the bright and spacious Conference Centre. With help from ABEL, we streamed parts of our meeting online, allowing those who weren鈥檛 able to travel here opportunities to participate. The facilities are fostering our sense of research culture and allowing us to work more collaboratively than I think we would have without it.鈥�

Graduate students have also benefited from new space on floors six, seven and eight that was designed for them as researchers. 鈥淲hen you walk around the building, you see graduate students everywhere,鈥� said Susan Henders, director of the 91亚色聽Centre for Asian Research. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e working on projects, relaxing in the lounges and interacting with their peers. It鈥檚 quality space that brings them into the centres and fosters their work and professional development, complementing their graduate program training.鈥�

Watch videos from the Research Tower opening, with remarks from President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri, Vice-President Research & Innovation Stan Shapson, SSHRC President Chad Gaffield, Professor Susan Henders and Professor Susan McGrath.

鈥淥ne student told me that having study space made him feel valued as a researcher and professional in the making,鈥� Henders continued. 鈥淚 want to commend the University for its foresight in recognizing the critical role graduate students play in organized research units and research on the campus.鈥�

By Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer. Photos courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

The post 91亚色 Research Tower: Creating a new model for research collaboration appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology Ellen Bialystok, of 91亚色's , is one of five scholars to be awarded this year鈥檚 Killam Prize in recognition of her work, which has focused on language acquisition and how bilingualism affects brain development.

Bialystok talked to The Globe and Mail about the dynamics of research, how some ideas have to find their time, and her future projects.

Q: How significant is it as a researcher to receive a $100,000 prize? That seems like a lot of money.

A: As a research prize it is enormous. It really is unprecedented in academia to give such a large prize for a body of work. It doesn鈥檛 have any restrictions on it. I can use it as I decide to. I haven鈥檛 given that much thought. I have a very active lab. We are in the middle of between 15 and 20 different projects.

Q: How do you decide as a researcher what area you will examine next? How much of it is intuition?

A: Research moves forward in teeny-weeny steps and then sometimes at the end of a very long journey that could last 10, 20, 30 years, these steps produce something that seems to be incredible. You look at that last step and say, 鈥淲ow, that鈥檚 amazing.鈥� You forget about all the steps that led up to it. This is the real art of research, knowing how to stay on the path and follow the evolution of an idea through all of its twists and turns. When we look at a research finding as a breakthrough, for the person who found it, it is anything but a breakthrough. It is years of tedious small steps.

Q: Is there a finding that you have made that you would put in that category?

A: In some sense all of them.

Q: What about the link you found between bilingualism and warding off the effects of Alzheimer鈥檚?

The research on dementia was a real flyer. We had done work on bilingual children and adults. We thought the chances of it working were small, but we got very powerful results.

I鈥檇 been doing research for a long time and it wasn鈥檛 particularly noticed. At some point we began to change our ideas about the mind 鈥� that the mind really does reflect new learning into adulthood. So it became more interesting to think that an experience like bilingualism could have an effect. I had been saying these things for a long time, and quite honestly nobody believed it. Now we understand that the mind is much more flexible than we thought.

Q: What are the next questions you are thinking about?

We have to start seriously tackling 鈥渉ow come?鈥� We know very little about the why. The other thing we are looking at is the process.

We have always looked at bilingual people versus monolingual people. Now we are looking at people in the process of becoming bilingual. How bilingual do you need to be to see benefits?

The is available on the Globe's Web site. Their coverage also featured a and an :

Unlike some other major scholarly awards, the Killam Prize recognizes the career contributions of scholars, rather than a single discovery or piece of research. Ellen Bialystok, one of this year鈥檚 five winners, is a psychologist best known for her work in language, bilingualism and cognitive development. Here are three areas of her work that gained widespread attention:

Video gaming and the brain: In one study that gained wide media attention, Bialystok examined how a group of undergraduates performed on tricky mental tasks. The gamers in the group were faster and better 鈥� and those who were also bilingual were unbeatable.

Bilingualism and dementia: Bialystok was the principal investigator in a study that discovered fluency in two or more languages may stave off cognitive decline because of the mental agility needed to juggle them. The link was far stronger than suspected, and the finding has since been replicated by other researchers.

Bilingualism as a brain boost: Her most widely cited work is a breakthrough study conducted in 2004 that showed bilingual adults had a cognitive advantage over subjects who were fluent in only one language. The study found that edge lasted well into adulthood.

, and also covered the story.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

The post Killam Prize winner Professor Ellen Bialystok interviewed by Globe & Mail appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Bialystok, a Distinguished Research Professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, is known internationally for her research on language, bilingualism and cognitive development. She received the award April 13 from the , which administers the .

The clip is and runs for approximately seven minutes.

Posted by Elizabeth Monier-Williams, research communications officer, with files courtesy of 91亚色's Media Relations Department.

The post Audio: 91亚色 developmental psychology professor speaks to Metro Morning about winning the Killam Prize appeared first on Research & Innovation.

Bialystok, a Distinguished Research Professor in 91亚色鈥檚 Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, is known internationally for her research on language, bilingualism and cognitive development. She received the award this morning from the , which administers the .

One of the most important research prizes in the world, the $100,000 Killam Prize is annually awarded to five eminent Canadian scholars for their distinction in health sciences, engineering, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. Bialystok was recognized for her work in the social sciences category.

Right: Ellen Biaylstok

The first in her field to research claims of cognitive deficits in bilingual children, Bialystok discovered that bilingual children and adults have distinct advantages over unilingual people when completing both linguistic and nonlinguistic tasks. Her research is now revealing that this advantage continues for bilingual people as they age.

She has also been recognized by the international linguistics community for her body of work on theories of language processing and on practical issues related to foreign and second language education.

鈥淭he Killam Prize recognizes Professor Bialystok鈥檚 groundbreaking contributions to psychology and confirms the international excellence of her achievements,鈥� said 91亚色 President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri. 鈥淗er success contributes to the growing national and international leadership of 91亚色鈥檚 faculty in health related-research as they respond to medical, social, and environmental challenges facing Canadians and people around the world.鈥�

Bialystok was awarded a in 2001. She is a . In November, she received the 91亚色 in recognition of her research contributions.

"Ellen is a remarkable researcher who is so deserving of the Killam Prize," said Stan Shapson, vice-president, research & innovation. "Her work is cited all over the world. She has also received funding from all three of Canada's national funding bodies 鈭� the , the and the 鈭� at various points in her career, along with funding from the ."

Bialystok has developed new methodologies for studying the role of cognitive processes on second language learning as well as the impact that knowing a second language has on cognitive aging.

鈥淏y studying people of all ages, and using both behavioural and neuroimaging approaches, Professor Bialystok is changing our understanding of language acquisition and literacy, as well as cognition and aging," said Faculty of Health Dean Harvey Skinnner. "Her research, and the collaborative research of many other faculty researching developmental and cognitive processes, reflects the Faculty's goals of innovative research that helps keep more people healthier, longer."

Bialystok has recently published research on how bilingualism boosts children鈥檚 focus. She has also researched how bilingualism can delay the onset of dementia.

By Janice Walls, media relations coordinator.

The post 91亚色 developmental psychology professor wins Killam Prize appeared first on Research & Innovation.