Professor Godfred Boateng is among researchers selected as Winter 2024 recipients from across Canada who are tackling some of the world’s most complex and pressing challenges 

The Government of Canada has appointed York University Professor Godfred Boateng in the Faculty of Health as a Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Global Health and Humanitarianism.

“Researchers across the country tackle some of the world’s most complex and pressing challenges related to the environment, housing, health and healing practices, technological innovations, and international relations. Investments in research help drive new discoveries that inform evidence-based public policy and positively impact Canadians for generations to come,” according to a CRC news release announcing new and renewed Chairs.

The CRC program facilitates world-class research at Canadian universities, boosting their global competitiveness, while also providing training opportunities for the next generation of highly skilled personnel through research, teaching and learning. 

Boateng is currently visiting Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria as part of a York U delegation to Africa, to explore research opportunities, including collaborations with counterparts from local universities and research institutions.

“From global health to migration policy to planetary science to neurophysiology, York University faculty are at the forefront of research excellence in their respective fields,” said Amir Asif, vice-president research and innovation, who is leading the delegation to Africa. “I extend my sincere congratulations to our four new and renewed Canada Research Chairs whose impactful work benefits the lives of both Canadians and people around the world.”

An assistant professor in the School of Global Health, the director of the Global & Environmental Health Lab, and a faculty fellow at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, Boateng is also the principal investigator on a new project, Retooling Black Anxiety in the Greater Toronto Area.

Boateng’s research focuses on resource insecurity, health, and sustainable livelihoods; the socio-ecological determinants of cardiometabolic conditions in aging adults; social inequity in health systems; quantitative data analysis methods and survey scale development; and COVID-19 related health effects. His interdisciplinary research in these areas have been critical in transforming the understanding of the key social and structural determinants of health among vulnerable populations, including women, infants, children, and older adults.

The March 13 announcement for Winter 2024 recipients also included renewal of three CRCs: Profs Ethel Tungohan (Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies), Isaac Smith, (Lassonde School of Engineering) and Steven Connor, (Faculty of Science.)