2022 York University Research Awards Celebration

York’s community of changemakers recognized for prestigious research and impact

The York University Research Awards Celebration recognizes the contributions of researchers from all faculties and schools, and in areas including Indigenous knowledge, Black scholarship, global health, vision science, and space exploration, among others. Researchers were recognized for their prominent role in better understanding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, while York’s community of creators and scholars were praised for their contributions to art, and for mobilizing research to effect change in their communities.

Download the digital program to learn more about the 2022 York Research Awards Recipients.

Awards in this category are among the most prestigious international and national awards researchers can receive.

Seyed Moghadas

Professor, Faculty of Science
Agent-Based Modelling Laboratory

Seyed Moghadas, Faculty of Science was recognized with the President’s Research Impact Award (PRIA). Moghadas is a global leader in the use of mathematical and computational models of disease epidemics and vaccination. His research is advancing public health capacity to detect and to manage emerging Canadian and global health crises. He has achieved a stellar reputation in his field and is making exceptional contributions to York’s research culture and beyond.

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, his expertise has been in high demand and has been instrumental to setting and improving health policies both in Canada and the U.S. Moghadas served in an advisory role to the Public Health Agency of Canada as an expert on modelling approaches and to the Science Advisor of Canada as part of the COVID-19 Modelling Expert Group. He is also a member of the research team established by the Commonwealth Fund, which provides regular updates on the impact of COVID-19 interventions to the U.S. Administration and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention. Over the past several years, Moghadas has held contracts with, or consulted for, additional national and international agencies, the National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases, the Manitoba Health Pandemic Influenza Advisory Committee, Sanofi Pasteur Canada, and Pfizer Global. His findings have influenced both provincial and federal government health policies and have been applied globally by international corporations. Moghadas is the founding director of the Agent-Based Modelling Laboratory at York under the auspices of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation.

Through his extensive knowledge in mathematics and biology and his capacity for innovative thinking, Moghadas has pioneered exciting research paths in disease modelling and has applied his research findings directly to public health issues and policies, which has undoubtedly enhanced York’s research reputation. His evidence-based research has been published in tier-one journals of National Academy of Sciences, Nature Communications, and The Lancet series, among many other high impact publications.

John Moores

Tier 2 York Research Chair in Space Exploration
Associate Professor, Lassonde School of Engineering
Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science

John Moores, Lassonde School of Engineering, was recognized with the President’s Emerging Research Leadership Award (PERLA) Cluster 1. Moores’ impactful ideas about organic chemistry, volatile ices, geomorphology and atmospheric processes on other planets have changed the way the field thinks about these subjects. His work has been published across numerous impactful journals such as Science and Nature. He has received over $3 million in research funds to support this work.

In addition to participating in science and operations teams of five international space missions, he is working with two companies to develop instruments to fly in space. This includes a novel Extreme Ultraviolet Camera that can detect ice on the moon in shadow by looking for reflected starlight and a sensitive Methane Spectrometer that has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of trace gasses in Mars’ Atmosphere and the planet’s potential for life. These instruments could fly before the decade is out, carrying the banner of York far beyond the campus boundaries.

Moores has built a diverse and inclusive research group, always seeking out opportunities to uplift his trainees. Over his time at York, Members of his group have been awarded the NASA Group Achievement Award 16 times. Moores’ accomplishments have been recognized in his election to the Royal Society of Canada (College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists) in 2018, the awarding of a York Research Chair in Space Exploration in 2019, and his appointment as Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Studies in the Lassonde School of Engineering in 2020.

Amy Muise

Tier 2 York Research Chair in Relationships and Sexuality
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health

Amy Muise, Faculty of Health, is recognized with the President’s Emerging Research Leadership Award (PERLA) Cluster 2 for demonstrating research excellence and innovation. Muise’s research focuses on the successful maintenance of romantic relationships, which is a key contributor to overall health and well-being. Her work uses diverse methods to best approximate couples’ daily experiences and relationship trajectories over time, including dyadic, daily experience, and longitudinal methods, and focuses on diverse populations, including long-term couples, new parents, clinical populations, and people in intercultural relationships. She is a Tier 2 Early Career York Research Chair in Relationships and Sexuality.

Muise has a thriving lab (the SHaRe lab) in which she investigates three interrelated lines of research on the motivations, perceptions, and behaviours that inform how couples can maintain desire and relationship satisfaction and successfully navigate conflicts of interest. This research has resulted in 100 empirical papers and book chapters to date (65 since beginning at York), many in top journals in her field, such as the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and Psychological Bulletin. Since starting at York, she has been awarded more than $2 million in grant funding, including nine tri-council grants (three as principal investigator or co-principal investigator).

Muise’s lab has also already produced several excellent trainees: her graduate students and postdoctoral fellows have been awarded top scholarships and recognitions and have been successful in securing fellowships and academic positions.

Zheng Hong (George) Zhu

Tier 1 York Research Chair in Space Technology
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering

George Zhu, Lassonde School of Engineering, is recognized with the President’s Research Excellence Award (PREA). Zhu has demonstrated outstanding research achievements and leadership as a visionary researcher in the field of space technology. Zhu’s research pushes the boundaries of space technology across multiple frontiers: propellent-less propulsion technologies using electrodynamic tethers and electric solar wind sail, multiphysics modeling and dynamic control of space tether systems, space debris removal for sustainable use of outer space, space robotics, and made-in-space 3D printing technology. In November 2020, he launched an electrodynamic tether satellite to test his model in space, the first electrodynamic tether mission in Canada. His leadership has shaped and continues to shape the international research agenda in space technology in Canada and internationally and is advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. He is a Tier 1 York Research Chair in Space Technology.

Currently, Zhu is leading a second York satellite mission as Principal Investigator. This mission is to train a team of interinstitutional undergraduate students to design, build and operate a cube satellite to monitor permafrost thawing in northern Canada from space using a low-cost CubeSat, which will be launched in late 2022. If successful, the technology will lower the access barrier for communities in remote areas to monitor the effects of global climate change on the thaw of permafrost and the associated impact on infrastructure such as roads, bridges, powerlines, and buildings in Indigenous communities. Zhu’s research on space technology has been highly regarded by funding agencies nationally and internationally with over $15.2 million in research grants. The most significant one is the $3.6M grant from Canada Foundation for Innovation for the research of made-in-space by 3D printing technology, the first of its kind in Canada. Zhu is also the recipient of 2021 W. Angus Medal of Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering and the 2019 Engineering Medal - Research and Development of Ontario Professional Engineers & Ontario Society of Professional Engineers.

Awards in this category are among the most prestigious international and national awards researchers can receive.

Allan Carswell, FRSC

Physics Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Science

Carswell received the Order of Ontario by the Governor General of Canada for his leadership and philanthropy – as a physicist, space science innovator and as a benefactor of the Allan I. Carswell Observatory.

Sarah Flicker

Tier 2 York Research Chair in Community-Based Participatory Research
Professor, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change

Flicker received the 2021 Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR) & Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR) Excellence in Research Award in Social Science. The awards are bestowed annually to mid-career researchers who have achieved a track record of excellence and demonstrated a commitment to improving the lives of those living with HIV or at risk.

Stephen Gill, FRSC

Distinguished Research Professor, Department of Politics, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Gill received the prestigious 2021 Killam Prize for Social Sciences awarded by the Canada Council for the Arts. The award honours eminent Canadian researchers who have contributed to an outstanding impact on the lives of Canadians and people around the world. Gill was recognized for his scholarly excellence and impactful research on global affairs and international relations.

Joan Judge, FRSC

Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Judge was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, which recognizes exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge from the U.S. and Canada. Judge received the prestigious award for her project “China’s Mundane Revolution: Cheap Print, Vernacular Knowledge, and Common Reading in the Long Republic, 1894-1955.”

Sandra Rehan

Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science

Rehan received the NSERC E.W.R Steacie Memorial Fellowship for her research in bee genomics, molecular ecology and behavioural genetics. The award recognizes early-stage academic researchers in natural sciences and engineering. Only six researchers are awarded per year.

Janet Walker

Professor, Osgoode Hall School of Law

Walker was vested with the Order of Canada for her expert legal authority in commercial arbitration and conflict laws, and for advancing legal procedural standards in Canada.

This prestigious national program aims to attract and retain some of the world's most promising minds from all disciplines to institutions across Canada. This year, York has welcomed two new and two renewed Canada Research Chairs for a total number of 33 chairholders.

Alan Corbiere

Assistant Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Ojibwe Cultural Foundation and Anishinaabemowin Revitalization Program

Corbiere was named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous History of North America. His research aims to ‘re-right” and “re-write” Indigenous history by privileging oral traditions, Anishinaabemowin and material culture, while reinterpreting colonial records for the purpose of revitalizing language, culture and knowledge.

Christopher Kyriakides

Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Kyriakides was renewed as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Citizenship, Social Justice and Ethno-Racialisation. His research program focuses on configurations of racialization in relation to the meaning of East/West, South/North, and articulations of racism and nationalism in the reception of refugees.

Christina Sharpe

Professor, Department of Humanities, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Graduate Faculty in Humanities, Graduate Program in Gender, Feminist and Women’s Studies

Sharpe was named a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Black Studies and the Humanities. Her program convenes the Black Still Life Research group as a new model of studying, bringing together established and emerging Black studies scholars, graduate students and visual and performing artists whose work investigates the myriad ways Black life is made and lived.

Sean Tulin

Assistant Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science

Tulin was renewed as a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Particle Physics and Cosmology. Tulin’s research provides new directions toward discovering dark matter’s elusive particle nature. By combining astrophysics, particle theory and cosmology, he is developing new ideas to illuminate dark matter’s particle dynamics through its effect on cosmic structure.

The YRC program recognizes the University’s outstanding researchers and is the internal counterpart to the Canada Research Chairs program. These five-year awards provide resources to accelerate and facilitate the Chairholder’s international research profile. They are awarded for established research leaders (Tier 1) and emerging research leaders (Tier 2). This award recognizes the 14 new YRCs appointed in 2021.

Nantel Bergeron

Professor, Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science

Bergeron was named a Tier 1 York Research Chair in Applied Algebra for his work in pioneering the development of the theory of combinatorial Hopf Algebras.

Doug Crawford

Distinguished Research Professor in Neuroscience, Departments of Psychology, Biology, Kinesiology and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health
Scientific Director, Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA)
Centre for Vision Research

Crawford was named a Tier 1 York Research Chair in Visuomotor Neuroscience for his ground-breaking work at the York Centre for Vision Research, which focuses on the control of visual gaze in 3D space, eye-hand coordination and spatial memory during eye movements.

Lorne Foster

Professor, School of Public Policy & Administration, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Director, Institute for Social Research

Foster was named a Tier 1 York Research Chair in Black Canadian Studies and Human Rights for his trailblazing work in public policy formation and scholarship on the human rights approach to inclusive organizational change.

Lyndsay Hayhurst

Assistant Professor, Graduate Program in Development Studies, Faculty of Health

Hayhurst was named a Tier 2 York Research Chair in Sport, Gender and Development and Digital Participatory Research for her research on sport to support gender-related development goals, policies and practices.

Sean Hillier

Assistant Professor, School of Health Policy & Management, Faculty of Health
Associate Director, Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages

Hillier was named a Tier 2 York Research Chair in Indigenous Health Policy & One Health for his research on aging, living with HIV and other infectious disease and antimicrobial resistance, all with a concerted focus on policy affecting health care access for Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Kerry Kawakami

Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health

Kawakami was named a Tier 1 York Research Chair in Equity and Diversity for her research on implicit bias and how we perceive people from different socials groups, as well as strategies to reduce prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination.

Ozzy Mermut

Associate Professor, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science
Centre for Vision Research; VISTA

Mermut was named a Tier 2 York Research Chair in Vision Biophotonics. Mermut is a biophysicist harnessing the power of light to study human aging and to develop diagnostics and therapeutic biophotonics to address age-related degenerative diseases.

Carmela Murdocca

Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Murdocca was named a Tier 2 York Research Chair in Reparative and Racial Justice. Murdocca’s research examines racialization, criminalization and social histories of racial and colonial violence.

Lisa Myers

Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change

Myers was named a Tier 2 York Research Chair in Indigenous Art and Curatorial Practice for her work as a curator and artist focused on contemporary Indigenous art.

Chun Peng

Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Centre for Research on Biomolecular Interactions

Peng was named a Tier 1 York Research Chair in Women’s Reproductive Health. Peng’s research program aims to understand the regulation of female production and the mechanisms underlying the development of ovarian cancer and preeclampsia.

Shayna Rosenbaum

Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) Program

Rosenbaum was named a Tier 2 Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroscience of Memory for her research on the different forms of memory presented in the brain.

Jennifer Steeves

Associate Vice President Research & Innovation
Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Centre for Vision Research
Adjunct Scientist, Neurosciences and Mental Health, Sick Kids Research Institute
Adjunct Professor, Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto

Steeves was named a Tier 1 York Research Chair in Non-Invasive Visual Brain Stimulation. Her research examines how the brain adapts to changes in sensory input with the loss of one eye or to direct brain damage.

Ping Wang

Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lassonde School of Engineering

Wang was named a Tier 2 York Research Chair in AI-Empowered Next Generation Communication Networks for her research on wireless communications and networks.

Amro Zayed

Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science
Director, Centre for Bee Ecology, Evolution and Conservation

Zayed was named a Tier 2 York Research Chair in Genomics. Zayed’s research group sequences the genomes of thousands of bees to identify mutations that influence their economically and ecologically relevant traits to improve the health of Canadian honey bees.

The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) recognizes leading intellectuals, scholars, researchers and artists to help them build a better future in Canada and around the world. Fellows have made remarkable contributions in the arts, the humanities and the sciences, as well as in Canadian public life. The College of the New Scholars, Scientists and Artists recognizes emerging research excellence. The RSC also recognizes outstanding achievement through awards and medals. This year, York added four new Fellows, one new College Member and a Prize winner.

Philip Girard

Professor, Osgoode Hall School of Law

Girard was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada for his prize-winning work on the legal history of Canada.

Jane Heffernan

Professor, Department of Mathematic & Statistics, Faculty of Science

Heffernan was elected as a Member of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists in recognition of her leadership in infectious disease modelling.

Jennifer Hyndman

Associate Vice-President Research
Professor, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change

Hyndman was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada for her research on geographies of forced migration, ethnography of the international refugee regime, feminist geopolitics, critical refugee studies and extended exile.

Michele Johnson

Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Harriet Tubman Institute, CERLAC, Association of Caribbean Historians, Caribbean Studies Association

Johnson was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, recognized for her international leadership in Black History.

Christina Petrowska Quilico

Professor, Faculty of Arts, Media, Performance & Design

Petrowska Quilico was elected as a Fellow for her celebrated career as a classical and contemporary pianist and for championing Canadian music.

Poonam Puri

Professor, Osgoode Hall School of Law

Puri received the Yvan Allaire Medal from the Royal Society of Canada for her work as one of the world’s leading scholars of corporate governance, corporate law, securities regulation and investor protection.

Awards in this category recognize artistic and creative accomplishments that enrich creative and cultural expression and understanding. It includes accomplishments in film, dance, art and more.

Patrick Alcedo

Associate Professor, Dance, Faculty of Arts, Media, Performance & Design
York Centre for Asian Research

Alcedo received the Cannes Indies Cinema Awards' Best Short Documentary for the film, They Call Me Dax and the All-Asian International Independent Film Festival for the film A Will to Dream.

Michael Greyeyes

Professor, Theatre, Faculty of Arts, Media, Performance & Design

Greyeyes won the Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his work in the film Blood Quantum from the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards.

John Greyson, FRSC

Associate Professor, Cinema & Media Arts, Faculty of Arts, Media, Performance & Design

Greyson won the Teddy for the Best Short Film for his work “International Dawn Chorus Day” at the 71^st Berlin International Film Festival’s Berlinale Shorts.

Katherine Knight

Professor, Visual Arts & History, Faculty of Arts, Media, Performance & Design
Site Media Inc.

Knight received the Rogers Audience Award at the 2021 Hot Docs Festival for her film Still Max.

Mark Terry, FRSC

Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Environment & Urban Change
Research Fellow, Dahdaleh Institutie for Global Health Research
Young Lives Research Lab; the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's Youth Climate Report

Terry received an Honourable mention from the UN SDG Action Awards for his work on The Youth Climate Report, a documentary film project.

This category recognizes York’s scholars who have produced outstanding publications lauded by their peers.

Alison Crosby

Associate Professor, School of Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Crosby received the 2021 Lemkin Book Award from the Institute for the Study of Genocide. She co-authored Beyond Repair? Mayan Women’s Protagonism in the Aftermath of Genocidal Harm, which examines Mayan women and their search for redress for harm suffered during genocide.

B.W. Powe

Associate Professor, Department of English, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Fellow, McLuhan Centre, University of Toronto

Powe received the Media Ecology Association’s 2021 Marshal McLuhan Book Award for his book The Charge in the Global Membrane.

Gregory D. Saxton

Associate Professor, Accounting, Schulich School of Business

Saxton won the Academy of Management’s 2021 Public and Nonprofit Division’s Best Book Award for his book The Quest for Attention: Nonprofit Advocacy in a Social Media Age, co-authored with Chao Guo (University of Pennsylvania).

This category reflects York scholars whose leadership in the field is reflected by election to academic societies in their field and awards from these bodies.

Gene Cheung

Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Lassonde School of Engineering

Cheung was named a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering for contributions to graph spectral image processing and interactive video streaming.

Aleksander Czekanski

Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering

Czekanski was elected to the Fellowship in the Canadian Engineering Education Association for his contributions to engineering in Canada, including the creation and launch of the Mechanical Engineering program at Lassonde.

Steven Hoffman

Dahdaleh Distinguished Chair in Global Governance & Legal Epidemiology
Professor, Faculty of Health & Osgoode Hall School of Law
Director, Global Strategy Lab

Hoffman was elected to Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, one of the highest honours in the Canadian health sciences community, for his leadership in global health law and global health governance.

Joel Katz

Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Health Psychology
Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health

Katz received the Senior Investigator Award for Health Psychology/Behavioural Medicine from the Canadian Psychological Association for his contributions to psychological science.

Richard Leblanc

Professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Leblanc was named an Academic Fellow of the International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI) for his outstanding contribution to the management consulting profession.

Marin Litoiu

Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lassonde School of Engineering and School of Information Technology, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies

Litoiu was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. He leads the Centre for Research in Adaptive Software, which focuses on the development of adaptive and self-managing systems and is considered one of the pioneers of the field of self-adaptive software (SAS).

Rebecca Pillai Riddell

Professor, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health
Member, Royal Society of Canada

Pillai Riddell was elected to Fellowship to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences for her research on pediatric and behavioural sciences, as well as for establishing the first and largest cohort in the world studying young children through painful vaccinations over the first years of life.

Poonam Puri

Professor, Osgoode Hall School of Law

Puri won the 2021 David W. Mundell Medal from the Ontario Attorney General’s Office, an award considered the “Pulitzer Prize” of legal writing. She also received the Law Society Medal from the Law Society of Ontario.

Shahirose Premji

Director and Professor, School of Nursing, Faculty of Health

Premji was named a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing by the Canadian Nurses Association, which honours individuals who have demonstrated sustained impact across nursing health systems in any given domains of practice. Premji’s research examines the role of psychosocial factors on preterm birth.

Sandra Rehan

Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science

Rehan was inducted as a Fellow in the Linnean Society of London in recognition of her work leading contributions to natural history research, including taxonomy, biology and ecology.

Jinjun Shan

Professor, Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering

Shan was named a Fellow of the Engineering Institute of Canada for his expertise in the field of dynamics control and navigation, which is advancing fundamental knowledge and engineering applications of autonomous systems, multi-agent systems and space instrumentation.

George Zhu

Tier 1 York Research Chair in Space Technology
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering

Zhu was awarded the Robert W. Angus Medal from the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering for his outstanding contributions to mechanical engineering practice in Canada.

This category recognizes researchers who are leading major research initiatives that can advance our understanding of the world and address societal challenges. These researchers have brought in large-scale funding and secured awards in highly competitive programs.

Satinder Brar

James and Joanne Love Chair in Environmental Engineering
Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering
Member, European Academy of Science and Arts

Brar was recognized for winning an NSERC Create Grant for the project “Training in Applied Biotechnology for Environmental Sustainability” (TABES). TABES will provide students with a mix of theoretical, practical and real-world knowledge to incorporate skills and experience to support sustainable waste management.

Elizabeth Clare

Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science

Clare is a co-lead for BIOSCAN, a research program that is harnessing new technologies to make DNA barcoding faster and less expensive. The project is supported by Genome Canada.

Amrita Daftary

Assistant Professor, Global Health, Faculty of Health
School of Global Health, Dahdaleh Institute of Global Health Research; Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa (CAPRISA)

Daftary received funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health for her research in collaboration with the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation to examine stigma and social determinant effects on tuberculosis case detection, care and outcomes.

Luann Good Gingrich

Director, Global Labour Research Centre
Professor, School of Social Work, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Good Gingrich co-led a successful application to the Feminist Response and Recovery Fund for her project “Creating Space: Precarious Status Women Leading Local Pandemic Responses”, provided by Women and Gender Equality Canada. The research examines issues of equity, diversity and inclusion to advance a feminist response to the impacts of COVID-19 through systematic change.

Shooka Karimpour

Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering

Karimpour is leading a large-scale NSERC Alliance Grant in collaboration with Environment and Climate Canada, and the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks. The research is tackling the spread of plastics in aquatic systems.

Heidi Matthews

Assistant Professor, Osgoode Hall School of Law

Matthews co-led a successful application to the Feminist Response and Recovery Fund for her project “Creating Space: Precarious Status Women Leading Local Pandemic Responses” for Women and Gender Equality Canada.

Muriel Peguret

Associate Professor, Glendon College and Faculty of Education

Peguret’s leadership of the Camerise Project, a transformational tool developed to ensure access, inclusion and engagement for language learners, resulted in significant funding from the Canadian Heritage Foundation and the Ministry of Education to improve resources for teaching French as a second language.

Dominique Scheffel-Dunand

Associate Professor, Department of French Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Scheffel-Dunand’s leadership of the Camerise project resulted in significant funding from the Canadian Heritage Foundation and the Ministry of Education. She has been recognized for her contribution in improving resources for teaching French as a second language.

Mary Wiktorowicz

Professor, Global Health Governance & Policy, Faculty of Health
Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research

Wiktorowicz is leading an international consortium for the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance Transnational Call for Research Projects: Designing One Health Governance for Antimicrobial Stewardship. The research seeks to addresses global challenges posed by Antimicrobial Resistance.

Jianhong Wu

Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Industrial and Applied Mathematics
NSERC/Sanofi Industrial Research Chair in Vaccine Mathematics, Modelling and Manufacturing Distinguished Research Professor, Faculty of Science
Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

Wu co-led a successful NSERC Emerging Infectious Disease Modelling Initiative application for the Mathematics for Public Health. The project will establish a pan-Canadian emerging infectious disease modelling network that aims to apply advanced mathematical techniques to help achieve public health objectives.

George Zhu

Tier 1 York Research Chair in Space Technology
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering

Zhu was awarded an NSERC Create Grant for his project “Smart Autonomous Robotic Technology for Space Exploration (SMART-ART)”, which will offer experiential industry-oriented training to undergraduates, graduate and postdoctoral fellows to address skills shortage in the Canadian space sector.

Huaiping Zhu

Tier 1 York Research Chair in Applied Mathematics
Professor, Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science
Centre for Diseases Modelling; LAMPS & OMNI

Zhu was successful in leading the NSERC Emerging Infectious Disease Modeling Initiative Application for the One Health Modeling Network. The project uses multidisciplinary knowledge about connections between environmental, animal and human health to refine the disease modelling that is used to identify pathogens early.

This category recognizes York researchers who have demonstrated outstanding knowledge mobilization and impact through important connections outside of academia to disseminate and translate research results to the benefit of society.

Dawn Bazely

Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies

Bazely was awarded a Minister of Colleges and Universities Award of Excellence for future proofing learning, which recognizes faculty and staff who are leading the way in adapting programming that supports new ways of learning for Ontario students.

Don Dippo

University Professor, Faculty of Education
Centre for Refugee Studies

Dippo was awarded a Minister of Colleges and Universities Award of Excellence for his contributions to opening post-secondary education to marginalized groups through the programs like the Advanced Credit Experience and Success Beyond Limits for the Jane and Finch Community (Toronto) and the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees program serving the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya.

Sakis Gekas

Associate Professor, Departments of History & Humanities, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies
Hellenic Heritage Foundation Chair in Modern Greek History

Gekas is recognized for leadership in Greek-Canadian history. His project resulted in a substantial donation from the Hellenic Heritage Foundation to establish as the Hellenic Heritage Foundation Greek Canadian Archives to help York preserve, catalogue, digitize and teach Greek-Canadian history.

Ruth Green

Associate Professor, School of Social Work, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies

Green was awarded the Mino Bimaadiziwin Award from the City of Toronto. Green was recognized for her leadership as an anti-violence advocate, researcher, community-based educator and for her contributions to Indigenous communities.

Jane Heffernan

Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science

Heffernan was appointed as the Scientific Advisor for Canada’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force Modeling Initiative.

Steven Hoffman

Dahdaleh Distinguished Chair in Global Governance & Legal Epidemiology
Professor, Faculty of Health & Osgoode Hall School of Law
Director, Global Strategy Lab

Hoffman was invited as a member of the Inter-American Dialogue Health Task Force to support the development of a post-COVID-19 plan for the Americas.

Seyed Moghadas

Professor, Applied Mathematics & Computational Epidemiology, Faculty of Science
Agent-Based Modelling Laboratory

Moghadas was recognized for his research leadership on the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. Notably, he was one of three lead authors on a widely circulated study commissioned by the White House and published in the Issue Briefs of the Commonwealth Fund.

This award recognizes the outstanding research contributions of faculty members who are at the early stages of their academic careers.

Katrina Cohen-Palacios

York University Libraries

Cohen-Palacios was awarded the 2021 Emerging Leader Award by the Archives Association of Ontario for her contributions as an archivist, including in the discourse and workflow related to Canadian archives and linked data, an emerging area of archival outreach and collaboration.

Sheila Colla

Tier 2 York Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Conservation Science
Associate Professor, Faculty of Environmental & Urban Change

Colla received the 2021 C. Gordon Hewitt Award from the Entomological Society of Canada for her international leadership in the conservation of pollinators, particularly bumblebees, which has translated her research into political action and policy changes.

Jack Jiang

Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lassonde School of Engineering

Jiang received the CS-Can | Info-Can Outstanding Early Career Computer Science Researcher Prize. Jiang is a pioneer in the field of load testing analytics, which are essential for large- and ultra-large scale software systems.

Molade Osibodu

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education

Osibodu received the 2021 Pat Clifford Award for emerging researchers presented by the EdCan Network for her research in mathematics and social justice, and her equitable approaches to ensure Black students feel seen and valued in their learning.

Pouya Rezai

Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lassonde School of Engineering

Rezai was awarded the IW Smith Award from the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering for creative outstanding contributions to Mechanical Engineering achieved less than 10 years after receiving a PhD. His work in multi-phase fluid dynamics within microfluidic and Lab-on-Chip (LoC) devices has helped understand interactions between biological nano- and micro-particles.

Ali Sadeghi-Naini

Tier 2 York Research Chair in Quantitative Engineering and Smart Biomarkers
Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Lassonde School of Engineering
Member, Centre for Innovation in Computing; VISTA

Sadeghi-Naini received an Early Researcher Award from the Government of Ontario for his project: “Smart quantitative imaging biomarkers for personalized breast cancer care.” The research is developing multi-modal quantitative imaging technologies that can predict and evaluate the response of individual breast cancer patients to chemotherapy before or early after treatment initiation.