Six SFU researchers have been named among the country's new and renewed Canada Research Chairs (CRC).
On October 22, the federal government announced the CRC appointments of Angela Kaida, Dara Kelly-Roy, Krista Stelkia, Manolis Savva, Matthias Danninger and Palashi Vaghela. These researchers advance Canadian research excellence in a range of areas, including health equity, experimental particle physics and Indigenous economic wellbeing and freedom.
L-R: Palashi Vaghela, Matthias Danninger, Krista Stelkia, Dara Kelly-Roy, Angela Kaida and Manolis Savva have been named among the country's new and renewed Canada Research Chairs (CRC).
"Canada's research community continues to push boundaries and deliver discoveries that strengthen our economy and improve lives across the country," says Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions.
Joly announced the investment of over $690 million in science and research funding, of which approximately $198 million will support 259 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at academic institutions across Canada.
The Canada Research Chairs Program invests up to $311 million annually to attract and retain some of the world's most promising and accomplished researchers. The program aims to advance research that leads to groundbreaking discoveries and innovations across health, engineering, sciences, social sciences and humanities.
SFU is one of Canada's fastest growing research intensive universities and is home to more than 60 research centres and institutes. The university currently has 45 active CRCs, including 15 Tier 1 chairs and 30 Tier 2 chairs. Since 2001, more than 92 unique CRCs have been appointed at SFU.
New and renewed Canada Research Chairs
Angela Kaida, Faculty of Heath Sciences, new Tier 1 CRC in HIV and sexual & reproductive health equity
A global revolution in prevention and treatment has transformed HIV from a lethal illness into a manageable chronic condition for those with access to care, but social and structural health inequities persist. To advance more equitable HIV prevention, treatment and care, global health epidemiologist Angela Kaida investigates how these inequities influence health outcomes among South African youth at risk for HIV and women living with HIV in Canada.
Dara Kelly-Roy, Beedie School of Business, new, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Economic Wellbeing and Freedom
Dara Kelly-Roy, who recently earned a prestigious Fullbright Canada scholarship, explores how to better connect Indigenous ancestral wisdom with Indigenous economic wellbeing and freedom. Collaborating with global Indigenous scholars and drawing on Indigenous methodologies, Kelly and her team are co-creating and co-designing Indigenous economies and the institutions needed to support them.
Krista Stelkia, Faculty of Health Sciences, new, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Health Governance
Interdisciplinary Indigenous health researcher Krista Stelkia advances Indigenous-led health solutions by generating evidence on structural determinants of health, co-creating community-driven interventions, and promoting Indigenous self-determination in health governance. By centering Indigenous knowledge, worldviews, and practices, Stelkia addresses longstanding structural level health inequities faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada and globally.
Manolis Savva, Faculty of Applied Sciences, renewed, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Computer Graphics
SFU researcher Manolis Savva advances the creation of interactive three-dimensional (3D) models of scenes. With applications in education, engineering, entertainment and artificial intelligence, Savva's research explores how humans and AI interact with 3D environments, creating technologies that make 3D content creation more democratic accessible to all.
Matthias Danninger, Faculty of Science, renewed, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Experimental Particle Physics
To uncover new physics beyond current knowledge, SFU researcher Matthias Danninger and his team are collaborating with two leading international experiments: the ATLAS experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the Pacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment (P-ONE). Danninger's research examines long-lived particles to shed light on fundamental questions, including why matter prevailed over antimatter in the early universe and the nature of dark matter.
Palashi Vaghela, Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology, new, Tier2 Canada Research Chair in Technological Change for Inclusion
Caste, a system of graded inequality that shapes the social, cultural and economic lives of a quarter of the world's population, particularly those in South Asia, and its role in the computing world remains poorly understood. SFU researcher Palashi Vaghela investigates how practices, policies and cultures in the computer sector reproduce, reframe and resist structures of power and inequity, supporting freedom and social justice in the computing sector.
Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity
Building on SFU's continued research excellence through the CRC program, SFU sociology professor Travers has been named a recipient of the 2024 Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity.
Together with researcher Travis Salway and SFU staff member Tess Williams, Travers will co-lead the Trans Equity Data Initiative, a transformative project designed to drive trans equity action at SFU.
Anchoring the initiative is the Trans Data Stewardship Board, made up of trans individuals who will guide real-time data collection to identify barriers in areas such as campus culture, safety, education, health benefits and information systems. The board will also host workshops to review findings and co-develop solutions to inform policy changes. The project aims to create a data-driven model for trans equity that can be adopted by other universities across Canada.
Awarded through the tri-agency CRC program, the Robbins-Ollivier Award for Excellence in Equity honours recognizes bold, transformative initiatives that challenge the status quo, drive systemic change, and address persistent barriers within institutional research ecosystems and academia more broadly.
Supporting Research Excellence
The Government of Canada will distribute over $482 million through the Research Support Fund (RSF), administered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) on behalf of the three federal research granting agencies, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and SSHRC.
RSF also provides funding for research administrators at SFU who support the CRC program and its research chairs, including Institutional Strategic Awards (ISA) staff and faculty Grants Facilitators. These positions help reduce administrative burden and achieve research excellence at SFU.
As a Canada Research Chairs Program partner, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is also committing nearly $11 million to support 43 research infrastructure projects at 27 institutions, through its John R. Evans Leaders Fund.
