Seven Western researchers are recipients of the prestigious 2025 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships and Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Western's five newest Vanier Scholars (top row, L to R) Christina Ji, Reforce Okwei, Ella Doornaert. (Bottom row, L to R) Ananya Srivastava and Naser Ahmed. (Image design: Rob Potter/Western Communications)
Five PhD candidates at Western are among the 166 newest Vanier Scholars. They are conducting world-class research in the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Social Science and Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry. Each recipient will receive $50,000 annually for three years. Vanier Scholars are chosen based on their leadership skills, research potential and academic achievement.
Western is also welcoming two new Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship recipients. The program provides funding - $70,000 each year for two years - to top postdoctoral scholars contributing to the country's economic, social and research growth. A total of 70 fellowships are awarded each year, with the aim to develop the research leaders of tomorrow.
It is the final year both the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships and the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships will be offered.
Both awards are funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship recipients:
Rebecca Bourgeois, postdoctoral fellow in anthropology
Re-imagining museums and archives according to Indigenous traditions
Bourgeois' research is conducted in partnership with the Tłı̨chǫ Government (Dene, Treaty 11, NWT) to redefine collection and curatorial structures and create a Tłı̨chǫ digital archive and community museum centered in the community's traditional values. Her approach is rooted in the Tłı̨chǫ principle of being "Strong Like Two People," which emphasizes the importance of embracing diverse perspectives and knowledge to best prepare Tłı̨chǫ communities for a strong future. This phase of the project will seek to establish the Tłı̨chǫ digital archive and test it within the community. It will be followed by the repatriating phase, with policy and recommendations co-created to respect Tłı̨chǫ knowledge systems.
Nathan TeBokkel, postdoctoral fellow in English
Working feeling: affect, agriculture, Romanticism
Ecological and economic crises are deeply felt by farmworkers and beekeepers, with one-third of crops dependent on precarious honeybees and half the world's farmworkers living in poverty. TeBokkel approaches his research through lived experience and literary history. He studies agricultural capitalism, the impact of its alienation and the resistance from farmworkers as well as Romantic poets. He hopes to use his research for sustainable community-building and public education, including two proposals for de-alienating experience: a hands-on educational agriculture tour and a beekeeping mentorship network, developed at Western as models for broader socioecological change.
Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship recipients:
Naser Ahmed, PhD student in geography and environment with a specialization in the field of geographic information science
How extreme heat affects public transit users' ability to reach destinations in a warming world
Ahmed's research will support cities in building more climate-resilient transit systems. Leveraging hyperlocal microclimate data, Ahmed uses large-scale transit simulations and LiDAR-supported 3D urban modelling to identify transit trips most vulnerable to extreme heat during heat waves. He hopes to bridge the gap between microclimate science and transit analytics by integrating concepts from geographic information science, remote sensing and urban climatology. Prioritizing comfort and preparedness, new designs are intended to help protect transit users from intensifying heat waves and the broader impacts of climate change.
Ella Doornaert, PhD student in neuroscience
Investigating long-term impact of early R-Baclofen treatment on sensory processing in autism spectrum disorder
The drug R-Baclofen has been tested in clinical trials for its impact on autism-related traits in children, but long-term effects of the treatment - especially when used early in development - remain unclear. Doornaert's research explores how the drug might influence sensory and behavioral outcomes later in life. She will evaluate auditory processing abilities (such as reactions to loud and sudden noises and the ability to filter noise), social and anxiety-related behaviors and the influence on sound-processing pathways. This research aims to better understand how early-life interventions might shape long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes associated with autism spectrum disorder, which is diagnosed in about 1 in 50 Canadian children and commonly associated with differences in sensory processing.
Christina Ji, MD/PhD student in physiology and pharmacology
Understanding how structural components of joint tissues regulate spine health
Back pain is the most prevalent musculoskeletal disorder, and while many factors can contribute, the most common is degeneration of the joints in the spine - the intervertebral discs. As people age or experience injuries, the structural components of intervertebral discs undergo degenerative changes, which can progress over time and lead to chronic back pain. Ji's interdisciplinary research will apply basic science tools to investigate fundamental questions in disc biology, including how we can intervene to prevent disc degeneration, leading to a better understanding of back pain.
Reforce Okwei, PhD student in geography and environment, collaborative specialization in environment and sustainability
Impacts of climate change on informal urban communities in Accra, Ghana
Climate change is disproportionately affecting vulnerable urban populations and exacerbating existing social and economic inequalities. Little attention has been paid to the multiple impacts on informal urban communities. Okwei's research will investigate the impacts of climate change, response strategies and the effectiveness of policies and institutional capacities to address realities for vulnerable urban communities in Accra, Ghana. His work will contribute to global efforts to make vulnerable communities more resilient to climate and extreme weather events.
Ananya Srivastava, PhD in geology with collaborative specialization in planetary science and exploration
Comparing satellite and ground data to support the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover Mission
The next Mars rover, Rosalind Franklin, will explore if the red planet was ever habitable and the climate change processes that transformed it into a cold and dry environment. Understanding Mars' potential to host life and its geological history can provide insights into the origin of life and Earth's climatic past and future. Clay chemistry reflects past environmental conditions, but little is known about Martian clays. Srivastava's research compares Mars' satellite data to Earth sites with similar geologic features to investigate the link between water and clays, and their potential to harbor life on Mars.
