From Africana development to decarbonization: 34 U of T researchers awarded Canada Research Chairs

Thirty-four scholars at the University of Toronto have been awarded new or renewed Canada Research Chairs in fields ranging from artificial intelligence to health and history.

Many of the Canada Research Chairs are working on topics related to complex global challenges – advancing knowledge that will help accelerate the transition to clean energy, for example, achieve more equitable societies or develop new treatments for cancer and other debilitating diseases.

François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry, announced the chairs at the Canadian Science Policy Conference on Nov. 16, along with funding for a range of research programs and projects across the country – including the containment level 3 lab at U of T's Temerty Faculty of Medicine that enables researchers to study certain high-risk pathogens.

Among the 19 new chairs at U of T is Caroline Hossein, an associate professor in global development studies at U of T Scarborough. Named a tier two chair in Africana development and feminist political economy, Hossein studies “solidarity economies,” a movement that emphasizes social benefit over financial gain. She is writing a book about “rotating savings and credit associations” in Canada. These are small groups of immigrants, usually from Africa and the Caribbean, who often lack access to bank capital and come together to help each other financially.

Scott Gray-Owen, a U of T professor in the department of molecular genetics, was named a new tier one chair in infectious immunopathogenesis. His research aims to understand how pathogens such as bacteria and viruses infect their hosts and evade the immune response. In 2021, Gray-Owen was named the inaugural director of a new, forward-looking initiative at U of T called the Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC), which seeks to combat new infectious diseases and prevent the rise of future pandemics. In that role, he also oversees U of T’s Combined Containment Level 3 Unit, a biosafety facility at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine that enables researchers to conduct research on certain pathogens.

How cities affect our health is the research interest of Marianne Hatzopoulou, a professor in the department of civil and mineral engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. She was named a new tier one chair in transport decarbonization and air quality. Hatzopoulou creates models of emissions from road transportation and evaluates how this air pollution affects the local population. Not long ago, she was involved in a study that used low-cost sensors to measure carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, coarse particulate matter and other pollutants at nearly 70 sites across Beirut, identifying air pollution hot spots where people were most at risk. She also examined the effects of natural gas fracking in the northeast region of British Columbia. Another study examined the potential improvement in air quality resulting from the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

Among the U of T faculty whose Canada Research Chairs were renewed is Jean Philippe Julien, senior scientist with the molecular research program of SickKids Research Institute and an associate professor in the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. Julien also received support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), which helps provide research infrastructure associated with the Canada Research Chairs program, for his project, “Molecular Biological Systems for the Study of Antibody-Antigen Complexes.” Named for late U of T President Emeritus John R. Evans, the fund helps institutions recruit and retain outstanding researchers and provide them with the necessary tools and technology to perform their work.

(See the full list of new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at U of T)

“I’d like to commend all University of Toronto researchers who were named new Canada Research Chairs or who had their chair renewed in this latest round,” said Leah Cowen, U of T’s vice-president, research and innovation, and strategic initiatives.

“The Canada Research Chair program provides critical support for researchers across our three campuses who are generating new knowledge, developing key innovations and helping to address some of the world’s most complex challenges.”

Established in 2000, the Canada Research Chair program invests up to $310 million annually to attract and retain top academic talent in disciplines spanning engineering, the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities and social sciences. 

Here is the full list of new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at U of T:

New Canada Research Chairs

Aimy Bazylak in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Tier 1 in clean energy.

Denise Belsham in the department of physiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in neuroendocrinology.

Maged Goubran at the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in artificial intelligence and computational neuroscience.

Scott Gray-Owen in the department of molecular genetics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in infectious immunopathogenesis.

Robin Hayeems at the Hospital for Sick Children and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Tier 2 in genomics and health policy.

Marianne Hatzopoulou in the department of civil and mineral engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Tier 1 in transport decarbonization and air quality.

Caroline Hossein in the department of global development studies at U of T Scarborough, Tier 2 in Africana development and feminist political economy.

Muhammad Husain at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the department of psychiatry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in treatment innovation in mood disorders.

Courtney Jones at the University Health Network and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in leukemia stem cell metabolism.

Andrea Knight at the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of paediatrics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in mental health and chronic disease of childhood.

Sushant Kumar at the University Health Network and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in genomic medicine.

J. Rafael Montenegro Burke in the Donnelly Centre in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in functional metabolomics and lipidomics.

Deborah O'Connor in the department of nutritional sciences in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in human milk and infant nutrition.

Vijay Ramaswamy at the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of paediatrics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in pediatric neuro-oncology. 

Gregory Schwartz at the University Health Network and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in bioinformatics and computational Biology.

Jay Shaw in the department of physical therapy in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in responsible health innovation.

Anastasia Tikhonova at the University Health Network and the department of medical biophysics in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in stem cell niche biology.

Burton Yang at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in cardiac remodeling.

Darren Yuen at Unity Health Toronto and the department of medicine in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in fibrotic injury.

Renewed Canada Research Chairs

John Calarco in the department of cell and systems biology in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Tier 2 in neuronal RNA biology.

Myron Cybulsky at the University Health Network and the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in arterial wall biology and atherogenesis.

David Duvenaud in the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Tier 2 in generative models.

Julie Forman-Kay in the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 1 in intrinsically disordered proteins.

Bryan Gaensler in the David A. Dunlap department of astronomy and astrophysics in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Tier 1 in radio astronomy.

Alec Jacobson in the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Tier 2 in geometry processing.

Jean-Philippe Julien at the Hospital for Sick Children and the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in structural immunology.

Kang Lee in the department of applied psychology and human development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, Tier 1 in moral development and developmental neuroscience.

David Levin in the department of computer science in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Tier 2 in simulation-driven graphics and fabrication.

Jed Meltzer at Baycrest Hospital and the department of psychology in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Tier 2 in interventional cognitive neuroscience.

Sean Mills in the department of history in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Tier 2 in Canadian and transnational history.

Kimberly Pernell-Gallagher in the department of sociology in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Tier 2 in economic sociology.

Arun Ramchandran in the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, Tier 2 in engineered soft materials and interfaces.

Andras Tilcsik at the Rotman School of Management, Tier 2 in strategy, organizations, and society.

Haley Wyatt in the department of biochemistry in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Tier 2 in mechanisms of genome instability.