Chairs recognize emerging, established scholars
Scholars from across UBCO have been named the inaugural UBCO Impact Research Chairs.
Six UBC Okanagan scholars are being recognized for their outstanding contributions to exceptional research and creative excellence, having been named the inaugural UBC Okanagan Impact Research Chairs.
Administered and supported by the Office of the Vice President, Research and Innovation (OVPRI), the Impact Research Chairs (IRC) program was launched in November 2025. It is designed to expand impact from UBCO research, innovation and creative activity locally, nationally and globally, and to align with key areas of focus and priority at UBC and within individual faculties.
Those appointed as Chairs will serve five-year appointments in one of two tiers: emerging scholars or established scholars.
“This new program is intended to enhance and support research and creative activity, recognize excellence and position our researchers to become and remain leaders in their fields,” says Dr. Suzie Currie, Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation. “Each of the individuals named today has demonstrated outstanding commitment to their work and alignment with university strategic and academic priorities—congratulations to everyone, I look forward to their ongoing success.”
Emerging scholars
Katrina Plamondon
UBCO Impact Research Chair in Applied Health Equity Science: From Knowledge to Action
As an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at the Faculty of Health & Social Development, Dr. Plamondon’s expertise centres around how equity shapes health and social outcomes.
Focusing her work on processes and practices in global public health, health systems and health research systems, she works to engage people across sectors in advancing evidence-informed equity action for health. Her research brings diverse people together to create meaningful, collective solutions to complex challenges and helps bring a nursing voice to global public and population health.
“I’m thrilled to have been named a UBCO Impact Research Chair,” says Dr. Plamondon. “This appointment will help accelerate the scale and reach of my research program and enable UBCO to enhance its capacity to translate research into measurable equity impacts that promote population health and well-being.”
Qian Chen
UBCO Impact Research Chair in Digital and Robotic Construction
Through her research program, Dr. Chen works to transform construction practices through innovative digital construction and automation platforms, while at the same time inspiring communities and future engineers.
Dr. Chen, an Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at UBCO’s School of Engineering, is revolutionizing the construction field as she applies advanced tools including artificial intelligence, robotics and digital twins to transform how buildings and infrastructure are designed, manufactured and delivered. The work is improving the speed, safety, affordability and sustainability of construction systems, with a major focus on housing supply and resilient infrastructure.
“I am driven by a simple, urgent question: how can we fundamentally change the way buildings are made so future prefabrication and construction methods become more rapid, high-quality and low-waste?” says Dr. Chen. “This Chair will enable me to find answers by supporting the building of a novel construction platform using robotics and AI that can be adopted, trusted and scaled among the construction and prefab manufacturing industry.”
Established scholars
Phil Ainslie
UBCO Impact Research Chair in Cerebrovascular, Exercise and Environmental Health
Dr. Ainslie is a Professor in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences within the Faculty of Health & Social Development. His research focuses on understanding how brain blood flow is regulated in health and disease, particularly in the context of a rapidly changing environment. Alongside laboratory-based studies, he leads high-altitude field expeditions to investigate acclimatization and adaptation, with a focus on Indigenous populations in Tibet, South America and Ethiopia.
Dr. Ainslie also collaborates with historically and systemically marginalized communities affected by extreme climates to study the physiological impacts of climate change. His work has earned numerous national and international awards, and he serves on several senior scientific leadership and policy advisory groups, contributing to tangible real-world outcomes.
“This appointment will support my research trajectory and enhance contributions to UBC and UBCO priorities,” he says. “I look forward to advancing innovative and transformative work in brain health and climate resilience.”
Megan Smith
UBCO Impact Research Chair in Societal Resilience and Immersive Futures
Working in the field of immersive computational art, science and technology, Dr. Smith, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies, is a new media artist focused on bridging physical computing with virtual and augmented reality environments.
Her research explores new systems for delivering data through a narrative format, where she uses elements like artificial intelligence, immersive technologies, climate communication, data visualization and creative practice to translate complex information into accessible and meaningful experiences. Through her work, she addresses societal challenges including climate change, environmental resilience, cultural memory, public safety and technological futures.
“My research advances the responsible development and application of emerging technologies by positioning them as sites of critical inquiry,” says Dr. Smith. “With this Chair appointment, I look forward to establishing UBC Okanagan as a leading site for art–science research where interdisciplinary collaboration can generate new approaches to technological innovation, environmental understanding and public discourse.”
Shawn Wilson
UBCO Impact Research Chair in Indigenous Knowledge Systems
As a leading global authority on Indigenous research methods, Dr. Wilson has enabled some of the world’s most urgent issues—including climate change, data sovereignty and artificial intelligence—to be understood and discussed through the lens of Indigenous knowledge.
Through his research, he shows how knowledge grounded in place can inform global perspectives and priorities. His book, Research is Ceremony, discusses Indigenous research methodologies and is currently used in more than 250 university courses around the world. He also helped the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) develop the first Indigenous Scholar program, bringing never-before-seen recognition and representation of Indigenous science to Canada’s federal research mandate.
“This Impact Research Chair will enable me to engage further with Indigenous knowledge across a number of academic and societal contexts,” says Dr. Wilson, a Professor of Indigenous Studies in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. “I’m honoured to have been selected and excited to build on existing collaborations with local syilx and Indigenous colleagues, as well as my national and international partners.”
Michael Russello
UBCO Impact Research Chair in Conservation Genomics
Dr. Michael Russello, Professor of biology in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science, investigates how biodiversity— the enormous variety of life across species, genes and ecosystems —is affected by human-caused changes to environments.
As these changes continue to increase, he works at the genetic level to understand how biodiversity is generated, maintained and lost. Dr. Russello’s research impacts the foundational understanding of how species adapt to changing environments and pushes the boundaries of genomics for addressing real-world conservation issues. His research has informed wildlife, fisheries and invasive species management in more than 15 countries on four continents for a diverse range of species, including Galápagos giant tortoises, Pacific salmon, North American pikas and numerous Canadian species-at-risk.
“Human changes to the environment pose major threats to global biodiversity and are directly linked to elevated extinction rates. Combating these threats requires innovative solutions that harness improved knowledge and emerging technologies,” he says. “This Impact Research Chair will enable me to develop novel genomic tools that prioritize speed, accuracy and portability to help address environmental threats to our region, country and beyond.”