Awards & Honours

UBCO Researcher of the Year AWARDS

Each year, we recognize the outstanding achievements of researchers who have made significant contributions to research and/or creative scholarly activity at UBC Okanagan through the Researcher of the Year awards. Three prizes are awarded in the areas of Health, Natural Sciences and Engineering, and Social Sciences and Humanities, in addition to three awards through the College of Graduate Studies. The recipients of this award epitomize excellence and are leaders in their respective fields and disciplines, working across traditional boundaries to help make the world a better place.


2023 Faculty Researchers of the Year

Headshot of Heather Gainforth

Heather Gainforth | School of Health and Exercise Sciences

HEALTH AWARD

Dr. Heather Gainforth’s research in the area of spinal cord injury (SCI) is focused on helping people with SCI live better lives. She engages directly with people living with SCI and invites the SCI community to help direct her work, in order to focus on the community’s high-priority needs that have historically received little research attention. Dr. Gainforth is dedicated to getting her results into practice without delay to those who need it most.

Headshot of Greg Garrard

Greg Garrard | Faculty of Creative and Critical Studies

SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES AWARD

Dr. Greg Garrard researches how humans’ activities and their perceptions of their environments shape the physical landscapes they inhabit. As a professor of environmental humanities, he’s a globally respected voice in sustainability who’s now focusing on the Okanagan region. His work asks people to interrogate their own perspectives on issues such as climate change or wildfires and helps individuals to understand other perspectives to combat cultural polarization.

Headshot of Isaac Li

Isaac Li | Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science

NATURAL SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING AWARD

Dr. Isaac Li is an emerging leader in his field studying the physical interactions between cells, as opposed to well-studied chemical cell interactions. His interdisciplinary lab builds specialized, DNA-based molecular tools to visualize these interactions at the scale of single molecules and opens endless opportunities for controlling these interactions, which can lead to a variety of future impacts, including potential disease treatments.


2023 College of Graduate Studies Researchers of the Year

MASTER’S STUDENT

Headshot of Hanna Paul

Hanna Paul

Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Doctoral STUDENT

Headshot of Melanie Dickie

Melanie Dickie

Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science

POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW

Headshot of Femke Hoekstra

Femke Hoekstra

Faculty of Health and Social Development


2022 Awards

Campus announcement

 

Health

JENNIFER DAVIS

Assistant Professor, Management

Social Sciences and Humanities

MARGARET MACINTYRE LATTA

Professor, Education

 

 

 

natural sciences and engineering

KYLE LARSON

Professor, Science

graduate studies (phd)

Rhyann Mckay

PhD, Philosophy


2021 Awards

CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENT

Natural Sciences & Engineering

JULIAN CHENG

Professor, Electrical Engineering

Social Sciences & Humanities

eric li

Associate Professor, Management

Health

JONATHAN LITTLE

Associate Professor, Psychology

graduate studies (phd)

MICHELLE ST. PIERRE

PhD, Psychology


2020 Awards

CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENT

Social Sciences & Humanities

sabre cherkowski

Associate Professor, Education

Natural Sciences & Engineering

Cigdem Eskicioglu

Professor, Civil Engineering

Health

zach walsh

Associate Professor, Psychology

phd student

CANDICE QUIN

PhD, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

master’s student

connor howe

MSc, Health & Exercise Sciences

Social Sciences & Humanities

Jonathan Corbett

Associate Professor, Community, Culture & Global Studies

Natural Sciences & Engineering

Kasun hewage

Professor,
Civil Engineering

Health

Rachelle Hole

Associate Professor,
Social Work

phd student

katrina plamondon

PhD, Nursing

master’s student

Emily Giroux

MSc, Health & Exercise Sciences


ubc faculty research Awards

UBCO recipients of the university’s system-wide faculty research awards are below:

 

UBC Killam Research Prize

Recognizing outstanding research and scholarly contributions.

2019 – Junior Category
ALLISON HARGREAVES

Associate Professor, English & Cultural Studies

UBC Killam Research Fellowship

Enabling faculty to pursue full-time research during a recognized study leave.

2020

CHRISTINE SCHREYER

Associate Professor, Anthropology


2018

Kyle Larson

Associate Professor, Earth, Environmental & Geographic Sciences

Nelly Oelke

Associate Professor, Nursing


2017

Jonathan little

Associate Professor, Health & Exercise Sciences


2016

MIRANDA HART

Associate Professor, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

ABBAS MILANI

Professor, Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering


2015

JENNIFER JAKOBI

Professor, Health & Exercise Sciences


UBC Killam Accelerator Research Fellowship

Recognizing exceptional early-career researchers who have demonstrated outstanding research achievement and the potential for significant impact in their fields of scholarship.

2021

MEGAN SMITH

Associate Professor, Creative Studies, Media Studies


2020

Jonathan little

Associate Professor, Health & Exercise Sciences


Dorothy Somerset Award for Performance Development in the Visual and Performing Arts

Recognizing faculty who have made outstanding contributions to (and performances in) art, music, creative writing, theatre or film

2020

NEIL CADGER

Associate Professor, Creative Studies (Theatre)