Chairs & Scholars

canada research chairs

The federally funded Canada Research Chair program, launched in 2000, provides support in building Canada’s research capacity. The Canada Research Chairs program invests approximately $265 million per year toward research in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities and social sciences.

UBC’s Okanagan campus currently has seven Tier 2 Canada Research Chairs with the most recent recipient awarded in 2022. Tier 2 Chairs are awarded to exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field.

Canada Research Chair in Advanced Materials and Polymer Engineering (Tier 2 – NSERC)

MOHAMMAD ARJMAND

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Canada Research Chair in Okanagan Indigenous Knowledge and Philosophy (Tier 2 – SSHRC)

Jeannette Armstrong

Professor, Indigenous Studies

Canada Research Chair in Applied Health Economics (Tier 2 – CIHR)

JENNIFER DAVIS

Assistant Professor, Management

Canada Research Chair in Wildlife Restoration Ecology (Tier 2 – NSERC)

Adam Ford

Assistant Professor, Biology

Canada Research Chair in Substance Use Policy and Practice Research (Tier 2 – CIHR)

Mary Clare Kennedy

Assistant Professor, Social Work

Canada Research Chair in Single-Molecule Biophysics and Mechanobiology (Tier 2 – NSERC)

ISAAC LI

Assistant Professor, Chemistry

Canada Research Chair in Ecofeminist Philosophy and Cultural Studies (Tier 2 – SSHRC)

ASTRIDA NEIMANIS

Associate Professor, English and Cultural Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies

Principal’s Research Chairs

The Principal’s Research Chairs (PRC) program provides internal funding support for top-tier researchers engaged in outstanding research or creative scholarship.

The requirements of the PRC program are aligned with the Tier 1 and Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) program criteria and recipients of the award are appointed to a renewable five-year term.

UBC Okanagan has made twenty one appointments, since the program launch in April 2020.

Cerebrovascular Physiology in Health, Exercise and Disease (Tier 1)

Phil Ainslie

Professor, Health and Exercise Sciences

Resilient and Green Infrastructure (Tier 1)

SHAHRIA ALAM

Professor, Civil Engineering

Leadership, Learning, and Wellbeing (Tier 1)

Sabre Cherkowski

Professor, School of Education

Indigenous Reconciliation in Engineering (Tier 1)

IAN FOULDS

Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering

Critical Disability Studies (Tier 1)

RACHELLE HOLE

Professor, Health and Social Development

Ubiquitous Analytics (Tier 1)

POURANG IRANI

Professor, Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics & Statistics

Sustainable and Smart Manufacturing (Tier 1)

ABBAS MILANI

Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Palliative and End-of-Life Care (Tier 1)

Barbara Pesut

Professor, Nursing

Computational Chemistry (Tier 1)

ROBERT SZILAGYI

Professor, Chemistry

Resilient and Sustainable Built Environment (Tier 1)

Solomon Tesfamariam

Professor, Civil Engineering

Datafication (Tier 1)

wendy wong

Professor, Arts and Social Sciences

Trans-Pacific Digital Platform Studies (Tier 1)

KYONG YOON

Professor, Cultural Studies

Control Systems (Tier 2)

Ahmad Al-Dabbagh

Assistant Professor, Manufacturing Engineering

Blockchain-empowered Digital Technology (Tier 2)

Chen Feng

Assistant Professor, Electrical Engineering

Social Perception and Expression (Tier 2)

LAUREN HUMAN

Associate Professor, Psychology

Social Innovation for Health Equity and Food Security (Tier 2)

ERIC LI

Associate Professor, Management

Energy Storage Technology (Tier 2)

JIAN LIU

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Digital Arts and Humanities (Tier 2)

Karis Shearer

Associate Professor, English and Cultural Studies

Women in Engineering (Tier 2)

Lisa Tobber

Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering

Solar Energy Conversion (Tier 2)

Alexander R. UHL

Assistant Professor, Electrical, Mechanical Engineering

Sensors and Microelectronics (Tier 2)

MOHAMMAD HOSSEIN ZARIFI

Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering

ENDOWED & industrial Chairs

NSERC Senior Industrial Research Chair (IRC) in Advanced Resource Recovery From Wastewater (2020)

Cigdem Eskicioglu

Professor, Civil Engineering

Fortis BC Smart Energy Chair (2019)

kasun hewage

Professor, Civil Engineering; Associate Director, UBC Clean Energy Research Centre

NSERC/Egg Farmers of Canada Industrial Research Chair (IRC) in Sustainability (2018)

Nathan Pelletier

Assistant Professor, Biology, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science & Faculty of Management; Endowed Chair in Bio-economy Sustainability Management

Endowed Research Chairs in Watershed Management (Forest Renewal BC – FRBC)

Adam Wei

Professor, Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science

David Scott

Associate Professor, Earth, Environmental and Geographic Sciences, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Science

Leading Edge Endowment Fund (LEEF) BC Regional Innovation Chair in Water Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability

John Janmaat

Associate Professor, Economics, Irving K. Barber Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

michael smith foundation for health research (MSFHR) SCHOLARS

The Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Program supports early-career health researchers who are building leading-edge health research programs, training the next generation of scientists, and expanding their potential to make significant contributions to their field.

The Scholar Program is one of MSFHR’s flagship funding opportunities. Since 2001, MSFHR has granted more than 370 Scholar awards worth more than $134 million, helping to develop, attract and retain BC’s best and brightest health researchers and support the advancement of world-class health research in BC.

Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar (2021)

SANA SHAHRAM | Assistant Professor, Nursing

Systems transformation for health equity: The PHAIRNESS Research Program

Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar (2021)

SARAH DOW-FLEISNER | Assistant Professor, Social Work

The ADAPT Project: Adaptation, Development, and Positive Trajectories in the context of childhood adversity

Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar (2020)