2025 Research and Innovation Awards Winners
Graduate Studies Awards - Graduate Student Conference
Three-Minute Thesis (3MT)
From left to right: People’s Choice Award Winner (tie) KarLee Lefebvre, MSc Candidate, School of Kinesiology; First Place: Dylan Di Carlo, MSc Candidate, Department of Anthropology; Dr. Douglas S. Ivison, Acting Dean, Graduate Studies; People’s Choice Award (tie) Navneet Kaur, PhD Candidate, Department of Physics.
- People’s Choice Award (tie): Navneet Kaur, PhD Candidate, Department of Physics (Supervisor: Dr. Gautam Das)
KarLee Lefebvre, MSc Candidate, School of Kinesiology (Supervisor: Dr. Nicholas Ravanelli) - Second Place: Siddharth Kishore, MSc Candidate, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (Supervisor: Dr. Farhan Gaffar)
- First Place: Dylan Di Carlo, MSc Candidate, Department of Anthropology (Supervisor: Dr. Matthew Boyd)
GRADflix Award
People’s Choice Award: Francis Agada, PhD Candidate, with Dr. Douglas S. Ivison, Acting Dean, Graduate Studies.
- People’s Choice Award: Francis Agada, PhD Candidate, Department of Chemistry (Supervisor: Dr. Maryam Ebrahimi)
- First Place: Alexandra Haak, MSc Candidate, Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Orillia Campus (Supervisor: Dr. Florin Pendea)
Graduate Studies Research Excellence Awards
From left to right: Health Research Category Winner, Douglas Newhouse, MSc Kinesiology; Dr. Douglas S. Ivison, Acting Dean, Graduate Studies; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Category Winner: Chelsea Noël, PhD Clinical Psychology.
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Category: Vira Grynko, PhD Chemistry & Materials Science, Supervisor: Dr. Mitchell Albert, Department of Chemistry
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Category: Chelsea Noël, PhD Clinical Psychology, Supervisor: Dr. Deborah Scharf, Department of Psychology
- Health Research Category: Douglas Newhouse, MSc Kinesiology, Supervisor: Dr. Nicholas Ravanelli, School of Kinesiology
Graduate Student Conference Poster Winners
From left to right, Winner Engineering Category: Mona Mohammadkhani, PhD Candidate, Department of Chemical Engineering; Winner SSHRC Category: Maaja Sepa, MHSc Candidate, Department of Health Sciences, Dr. Douglas S. Ivison, Acting Dean, Graduate Studies; and Winner NSERC Category: Amy Stieh, MSc Candidate, Department of Physics.
- Winner Engineering Category: Mona Mohammadkhani, PhD Candidate, Department of Chemical Engineering (Supervisor: Dr. Leila Pakzad)
- Winner NSERC Category: Amy Stieh, MSc Candidate, Department of Physics (Supervisor: Dr. Alla Reznik)
- Winner SSHRC Category: Maaja Sepa, MHSc Candidate, Department of Health Sciences (Supervisor: Dr. Elaine Wiersma)
Innovation Award
Bryan Wong, LLB Student, Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, Innovation Award winner, with Bill Maloney (Presenter), Director, Industry Research Partnerships Office of Innovation, Partnerships and Economic Development (IPED).
Bryan Wong, LLB Student, Bora Laskin Faculty of Law, Project title “Sprout Anatomy AR”
Post-Doctoral Fellow Excellence Award
Presenter, Andrew Hacquoil, Research Facilitator (Institutional Programs), with Post-Doctoral Fellow Excellence Award Winner, Dr. Viktoriia Batarchuk, Department of Chemistry.
Dr. Viktoriia Batarchuk, Department of Chemistry, Supervisor: Dr. Mitchell Albert
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research Award
From left to right: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Research Award Winners Colin Kutchyera, Tashya Orasi, Dr. Pauline Sameshima, Emma Wurdemann-Stam, Faculty of Education, with Presenter, Anne Klymenko, Director, Research Services.
Dr. Pauline Sameshima, Faculty of Education, Project title “EDI in the HOPE Collaboratory’s Community Engagement”
Indigenous Partnership Research Award
Indigenous Partnership Research Award Presentation: From left to right: Denise Baxter Vice-Provost, Indigenous Initiatives (Presenter) ; Paul Capon, Matawa First Nations Chiefs Council; Kelsey Gan, representing WNHAC; Dr. Anna Koné, Department of Health Sciences; Dr. Lana Ray, Health Disciplines, Athabasca University.
Drs. Anna Koné Péfoyo, Department of Health Sciences and Lana Ray, Health Disciplines, Athabasca University
With Partners:
- Ariel Root, Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority
- Janet Gordon, Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority
- Paul Capon, Matawa First Nations Chiefs Council
- Janice Spencer, Waasegiizhig Nanaandawe'iyewigamig
- Serena Joseph, Waasegiizhig Nanaandawe'iyewigamig
Project title “Impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous Communities”
Community-Engaged Research Award
Dr. Batia Stolar, Associate VP, Research & Graduate Studies, presenting the Community-Engaged Research Award to Dr. Erin Pearson, School of Kinesiology, her research team, and her research partners.
Dr. Erin Pearson, School of Kinesiology
With Partners:
- Thunder Bay District Health Unit
- Our Kids Count
- City of Thunder Bay
Project title: “The Healthy Kids HOME (Health on the Move for Equity) Program: Examining the Feasibility of a Neighbourhood-based Health Promotion Service Model for Equity Deserving Children and Families”
New Canada Research Chair Recognized
Dr. Melissa Twance, Canada Research Chair in Land Pedagogies and Indigenous Futurities, Faculty of Education.
Dr. Melissa Twance, Canada Research Chair in Land Pedagogies and Indigenous Futurities, Faculty of Education.
Senate Research Committee Awards
Research Excellence Awards
Dr. Idevania Costa, Research Excellence Award Winner, School of Nursing, Social Sciences Category.
- Dr. Waleed Ejaz, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Natural Sciences Category, Orillia Campus
- Dr. Idevania Costa, School of Nursing, Social Sciences Category
Distinguished Researcher Awards
From left to right: DRA winner, Dr. Christopher Mushquash, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health & Addictions, Department of Psychology, Dr. Tamara Varney, Chair, Senate Research Committee; DRA winner, Dr. Sandra Jeppesen, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies.
- Dr. Sandra Jeppesen, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Social Sciences and Humanities Category
- Dr. Christopher Mushquash, Department of Psychology, Health Category