Eight researchers across York University will join the York Research Chairs (YRC) program – the University’s internal counterpart to the national Canada Research Chairs (CRC) program which recognizes outstanding researchers. These YRCs belong to the ninth cohort of researchers to be appointed since the establishment of the program in 2015. These YRCs’ terms run for five years.
“The York Research Chairs program is an important component of institutional supports for research, reflecting our commitment to addressing complex global issues and driving positive change in our local and global communities,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton. “This year’s YRCs have made important contributions in their fields, and their future work promises to augment our understanding of societal challenges, including public health and rising threats to democracy. I want to congratulate all our YRCs and thank them for their continued dedication to research excellence.”
The YRC program seeks to build research recognition and capacity, with excellence in research, scholarship and associated creative activity serving as selection criteria.
“This program mirrors the federal CRC program to broaden and deepen the impact of research chairs at York in building and intensifying world-renowned research across the institution. These new YRCs are undertaking visionary work that has local, national and international impact,” said Vice-President Research & Innovation Amir Asif.
The YRC program consists of two tiers. Tier 1 is open to established research leaders at the rank of full professor. Tier 2 is aimed at emerging research leaders within 15 years of their first academic appointment.
Tier 1 York Research Chairs:
Kristin Andrews, York Research Chair in Philosophy of Animal Minds
Kristin Andrews, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, has done extensive research into issues related to belief and social understanding, the evolution of morality, methodology in animal cognition research, and animal rights. She will investigate how we can characterize social norms, which are often perceived as uniquely human, to support her study in animals.
Jianhong Wu, York Research Chair in Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Tier 2 York Research Chairs:
Joey Cheng, York Research Chair in Leadership, Collaboration and Teams
Jane Heffernan, York Research Chair in Mathematics of Immunity and Infectious Disease
Emily Laxer, York Research Chair in Populism, Rights, and Legality
Adam Diamant, York Research Chair in Managing AI-Driven Technologies in Health Care
Shital Desai, York Research Chair in Accessible Interaction Design
Adrian Viens, York Research Chair in Population Health Ethics and Law
Originally published in YFile.