The Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) has announced that three researchers will hold York Postdoctoral Fellowships (YPDF) beginning September 2016: Maryam Hariri, Alina Cohen and Vitaly Kiryuschenko.
YPDFs have been awarded to current York doctoral students who have proposed research projects to be conducted in three Faculties: Science, Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), and Health.
The YPDF was introduced in 2015-2016 to support advanced, collaborative research through funded, one-year postdoctoral positions.
Inaugural postdoctoral fellows Maryam Hariri, left, and Alina Cohen, right, with Dean of Graduate Studies Barbara Crow
Maryam Hariri will hold her fellowship in the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science, where she will work with supervisor Sylvie Morin. Her YPDF research project is titled “Designing Novel Electrochemical and Optical Sensors Based on Nanostructured Electrodes for Selective Determination of Heavy Metals in Real Biological and Environmental Samples.” The objective of this project is to design and develop novel, sensitive and selective nanostructured electrochemical and optical sensors with high mechanical, thermal and chemical stability, for detecting heavy metal ions such as mercury and lead in different biological and environmental samples, including drinking water, soil and food.
Alina Cohen will hold her fellowship in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science in the Faculty of Health, where she will work with supervisors Chris Ardern, Gary Turner and Joe Baker. Her YPDF research project is titled “The effects of a single bout of activity on cognitive function: An fMRI study based on the constructs of Social Cognitive Theory.” This project will examine increased physical activity as a potential protective factor against cognitive decline and dementia.
Vitaly Kiryuschenko will hold his fellowship in the Department of Philosophy in LA&PS, where he will work with supervisor Henry Jackman. His YPDF research project is titled “Kantian Architectonics of Reason and Early Pragmatism: Charles Sanders Peirce on the role of Aesthetics in Light of Kant’s Critical Philosophy.” This project will analyze the influence of the work of Immanuel Kant on the work of American Pragmatist Charles Peirce. The project will analyze the Kantian roots of Charles Peirce’s normative theory, and will assess the significance of the ways in which Peirce incorporates and interprets Kant’s work.
“I’m so excited and beyond delighted to congratulate Maryam, Vitaly and Alina on their success in the York Postdoctoral Fellowship competition this year,” said Barbara Crow, dean of FGS. “Together, these scholars form an incredibly impressive inaugural cohort of YPDFs, and I can’t wait to follow what they accomplish during their fellowships in the next academic year.”