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 nine Canada Research Chairs with the most recent recipients awarded in 2024. Tier 1 Chairs are recognized as outstanding researchers acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their fields. Tier 2 Chairs are awarded to exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field.

MOHAMMAD ARJMAND

Advanced Materials and Polymer Engineering (Tier 2 – NSERC)

JENNIFER DAVIS

Applied Health Economics (Tier 2 – CIHR)

ALANAISE FERGUSON

Health, Healing, and Community Revitalization: Indigenous Approaches to Overcoming Intergenerational Trauma and Loss (Tier 2 – CIHR)

ADAM FORD

Wildlife Restoration Ecology (Tier 2 – NSERC)

WILL HUGHES

DNA Engineering (Tier 1 – NSERC)

MARY CLARE KENNEDY

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

ISAAC LI

Single-Molecule Biophysics and Mechanobiology (Tier 2 – NSERC)

ASTRIDA NEIMANIS

Feminist Environmental Humanities (Tier 2 – SSHRC)

SARAH PURCELL

Nutrition and Energy Metabolism in Chronic Disease (Tier 2 – CIHR)

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.

Tier 1

PHIL AINSLIE

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

SHAHRIA ALAM

Resilient and Green Infrastructure (Tier 1)

JULIAN CHENG

Wireless Systems (Tier 1)

SABRE CHERKOWSKI

Leadership, Learning and Wellbeing (Tier 1)

IAN FOULDS

Indigenous Reconciliation in Engineering (Tier 1)

RACHELLE HOLE

Critical Disability Studies (Tier 1)

POURANG IRANI

Ubiquitous Analytics (Tier 1)

KYLE LARSON

Tectonics (Tier 1)

ABBAS MILANI

Sustainable and Smart Manufacturing (Tier 1)

BARBARA PESUT

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

ROBERT SZILAGYI

Computational Chemistry (Tier 1)

WENDY WONG

Datafication (Tier 1)

KYONG YOON

Trans-Pacific Digital Platform Studies (Tier 1)

Tier 2

AHMAD AL-DABBAGH

Control Systems (Tier 2)

AMIR ARDESTANI-JAAFARI

Data-Driven Operations Management (Tier 2)

CHEN FENG

Blockchain-Empowered Digital Technology (Tier 2)

LAUREN HUMAN

Social Perception and Expression (Tier 2)

ERIC LI

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

JIAN LIU

Energy Storage Technology (Tier 2)

KARIS SHEARER

Digital Arts and Humanities (Tier 2)

ONYX SLOAN MORGAN

Communities, Justice and Sustainability (Tier 2)

LISA TOBBER

Disaster-Resilient Buildings (Tier 2)

ALEXANDER R. UHL

Solar Energy Conversion (Tier 2)

TANIA WILLARD

Indigenous Art Initiatives (Tier 2)

MOHAMMAD HOSSEIN ZARIFI

Sensors and Microelectronics (Tier 2)

ENDOWED & industrial Chairs

CIGDEM ESKICIOGLU

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

KASUN HEWAGE

Fortis BC Smart Energy Chair (2019)

NATHAN PELLETIER

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

ADAM WEI

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

DAVID SCOTT

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

JOHN JANMAAT

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

michael smith health research BC (MSHRBC) SCHOLARS

The Michael Smith Health Research BC’s 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 MSHRBC’s flagship funding opportunities. Since 2001, MSHRBC has granted more than 460 Scholar awards, 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)