The newest Concordia University Research Chairs (CURC) represent some of the university’s leading thinkers in their respective fields, from cancer cell biology to Indigenous futures to market-level innovations.
Selected from across all four academic faculties, and funded by the Office of the Vice-President of Research and Graduate Studies, the 11 new chair holders are poised to make significant contributions to areas of strategic importance at Concordia.
“The CURC program is fundamental to positioning our institution as a next-generation university,” says Christophe Guy, Vice-President, Research and Graduate Studies.
“These faculty members are enriching our teaching programs, strengthening our research training environments and bringing our collective knowledge base to new heights.”
Here are the 11 new CURCs and their areas of investigation.
Psychology
Concordia University Research Chair in Eating Disorders (Tier II)
Linda Booij studies the affects that adverse events in utero and the first years of life have on mental health down the line. She has focused on numerous psychopathologies, including depression and disordered eating. The overarching theme of her research program is that early adversity could disrupt the stability of certain brain chemicals like serotonin.
Biology
Concordia University Research Chair in Cancer Cell Biology (Tier II)
Alisa Piekny researches cancer cell biology. Her aim is to gain a stronger understanding of how the cytoskeleton is regulated during cell division, migration and polarity. She also collaborates with other groups to develop delivery and diagnostic tools for cancer cells and to develop anti-cancer drugs.
English
Concordia University Research Chair in Literature and Sound Studies (Tier I)
Jason Camlot's research explores the relationship between literary history and sound studies. He asks how our understanding of literature changes when we approach it through archives of recorded sound rather than just words printed on the page. His interdisciplinary approach to literary study moves from the discovery and development of new collections of literary audio, to their transformation into new works of scholarship and art.
Photo by David Ward.
Marketing
Concordia University Research Chair in Complexity and Markets (New Scholar)
Pierre-Yann Dolbec researches how consumers and producers transform markets. He answers questions such as how did bloggers change the fashion market, how did a transformative brand such as Tesla create opportunities in the electric car market and how did technology change the way aesthetic markets such as music work?
Finance
Concordia University Research Chair in Finance
(Tier I)
Lawrence Kryzanowski asks questions such as, to what extent is mutual fund performance the result of investment skill versus sheer luck? His research ranges from the impact of alleged financial misrepresentations on market prices to management of investments for institutions and individuals to political corruption and risk.
Design and computation arts
Concordia University Research Chair in Computational Media and the Indigenous Future Imaginary (Tier I)
Jason Edward Lewis is a digital media artist, poet and software designer. He directs research-creation projects using virtual environments to assist Indigenous communities in preserving, interpreting and communicating cultural histories, devising new means of creating and reading digital texts and developing systems for creative use of mobile technology.
Art history
Concordia University Research Chair in Circumpolar Indigenous Arts (Tier I)
The research interests of scholar and independent curator Heather Igloliorte centre on Inuit and other Native North American visual and material culture, circumpolar art studies, performance and media art, the global exhibition of Indigenous arts and culture and issues of colonization, sovereignty, resistance and resurgence.
Electrical and computer engineering
Concordia University Research Chair in Microfluidics for Biological and Chemical Analysis (New Scholar)
Steve Shih researches lab-on-a-chip technology and synthetic biology. His work on microfluidics aims to solve major challenges in the health and energy fields. The technology has been touted as a means to miniaturize biology and chemistry on tiny, hand-held devices. Benefits include reduced reagent consumption, automation and parallelization of screening samples.
Information systems engineering
Concordia University Research Chair in Connected Sustainable Mobility Systems (Tier II)
Anjali Awasthi asks how can goods be distributed within an urban area in ways that minimally harm community life and the environment? Her research areas include city logistics, intelligent transportation systems, quality assurance in supply chain management, IT and decision-making, and sustainable supply chain management.
Building, civil and environmental engineering
Concordia University Research Chair in Integration of Solar Energy Systems into Buildings and Communities (Tier I)
The research activities of Andreas Athienitis are focused on development and integration of solar energy systems into buildings to generate electricity and useful heat and for daylighting. His long-term vision is the realization of solar buildings in Canada operating as integrated advanced technological systems that generate as much energy in an average year as they consume.
Computer science and software engineering
Concordia University Research Chair in Applied Perception (New Scholar)
Marta Kersten-Oertel develops and tests visualization, display and interaction methods in the context of image-guided surgery. She is particularly interested in finding ways to improve the spatial and depth understanding of volume-rendered medical data, and studies the impact of augmented reality visualization for particular surgical tasks.
Read more about the Concordia University Research Chair program.
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