Mia Samardzic and Kenneth Conrad – January 6, 2023 For the first time since fall 2019, Dalhousie University’s Killam Scholars, Postdoctoral Fellows, Chairs, Professors and Prize Winners were able to gather at a luncheon to recognize their achievements and celebrate the longstanding contributions of the Killam Trusts to research at Dal.Held in the McInnes Room of the Student Union Building in late November and organized by the Faculty of Graduate Studies, the event brought together more than 100 attendees to celebrate 135 award recipients from across the university. With the pandemic delaying the event over the past two years, this year’s celebration was an opportunity to recognize awardees from 2020, 2021 and 2022.
The Killam Trusts began in 1967 when a $100-million bequest by Izaak and Dorothy Killam funded endowments at five leading Canadian universities, with Dalhousie receiving the largest share. Close to 60 years later, the Killams’ gift to Dalhousie has grown into an endowment of almost $180 million.“It has provided critical support to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows whose research and scholarship is vital to Dalhousie, our region, our country, and indeed, the world,” said Dr. Deep Saini, former President and Vice-Chancellor of Dalhousie University.The Killam Trusts have touched almost every one of the university’s faculties, providing funding to more than 1,800 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.“We are so grateful for the generosity and vision of Dorothy and Izaak Killam,” said Dr. Marty Leonard, dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. “The Trusts have opened a world of possibility for graduate students and researchers at Dal, who can focus on making a difference while pursuing their passions.”
Dr. Marty Leonard
During the event, Dr. Adam Donaldson, associate dean of scholarships and programs with the Faculty of Graduate Studies, presented the awards for continuing and new Killam Postdoctoral Fellows and Predoctoral Scholars. Killam Postdoctoral Fellowships are awarded to outstanding individuals who have recently completed a doctoral program, while Predoctoral Scholarships are offered to graduate students in thesis-based programs at a master’s or doctoral level.Dr. Jennifer Bain, associate vice president of research, acknowledged the university’s current Killam Memorial Chairs. Killam Chairs are held for five years and are awarded to established research leaders and early career researchers of the highest distinction at Dalhousie.Dean of Science Dr. Chuck Macdonald introduced the Faculty of Science’s current Killam Professors, seven faculty members who have been recognized for outstanding contributions to their fields. He also congratulated the past three recipients of the Faculty of Science Killam Prize, which is awarded annually to a professor within the Faculty of Science who has demonstrated exceptional research ability.The event also celebrated the winners of the George Cooper Killam Graduate Prizes in honour of former Managing Killam Trustee Dr. George Cooper at the time of his retirement. These awards were presented to the highest ranked master’s and doctoral students in each year’s competition for the past three years.Others recognized during the event included Killam Postgraduate Medical Scholars, alumni and International Research Awardees.
Recommended reading: Brain Trust — The story behind the Killam Trusts and how they’ve helped supercharge research at Dalhousie
As attendees enjoyed their meals, they were treated to music from a trio of Fountain School of Performing Arts students and five 3 Minute Thesis-style presentations from Killam Scholars and Postdoctoral Fellows on their research. Presentation topics ranged from Black women’s access to sexual and reproductive health care in Halifax during the pandemic to helping the world meet its emission targets by increasing the efficiency of lithium-ion batteries.
For many years, support from the Killam Trusts has reduced barriers and given Dal’s students and researchers the opportunity to focus on discoveries that help solve the world’s problems. See below for a complete list of the award winners who were recognized at November’s Killam celebration event:
Dr. Bamidele Bello, Health and Human PerformanceDr. Rahil Changotra, AgricultureDr. Xiaohang Chen, MathematicsDr. Claire Horn, LawDr. Jamie Jelinski, HistoryDr. Tahnee Prior, LawDr. Jalal Uddin, Community Health and EpidemiologyDr. Núria Bautista Puig, Information ManagementDr. Benedetta Luciana Sara Carnaghi, HistoryDr. Davud Hebri, Physics and Atmospheric ScienceDr. James Johnson, EnglishDr. Annemarie Laudanski, Biomedical EngineeringDr. Emily Witt, Medical NeuroscienceDr. Ahmad Zeuter, Civil and Resource Engineering
David Allsop, Psychology and NeurosciencePeter Braithwaite, Interdisciplinary PhD ProgramAlexandra Brown, Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyKyle Bryenton, Physics and Atmospheric ScienceAleksandra Budarick, PhD in Health ProgramTiffany Campbell, Sociology and Social AnthropologyJulia Cantelon, Civil and Resource EngineeringMorgan Colp, Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyEva Cranch, EnglishSeth Daley, Health and Human PerformanceIsobel DeMont, Civil and Resource EngineeringNicole Doria, PhD in Health ProgramRichard Drake, Psychology and NeuroscienceAna Eguiguren, BiologyAhmed Eldesoky, ChemistryMichael Giacomantonio, PathologyPatrick Giesbrecht, ChemistryKatharine Gloade, PhD in Health ProgramKelsey Gsell, Biomedical EngineeringMorteza Hajati, Electrical and Computer EngineeringInes Hamam, Mechanical EngineeringKayla Hamelin, BiologyDrew Hubley, Biomedical EngineeringToren Hynes, ChemistryFatima Imran, Community Health and EpidemiologySarah-Jean Jones, HistoryKarinne Lantz, LawCraig MacEachern, AgricultureLauren MacEachern, Process Engineering and Applied ScienceColin MacKay, Interdisciplinary PhD ProgramTracy MacKeracher, BiologyBrett MacNeil, Physics and Atmospheric ScienceDanielle Maitland, AgricultureMelanie Massey, BiologySabateeshan Mathavarajah, PathologyMaureen Matthew, Earth and Environmental SciencesRachel McLay, Sociology and Social AnthropologyKathleen Morrison, ChemistryJamil Muradov, Medical NeuroscienceAhmed Elojo Musa, Medical PhysicsMustafa Nadi, Medical NeuroscienceSarah Nersesian, Microbiology and ImmunologySimon Pawlowski, Communication Sciences and DisordersShannon Payne, EnglishHelen Pinsent, EnglishScott Pollara, BiologyLindsey Power, Biomedical EngineeringKatherine Purvis, Physiology and BiophysicsSaisha Rankaduwa, Psychology and NeuroscienceDivya Rathore, Physics and Atmospheric ScienceMegan Rector, Interdisciplinary PhD ProgramGracielle Schwenck, Psychology and NeuroscienceKaitlin Sibbald, PhD in Health ProgramToni Spinella, Psychology and NeuroscienceGillian Stanton, Civil and Resource EngineeringKaren Tang, Psychology and NeuroscienceKathleen Vergunst, Biochemistry and Molecular BiologySam Walmsley, BiologyGrace Wang, Psychology and NeuroscienceAndrey Zelenskiy, Physics and Atmospheric ScienceStephanie Zubriski, PhD in Health ProgramNew Killam Scholars
Ghada Abdelmageed, Process Engineering and Applied ScienceMehdi Adeli, Industrial EngineeringJustine Ammendolia, Interdisciplinary PhD ProgramBroderick Badcock-Parks, Psychology and NeuroscienceShubham Banga, PharmacologyFahmieh Bayeh, MathematicsFabian Bong, Computer ScienceDebroa Boratto, Civil and Resource EngineeringJulia Cantelo, BiologyAllie Carew, Community Health and EpidemiologySamantha Crowley, BiologyAlexa Davis, Community Health and EpidemiologyDominique de Waard, Medical Research ProgramBeatrice Devlin, Health and Human PerformanceShadi Dorosti, Biomedical EngineeringAdam Dorrance, Biomedical EngineeringBryan Ellis, Mechanical EngineeringGavin Foster, EnglishLuis Fernando Gomez de Alba, Civil and Resource EngineeringEmalie Hayes, Civil and Resource EngineeringSajjan Heerah, Physics and Atmospheric ScienceLindsay Johnston, Civil and Resource EngineeringNelofar Kureshi, Interdisciplinary PhD ProgramCarson Kuzniar, Computer ScienceKristin Levy, Resource and Environmental StudiesRuizhi Liu, MathematicsAlison MacKellar, Resource and Environmental StudiesLeah MacLean, PathologyJoshua MacMillan, ChemistryCatrina MacPhee, Psychology and NeuroscienceGrace McNutt, HistoryNdidiamaka Oseafiana, Process Engineering and Applied ScienceGlen Pridham, Physics and Atmospheric ScienceJack Quach, PhD in Health ProgramAshley Robinson, Community Health and EpidemiologyJuliet Rowe, PhysiotherapyDieudonné Toukam, FrenchOlivia Walker, PathologyBrenden Wheeler, Biomedical EngineeringShelby Williams, Biochemistry and Molecular BiologyKelsey Williamson, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Dr. Mita Dasog, Early Career Killam Memorial Chair in Plasmonic Nanoparticles
Dr. Jenna Parsons Leigh, Early Career Killam Memorial Chair in Health Equity and Systems ResilienceDr. Afua Cooper, Killam Memorial Chair in African Canadian History EducationDr. Kevin Plucknett, Killam Memorial Chair in Advanced Manufacturing
Dr. James Brenan, Earth SciencesDr. Penny Corkum, Psychology and NeuroscienceDr. Katja Fennel, OceanographyDr. Theodore Kolokolnikov, Mathematics and StatisticsDr. Alastair Simpson, BiologyDr. Laura Turculet, ChemistryDr. Peng Zhang, Chemistry
2020: Dr. Erin Bertrand, Biology2021: Dr. Lam Ho, Mathematics and Statistics2022: Dr. Eric Oliver, Oceanography
Master’s Level 2020: Joshua MacMillan, ChemistryDoctoral Level 2020: Sabateeshan Mathavarajah, PathologyMaster’s Level 2021: Katherine Purvis, Physiology and BiophysicsDoctoral Level 2021: Sam Walmsley, BiologyMaster’s Level 2022: Adam Dorrance, Biomedical EngineeringDoctoral Level 2022: Broderick Badcock-Parks, Psychology and Neuroscience
Joel BiererJasmine MahFranziska MillerColleen O’ConnorMeg Pike
Sabateeshan Mathavarajah, PathologyJamil Muradov, Medical NeuroscienceSam Walmsley, Biology Dal News welcomes discussion from members of the Dalhousie community and beyond, but urge comment writers to be respectful and refrain from personal attacks. False or unsubstantiated allegations, libellous statements and offensive language are not allowed. External links must be appropriate and relevant to the subject being discussed. We encourage commenters to use their real first and last names. Please note that comments that appear on the site are not the opinion of Dal News or Dalhousie University but only of the comment writer. The editors reserve the right to post, or not to post comments, edit or not edit, at their discretion. Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4R2 1-902-494-2211Agricultural Campus Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada B2N 5E3 1-902-893-6600 Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4R2 1.902.494.2211