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Oluwaseyi Aderemi Ajala

Lead supervisor: Jeremy Wulff
Impact area: Health and wellness
Project title: Design and synthesis of 6,11-Dioxasteroids for next-generation therapeutics

The limited diversity of steroid-based medicines remains a challenge in drug development. Oluwaseyi’s study will create a new class of steroid molecules with small internal structural changes and examine how these changes influence stability and biological behavior, generating foundational knowledge to support the discovery of safer and more effective therapeutic options.

Oluwaseyi holds a PhD in Applied Chemistry from Hiroshima University, Japan. His research focuses on designing functional scaffolds at the interface of sustainable materials and advanced molecular engineering, with long-term interest in therapeutic and biomedical applications.

María Juliana Angarita

Lead supervisor: Cynthia Milton
Impact area: Indigenous-led scholarship; Social justice and equity
Project title: Memorial heritage for life after mass violence: Advancing "heritage vivacis" across cultural and political contexts

This project explores how community-led memory practices help sustain life after mass violence. Building on research in Colombia, it examines whether heritage vivacis—seeing memory as a living source of renewal—can help explain cultural heritage practices in Canada’s post–Truth and Reconciliation context, and inform public policy that supports community-led healing and cultural revitalization.

María Juliana undertook her PhD in museum studies at the Université du Québec à Montréal, supported by the FRQ and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. She is an interdisciplinary researcher whose work connects memory, museums, and public policy, and who collaborates on community-based and curatorial projects addressing mass violence and human rights across Canada and Latin America.

Kate Evans

Aspiration Post-doctoral Fellowship in BC Biodiversity Conservation

Lead supervisor: Gerald Singh
Impact area: Climate, environmental change and sustainability
Project title: Serious games for restoration and conservation planning

Predicting the success of conservation strategies is challenging, in part because human choices are difficult to understand and predict. Kate is researching conservation strategies that incorporate the human dimension by developing serious games. In these games, players negotiate land-use decisions for their community while balancing social, economic, and ecological goals.

Kate holds a BSc in Biology from Centre College, KY, and a MSc and PhD in Biology from Illinois State University. Her doctoral research was on how population ecology dynamics influence mosquito control efforts. Kate is an avid board gamer and has developed science-based games for STEM outreach programs.

Radha Gudapureddy

Lead supervisor: Devika Chithrani
Impact area: Health and wellness, Technology and the human experience
Project title: Design and evaluation of immune-stealth gold nanoparticles for targeted and synergistic chemoradiation in cancer

Radha’s postdoctoral research aims to make cancer radiation therapy safer and more effective. It uses a combination of gold nanoparticles and chemotherapy drugs to help radiation work better on tumors while reducing harm to healthy tissue. The approach focuses on improving treatment precision and outcomes, tested in realistic cancer models.

Radha is a cancer biologist with over a decade of research experience in translational oncology, focusing on cancer cell death pathways, DNA damage and repair and genome stability. She earned her PhD in Biology from the UM-DAE Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences in Mumbai, India, and previously worked as a project assistant at the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru.

Hellen C. A. Marquezini

Lead supervisor: Roy Suddaby
Impact area: Health and wellness; Indigenous-led scholarship; Social justice and equity
Project title: Decolonizing bureaucracy: Exploring narrative and organizational pathways to overcome indigenous historical trauma in health care

Hellen's project investigates how Canada’s health care bureaucracy triggers Indigenous Historical Trauma and how Indigenous-led organizations can mitigate these effects. She will analyze Indigenous patient narratives and everyday organizational practices to identify the major challenges and co-create pathways to decolonize healthcare and improve access for Indigenous communities.

Hellen Marquezini holds an Honours PhD in Organization Studies at FGV São Paulo School of Business, Brazil. Her work integrates non-hegemonic, Indigenous, and Afrodiasporic perspectives into research and teaching, challenging dominant managerial logics and exposing structural inequalities. She explores how these worldviews can reshape organizations and offer decolonial alternatives to mainstream approaches. 

Laura Moore

Lead supervisor: Laurence Coogan
Impact area: Climate, environmental change and sustainability
Project title: The role of hydrothermal systems in ocean biogeochemistry

Submarine volcanoes are a significant source of micronutrients, such as iron, that are essential to microorganisms at the base of the oceanic food chain. Laura’s study integrates chemical analyses of seawater samples with sensor data from the Ocean Networks Canada cabled observatory to examine the impact of submarine volcanic activity on micronutrient distributions.

Laura Moore obtained her MSc and PhD in Oceanography from the University of Washington and her BA in Chemistry from St. Olaf College. Her research interests are trace metals in the marine environment with a focus on ecological extremes including submarine volcanoes and polar seas.

Daniella Roze des Ordons

Lead supervisor: Darcy Matthews
Impact area: Health and wellness, Indigenous-led scholarship, Social justice and equity
Project title: ÁLEṈENEȻ – Indigenous science education for Indigenous sovereignty and resurgence

Daniella’s research examines how ÁLEṈENEȻ (Land-based learning) and Indigenous Science Education can decolonize and Indigenize educational systems through models of learning that strengthen resurgence, wellbeing, and sustainability. Her research is part of a community-led project in collaboration with W̱SÁNEĆ School Board and the Living Lab Network.

Daniella is a community-engaged researcher, educator, and Registered Clinical Counsellor. She is dedicated to advancing education that fosters more connected, just, and flourishing human and more-than-human communities through land-centred, anti-oppressive, and decolonial practice. Her doctoral research examined nature-based education and ecotherapy programs for critical eco-social justice and collective wellness.

Ayda Shahriari

Lead supervisor: Sravya Tekumalla
Impact area: Climate, environmental change and sustainability; Technology and the human experience
Project title: Adapting additive manufacturing for shape-memory auxetic structures in self-healing infrastructure

Many concrete structures are aging and costly to repair. This project uses additive manufacturing to produce smart metallic components that help concrete close cracks before serious damage occurs. Applying metallic materials in additive manufacturing is a growing research area within the framework of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Ayda earned her PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick. She continued her research in additive manufacturing as a postdoctoral researcher with the MAMCE group. She holds an MSc in Corrosion Engineering from Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, and a BSc in Materials Engineering from Tehran Polytechnic, Iran.

Abu Saleh Mohammad Sowad

Lead supervisor: Nancy Clark
Impact area: Health and wellness; Social justice and equity
Project title: Masculinity, belonging and Latinx single migrant men's mental health in Canada

The growing reliance on temporary migrant labour has made mental health and belonging a pressing concern for Latinx single migrant men in Canada. Sowad’s study will examine how work conditions, community ties, and migration status shape their well-being, highlighting their challenges and informing fairer health and social policies.

Sowad completed his PhD in Social and Cultural Analysis at Concordia University in 2025. He holds an MSc in Gender, Development, and Globalisation from the London School of Economics and a master’s degree in Women and Gender Studies from the University of Dhaka. His work explores migration, masculinity, and mental health through community-based research.