University of Waterloo AMTD scholars

Since 2020 University of Waterloo has had the privilege of welcoming annual cohorts of exceptional scholars though the AMTD Waterloo Global Talent Postdoctoral Fellowship. With research interests in disciplines that span the breadth of the institution, AMTD scholars contribute to transformative and disruptive research that is impactful. Read more about our AMTD scholars below.

2023 Scholars

Building a research legacy through global talent | Waterloo News

Caruso, Elena

Faculty of Arts, Department of Political Science

Supervisor: Alana Cattapan

Elena’s project aims to question the role of the state in the regulation of abortion, to reshape dominant legal paradigms in abortion care, and to draw important lessons for the future of health technologies.

Learn more about Dr. Elena Caruso

Learn more about the research Elena is conducting as an AMTD scholar in this recent publications:

Caruso, E. (2024). ‘How Did You Get in There and Make the Law Work?’ Feminist Activism, Doctors and Abortion Law: The Occupation of an Hospital. Social & Legal Studies, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09646639241254359

Lee, Juyeon

Faculty of Health, School of Public Health

Supervisor: Ellen MacEachen

Juyeon's research project examines the health, safety, and well-being of domestic workers on digital labour platforms who provide direct and/or indirect care services in one or more private households.

Learn more about Dr. Juyeon Lee

Panferov, Vasily

Faculty of Science, Department of Chemistry

Supervisor: Juewen Liu

A food allergy is a body's immune response to food's naturally occurring components (allergens). Even trace amounts of allergens can induce severe reactions or sudden death by asphyxia.

Vasily's project will, for the first time, develop a screening method for multiple common major allergens (allergens of eggs, milk, peanut, soy, and wheat) at once.

Learn more about Dr. Vasily Panferov

Shirzadi, Erfan

Faculty of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Supervisor: Mahla Poudineh

Continuous monitoring of multiple biomolecules in a body is an essential part of personalized medicine. Among these biomolecules, antibiotics’ concentration in a body should remain in a certain therapeutic window to avoid irreversible adverse effects of overdose and underdose. Erfan's project will present a minimally invasive microneedle aptamer-assisted detector (MAD) that is able to monitor both antibiotics in interstitial fluid, and be used for spontaneous and real-time monitoring of the pharmacokinetics of VCM and GTM via voltammetric andamperometric techniques.

Learn more about Dr. Erfan Shirzadi

2022 Scholars

Gilchrist, Jenna

Faculty of Arts, Department of Psychology

Supervisor: Allison Kelly

Jenna’s work focuses on self-compassion and emotional adjustment among students transitioning to post-secondary education.

Learn more about Dr. Jenna Gilchrist

Listen to Dr. Gilchrist talk about her work on the Beyond the Bulletin podcast

Martens, Reuben

Faculty of Arts, Department of Communication Arts

Supervisor: Imre Szeman

Reuben is studying the violence of and resistance to settler-colonial extractivism in Canada as rendered and reckoned in contemporary Indigenous Canadian literature, art, and film.

Learn more about Dr. Reuben Martens

Reis, Paula

Faculty of Science, Department of Biology

Supervisor: Josh Neufeld

Studying Methane-oxidizing bacteria in Boreal Shield lakes, Paula’s work will examine how methane-consuming microorganisms in Canada’s lakes will react to climate change.

Learn more about Dr. Paula Reis

Patterson, Samantha Kaitlyn

Faculty of Health, School of Public Health Sciences

Supervisor: Hannah Neufeld

Kaitlyn’s work will focus on Indigenous Food Sovereignty (IFS) in urban Indigenous communities while documenting stories of policy pathways and relationship building within IFS movements from the urban Indigenous communities within Katarokwi and Waterloo-Wellington Region.

Learn more about Dr. Samantha Kaitlyn Patterson

2021 Scholars

Waterloo welcomes three postdoctoral scholars (Waterloo Story)

Jaber, Anwar

Faculty of Engineering, School of Architecture

Supervisor: Robert Jan van Pelt

Anwar is pursuing research on the role that architecture plays in cities facing political transitions and extreme conditions, focusing on museums that aim to address national narratives of war, memory, and violence. Learn more:

Nazarahari, Milad

Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering

Supervisor: Arash Arami

Milad is working to advance the medical community’s capacity to engage intelligent robots and biofeedback in developing affordable and accessible technology to support the rehabilitation of stroke patients in Canada. Learn more:

Accelerating research at Waterloo | Waterloo News

Walker, Chad

School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability

Supervisor: Ian Rowlands

Chad conducts interdisciplinary research investigating how Smart Local Energy Systems (SLES) - projects that combine smart technology with sustainable, local energy production and management - can create just and inclusive clean energy systems. Learn more:

Democratizing local smart energy systems | Environment

Learn more about the research conducted during Chat's time as an AMTD scholar in these recent publications:

Walker, C., Rowlands, I. H., Devine-Wright, P., Soutar, I., Wilson, C., Gupta, R., ... & Ford, R. (2024). The ‘Four Ds’ and support for Local Smart Grids: Analysis from national surveys in the United Kingdom and Canada. Oxford Open Energy, oiae004. https://doi.org/10.1093/ooenergy/oiae004
Fiander, J., Walker, C., Rowlands, I. H., Devine-Wright, P., Wilson, C., Soutar, I., & Gupta, R. (2024). Energy democracy, public participation, and support for local energy system change in Canada. Energy Research & Social Science, 113, 103526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2024.103526

2020 Scholars

Four brilliant researchers join Waterloo on fellowships (Waterloo Story)

Amodu, Oluwakemi (Kemi)

Faculty of Health, School of Public Health Sciences

Supervisor: Craig Janes

Kemi’s research addresses the accessibility of reproductive health resources for women in Nigeria who have been internally displaced due to terrorism. Learn more:

Hoskin, Rhea Ashley

Faculty of Arts, Department of Sociology and Legal Studies

St. Jerome’s University, Sexuality, Marriage, & Family Studies

Supervisors: Toni Serafini & Andrea Quinlan

Rhea Ashley examines the role of femmephobia as a catalyst for violence and discrimination, and how femmephobia manifests itself and results in violence and decreased health outcomes for all. Learn more:

Krolewski, Alex

Faculty of Science, Department of Physics

Supervisor: Will Percival

Alex is working on fundamental questions in physics and astronomy. His work addresses the cause of the accelerated expansion of the universe. Learn more: