Waterloo researchers earn Canada Research Chairs to advance research with global impact
New and renewed appointments support research excellence across environment, health, public policy, quantum technologies and engineering
Eight University of Waterloo researchers have been recognized through the latest round of the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program, bringing more than $7.7 million in federal research funding to the University and reinforcing Waterloo's reputation as one of Canada's leading research-intensive universities.
The appointments support researchers whose work tackles some of society's most pressing challenges, from water sustainability and reproductive justice to quantum computing, nutrition and digital technologies.
The Canada Research Chairs Program helps Canadian universities attract and retain world-class researchers. The program supports scholars whose discoveries strengthen Canada's research capacity while helping train the next generation of innovators and leaders.
The following Waterloo researchers were awarded new or renewed Canada Research Chairs through the latest competition:
Alana Cattapan (Faculty of Arts)
Tier 2 Canada Research Chair renewal (SSHRC)
$500,000
Dr. Alana Cattapan studies the regulation of reproduction, examining how reproductive autonomy is enabled and constrained by public policy and law. She is a community-engaged researcher who centres the voices of people most often left out of decision-making related to reproductive and genetic technologies, family making and access to care.
Amelia Clarke (Faculty of Environment)
New Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (SSHRC)
$1,400,000
Dr. Amelia Clarke supports municipalities in monitoring, measuring and achieving their greenhouse gas mitigation goals. This research directly extends Clarke’s ongoing leadership of the Municipal Net-Zero Action Research Partnership (N-ZAP), which she co-leads with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and ICLEI Canada.
Helen Jarvie (Faculty of Environment)
New Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (NSERC)
$1,400,000
Dr. Helen Jarvie studies water quality, aquatic ecosystem health and the movement of nutrients through rivers and watersheds. Her research helps improve understanding of how environmental change affects freshwater systems and informs policies that support healthy and resilient waterways.
Kelsey Leonard (Faculty of Environment)
Tier 2 Canada Research Chair renewal (SSHRC)
$500,000
Dr. Kelsey Leonard’s research focuses on Indigenous water governance, climate resilience and sustainability. Through community-engaged research, she advances Indigenous-led approaches to water stewardship and environmental decision-making.
Marina Mourtzakis (Faculty of Health)
New Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (NSERC)
$1,400,000
Dr. Marina Mourtzakis examines diverse imaging techniques to explore the role of muscle health and disease. Her research improves health and clinical outcomes through evidence-based nutrition and exercise approaches.
Crystal Senko (Faculty of Science)
Tier 2 Canada Research Chair renewal (NSERC)
$500,000
Dr. Crystal Senko is a faculty member at the Institute for Quantum Computing. She develops trapped-ion quantum computing systems and investigates new approaches to quantum information processing and simulation. Her work advances next-generation quantum technologies.
Sophie Spirkl (Faculty of Math)
New Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (NSERC)
$600,000
Dr. Sophie Spirkl investigates “structural graph theory”, the area of mathematics and theoretical computer science concerned with large-scale complex networks. Dr. Spirkl's research leverages local aspects of the network to understand global phenomena and develop efficient algorithms.
Zhou Wang (Faculty of Engineering)
Tier 1 Canada Research Chair renewal (NSERC)
$1,400,000
Dr. Zhou Wang’s research focuses on image and video processing, computational vision and perceptual quality assessment. His work has transformed how digital media quality is measured and evaluated across a range of technologies.
Together, these chair appointments strengthen Waterloo's capacity to address increasingly complex challenges through research, partnerships and innovation while helping train the next generation of experts who will shape Canada's future.
