Researchers

Dr. Charity Oga-Omenka is a public health scholar advancing health equity across Pan-African contexts through rigorous examination of health systems, access to care, and social determinants of health. Her research focuses on tuberculosis, antimicrobial stewardship, and infectious disease pathways in low- and middle-income countries, with deep engagement in Nigeria and comparable African settings. Through mixed and qualitative methods, she investigates how structural barriers, private-sector health markets, and policy environments shape care-seeking behaviors and health outcomes. Dr. Oga-Omenka brings extensive international research networks, WHO collaboration experience, and commitment to decolonial, equity-oriented approaches to global health research and practice.

Dr. Christopher Stuart Taylor is a historian whose scholarship advances Black Canadian history, critical race theory, and anti-racism frameworks. His research examines Black migration, the social construction of race, and community-based historical narratives, foregrounding archival recovery and autoethnographic methods to challenge dominant national histories. His work has informed public policy, education reform, and global equity initiatives through SSHRC-funded and interdisciplinary projects. Current and future research extends critical race perspectives into technology ethics, and Pan-African liberation, and addressing anti-Black racism within emerging digital and institutional systems.  

Dr. Felicitas Egunyu is a sustainability and environmental governance scholar whose research examines participation, representation, and power in natural resource and environmental decision-making. Her work focuses on resource extraction, social and environmental impact assessment, and forest governance, critically analyzing how institutions engage Indigenous and marginalized communities. Drawing on qualitative, participatory, and policy-engaged approaches, she advances socially just and inclusive sustainability transitions across local, national, and global contexts. 

Dr. Helena Shilomboleni is a scholar whose research focuses on food security, climate-resilient agriculture, and sustainable development in African and global South contexts. Her work examines how agricultural technologies, governance frameworks, and policy interventions interact with local knowledge systems, agroecology, and smallholder livelihoods. Drawing on political economy and interdisciplinary approaches, she emphasizes community-driven, gender-responsive, and equity-oriented innovation to address structural challenges in food systems and climate adaptation. 

Dr. Ian VanderBurgh is a mathematics education scholar whose work focuses on teaching, learning, and curriculum development in post-secondary and pre-university mathematics. His work emphasizes pedagogical innovation, accessibility, and student engagement, particularly in large-scale, online, and outreach-based learning environments. Through sustained leadership in mathematics education initiatives and international partnerships, his work has shaped mathematics teaching practice for students and educators locally and globally.  

Dr. Karim Wissa is a scholar of critical pedagogy and political economy whose work examines how power, ideology, and economic systems shape knowledge production, education, and everyday life. His research engages histories of capitalism, inequality, and cultural production, with particular attention to how theory travels beyond academic spaces. Through accessible scholarship, editorial work, and visual knowledge mobilization, he bridges theory and practice, making complex social analysis usable for educators, students, and communities. 

Dr. Naila Keleta-Mae is an artist and scholar whose work bridges Black studies, performance, sound, and visual culture. Her scholarship examines Black freedom and expressive practices through interdisciplinary, feminist, and Black diasporic frameworks. Integrating creative practice with critical theory, her work spans academic, artistic, and public spaces, including large-scale research-creation projects; and private, public and community sector partnerships.

Dr. Paul Ugor is a literary and cultural studies scholar specializing in African and postcolonial literatures, popular culture, and world literatures. His research examines narrative, power, and representation across literature, film, and new media, with particular attention to youth cultures, African social realities, and global cultural flows. Through critical and interdisciplinary analysis, his work explores how cultural production functions as a site of political, social, and historical struggle in postcolonial and diasporic contexts. 

Dr. Trevor Charles is a microbiologist whose research focuses on microbial genetics, functional genomics, and applied microbiology within the circular bioeconomy. His work examines plant–microbe interactions, microbiome engineering, and pathogen surveillance, alongside the development of sustainable biotechnologies such as bioproducts and biodegradable bioplastics. Integrating fundamental microbial science with translational and entrepreneurial approaches, his scholarship contributes to innovations in agriculture, public health, and environmental sustainability. 

Dr. Yverick Pascal Rangom is a chemical engineering researcher whose work focuses on advanced materials and interfacial bonding for electrochemical energy storage systems. His research examines how manipulating electrode interfaces and material architectures can enable extreme fast-charging and improved performance in lithium-, sodium-, and potassium-ion batteries. Drawing on experimental materials science and electrochemistry, his work bridges fundamental research and applied innovation, with implications for electric vehicle technologies and next-generation energy systems.