Provost’s Program for Black and Indigenous Postdoctoral Scholars

Senanu Kwasi Kutor studies how climate adaptation strategies like Managed Retreat impact wellbeing, mobility, and community resilience in coastal Ghana. His work explores the psycho-social effects of climate change while centering equity, justice, and community-led perspectives. 

Irenius Konkor’s research explores how social inequities and marginalization shape poor health outcomes, with the goal of informing more inclusive health service delivery. At Waterloo, his postdoctoral work examines the impacts of extreme heat on vulnerable populations, including immigrants and older adults in Canadian cities.

Kai's work focuses on the synthesis and development of new hypervalent iodine (HVI) reagents and reaction conditions for the fluorination of electron-neutral and -rich (hetero)aromatic ring systems. By developing HVI reagents containing drug-like motifs, Kai explores the possibility of this methodology’s application in radiolabeling studies for the development of new PET tracers.

As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo, my work focuses on understanding the complex causes of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a devastating condition affecting millions worldwide, including over half a million Canadians. Despite significant research efforts, the exact mechanisms leading to AD remain unclear, and current treatments are ineffective.

Bobbie's research work examines the ways that tourism can be more than simply an economic tool for Indigenous communities. She is interested in working alongside Indigenous and Tribal communities, including her own, to explore and document how tourism can be a vehicle for resurgence, or (re)connecting people to traditional culture, community, and Country (living lands, waters, and non-human kin). 

Daniel's research interests lie at the intersection of sustainable food systems, environment, and health. For his postdoctoral work, Daniel plans to investigate the impact of water security and participatory water governance on women's empowerment throughout their life course in East Africa. 

Oludoyin's research project aims to characterize the interaction between novel Stutzerimonas strains, which are predicted to possess nitrogen fixation genes, and various crop plants including corn, soybean, canola, and wheat. This characterization will assess their ability to colonize plants internally as endophytes (microorganisms like bacteria or fungi, that live within the internal tissues of plants without causing any apparent harm to the host) and confirm their capacity for nitrogen fixation, potentially reducing the need for nitrogen fertilizer application.

Dalal Daoud examines how ruling Islamist governments in the Middle East and North Africa navigate relationships with ethnic minorities. Her research challenges conventional narratives by revealing that strategies toward minority groups shift over time based on coalition-building dynamics and regional contexts, rather than purely religious or ideological motivations.

Samuel Gyamerah develops mathematical models to design weather derivatives that help smallholder farmers and agricultural stakeholders hedge against extreme and unpredictable weather. His interdisciplinary research bridges statistics, actuarial science, and climate risk to support more resilient agricultural practices in Ghana and across Africa.

Shoronia Cross designs novel multiferroic nanomaterials that could revolutionize data storage technologies by enabling higher storage densities, faster processing speeds, and lower power consumption. His interdisciplinary research bridges chemistry, nanotechnology, and quantum information to advance next-generation magnetoelectric devices with global technological impact.

Anny Leudjo Taka develops novel polymer nanobiocomposites with biodegradable and recyclable properties for use in organic electronics and water desalination. Her interdisciplinary research bridges chemistry, nanotechnology, and sustainability to advance clean water, energy security, and environmentally friendly materials aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.