We're thrilled to introduce the scholars in our Provost's Program for Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Scholars. Read more about our 2023 and 2024 cohorts of scholars and their areas of research below.
Zachary McKendrick
McKendrick, Zachary
Faculty of Mathematics - Cheriton School of Computer Science
Supervisor: Daniel Vogel
Faculty of Arts - Department of Communication Arts
Supervisor: Andrew Houston
Zachary’s research goals are twofold: 1) use extended virtual reality (XR) to support and enhance live performance and 2) incorporate principles and practices from Drama to create more holistic, user-centred immersive experiences; he seeks to enhance interaction while mitigating the adverse side effects of contemporary virtual reality (VR) technology. Research at the intersection of XR, Drama, and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) provides unique opportunities to engage in hands-on projects across disparate domains, enhancing collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving skills for a rapidly growing new medium.
Rezaeian, Mohsen
Faculty of Mathematics - Department of Applied Mathematics
Supervisor: Brian Ingalls
Faculty of Engineering - Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Supervisor: Mahla Poudineh
Cancers within the peritoneal (abdominal) cavity, like gastric, colorectal, and ovarian cancers, often spread along the lining surface as peritoneal metastasis (PM). This leads to a poor prognosis. Traditional chemotherapy is ineffective, but hyperthermia intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has shown promise by delivering heated chemotherapy directly into the abdomen after surgically removing visible tumors. Despite its rationale, HIPEC's effectiveness is debated due to varying clinical results. Mohsen's postdoctoral project aims to develop a 3D cancer-on-a-chip microfluidics device to replicate tumor conditions and create a computational framework to predict treatment outcomes.
Paula Sanchez Nunez de Villavicencio
Sanchez Nunez de Villavicencio, Paula
Faculty of Arts - Department of English Language and Literature
Supervisor: Ashley Mehlenbacher
Faculty of Engineering - Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering
Supervisor: Mary Wells
Paul's postdoctoral research will focus on how and why people trust or distrust the wearable technologies we develop and how we engage with intimate and personal technology. Consider the flop of Google Glasses or the success of Fitbit. How we think about wearable technologies and if we trust them shape not only the success of the technology and the relationships we build with and through them, but the development of entire industries. Today, however, these technologies have a further complicating factor: the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. Apple’s Vision Pro, and the Meta and Ray-Ban collaboration for example, illustrate the importance of studying the intersection of ubiquitous wearable computing and AI as well as its impact on our societal futures, including the ways we work, live, and connect. Trust acts as an integral catalyst for the successful, ethical, and responsible integration of AI and wearables.
Geneva Smith
Smith, Geneva
Faculty of Arts - Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business
Supervisor: Lennart Nacke
Faculty of Engineering - Department of Management Science and Engineering
Supervisor: Mark Hancock
It's in our nature to use stories to exchange information and perspectives, which help us tackle cultural and social challenges with a deeper awareness of and empathy for others. As an alternative to traditional forms of media, Interactive Digital Narratives (IDNs) are an exciting way for people to actively engage with stories that promote social change by exploring complex social issues such as climate change, health awareness, and humanitarian crises. While there are already promising examples of IDNs promoting social change, the field is relatively young, and we do not understand the implications of using IDNs to promote social change in a responsible way.
The goal Geneva's postdoctoral research is to examine the relationship between a programmed digital system, an individual's interactions with that system, and that individual's perception of IDNs. This will help us identify ways to develop and evaluate IDNs in service of satisfying pro-social learning experiences.
Sebastian Cmentowski
Cmentowski, Sebastian
Faculty of Arts - Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business
Supervisor: Lennart Nacke
Faculty of Health - School of Public Health Sciences
Supervisor: James Wallace
Almost 1.5 billion adults are insufficiently active. Sedentary behavior is one of the biggest challenges in our society and is associated with severe health issues, including increased mortality, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Thriving towards a healthier society, we must motivate people to exercise regularly and reawaken their excitement for physical activities. One promising approach are exergames, which fuse exercises with engaging gameplay.
Sebastian's project will research on exergame-based training and gamification for older adults as a means of improving overall health outcomes.
James Kim
Kim, James
Faculty of Arts - Department of Sexuality, Marriage, & Family Studies; St. Jerome's University
Supervisor: Toni Serafini
Faculty of Environment - Department of Knowledge Integration
Supervisor: John McLevey
Despite gains in gender equality over the past decades, misogyny and gender-based violence (GBV) remain among the most pressing global challenges impacting individuals and societies worldwide. In recent years, the internet has promoted the spread of new misogynistic ideologies and growing levels of online GBV which have translated to real-world violence (e.g., 2018 Toronto Van Attack). As online misogyny operates anonymously and is difficult to study using survey methods, significant empirical knowledge gaps remain regarding how these ideologies move into the real world to have profound impacts.
James' project will identify distinguishing features of modern misogynist ideologies, and convert findings into a novel methodological tool, enabling new waves of empirical research on the sources and outcomes of modern misogynistic ideologies, and create the necessary foundation for evidence-based, empirically-informed solutions to combat GBV, which remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world.
Christine Mills
Mills, Christine
Faculty of Health - Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences
Supervisor: Heather Keller
Faculty of Health - School of Public Health Sciences
Supervisor: George Heckman
Christine's research will work with older adults in a setting where they congregate and using aco-design approach, create nutrition education programming to be delivered in that setting. The goal is to create a program that can be delivered by non-dietitians (nonspecialist staff, volunteers or undergraduate students).
Stuart Schussler
Schussler, Stuart
Faculty of Arts - Department of Social Development Studies - Renison College
Supervisor: Craig Fortier
Faculty of Environment - Department of Knowledge Integration
Supervisor: Kathryn Plaisance
Member-led community organizations are at the heart of the social movements that make history. Yet the very characteristics that create such dynamism – their inclusive and non-hierarchical membership, the flexibility of not having legal status – mean that universities seldom engage them as viable sites of service learning.
Stuart's postdoctoral research explores how to remedy this. "Bridging the Gap: The Makings of Constructive Service Learning with Community Organizations" is an interdisciplinary inquiry into the practices that allow university students, faculty, and staff to support community organizations inconstructive ways, sometimes through research and more often through hand-on volunteer work.
