Water Institute researchers named Canada Research Chairs
New and renewed research chairs recognize contributions to freshwater health, Indigenous water governance and climate resilience
Two Water Institute researchers have been named in the latest Canada Research Chairs (CRC) appointments, recognizing their contributions to addressing complex water challenges and advancing research with impact across Canada and internationally.
The Government of Canada recently announced more than $187 million to support 220 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs across the country, as part of a broader $813-million investment in Canadian research, infrastructure and innovation.
The latest appointments include a new Tier 1 Canada Research Chair for Professor Helen Jarvie and the renewal of Professor Kelsey Leonard's Tier 2 Canada Research Chair. Together, their research advances understanding of freshwater quality, the health of aquatic ecosystems, Indigenous water governance and climate resilience.
Helen Jarvie
New Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (NSERC)
$1,400,000
Professor Helen Jarvie has been named Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Global Water Quality, Sustainability and Environmental Change. Her CRC research will focus on the biogeochemical processes by which rivers naturally retain, transform, and remove pollutants, and on how unlocking the natural self-cleansing capacity of rivers can support healthier, more resilient freshwater ecosystems.
Water quality is fundamental to human health, recreation, sustainable economies, and the ecological health of rivers, lakes and coastal waters. Yet freshwater systems are under increasing pressure from agricultural intensification, urbanization, climate change and nutrient pollution. Excess nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) from agriculture and wastewater are driving harmful algal blooms across Canada and around the world, threatening freshwater ecosystems, drinking water supplies and local economies.
“Rivers are more than conduits that transport water across the landscape. They are living ecosystems with an extraordinary capacity to clean and regulate the water that flows through them,” says Helen Jarvie, professor in the Faculty of Environment and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Global Water Quality, Sustainability and Environmental Change.
“By unlocking the natural self-cleansing power of rivers, we can identify new opportunities to improve water quality, protect ecosystem health, and enhance watershed resilience in a changing world.”
Jarvie and her team will investigate the biogeochemical processes that control river self-cleansing, how these processes vary across landscapes and seasons, and how they respond to environmental change. Working with watershed organizations, community partners, and decision-makers, they will develop stewardship strategies that help enhance the natural self-cleansing capacity of rivers, improving water quality, ecosystem resilience, and the sustainable management of Canada's freshwater resources.
Kelsey Leonard
Tier 2 Canada Research Chair renewal (SSHRC)
$500,000
Congratulations to Professor Kelsey Leonard, a member of the Water Institute, on the renewal of her Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Waters, Climate and Sustainability.
Through community-engaged research, Leonard advances Indigenous-led approaches to water stewardship, climate resilience and environmental decision-making. Her work explores how Indigenous Knowledge can inform the protection and restoration of freshwater and marine ecosystems, while supporting Indigenous sovereignty and the rights of Indigenous Nations to govern and care for their waters.
A citizen of the Shinnecock Nation on Long Island, New York, Leonard joined the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Environment in 2020. Before joining Waterloo, she held a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship at McMaster University, where she researched transboundary water governance in the Great Lakes basin.
Leonard's contributions extend beyond academic research. She represents the Shinnecock Nation as a steering committee member of the Mid-Atlantic Committee on the Ocean, which works to protect and restore America's oceans and coasts. She has also brought her scientific and policy expertise to the U.S. Congress, providing expert testimony on ocean-based climate solutions.
Through her research and engagement with Indigenous communities and water governance organizations, Leonard continues to advance approaches that recognize Indigenous leadership and knowledge as essential to the stewardship and sustainability of the world's waters.
The Water Institute congratulates Helen Jarvie and Kelsey Leonard on these important achievements and looks forward to the continued contributions of their research to water science, policy and practice.