The Government of Canada awarded McGill 10 new and five renewed Canada Research Chairs Nov. 14, representing a total research investment of $13.8 million.
McGill’s new and renewed CRCs are advancing research across disciplines, from pioneering work in cognitive neuroinformatics, to Indigenous food sovereignty, to regenerative medicine.
The McGill awards were part of $182 million in funding for the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program the government announced, to support 224 new and renewed chair holders at post-secondary institutions across the country.
Established in 2000 and investing approximately $311 million annually to recruit and retain world-class researchers in the fields of engineering, health sciences, humanities and social sciences, the Canada Research Chairs Program is a tri-agency initiative of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
There are two types of Canada Research Chairs. Tier 1 Chairs, awarded to outstanding researchers acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their fields, are valued at $200,000 annually for seven years, with one opportunity for renewal. Tier 2 Chairs, valued at $120,000 annually for five years and renewable only once at a value of $100,000 annually, are for exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having the potential to lead in their field.
Among the recipients are:
Marta Cerruti
, newly appointed Canada Research Chair in Sex, Age (NSERC, Tier 1) and Calcification Diseases, is a Professor in the Department of Mining and Materials Engineering and co-Director of the McGill Institute for Advanced Materials. Her research investigates how calcium deposits form in soft tissues like arteries, heart valves and joints, leading to blood flow problems and joint pain, and increased risk for individuals with diabetes, atherosclerosis or chronic kidney disease. Building on Cerruti’s pioneering 2020 study of sex-based differences in heart valve calcification, her team will use advanced characterization techniques to analyze these mineral deposits, aiming to uncover sex and age-specific factors influencing calcification and guiding the development of personalized treatments.
Victoria Talwar, James McGill Professor in the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology (SSHRC Tier 1), is newly appointed as CRC in Forensic Developmental Psychology. Her research investigates the psychological factors that influence truth-telling and deception in children, aiming to improve practices in forensic interviewing and support more accurate assessments in legal contexts. Her work provides critical insights into children’s cognitive and moral development, helping to shape effective methods for interviewing young witnesses and assessing the credibility of their reports. Through her research, Talwar is advancing forensic psychology and enhancing protections for children involved in legal proceedings.
Among the renewed Chairs is Treena Delormier, Associate Professor in the School of Human Nutrition, Director of the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Nutrition & Environment, Scientific Director of the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Program, and CRC in Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Nutrition (CIHR, Tier 2). In Canada, Indigenous households experience higher rates of food insecurity, with unreliable access to nutritious, affordable and culturally appropriate food. Delormier’s work addresses the deep-seated health inequities rooted in colonial history by collaborating with Indigenous partners and using community-based methods that respect Indigenous knowledge systems. Through her research, Delormier aims to support healthier futures for Indigenous Populations while mentoring the next generation of Indigenous health researchers.
The full list of this year’s McGill recipients:
- Boris Bernhardt, Canada Research Chair in Cognitive Neuroinformatics of Healthy and Diseased Brains, CIHR, Tier 2 (Renewal)
- Marta Cerruti, Canada Research Chair in Sex, Age and Calcification Diseases, Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, NSERC, Tier 1 (New)
- Katie Cockburn, Canada Research Chair in Dynamics of Tissue Regeneration, Department of Biochemistry, CIHR, Tier 2 (New)
- Gonzalo Cosa, Canada Research Chair in Fluorescence Imaging and Biophotonics, Department of Chemistry, CIHR, Tier 1 (New)
- Treena Delormier, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous food sovereignty and nutrition, School of Human Nutrition, CIHR, Tier 2 (Renewal)
- Shirin Abbasi Nejad Enger, Canada Research Chair in Medical Physics, Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology, CIHR, Tier 2 (Renewal)
- Marie-Claude Geoffroy, Canada Research Chair in Youth Suicide Prevention, Department of Psychiatry, CIHR, Tier 2 (Renewal)
- Chelsia Gillis, Canada Research Chair in Perioperative Nutrition, School of Human Nutrition, CIHR, Tier 2 (New)
- Lara Khoury, Canada Research Chair in Responsabilité civile, gouvernance de la santé et changement social, SSHRC, Tier 1 (New)
- Jessica Lin, Canada Research Chair in Partial Differential Equations and Probability, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, NSERC, Tier 2 (Renewal)
- Sampath Kumar Loganathan, Canada Research Chair in Functional Genomics of Head and Neck Cancer, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, CIHR, Tier 2 (New)
- Maureen McKeague, Canada Research Chair in Functional Oligonucleotides, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, CIHR, Tier 2 (Renewal)
- Marie-Hélène Pennestri, Canada Research Chair in Pediatric Sleep, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, CIHR, Tier 2 (New)
- Bradley Siwick, Canada Research Chair in Dynamics in Complex Materials, Department of Physics, NSERC, Tier 1 (New)
- Victoria Talwar, Canada Research Chair in Forensic Developmental Psychology, Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, SSHRC, Tier 1 (New)
- Ivan Topisirovic, Canada Research Chair in Regulation of mRNA Translation and Metabolism, Gerald Bronfman Department of Oncology, CIHR, Tier 1 (New)
“Congratulations to our newly appointed and renewed Canada Research Chairs,” said Christopher Manfredi, Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic).
“Their dedication to advancing knowledge and addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time exemplifies McGill’s commitment to excellence and innovation. With the invaluable support of the Government of Canada, we are proud to champion their impactful research, which continues to inspire students, strengthen communities, and contribute to meaningful change locally and globally.”