Research
Trio of Canada Research Chairs advancing Indigenous resurgence, alternative energy and stem cell science
Three groundbreaking Simon Fraser University scholars are among the new and renewed Canada Research Chairs (CRCs) announced this week by the Tri-agency Institutional Programs Secretariat.
They are visual arts professor Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill, a new CRC named by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council; mechatronics systems engineering professor Majid Bahrami, renewed as CRC by the Natural Science and Engineering Council; and molecular biology and biochemistry professor Lorena Braid, renewed by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Canada’s CRC program is meant to attract and retain world-class and emerging researchers across Canadian postsecondary institutions. SFU has around four dozen CRCs advancing scholarship and innovation across the humanities, sciences, health and beyond.
“A world-class research ecosystem is essential to Canada’s future well-being and prosperity," says Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. "The investments announced today for researchers, research institutions and critical infrastructure are helping build a healthier, more resilient and more prosperous country, while driving the discoveries and innovations that will shape our economy and improve Canadians’ quality of life for decades to come.”
“Congratulations to Gabrielle, Majid, and Lorena our new and renewed Canada Research Chairs, whose work in decolonization, clean technologies and bioengineering is helping build a more equitable, sustainable, and healthier world,” says Dugan O’Neil, vice-president, research and innovation. “Their success in securing support from all three federal granting agencies reflects the breadth and excellence of research at SFU.”
Learn more about SFU’s latest CRCs:
Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill
New Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Contemporary Arts
$600k over 5 years
Gabrielle Hill L’Hirondelle examines how Indigenous artists can create and share knowledge on their own terms while challenging the colonial systems that shape art galleries, museums and universities. Her research explores how artistic practice can strengthen Indigenous ways of knowing and support Indigenous resurgence, and what role Indigenous artists can play within institutions built on the dispossession of Indigenous peoples.
Her CRC program includes three interconnected projects: a land-based residency where artists learn through shared activities such as gathering materials and working on the land; a symposium focused on experiences within colonial art institutions and strategies for change; and the creation of new artworks, films and exhibitions. Together, these projects advance Indigenous-led approaches to research, creativity and institutional transformation.
Hill L’Hirondelle also received an award of $100k from the John R. Evans Leaders Fund, associated with her CRC, to support Facing Away Making Studio, a custom lab at SFU's School for the Contemporary Arts. The lab will provide space for the experimental research that informs her sculptures, drawings, and video works. It will also serve as a hub for collaboration with artists and art-workers, student mentorship, and the organization of land-based residencies and symposiums focused on movement, connection, and collaborative knowledge-building rooted in relationships to the land.
Majid Bahrami
Mechatronic Systems Engineering
Renewed CRC in Alternative Energy Conversion Systems
$1.4 million over 7 years
Majid Bahrami is a pioneering scientist and inventor finding ways to harness and use wasted energy. Heat lost from data centres, industry, and renewable energy systems can be put to work heating and cooling buildings, pulling water from the air, and boosting food production. Instead of employing energy-intensive equipment and refrigerants, his technologies use advanced materials to capture heat that would otherwise disappear. The goal is to create cleaner, more affordable solutions for communities and industry, with lower emissions and a boost for Canadian cleantech and jobs.
Lorena Braid
Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
Renewed Canada Research Chair in Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Biology
$500k over 5 years
Bioengineering is revolutionizing research and applied medicine, with increasingly sophisticated lab-grown tissues, such as organoids, bioprinted organs, and organ-on-a-chip devices becoming key tools for disease modeling and drug development.
Lorena Braid’s research focuses on mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), which reside in specialized stem cell niches and support tissue growth and repair throughout life. She aims to define how MSCs build and organize niches, create functional 3D organs in the laboratory, and determine how declining MSC function contributes to aging and disease. Her interdisciplinary research could enable the creation of functional biomimetic tissues and accelerate the development of new treatments for inherited and age-related diseases.
Congratulations to this trio of exceptional scholars!
See the full list of current chairholders on the CRC website.
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The Government of Canada's Research Support Fund supports with funding for staff who help SFU researchers increase success, reduce administrative burden, and make it possible for the university and SFU faculty to successfully compete for the most significant and prestigious grants, prizes and awards available. This includes staff from the Institutional Strategic Awards office and faculty-based grant facilitators.