Welcome to Brainstorm for May 2018

Brainstorm, a special edition of YFile publishing on the first Friday of every month, showcases research and innovation at York University. It offers compelling and accessible, feature-length stories about the world-leading and policy-relevant work of York’s academics and researchers across all disciplines and faculties, and encompasses both pure and applied research.

In the May 2018 issue

Landmark project brings to light crimes against humanity in African war zones
SSHRC-funded project documents conjugal slavery in conflict regions of Africa. With high-profile partners, this pioneering research team is now sharing its work with a global audience thanks to York’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit.

York professor and alumna contributes to world’s largest LGBTQ+ archives
Professor Nancy Nicol donates her collection of original footage from her documentaries to the Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives. This “moving history charged with optimism” will be preserved for generations to come.

Mathematics research offers new ways to control West Nile transmission
CIHR- and NSERC-funded research identifies possible measures to control the mosquito population and the transmission of the West Nile virus in artificial ponds around the GTA. The findings could be used to guide programs in local health units.

Osgoode-led project on access to justice could reorient policy discussions
SSHRC-funded project investigates the problem of access to justice, brings to light new information around health and equity, and promises to inform future thought around research and policy.

Outgoing Director reflects on far-reaching impact of Tubman Institute
Professor Michele Johnson, at the end of her term as director, reflects on the impact that the Tubman Institute has made in Canada and across the globe. She hopes to rectify the nation’s amnesia, around the presence and contributions of persons of African descent, in our history.

Launched in January 2017, Brainstorm is produced out of the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation in partnership with Communications & Public Affairs; overseen by Megan Mueller, manager, Research Communications; and edited by Jenny Pitt-Clark, the YFile editor.