Vaccinating against dengue may increase Zika outbreaks
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Female (left) and male (right) Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Credit: NIAID
Mosquito vector Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Credit: NIAID
Vaccinating against dengue fever could increase outbreaks of Zika, suggests new research out of York University and Xi’an Jiaotong University in China.
The research identifies a potentially serious public health concern. More than a third of the world’s population lives in areas where dengue is endemic and cases of co-infection with Zika have already been reported.
Conducted at York University’s Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics using mathematical modelling, the research was led by Biao Tang, an exchange PhD student from Xi’an Jiaotong University, in collaboration with York Professor Jianhong Wu and Tang’s supervisor, Professor Yanni Xiao at Xi’an Jiaotong University. As dengue and Zika are both part of the Flaviviridae family transmitted through a common mosquito host, the researchers wanted to know how vaccinating for one would affect the incidence of the other.
“Vaccinating against one virus could not only affect the control of another virus, it could, in fact, make it easier for the other to spread,” says Wu. “Recent evidence suggests that dengue virus antibodies can enhance the Zika virus infection. For that reason, we developed a new math model to investigate the effect of dengue vaccination on Zika outbreaks.”
The team’s model shows that vaccinations for dengue increase the number of people contracting Zika. It also shows that the more people in a particular population that are vaccinated against dengue, the earlier and larger the Zika outbreak. The research also found that the most effective way to minimize the unintended effect of dengue vaccinations on Zika outbreaks is an integrated strategy that includes mosquito control.
Jianhong Wu
“We concluded that vaccination against dengue among humans can significantly boost Zika transmission among the population and hence call for further study on integrated control measures on controlling dengue and Zika outbreak,” says Xiao.
The researchers note their findings do not discourage the development and promotion of dengue vaccine products, however, more work needs to be done to understand how to optimize dengue vaccination programs and minimize the risk of Zika outbreaks.
According to the World Health Organization, the global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically in recent decades, with about half of the world’s population now at risk. In some Asian and Latin American countries, severe dengue is a leading cause of serious illness and death among children. Whereas the outbreaks of Zika have occurred in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific, and has been linked to microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Although vaccines for dengue have been developed and are in use, there is no vaccine for Zika.
Landmark US $1-million gift from Jim and Marilyn Simons establishes leading science fellowship program
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Patricia Weisenfeld, vice president of Special Initiatives at the Simons Foundation
York President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri
York University President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri announced a US $1-million barrier-breaking gift from Jim and Marilyn Simons that will create the York Science Fellows program in the Faculty of Science. The program will fund at least 12 three-year postdoctoral fellowships, valued at $72,000 per annum each, including contributions from the Faculty and supervisory faculty members. The announcement was made Oct. 24 at a special event on the University’s Keele campus.
“The Simons’ gift gives York University the ability to strengthen our research culture by propelling forward scholarship by bright, young minds and reinforcing the sciences as a signature strength of our University,” said President Shoukri. “On behalf of the University, I wish to express our gratitude to Jim and Marilyn Simons for this generous support.”
Postdocs are essential to scientific undertakings because they bring new energy, cultivate new ideas and enhance research productivity. Through the fellowships, the donation will help prepare young researchers to be leaders in their fields and close the financial gap that restricts the number of top-level talent Canadian universities can attract.
From left: Jeff O’Hagan, vice-president advancement, York University; Patricia Weisenfeld, vice-president, special initiatives, Simons Foundation; and Faculty of Science Dean Ray Jayawardhana
On behalf of the Simonses, Patricia Weisenfeld, vice-president of special initiatives at the Simons Foundation, said, “This gift conveys confidence that exciting research is happening here at York, and the Foundation sets the bar high. York embodies our values of excellence and aligns with our belief that when we invest in talented young scientists, we invest in the world. We are pleased to help expand opportunities for these young scientists and researchers.”
Patricia Weisenfeld, vice president of special initiatives at the Simons Foundation
Together, Jim and Marilyn Simons manage the Simons Foundation, a charitable organization that has promoted scientific research in mathematics and the basic sciences at universities and institutions in the U.S. and abroad for more than 20 years.
A celebrated mathematician, businessperson and philanthropist, Jim Simons is chair of the Foundation, and founder and board chair of Renaissance Technologies LLC, a qualitative investment firm, as well as Math for America, a non-profit that enhances math teaching in public school. He received an honorary doctorate of science from York earlier this year. He holds a BS and PhD in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California at Berkeley respectively and served on the faculty of Stony Brook University. His most influential research involved the discovery of and application of geometric measurements, now called Chern-Simons Invariants.
Marilyn Simons is president of the Simons Foundation and has more than 25 years of experience supporting non-profit organizations in promoting basic science research and in improving K–12 education in underserved communities. She holds a BA and PhD in economics from Stony Brook University.
The Simons’ transformative gift directly supports “Impact: The Campaign for York University”, a $500-million fundraising and alumni engagement initiative. One of the campaign’s main priorities is to mobilize new ways of thinking, including investment in young researchers that drive innovation, of which postdoctoral fellowships are a large part.
“From personal experience when I was as postdoc myself and now as a mentor, I know that postdocs are at the forefront of scientific discovery,” said Ray Jayawardhana, dean of the Faculty of Science. “We are thrilled to share in a new investment in emerging scientists and to serve as a top destination for postdocs looking to launch their independent scientific careers. I can’t wait to see the exciting discoveries and contributions that York Science Fellows will make during their time here and beyond.”
Important notice to researchers: Tri-Agencies financial monitoring visit set for week of Nov. 7
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The Tri-Agencies are conducting a financial monitoring visit the week of Nov. 7. During the visit, the Tri-Agencies will be reviewing the University’s financial and administrative framework for the management of research funds.
The Tri-Agencies are also conducting an information session on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 2pm in the Senate Chamber – N940 Ross Building. This session will provide the broader research community (principal investigators and those involved in administration) with an opportunity to interface with representatives from the funding agencies and to ask questions.
This is a rare opportunity as generally the funding agencies visit Universities every five years.
Please respond to this email copying Amanda Thomson at amandath@yorku.ca confirming your attendance by Friday, Nov. 4.
Biology Professor receives 2016 Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award
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Jean-Paul Paluzzi
Biology Professor Jean-Paul Paluzzi in the Faculty of Science has received the 2016 Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award, which is presented to outstanding early-career faculty members. The award program is a commitment by Petro-Canada (now Suncor Energy Inc.) and York University to encourage excellence in teaching and research that will enrich the learning environment and contribute to society.
“Congratulations to Jean-Paul. We are delighted to count rising researchers of his caliber in our midst,” says Ray Jayawardhana, dean of the Faculty of Science.
Paluzzi’s research is focused on blood-feeding arthropods (including mosquitoes and ticks) and aims to understand the role of peptide hormones in the control of feeding, digestion, growth, development, and hydromineral balance.
“Arthropod vector-borne diseases are of global significance for human health, causing approximately one million deaths and the infection of over 500 million people each year,” says Paluzzi. “Alarmingly, resistance to strategies that control these pests is on the rise, and drugs used to treat arthropod-borne diseases are often ineffective as infectious diseases themselves evolve.”
Having a better understanding of how blood-feeding arthropods survive and reproduce will potentially lead to new prevention and management strategies for reducing the burden of vector-borne diseases.
Since establishing his independent research laboratory at York University in 2013, Paluzzi has obtained two external grants (including an operating grant and high-value equipment grant) and received the John Charles Polanyi Early Researcher Award. He has published 23 peer-reviewed publications that include five papers since starting his independent research lab.
President’s Town Hall and Community Cafe set for Oct. 11
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York University President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri has issued the following invitation to the York community:
It is my pleasure to invite you to attend the annual President’s Town Hall meeting taking place on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at 11am in the Tribute Communities Recital Hall in the Accolade East Building.
I will be joined at the meeting by Provost Lenton and Vice-Presidents Brewer, Haché and O’Hagan, who will provide brief updates following my opening remarks on the impact York University is having on our local and global communities.
The formal presentations will be followed by a question-and-answer period where community members can ask questions about institutional achievements, initiatives and developments.
This year’s Town Hall will be preceded by a Town Hall Community Café at 10:30am in the CIBC Lobby in the Accolade East Building. The Community Café is an informal reception hosted by myself and the VPs. All students, staff and faculty are invited to join us for this opportunity to connect over light refreshments before the Town Hall meeting.
If you are able to attend this year’s Community Café and Town Hall meeting, please RSVP at http://bit.ly/2dCql63.
For those unable to attend in person, the Town Hall will be webcast.
For the Glendon community, the Office of the Principal will host a viewing of the Town Hall live stream in the BMO Conference Centre at Glendon Hall from 11am to 12:30pm.
This will be my final Town Hall as president, so I warmly encourage all students, staff, faculty and alumni to join us for this important conversation.
I look forward to seeing you on October 11.
Lorraine Code receives prestigious RSC award
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Lorraine Code
Decades of groundbreaking and transformative contributions to gender studies have earned Lorraine Code, Distinguished Research Professor Emerita of philosophy at York University, the prestigious Ursula Franklin Award in Gender Studies.
Presented by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), the biennial award recognizes “significant contributions by a Canadian scholar in the humanities and social sciences to furthering our understanding of issues concerning gender.”
Lorraine Code
Code is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, elected in 2005.
A long-serving faculty member in York’s Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), Code’s work in the field dates back to 1981 when she sparked a transformation in established thinking with her “exploratory” article that set out to determine the ways in which “the sex of the knower might be a significant factor in the knowledge-seeking process.”
This article unravelled conventional assumptions at the time and set Code on a path for national and international recognition as a pioneer in feminist epistemology – a field that examines how gender influences knowledge production.
“The Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies is honoured that we have in our midst the eminent feminist philosopher, Professor Lorraine Code,” said LA&PS Dean Ananya Mukherjee-Reed. “Long recognized for her accomplishments in feminist epistemology, she was the first woman to be named Distinguished Research Professor at York University.”
Code’s research has had great influence on theorists across a range of disciplines, including philosophy, political theory, education, sociology, music and more. She has authored several books and articles that examine gender and feminist issues related to knowledge production, and knowledge and subjectivity.
She is a highly sought-after visiting researcher/professor and speaker, and has undertaken more than 100 events to share her research. Her work has earned her a long list of esteemed recognitions, including Distinguished Woman Philosopher of the Year from the American Society for Women in Philosophy (2009), an honorary doctorate from University of Guelph (2005) and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2013).
Code’s research has steadily been awarded research grants from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), including a SSHRC Insight Grant for her most recent inquiry “ ‘Manufactured uncertainty’ and epistemic responsibility: their implications for climate change skepticism” (2013-16). Code is currently working on a book from this project.
“Professor Code’s contributions to feminist philosophy and gender studies are, in a word, transformative,” said Mukherjee-Reed. “Through the work of our esteemed colleague, we also have the opportunity to pay tribute to Ursula Franklin, a trailblazer and scholar like none other. I am thrilled to congratulate Professor Code on this well-deserved recognition and award.”
In addition to her research, Code is recognized for her contributions as an editor and translator to several publications, including the Routledge Encyclopedia of Feminist Theories (2000), the Feminist Interpretations of Hans-Georg Gadamer (2003), as well as Feminist Perspectives: Philosophical Essays on Minds and Morals (1988), Changing Patterns: Women in Canada (1988; revised 1993) and Changing Methods: Feminists Transforming Practice (1995).
Four York U students receive Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships
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York graduate students Alison Humphrey, Zachary Lomo, Jesse Thistle and Syrus Marcus Ware have been named recipients of the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, one of the most prestigious graduate scholarships in Canada.
Recipients receive $50,000 annually for up to three years to support their doctoral research and are selected based on their leadership skills and high standards of scholarly achievement in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, or health-related fields.
“I’d like to congratulate Alison, Zachary, Jesse and Syrus on this wonderful achievement,” says Barbara Crow, dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies. “Their research projects are exciting and diverse, and I’m so pleased that they have been recognized by the broader research community with this incredible honour.”
Alison Humphrey
Alison Humphrey Cinema & Media Studies
Humphrey is collaborating with young performing artists at drama schools in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, to create a science fiction story world titled Shadowpox, exploring civic engagement through the concept of vaccination through her thesis Participatory Culture, Political Chorus: Empowering youth civic engagement and public health problem-solving by reinventing an ancient Greek dramatic art for the internet age.
“The chorus in ancient Greek theatre gave voice to a community, a collective ‘character’ in dialogue with the individualistic hero,” says Humphrey. “These choruses were often performed by Greek youth as a cornerstone of their participation in civic life. I see parallels in young adults employing digital technologies to respond to and build on stories in present-day popular culture and civic debate.”
Humphrey notes that we use stories to help us figure out how to act and, in the case of health decisions, these might come from family, friends or various forms of media. “Often we are most moved to action not by the story with the best randomized controlled trial, but by the one with the most human drama.”
“I’m incredibly lucky to be able to work with geek-friendly faculty like my PhD supervisor, Caitlin Fisher, who co-founded York’s Future Cinema Lab; Graham Wakefield, who let technical director LaLaine Ulit-Destajo and me loose in his brand-new Alice Lab for Computational Worldmaking; and Jen Jenson, Director of York’s Institute for Research on Digital Learning,” she says. “Dr. Fisher and I will be participating in an exhibition next year at the United Nations in Geneva for The Vaccine Project, a multi-year initiative bringing together scientists, artists and academics to explore strategies for improving global health decision-making.”
Zachary Lomo
Zachary Lomo Law
Lomo’s work investigates how the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) can be held accountable, at international law, for both environmental degradation resulting from refugee camps in Africa that it helps create, fund, and manage and the conditions of refugees in those camps.
“I hope my research will contribute to better understanding of the responsibilities of international organizations, which enjoy separate legal personality or in layman’s language, which enjoy autonomy and independence, from their parent organizations, whose activities greatly impact the lives of millions of people in the developing world,” he says.
Lomo’s work seeks to clarify the factors that form the state of exception of refugee encampment and stimulate further research on alternatives to refugee encampment. The hope, then, is to prompt debate on finding alternatives to refugee encampment. “This will benefit refugees, host communities, and many people who contribute billions of dollars each year to support the work of UNHCR because such a debate will create the momentum for further research for better ways of serving humanity, especially the most disadvantaged and vulnerable amongst us.”
Lomo recently concluded a residency at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo, Ontario, and has since returned to York to continue his research. “The environment at York is superb for the kind of research I am conducting. The materials and resources I need are easily accessible and the Librarians are excellent,” he says.
Jesse Thistle
Jesse Thistle History
Thistle’s thesis Indigence, Invisibility, and Indifference: Metis Life in Road Allowance Communities on the Canadian Prairies focuses on Indigenous narrative, memory, and storytelling as a way to rediscover history and identity. Centred on intergenerational trauma in Metis-Cree in the northern Great Plains, Thistle has built an oral history archive, a photo journal, and preserved community stories for posterity.
In addition to the Vanier, Thistle was also awarded a Trudeau Scholarship this year, with an annual value of $60,000 (including an annual travel allowance of $20,000) for up to four years. He is the first York scholar to be awarded both a Trudeau and a Vanier.
“My work on trauma is geared towards Indigenous community healing and moving forward; I do not study trauma for the spectacle of it, I want to understand trauma and help people recover identity and move forward in a good way, towards reconciliation,” he says.
“The goal of my research is to make Canadians aware of Metis road allowance history on the prairies in the 20th century. Most people I have talked to across the country do not even know what a road allowance community was, when they existed and who lived on them. I want to change that. I want people to better understand this chapter in Metis history, to make people see the resilience of my people.”
The work is very personal for Thistle. Looking at his own family history dating back to after the Riel Resistances of 1869 and 1885, it is his hope to bring about a greater understanding of impacts experienced by the Metis people to better inform how future generations can fight against, heal and overcome trauma.
Thistle says that winning both the Trudeau and Vanier opens many doors for him in terms of research support, travel and connecting with top scholars in the country – noting community as the true value of the award.
“In all, I guess I will keep doing what I am doing with my own Metis-Cree community and friends in Saskatchewan and Ontario, and I will keep writing my crazy stories and histories with my cat and wife Lucie by my side. And I know I will keep visiting and working with Randy, Nancy, and Jolene up at the Centre for Aboriginal Student Services (CASS). Those people work magic, truly. Go check them out. CASS helped make me into the person and scholar I am today – York is lucky to have such an Indigenous centre with such experts.”
Syrus Marcus Ware
Syrus Marcus Ware Environmental Studies
Ware’s work focuses on the disjuncture of progressive policy frameworks and funding structures for equity-seeking populations, and the ability to use those frameworks in a way that improves the life and work chances of those who need them most.
“My research seeks to address the existing limitations in the field of disability arts by exploring the development of a contemporary disability arts movement alongside both the institutional infrastructures that fund and present this work as well as the lived experiences of disabled artists of colour,” says Ware.
This research allows Ware to investigate the experiences of disabled artists of colour within arts communities and better understand their lived experiences, something that has been widely under-researched.
“It will also bring me closer to an understanding of my own work as a racialized, disabled artist and activist. My research will contribute to the burgeoning fields of disability arts, disability studies and museum studies, contributing invaluable insight into the lived experiences of those on the margins,” says Ware. “My work will contribute to interventions within these fields by scholars of colour calling for an intersectional approach and analysis. On a large-scale, this research could be used to help disabled artists advocate for access and resources, and help funders and institutions better engage with diverse populations.”
Additionally, Ware contributes to Marvellous Grounds – an SSHRC and ERA-funded, forerunning collection of art, activism and academic writings by queers of colour in Toronto. It is a book and web-based project and is co-edited/curated by Jin Haritaworn, Alvis Choi, Ghaida Moussa, Rio Rodriguez and Ware at York University.
“York University is the ideal place for me to train and conduct this research. Through the Faculty of Environmental Studies’ specialization in interdisciplinary and transnational research, community arts, and critical race theory, I will gain skills that will help me broaden my current research and analysis. Working in a recognized, socially conscious institutional environment and with well-established faculty such as Dr. Haritaworn, Dr. Ford-Smith and Dr. Gorman (Critical Disability Studies at York) will be ideal and they have written some of the seminal works on trans and queer of colour theory and activism; performance and social movements; community arts; community-engaged and activist art and disability and social movements.”
Bee expert recognized for outstanding contributions to entomology in Canada
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Amro Zayed
Amro Zayed
At the International Congress of Entomology on Sept. 25, York University Professor Amro Zayed in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, received the 2016 C. Gordon Hewitt Award from the Entomological Society of Canada. The award honours outstanding contributions to entomology in Canada by an emerging researcher.
Zayed, also a Tier 2 York Research Chair in Genomics, studies the genetic basis of honey bee behaviour. He completed a BSc at York, including an honours thesis project in Professor Laurence Packer’s lab in the Faculty of Science. Following his bachelor’s degree, he immediately began a PhD with Packer; his doctoral research focused on the application of genetic theory and methodology to bee conservation. After completing his PhD in 2006 and moving on to a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois, Zayed returned to York University in 2009 as a faculty member in the Department of Biology.
Since then, he has developed a world-leading research program on honey bee genomics. His work has provided insights on the fundamental relationships between genetics and caste divergence in bees. He completed a large-scale study of the population genomics of honey bees, and his lab’s research has overturned the popular hypothesis that managed bees have reduced genetic diversity. In addition, his team played a major role in an international consortium that sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 10 bee species; the results were published in Science in 2015.
Zayed’s lab also conducts applied research on honey bee health. In 2015, he and his Australian colleagues developed a genetic test that can greatly reduce the risk of accidentally introducing Africanized honey bees to Canada. He is currently working on identifying specific mutations that are associated with the hygienic behaviour of honey bee colonies – a trait that enhances honey bees’ resistance to several pests and pathogens. He is co-leading a Genome Canada-funded project to develop marker-assisted breeding in honey bees. Finally, his group is carrying out a large-scale study on the effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on honey bee health in Ontario and Quebec.
“Amro is a most deserving winner of this award,” says Packer. “Not only is he an excellent scientist doing cutting-edge genomic research, but he also has a broad understanding and remarkable aptitude in natural history; these two things rarely occur together in a young investigator.”
To learn more about Zayed’s research, visit his lab web page.
New low-cost technique helps dentists quickly detect early tooth decay
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Lassonde School of Engineering Professor Nima Tabatabaei’s paper, recently published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics, presents a new low-cost imaging device for early detection of tooth cavities.
Nima Tabatabaei
Dentists currently rely on two methods to detect early caries: X-ray imaging and visual inspection of the tooth surface, but both of these diagnostics have limitations. Dentists can’t see caries until it is relatively advanced, and x-rays can’t detect occlusal early caries – those on the biting surface of the tooth.
The TPLI tool uses a long-wavelength infrared camera to detect the small amount of thermal infrared radiation emitted from dental caries after stimulation by a light source.
The tool has the benefits of being noncontact, noninvasive, and low-cost, and has great potential as a commercially viable diagnostic imaging device for dentistry.
The co-authors on the study are York University graduate student Ashkan Ojaghi and York University undergraduate student Artur Parkhimchyk.
The Royal Society of Canada elects three York University professors and one alumnus to its ranks
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Royal Society Logo
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC) has elected three York University professors and one alumnus into its ranks.
Janine Marchessault
Janine Marchessault, professor in the Department of Cinema & Media Arts in the School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design, and Douglas Hay, professor emeritus in Osgoode Hall Law School and the Department of History in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS), are among 89 new Fellows elected to the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). Also elected is York University Alumnus Christian Bök (PhD ’98), who is an award-winning poet and faculty member in the Department of English at the University of Calgary. Elected to the RSC’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists is Rachel Koopmans, associate professor in the Department of History (LA&PS)
“On behalf of the York community, I am very pleased to congratulate Professors Marchessault, Hay and Koopmans as well as alumnus Christian Bök on this well-deserved honour,” said Mamdouh Shoukri, York University president and vice-chancellor. “These outstanding scholars reflect the high level of excellence and dedication of our York faculty and serve as an example of the incredible impact that our professors and alumni are having in their local and national communities.”
The Royal Society of Canada Division of Arts
Janine Marchessault is an internationally acclaimed media scholar and curator of numerous large-scale public art exhibitions exploring sustainable urbanism. Her scholarly work, including 10 monographs and edited volumes and more than 50 articles, has had an enduring influence on the fields of media, cinema and urban studies. As a curator, she has made a sustained impact in the art world and opened a vital space for community participation and public dialogue.
Christian Bök is an experimental poet in Canada. Recognized internationally as a very influential writer, Bök explores the music of language, often using scientific mechanisms to create poetry. His book Eunoia (2001), the best-selling book of Canadian poetry, won the Griffin Prize in 2002. His most recent work, The Xenotext (2015), contributes not only to poetic practice, but also to molecular biology and cellular genetics. (Image not available.)
The Royal Society of Canada Division of Social Sciences
Douglas Hay
Douglas Hay has made a unique contribution both to the legal historiography of England and its former colonies and, more broadly, to interdisciplinary socio-legal scholarship in Canada. He combines a comprehensive approach to source materials with innovative methodology and a broad understanding of law’s relationship to society. A prolific scholar, enthusiastic collaborator and generous mentor, he has influenced countless colleagues, students and professional peers in both law and history.
“I am impressed by the exceptional quality of this year’s nominees, which include the highest ever proportion of Francophones as newly elected Fellows. The RSC is proud to welcome all the new members within its institution and I particularly acknowledge the inclusion, as Honorary Fellows, of two women who have greatly contributed to improving the quality of life of Indigenous peoples in Canada.” said RSC President Maryse Lassonde.
Marchessault, Bök and Hay were elected to the society by their peers in recognition of outstanding scholarly, scientific and artistic achievement. Election to the academies of the Royal Society of Canada is the highest honour a scholar can achieve in the Arts, Humanities and Sciences.
The Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists
Rachel Koopmans
In her wide-ranging explorations of medieval religious culture, Rachel Koopmans has made major contributions to the fields of history, literature, manuscript studies, and art history. Author of the influential and award-winning Wonderful to Relate: Miracle Stories and Miracle Collecting in High Medieval England (2011), she has now extended her reach into the specialist area of medieval stained glass, and is engaged in a revolutionary study of the famous “miracle windows” at Canterbury Cathedral devoted to Thomas Becket.
Koopmans is among 80 new members of the college, which represents the emerging generation of scholarly, scientific and artistic leadership in Canada.
“This year’s members join the college at an exciting time as a number of college supported projects are launching and looking for participants to strengthen the teams with various expertise and perspectives” said College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists President Alidad Amirfazli.
This year’s new fellows and college appointees will be inducted to the academies of the RSC during the Induction and Awards Ceremony on Friday, Nov. 18 at the Isabel Bader Centre in Kingston, Ontario.
York University President and Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri has issued the following invitation to the York community:
