$11.5M to boost Queen’s research advancing understanding of people, societies, and the world

Research Funding

$11.5M to boost Queen’s research advancing understanding of people, societies, and the world

The Insight and Partnerships programs support research excellence in the social sciences and humanities and the formation of collaborations that bring about its real-world impact. 

By Kayla Dettinger, Manager, Strategic Communications Initiatives

July 15, 2025

Share

Goodes Hall

More than 200 Queen’s researchers and projects will be receiving a combined $25.4 million to accelerate their research as part of this major federal funding announcement.

Humanities and social sciences research in Canada have received a more than $240 million boost from the federal government. Announced as part of a last week totaling $1.3 billion, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, detailed the four programs through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) that would be administering the funds. Close to 50 researchers at Queen’s have secured $11.5 million across the four programs. Queen’s projects cover a significant range of crucial areas from actioning social justice to investigating the potential functions of digital currency and analyzing the impact of political representation.

“These researchers aren’t just imagining the future—they’re building it. Their work covers topics such as pandemic readiness and cutting-edge technology, and it reflects the Government of Canada’s commitment to driving innovation, strengthening the economy and tackling the challenges that matter most to Canadians. With this support, we’re empowering the talent that will shape a more resilient, inclusive and globally competitive Canada."

– The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions

See the full list of Queen’s-funded SSHRC projects below. To learn more about other research at Queen’s funded as part of this announcement, read “More than $20 million awarded to advance Queen’s research” in the Gazette.

 

Stage 2 Partnership Grants  

support new and existing formal partnerships to advance research, training, or knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities. Funding is available up to $2.5 million over four to seven years. Learn more about the two funded projects at Queen’s working in the areas of Indigenous hockey and humanitarian aid response.

Sam McKegney (English Literature and Creative Writing): Indigenous Hockey Research Network – $2,500,000

Susan Bartels (Emergency Medicine; Public Health Sciences): RespondEr-Perpetrated Sexual ExPlOitation aND AbusE in Humanitarian CRises – A Partnership for Accountability and Change (RESPONDER Partnership) – $2,499,595

 

Partnership Development Grants  

support the development of partnerships or the design and testing of new partnership approaches to nurture existing and emerging opportunities for research collaboration, best practices, or models that can be adapted by others or scaled to a regional, national, or international level. Grants are awarded up to $200,000 for three years.

Patty Douglas (Education): Telling Our Stories: A Photovoice Project with Diverse Autistic Youth in Northern Ontario – $199,619

Colleen Grady (Family Medicine): Reclaiming Connectedness and a Sense of Belonging in Family Medicine: Investigation and Action Plan – $173,346

 

Insight Grants 

 provide support for larger-scale research initiatives and offer funding up to $500,000 for between two to five years. Both emerging and established researchers are eligible, and the program’s intention is to develop understanding from interdisciplinary perspectives and mobilize this knowledge. There is also a significant focus on providing high-quality research training experiences for students.

Samual Dahan (Law): Exploring Human-AI Methods for Access to Justice – $399,786

Maxwell Hartt (Geography and Planning): Age-friendly Shrinking Cities: Planning for a New Era of Global Urbanism – $342,176

Tom Hollenstein (Psychology): Tracking Digital Activities and Parenting Processes that Foster the Development of Adolescent Digital Flourishing – $308,202

Elaine Power (School of Kinesiology and Health Studies; Gender Studies): From Charity to Justice: Creating & Evaluating Arts-Based Knowledge Mobilization Projects for Food Insecurity Solutions – $307,022

Li-Jun Ji (Psychology): Cultural Differences in Beliefs about Luck – $306,859

Sailaja Krishnamurti (Gender Studies): Frequencies of Caste: Tuning in to Prejudice and Privilege in Canada's South Asian Communities – $297,114

Heather McGregor (Education): Climate Justice Education in Ontario: Creating and Sustaining a Professional Learning Community – $294,146

Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant (Political Studies): Resilience or Retreat? How Does Populism Affect Women's Political Representation in Canadian and American Right-Wing Parties – $293,952

Kate Harkness (Psychology; Psychiatry): Theory of Mind-linked Behaviours: Predicting Success in Social Interaction – $279,690

Lee Airton (Education): Just Getting Through It? How School Practicum Impacts Under-Represented Teacher Candidates – $249,127

Zsuzsa Csergő (Political Studies): Major Crises and Minority Life in Majoritarian States – $236,830

Nicole Myers (Sociology): Jail Not Bail?: Legal Rights, Risk and Public Safety – $176,731

Goce Andrevski (Smith School of Business): Competitive Surprises in Business Strategy – $158,542

Nicolas Lamp (Law; School of Policy Studies): Trading in (Dis)Order: The Crisis of Globalization and the Future of International Trade Law and Policy – $154,737

Robert Clark (Economics): Collusion and the Misallocation of Production – $152,192

Eddy Ng (Smith School of Business): Location Bias when Assessing Foreign Credentials in Hiring Decisions – $136,719

Michele Morningstar (Psychology): Parents vs. Peers: Probing the Influence of Context on Social Information Processing in Adolescence – $99,997

Gregor Smith (Economics): International Relative Prices and Economic Development Paths – $98,378

Colleen Davison (Public Health Sciences; Global Development Studies): Exploring Consequences of Polycrisis: Understanding the Context and Experiences of Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Northern Thailand – $94,849

Amy Hongfei Sun (Economics): Central Bank Digital Currency and the Future of Monetary Policy – $94,828

Alana Butler (Education; Gender Studies): Examining Post 2020 Targeted Supports for Black Post-Secondary Students in Ontario Universities – $91,397

Jacob Weinrib (Law): Constitutional Rights and the Justification Crisis – $89,074

Jen Kennedy (Art History and Art Conservation): Feminisms' Movements: Mapping Canadian Feminist Art Across and Beyond the Nation, 1970-1995 – $88,862

Pierre Chaigneau (Smith School of Business): Innovative Investments: Short-termism and Information Design – $83,982

Paul Calluzzo (Smith School of Business): LBGTQ+ Shareholder Activism – $81,130

Brant Abbott (Economics): Tax-Free Savings Accounts and Economic Stability in Canada – $77,827

Karen Dubinsky (History; Global Development Studies): Cuban Roots on Canadian Soil – A History of Cuban Musicians in Canada – $62,899

Rosa Bruno-Jofré (Education; History): Corpus Christi School, New York City: Education, Politics, Theology, and a Catholic Progressive School, 1930s-1950s – $61,698

 

Insight Development Grants  

 support research in its initial stages. The grant enables the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches, or ideas. Funding of up to $75,000 is provided for short-term research projects of up to two years.  

Heather Aldersey (Rehabilitation Therapy): Indigenous Experiences of Formal and Natural Disability Supports – $75,000

Isabelle St-Amand (Languages, Literatures, and Cultures): A Disconnect in Understanding: Theorizing our Collaborative Research Practices in the Field of Indigenous Cinema – $74,959

Elaheh Fata (Smith School of Business): Improving the Odds of Entrepreneurial Success with Analytics and Optimization – $74,842

Meredith Chivers (Psychology): Are Kinksters Doing It Better? Gaining Insights on Sexual Wellbeing from Kink Community Members to Promote Flourishing – $73,786

Surulola Eke (Political Studies): Hawking Labour, Hawking Norms: A Comparative Study of Global Agrarian Labour Governance in East and West Africa – $73,460

Scott Mackenzie (Film and Media): Women Filmmakers and the Welfare State: Transnational Film Cultures During the Long 1970s in Canada and Sweden – $72,136

Jennifer Tomasone (School of Kinesiology and Health Studies): Reimagining Disability in Kinesiology: A Systems Approach to Anti-Ableist Reform – $71,803

Jen Kennedy (Art History and Art Conservation): Exhibiting Internet Art: Creating and Testing New Approaches to Display – $70,070

Yanzhe (Murray) Lei (Smith School of Business): Retrieve and Recycle - Win-Win Reverse Logistics Strategy Toward Sustainable Business Prosperity – $69,667

Juan Francisco Chavez Ramirez (Smith School of Business): Strengthening Resilience and Upholding Indigenous Rights: Community-Based Approaches to Environmental Grand Challenges – $63,100

Golshan Golriz (Sociology): Intersectionality, Inequality, and Resettlement: Comparing Queer, Trans, and Nonbinary Muslim Refugee Experiences in two Canadian Cities – $56,841

Catherine Stinson (Philosophy; School of Computing): Eliza's Ghosts: Can Chatbots be Psychotherapists? – $50,000

Mikhail Nediak (Smith School of Business): A Data-Driven Framework for Balancing Stakeholder Fairness Preferences in Algorithmic Decision-Making – $49,592

Erica Pimentel (Smith School of Business): Remote auditors: A Study on the Use of Remote Work in Audit Firms – $46,047

Yu Hou (Smith School of Business): Digital Spotlights: How Media Platforms Drive Change in Corporate Accounting Practices – $45,165

Sarah Burrows (Smith School of Business): Queer-owned Ventures: Rethinking Entrepreneurship Beyond Heteronormative Boundaries – $44,376

Amanada Bongers (Chemistry): Who has a voice? Listening to Students' Overlooked Experiences in the Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory – $41,500

Arts and Humanities
Business and Economics
Environment and Sustainability
Health and Medicine
Law, Governance, and Public Policy
Social Sciences
Arts and Science
Education
Health Sciences
Law
Smith Business
Partnerships for the Goals