2024 Annual Conference
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Keynote Speaker
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| Valerie ChappeFull Professor in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics at Dalhousie University and the Associate Dean of Students and Postdoctoral Fellows in the Faculty of Graduate Studies Dr Valerie Chappe is a Full Professor in the Department of Physiology & Biophysics at Dalhousie University and the Associate Dean of Students and Postdoctoral Fellows in the Faculty of Graduate Studies. After she obtained her PhD from the University of Provence in 1999 (France), she joined Professor John Hanrahan's Laboratory at McGill University (Qc, Canada) as a Postdoctoral Fellow and then moved to Dalhousie University to pursue her Cystic Fibrosis research. During her academic career, she has received numerous awards for her research and her academic leadership. Dr Chappe's research is recognized internationally with funding from the pharmaceutical industry as well as national and international funding agencies (Cystic Fibrosis Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, PhaseBio Pharmaceuticals Inc., Cystic Fibrosis Foundation). Dr Chappe has trained numerous students and is currently leading a CF Research Group at Dalhousie University. As an Associate Dean of Graduate Studies, she is helping trainees in difficulty and supports their mentors navigate complex situations by developing student-centric approaches to conflict resolution. |
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| Professor Joshua BarkerVice-Provost, Graduate Research and Education, and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto. Professor Joshua Barker's previous roles have included Vice-Dean of Graduate Education & Program Reviews in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Director of the Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and Acting Chair of the Department of Anthropology. Professor Barker’s research areas include urban anthropology, science and technology studies, and political anthropology. His research focuses primarily on Indonesia, where he has conducted ethnographic field research on a range of groups, including: the police and civilian guards; information technology engineers and entrepreneurs; and city-level journalists. His most recent book is State of Fear: Policing a Postcolonial City (Duke University Press, 2024). |
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Matthew VincelliDirector, Scholarships and Fellowships, NSERC. Matt is the Director of the Scholarships and Fellowships division at NSERC. Trained as a chemical engineer, Matt has been with NSERC for eighteen years, prior to which he lived abroad while working for several years as an engineer within the global energy sector. With NSERC Matt is responsible for NSERC’s direct training support programs, the CREATE and PromoScience programs and most recently, ensuring the rollout of the new stipends announced in the 2024 federal budget. En francais: Matt est directeur de la division des bourses du CRSNG. Ingénieur chimiste de formation, Matt a dix-huit ans de service au CRSNG. Avant, il vivait à l’étranger tout en travaillant pendant plusieurs années en tant qu’ingénieur dans une entreprise multinationale dans le secteur énergétique mondial. Au CRSNG, Matt est responsable des programmes d’appui direct à la formation, des programmes FONCER et PromoScience du CRSNG et, plus récemment, d'assurer le déploiement des nouvelles allocations annoncées dans le budget fédéral 2024. |
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| James FraserProfessor of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy at Queen’s University James Fraser is a Professor of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy at Queen’s University where he leads an enthusiastic research team exploring laser applications ranging from fundamental studies of novel nano-materials to new manufacturing practices for electric vehicles. He is the project leader for the 6-yr NSERC-funded HQP training program CREATE-MAPS, and co-founded Laser Depth Dynamics (now IPG Photonics (Canada) Inc.). Prof. Fraser is a sought-after speaker and facilitator with many invited talks at international photonics conferences and teaching workshops. Prof. Fraser has won numerous teaching awards including the 2016 Canadian Association of Physicists Medal for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching and was named a 3M National Teaching Fellow in 2017, the top teaching award in the country. Prof. Fraser currently serves as the Associate Dean (Graduate) in the Faculty of Arts and Science overseeing program development and support structures for 1800 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows across 30 units. |
| Lisa HaleyLisa Haley has overseen the Postdoctoral Office and Program Completion Offices as Senior Advisor and Manager Since 2006, Lisa Haley has overseen the Postdoctoral Office and Program Completion Offices as Senior Advisor and Manager. During that time, she led the implementation of the Postdoctoral Registration System, the Green Shield benefit for postdoctoral fellows, and increased postdoctoral access to various campus services. She has been an active member of the university’s bargaining team in their negotiations with CUPE 3902 Unit 5 through three collective agreements. Lisa has also worked closely with Labour Relations staff to resolve conflicts between employee postdoctoral fellows and supervisors. Most recently, Lisa took a two year secondment to implement the new Centre for Graduate Mentorship and Supervision, which aims to encourage best supervision practices, repair and restore supervisory relationships, and provide conflict resolution services as needed. |
| Jackson HowardRegional Coordinator, EURAXESS North America JacksonHoward is the Regional Coordinator for EURAXESS North America, responsible for Canada and the United States. His main role is to inform the community of researchers of all scientific domains and nationalities based in North America about the career opportunities that the European Research Area (ERA) offers, including European, national, and regional funding opportunities. Another important role is the management of the European Scientific Diasporas in North America initiative together with the EU Delegation and EU Member States & Associated Countries. Prior to joining EURAXESS, he worked in the diplomatic and nonprofit sectors. Jackson holds a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from American University. |
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| Victoria McGovernSenior Program Officer at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Victoria McGovern, Ph.D. is a Senior Program Officer at the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. She runs the Fund’s program in Infectious Diseases, the institutional programs in Population and Laboratory Based Sciences and in Quantitative Thinking, and the workforce development-focused Career Guidance for Trainees program. She joined BWF in 1997. For more than 25 years she has been involved in science policy efforts related to strengthening the scientific workforce, an interest she continues at the Fund. is a past chair of Sigma Xi’s Committee on Public Understanding of Science, was one of the original writers for Science’s Next Wave (now Science Careers), and is currently one of the contributors to the Graduate Career Consortium's Carpe Careers column at Inside Higher Education. She serves on the National Postdoctoral Association’s advisory board, the Committee on Postdoctoral and Graduate Education of the American Society for Microbiology, and the Early Career Scientist Steering Committee of the Genetics Society of America. She earned bachelor’s degrees in Biology and English Literature at Washington University in St. Louis and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biochemistry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, followed by an NSF-funded postdoctoral fellowship in marine biotechnology at the Cameron Applied Research Center in Charlotte. At the bench, she was most interested in how organisms use DNA topology to convey information. She was one of the first Hull Leadership Fellows of the Southeastern Council of Foundations, and is a fellow of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and of the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. |
| François ZegersLead for the Vanier-Banting Secretariat in the Research Programs Portfolio at CIHR François Zegers is the Lead for the Vanier-Banting Secretariat in the Research Programs Portfolio at CIHR. During his 17 years at CIHR, he has provided advisory services in analytics, project management, peer review, business transformation and strategy integration, and has coordinated several governance bodies for CIHR and the Tri-Agencies. François’s current responsibilities involve overseeing the program design and delivery of Tri-Agency training programs at CIHR, including the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships and Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships programs. He also contributes to multiple harmonization projects for the three agencies to increase efficiency and standardization for stakeholder communities. |
