A sociologist who specializes in equity issues around education and employment and a renowned cardiologist who expanded our understanding of the societal and biologic causes of heart disease are among five Canadian researchers awarded $100,000 apiece for contributions to their respective fields.
The Canada Council for the Arts named this year’s winners of the prestigious Killam Prize on Tuesday.
The career honours are awarded annually to scholars who have distinguished themselves in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences and engineering.
The 2022 recipients include Carl E. James, the Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community & Diaspora at Toronto’sYork University, for his research on how to create a more equitable society and his interdisciplinary work on identity, race, class, gender, racialization and immigration.
Cardiologist and epidemiologist Salim Yusuf of Hamilton’s McMaster University is commended for his work on theprevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
In Halifax, Dalhousie University ethicist Francoise Baylis is being lauded for contributions to research on assisted human reproduction, transplantation, deep brain stimulation and genetic enhancement.
Also honoured are University of Toronto nanochemistry expert Geoffrey Ozin, whose work inspired the development of lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors and fuel cells; and Dalhousie physics professor Jeff Dahn who’s recognized as a pioneer in the battery technology used in power tools and electric vehicles.
Killam Prize winners are selected by a committee of their peers. Previous winners include Victoria Kaspi, the late Mark Wainberg, and Nobel Prize winner Arthur McDonald.
Established in 1965, the Killam Trusts are valued at roughly $500 million, including nearly $70 million from the Canada Council. The program was endowed by Dorothy Killam in memory of her late husband, Canadian industrialist Izaak Walton Killam.