Faculty Honours + Awards
TMU congratulates faculty members who are recognized for their accomplishments, academic service and sustained influence in their fields through various honours and awards. The following is a small selection of the numerous accolades bestowed upon TMU faculty.
Royal Society of Canada
Among the highest honours that a Canadian scholar can receive.
Shelagh McCartney (Urban and Regional Planning) has been selected for membership in the Royal Society of Canada’s (RSC) College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. She works in partnership with First Nations communities in Northern Ontario and the Northwest Territories to identify community housing and wellness priorities and co-develop housing solutions appropriate for the local context.
Photo: Ingaged Creative Productions Inc.
Other External Awards
Faculty of Arts
Martin Antony (Psychology) was appointed to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest civilian honour, recognizing his career of research into evidence-based treatment for anxiety-related disorders.
Irene Gammel (English) is one of six scholars chosen from around the globe as an Obama Fellow in 2024, recognizing scholars who are effecting positive change in their communities. Gammel, the first Canadian woman recipient of the fellowship, is set to focus on her life writing and her project on lockdown diaries while there.
Ruth Panofsky (English) was awarded the Lorne Pierce Medal by the Royal Society of Canada. The medal, awarded every other year, recognizes her achievements in critical and imaginative literature.
Moriah Sokolowski (Psychology) was named among The Association for Psychological Science (APS) newest Rising Stars, one of only five researchers recognized across Canada.
Faculty of Community Services
Beverly-Jean Daniel (Child and Youth Care) received the Jamaican Canadian Association (JCA) International Women's Day Award as a changemaker, recognizing her work researching race, education and mental wellness, focusing on Black youth.
Nadia Prendergast (Nursing) was awarded the Leadership Award in Health Equity by the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario. The award recognized her use of arts-informed approaches to promote equity, inclusion and diversity in nursing.
Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science
Amirnaser Yazdani (Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering) was named Fellow by IEEE as a recognition of his contributions to modelling, analysis, and control of power-electronically interfaced distributed energy resources.
Faculty of Science
Michelle Delcourt (Mathematics), has been named a Sloan Research Fellow, one of 126 scholars recognized as promising early-career scientists working today.
Janet Koprivnikar (Chemistry and Biology), received the Henry Baldwin Ward Medal at the annual meeting of the American Society of Parasitologists in Denver, Colorado. She is one of five women to receive the award in 65 years, for her outstanding research and leadership in parasitology.
Lincoln Alexander School of Law
Jake Effoduh (Law), received the 2025 Headlamp Award for Research Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and the Law. This award, recognizing his contributions toward reshaping communities in line with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), was bestowed by the International Initiatives for Advancement of SDGs in Africa (IIASDG).
Ted Rogers School of Management
Rishad Habib (Marketing Management) won the Sheth Foundation/Journal of Marketing award from the American Marketing Association. She and her co-authors received the honour for their article, “How to SHIFT Consumer Behaviors to be More Sustainable: A Literature Review and Guiding Framework.”
Atefeh (Atty) Mashatan (Information Technology Management) has won the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) 2024 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award in the BMO STEM category. This category recognizes women in the field who are challenging the status quo for knowledge and female empowerment.
The Creative School
Lisa Karen Cox (Performance Acting) was selected for the ThisGen Fellowship, a national accelerator program for BIPOC women and non-binary performing artists from Why Not Theatre in partnership with the National Arts Centre. The fellowship provides paid training, mentorship and peer connection opportunities.
Alireza Khatami (Image Arts) made his Sundance Film Festival debut with the world premiere of his film The Things You Kill, winning the Directing Award for World Cinema Dramatic. The film follows a gradual descent into the oppressive depths of generational patriarchy.
Scholarly, Research and Creative (SRC) Activity Awards
Nominated by fellow faculty members, TMU’s university-wide SRC Activity Awards recognize researchers for their emerging leadership in their fields, long-term or cumulative research contributions, or a specific project or collaboration shaping policy or advancing innovation.
The annual Sarwan Sahota Distinguished Scholar Award is given to one or more university faculty members for outstanding contributions to their research discipline. The award is made available through the joint contributions of Sarwan Sahota, a retired professor, and Toronto Metropolitan University.
Michael Olson (Chemistry and Biology), recognized as this year’s recipient, is a renowned cancer researcher and Canada Research Chair in Molecular Cell Biology. His work has advanced our understanding of key cellular mechanisms and the integration of fundamental molecular and cellular biology with applied cancer therapeutic developments. Specifically, his research explores cancer cell motility, with an aim of stopping cancer cells from spreading.
The Early SRC Career Excellence Award was awarded to Andrew (Hyounsoo) Kim (Psychology), a recognized leading expert in addictions research both nationally and internationally. His work examines substance and behavioural addictions, and co-occurences of addiction and mental health, with hopes of developing evidence-based treatments for behavioural addictions.
The Collaborative SRC Award went to two researchers:
Farrokh Janabi-Sharifi (Mechanical, Industrial, and Mechatronics Engineering), for his dedication to innovation and training through impactful collaboration and his groundbreaking work in optomechatronics, robotics and automation technologies.
Atefeh (Atty) Mashatan (Information Technology Management), a prominent scholar in information and cyber resilience, whose collaborative research has advanced our understanding of emerging technologies like quantum computing in enterprise cybersecurity and cybersecurity resilience across various sectors.
The Knowledge Mobilization and Engagement Award was given to Anatoliy Gruzd (Information Technology Management), the Canada Research Chair in Privacy-Preserving Digital Technologies, who has created important new methods and tools for social media analysis. His research has generated a new body of knowledge where multidisciplinary fields, such as learning analytics, social media and information science, intersect.
The Social Innovation and Action SRC Award went to Lixia Yang (Psychology), a leading scientist specializing in aging, cognition and psychosocial well-being. As the Director of the Cognitive Aging Laboratory, she has built a thriving network of community and industry collaborations to enhance the lives of vulnerable populations such as older adults and immigrants.
Faculty of Arts
Emmanuel Kyeremeh (Geography and Environmental Studies)
David MacKenzie (History)
Lixia Yang (Psychology)
Faculty of Community Services
Tara Collins (Child and Youth Care)
Aida Haghighi (Occupational and Public Health)
Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science
Farrokh Janabi-Sharifi (Mechanical, Industrial, and Mechatronics Engineering)
Naimul Mefraz Khan (Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering)
Nariman Yousefi (Chemical Engineering)
Lincoln Alexander School of Law
Christopher Campbell-Duruflé (Law)
Ted Rogers School of Management
Rishad Habib (Marketing Management)
Hossein Zolfagharinia (Global Management Studies)
The Creative School
Louis-Etienne Dubois (Creative Industries)
Eternity Martis (Journalism)