From reimagining photosynthesis through an Indigenous-informed approach to investigating the artificial intelligence (AI) readiness of Black communities in Canada, projects funded by Brock University’s Indigenous Research Grant (IRG) and Black Scholar Research Grant (BSRG) are advancing equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization (EDID) in research.

Four projects have received 2026 IRG and BSRG grants, which are funded by the Office of the Vice-President, Research.

“The grants are investments for increasing diversity in research and paying attention to the differentiated impacts of our research on the full range of groups at Brock and in the community” says EDID Advisor, Research Jean-Jacques Rousseau. “We have an evolving perspective about who we are. The stories, investigations and interventions arising from these internal grants matter, as they meet many needs.”

The 2026 IRG recipients are:

• Assistant Professor of Chemistry Divya Matta Kaur and Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies Lyn Trudeau for the project “Relational Light: Co-Creating an Indigenous-Informed Photosynthesis Lesson through Etuaptmumk/ Two-Eyed Seeing.” The team aims to bring high school educators and curriculum partners together to co-create a senior high school lesson that connects the science of how plants turn light into life with Anishinaabe teachings, storytelling and visual learning.
• Associate Professor of Educational Studies Sandra Della Porta and Indigenous and Educational Studies Instructor Brooke Lavallee for their project “Early Immersion, Enduring Voices: Nwewnan Sasaang’s Pathway to Language Revitalization.” The team is working with Nwewnan Sasaang (Sounds from the Nest) within the Walpole Island First Nation to support language revitalization initiatives where children from birth to five years old learn Anishinaabemowin through engagement with Elders, language speakers, family and their community.

The 2026 BSRG recipients are:

• Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Amanda Black and Associate Professor of Health Sciences and Sport Management Janelle Joseph — who is also Canada Research Chair in in Racial Justice, Health and Sport — for the project “Beyond the Biomedical Model: Social Determinants of Concussion Recovery in Black Youth.” The team is addressing the ways race, socioeconomic status, geography and other social determinants of health shape how youth access health care when experiencing a concussion and the guidance they receive on when to return to the sport.
• Professor of Information Systems Anteneh Ayanso and Associate Professor of Information Systems Shuai Yuan for their project “Bridging the AI Readiness Gap in Black Communities in Canada.” The team is researching how inequities in income, education, employment and institutional access disproportionately exclude Black Canadians from accessing the benefits of advance technologies such as AI.

“These projects help advance scholarship while reflecting Brock University’s commitment to fostering a research community that values the contribution of all its members in spirits of inclusion and reconciliation,” says Brock Vice-President, Research Tim Kenyon.

Launched in 2021, the IRG supports research exploring topics related to Indigenous Peoples that is led by or conducted in partnership with First Nations, Inuit or Métis communities.

The BSRG, created last year as part of the Flourishing Black Researcher Action Plan, provides funding to scholars in any discipline or topic who identify as Black.

Both grants are valued at a maximum of $7,500 per project over a two-year period. They encourage diversity in research at Brock and allow the development of ideas for stronger submissions for external grant funding, as appropriate.

In addition to the BSRG and IRG, Rousseau says Brock researchers have recently attracted external EDID-focused funding.

Earlier this year Associate Professor of Computer Science Naser Ezzati-Jivan and his team received a grant from the Government of Canada’s Dimensions Program supporting projects that address EDI gaps in Canada’s research ecosystem.

Other initiatives strengthening Brock’s commitments EDID include the work related to the Scarborough Charter and the Dimensions Charter. A comprehensive list of EDID initiatives in research can be found on Brock’s EDI in research web page.