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É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥ Research & Innovation: Annual report 2025-26

Meeting the moment with research that matters

To this end, we have moved quickly and collaboratively to position É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥ for success across major federal research funding programs, including the Canada Excellence Research Chairs, Canada Research Chairs, and Canada Impact+ Research Chairs programs. We hope these efforts will bring new strength to É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥ in the years to come in areas where research and innovation excellence can help advance Canada’s long-term resilience and prosperity.

We have also deepened our engagement in research and with partners that support Canadian sovereignty. From our home on the East Coast, where ocean, naval and aerospace strengths are core parts of provincial life, É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥ has a distinctive role in turning discovery and talent into national capacity.

At the same time, we continued to focus on the systems and supports that make research possible. Through the Pursuing Research Excellence Initiative, we are working to improve processes, reduce administrative friction and make it easier for researchers to focus on the work itself, from grants to compliance and research security.

We have also laid the foundation for a strengthened approach to research partnerships through the creation of Dal Partners which focuses on building productive relationships that drive public value, and Dal Commercializes, which supports researchers in advancing their ideas through to commercialization.

As this report shows, our research enterprise is already on course to meet the moment we find ourselves in, embracing the challenges and opportunities set out in A Rising Tide: É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥â€™s Promise to Nova Scotia and the World, É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥â€™s new strategic framework. Across Health, Discovery and Civic Strength, our achievements reflect the talent, ambition and public purpose of our research community. They also point to the work ahead, continuing to turn excellence into impact for the people, partners and communities we serve.

Healthier lives, stronger communities

This year, É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥ advanced health and well-being through research and partnerships shaped by the needs of Nova Scotia. Across disciplines, our work supported groundbreaking discoveries, better care, healthier environments and more equitable systems that help people, families and communities flourish close to home and around the world.

Breakthroughs in genetics

New Member of the Royal Society of Canada College

Tracking Pathogens, Protecting People

Computer Scientist Dr. Finlay Maguire uses genomic data to understand and outsmart infectious diseases. His computational tools help hospitals and public health professionals make faster, better-informed decisions on antibiotic use and outbreak control.

Focusing on Black Health

Discovery that powers progress

É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥ researchers turned discovery toward action, mobilizing knowledge, talent and partnerships to address urgent challenges across research domains from quantum science to national security and from climate-smart agriculture to ocean-based carbon removal. Over the past year, our research enterprise strengthened Nova Scotia’s capacity for innovation while contributing solutions with national relevance and global reach.

Quantum leaps

Research in service to sovereignty

New Fellow of the Royal Society of CanadaÌý

Catalysts that Power Innovation

From pharmaceuticals to agricultural products, Chemist Dr. Mark Stradiotto’s catalysts are transforming how essential molecules are made — faster, more efficiently, and more sustainably. His work bridges fundamental discovery with real-world impact, enabling the production of materials and medicines that support a cleaner, more innovative future.

An environment for innovation

Civic strength

É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥â€™s research and innovation community helped strengthen bonds with the public and supported social justice and democratic life by connecting scholarship with the communities it serves. Through evidence, creativity, dialogue and partnership, our work supported more informed public discourse, elevated diverse perspectives and demonstrated the university’s enduring responsibility to act in the public good.

Empowering innovators

is É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥â€™s entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem offering an expansive network of programs to meet participants wherever they are in their venture creation journey. Extending beyond the university, Dal Innovates connects entrepreneurs and innovators across the region, country and globe.

Dal Innovates
2025-26 program teams

466 Participants
21 Startups incorporated
148 Total startups
$2.4M Capital raised
83 Jobs created

Creative Destruction Lab-AtlanticÌý
2025-26 program teams

90 Founders
56 Ventures
24 Jobs created
$888M Financing secured (Current and alumni between 01/09/25 and 21/04/26)

Centring our impact

É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥ established several new Centres and InstitutesÌýto maximize impact beyond the university, including: the MicroResearch Institute (featured below), Atlantic AI Institute (A2I2), Centre for Jewish Studies, Atlantic Institute for Digital Agriculture, and Centre of Excellence in Fisheries Science.

New Fellow of the Royal Society of CanadaÌý

Rediscovering lost voices

MusicologistÌýDr. Jennifer Bain’s research traces how medieval plainchant travelled across cultures, including Indigenous communities in Canada, using digital tools to preserve the complex global history of sacred sound.

Success in numbers

Research funding administered: FY2025-2026

Total research funds administered, 2022 to 2026

Supporting our researchers

Through the Pursuing Research Excellence Initiative, É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥ advanced work to strengthen research administration, harmonize core processes and improve service delivery. The initiative is helping build more consistent, efficient and responsive supports for researchers across the institution.

2123 Applications submitted to funding agencies
639 REB: New projects submitted for ethics review
1030 New accounts approved to be opened
199 UCLA: New projects submitted for ethics review
3362 Active files as of March 31, 2026

*REB - Research Ethics Boards, UCLA - University Committee on Laboratory Animals

Recognizing excellence: Awards 2025-26

External awards

African Academy of Sciences Fellow
Dr. Rita Orji

Barer-Flood Senior Career Prize in Health Services and Policy Research
Dr. Jill Hayden

Bhagirath Singh Early Career Award in Infection and Immunity
Dr. Francesca Di Cara

Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Emerging Leaders in Health Sciences
Dr. Leigha Rock

Chemical Institute of Canada Keith Laidler Award
Dr. Mita Dasog

Companion of the Order of Canada
Dr. Ford Doolittle

Discovery Awards
Emerging Professional: Dr. Ejemai Eboreime; Innovation: CarbonRun, Dr. Shannon Sterling and co-founders; Hall of Fame: Dr. Jean Gray; Science Champion: Dr. Paola Marignani

ENI Energy Transition Prize
Dr. Jeff Dahn

Foresight’s Canadian Cleantech Awards: Atlantic Canada CleanTech Supporter of the Year
Drs. Sonil Nanda and Michael Metzger

Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellowship
Dr. Kimberley Hall

Partnership for Women’s Health Research Mid-Career Excellence in Women’s Health Research Award
Dr. Natalie Rosen

É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥ awards

Distinguished Research Professors
Drs. Penny Corkum and Andrew RogerÌý

President's Research Excellence Award: Research Impact
Drs. Rita Orji, Ajay Parasram, and Derek Tittensor.Ìý

President's Research Excellence Award: Emerging InvestigatorÌý
Drs. Stacy Allison-Cassin, Ejemai Eboreime, Hannah Harrison, Ruth Musgrave, Michael Metzger, Alexa Yakubovich, and Chongyin Yang

É«ÃÃÃÃÖ±²¥ Research Advisory Council

Chair: Dr. Graham Gagnon
Vice President Research and Innovation

Dr. Jennifer Bain
Associate Vice President, Research

Dr. Christian Blouin
Dean, Faculty of Grad Studies

Dr. Jamie Baxter
Associate Dean Research, Faculty of Law

Dr. Megan Bailey
Associate Dean Research, Faculty of ScienceÌý

Dr. Shelley Brown
Managing Director, Research Services

Dr. Stefanie Columbo
Associate Dean Research, Faculty of AgricultureÌý

Marc Comeau
Head of IT Partnerships - Faculties and Research

Dr. Eileen Denovan-Wright
Associate Dean Research, Faculty of Medicine

Dr. Mark Filiaggi
Associate Dean Research, Faculty of DentistryÌý

Dr. Kerry Goralski
Associate Dean Research, Faculty of Health

ÌýHilary Harron
Acting Managing Director, Dal Partners

Ìý

Ìý

Dr. Robert Huish
Associate Dean Research, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Jeff Larsen
Assistant Vice President, Innovation & EntrepreneurshipÌý

Elaine MacInnis
Dean of Libraries

ÌýDr. Frank MacMaster
Vice President Research & Innovation, IWK Health

Dr. Jennifer Morawiecki
Director, Global Research Engagement

Dr. Balakrishnan Prithiviraj
Associate Vice President, Global Relations

ÌýDr. Jeannie Shoveller
Vice President Research, Nova Scotia Health

John R. Sylliboy
Vice-Provost, Indigenous Relations

ÌýDr. Peter VanBerkel
Associate Dean Research, Faculty of Engineering

Dr. Catherine Venart
Associate Dean Research, Faculty of Architecture & PlanningÌý

Trevor Weissent
Managing Director,ÌýFinance & Administration

ÌýDr. Dominika Wranik
Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Management