Brock University Awards $2M for Research on Indigenous Discrimination Among Students and Postdocs

The federal government has awarded more than $2 million in Canadian Graduate Scholarships (CGS) and Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships to 32 Brock graduate students and postdoctoral scholars for their innovative and impactful research.

The Tri-Agency federal funding programs — jointly administered by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) — support and invest in world-class Canadian research.

As part of the tri-agency announcement, Brock University researchers received an additional $634,753 in SSHRC Insight Grants and an Insight Development Grant.

Among Brock’s 32 CGS recipients is Ryanne Logan (BSc ’23), an Applied Health Sciences master’s student who is shaping research around the complexity of strength and the discrimination faced by self-identifying Indigenous women.

She says the Lenape words “takwihléewak” and “wǔlalóhkeew,” which mean “come together” and “do good work,” are at the centre of her research.

Logan, who is Lenape and from Delaware Nation near Chatham-Kent, began working on decolonization research and initiatives while completing a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience at Brock.

She credits the nurturing environment at Brock and her community with supporting her academic growth.

“I have had amazing peers and mentors who have guided me to where I am today,” she says.

This strong support network has been crucial as she tackles the challenging themes of her research, rooted in her own experiences and those of her community.

“As Indigenous women who are perceived to be strong are told to step up and lead, they often find themselves criticized and face discrimination for doing so,” she says. “I’m trying to understand the paradoxical nature of strength, leadership and discrimination among Indigenous women.”

Logan defines success and leadership in the context of Indigenous women’s experiences and cultivates an inclusive perspective for her participants to express their true selves without fear of discrimination.

“Success and leadership within Indigenous contexts differ greatly from conventional Western notions,” she says. “It’s about being proud of who you are, having a good mind, embracing your culture and making meaningful contributions to your community – rather than seeking more money, power or attempting to outdo others.”

Logan’s study adopts a strengths-based approach, emphasizing the voices and experiences of self-identifying Indigenous women rather than focusing solely on their struggles. She aims to illuminate their narratives and offer a platform for cultural connection.

Her commitment to relevant research practices is evident in her collaboration with the Brock’s Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Centre.

“As an Indigenous person, I understand how research has been conducted in the past, and I want to ensure I’m providing aligning cultural support with the support of the Hadiya’dagénhahs Centre,” she says. “I aim to make it a comfortable space with relevant resources to help participants return to a good mind.”

Looking ahead, Logan says she hopes her findings will inform policy and educational spaces, contributing to a broader understanding of the discrimination Indigenous women and people face in Canada.

But her aspirations extend beyond academic boundaries.

“It’s about giving back to the community as an Indigenous scholar and giving the Indigenous voice a rightful place where it belongs in discussions about discrimination and resilience,” she says.

She plans to share her research widely, from conferences to community-driven knowledge mobilization efforts, ensuring her findings are accessible to diverse audiences with the aim of fostering a deep-rooted understanding and respect for Indigenous communities.

“We’re on the brink of change, and I will continue to push reconciliation and decolonization in Canada,” she says.

Fall 2023 Postdoctoral Fellowship recipients

NSERC:

• Emily Davis (BA ’17, MA ’20), Psychology: “Attention-memory interactions in children and young adults”

SSHRC:

• Matthieu Dagenais (BSc ’16), Applied Health Sciences: “ScolioX: Co-Developing a Gymnastics Program to Improve Positive Body Image for Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis”
• Alexandra Macdonald, History: “Imperial Sensorium: Bodies, Industrialization, and the Dye Industry, 1750-1850”

Fall 2023 Doctoral Fellowship recipients

SSHRC:

• Carley Jewell, Applied Health Sciences: “Supporting Youth Ice Hockey Athletes in Concussion Return to Sport: A Study of the Feasibility, Acceptability, and Appropriateness of a Novel Social Support Intervention”
• Jenna Osborne (BKin ’20, MSc ’24), Applied Health Sciences: “Prospective and experimental examinations of Social Support and cognitive biases to understand Physical Activity for new mothers”

Fall 2023 Postgraduate Scholarships – Doctoral and CGS Doctoral Program recipients

SSHRC:

• Faith Isabelle Hill (BKin ’22), Applied Health Sciences: “Reducing the struggle to exercise: Co-developing a refined reframing training module for coaches working with people with Multiple Sclerosis”
• Rebekah Ann Norman, Child and Youth Studies: “Exploring Relationships Between Young Carers and Parent(s) with Mental Illness: A Critical Participatory Action Research Project”
• Oya Pakkal (MA ’23), Psychology: “Navigating Marginalization: An Ecological Framework Study on the Impact of Social Identity Threat on Adolescents’ Learning”

NSERC:

• Briana Hockey (BKin ’20, MSc ’22), Applied Health Sciences: “The Role of GSK3 in Mediating Muscle Plasticity”
• Andrew McKiel (MSc ’22), Kinesiology: “Neural and morphological mechanisms explaining resistance exercise-induced strength increases in children”
• Rozhin Rowshanpour (BSc ’20), Chemistry: “A novel class of positive catalysts for applications in bioconjugation and drug synthesis”
• Srinivas Vemulapalli (BSc ’20), Chemistry: “Synthesis of tetrazoles via click-based phase-transfer catalysis”
• Connor Wilson (BSc ’21, MSc ’23), Physics: “Emergent physics of quantum spin liquids”

 Fall 2023 CGS Master’s Program recipients

CIHR:

• Joseph Gebru (BSc ’23), Applied Health Sciences: “The Experiences of Black Youth who Self-identify as Male Navigating the Toronto Healthcare System: A Strength-based Approach”
• Rita Kocsis (BPH ’23), Applied Health Sciences: “Breakfast-skipping behaviour patterns influenced by social media content among Canadian adolescents”
• Amelie Marais (BSc ’23), Applied Health Sciences: “Duchenne muscular dystrophy and insulin resistance – turning the tide with tideglusib”

NSERC:

• Maddy Maheu (BSc ’22), Applied Health Sciences: “The effects of acute vs chronic exercise on neuroplasticity, neuroinflammation and hippocampal learning in female and male mice”
• Audrey Morrison, Earth Sciences: “Phanerozoic’s first mass extinction and recovery events: analogues of the current”
• Hannah Thomas (BA ’23), Psychology: “The effects of distraction on narrative comprehension and memory in younger and older”
• Marcus Villena (BSc ’23), Biological Sciences: “Artificial Intelligence for Protein-Ligand Docking”

SSHRC:

• Alyssa Brew (BA ’23), Critical Sociology: “After Effects: Online Response to the Young Adult Series “After” and the Romanticization of Abusive Relationships in Young Adult Literature”
• Kieryn Carlse, Applied Health Sciences: “Exploring Disability Rights in the Organization and Execution of Sport Events”
• Adam Henderson (BA ’20), Game Studies: “Accessibility Driven Game Design Framework”
• Katherine King, Classics: “Architectural Small Finds from the Pantelleria Project and their Cultural Meaning”
• Mandisa Lau (BRLS ’23), Applied Health Sciences: “Exploring the role of peer relationships in youth sport”
• Jamie Lewis, Child and Youth Studies: “Radical Art: Creating Teenage Community and Challenging Far-Right Narratives Through Arts-Based Participatory Action Research”
• Ryanne Logan (BSc ’23), Applied Health Sciences: “Exploring the paradoxical phenomena of Indigenous strength and discrimination: a qualitative study”
• Madeline Maguire (BA ’23), Psychology: “Examining the Relation Between Attentional Difficulties and Procrastination in Young Children”
• Mackenzie Pilkington (BSc ’22, BA ’24), Applied Health Sciences: “Paving the Way or Creating Future Roadblocks? An Investigation of Snowplow Culture and Wellbeing among University Students”
• Madison Poole, Classics: “Investigating Ancient Greek Prostitution and Gender Roles Through Archaeological Analysis”
• Cassidy Robertson, Classics: “Considering Shipwrecks: the Possibilities of Predictive Modelling in Underwater Archaeology”
• Kendra White, Applied Disability Studies: “A Comparison of Two Dependent Group Contingencies: Hero Identified and Hero Unidentified”