Killam Emerging Research Leader Award celebrates outstanding early career scholarship – University of Calgary
Oct. 29, 2025
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Tokie Onoda, Communications
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The University of Calgary community gathered on Oct. 22 for the annual Killam Award ceremony, where the recipients of the 2025 Killam Emerging Research Leader Award were announced.
This year’s honourees — Drs. Hadis Karimipour, Jack Lucas and Pamela Roach, all PhD — were recognized for their exceptional contributions to cybersecurity, political science and public health.
Presented annually to three early career UCalgary faculty members, the Killam Emerging Research Leader Award honours researchers whose work aligns with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, or the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.
“Congratulations to Drs. Karimipour, Lucas and Roach on receiving their Killam Emerging Research Leader Awards,” says Dr. William Ghali, vice-president (research). “Their innovative approaches and significant contributions are at the heart of what defines UCalgary’s research community. We’re proud to support them, and excited to see how they continue to advance knowledge and shape the future of their fields.”
Dr. Hadis Karimipour, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Software Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering
Dr. Hadis Karimipour is an internationally recognized expert in cybersecurity, specializing in the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance the security of critical infrastructure. As the Canada Research Chair in Secure and Resilient Cyber-physical Systems and the director of the Smart Cyber-Physical Lab, her collaborative research in AI-driven threat detection, quantum-resilient security and cyber-physical protection has influenced global security strategies, strengthened Canada’s cybersecurity, and contributed to the safety, economy and well-being of Canadians.
As a leading voice in cybersecurity, her work has been cited by influential organizations such as the World Bank and the European Commission. She serves as an expert on various committees, including Standards Council of Canada ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 42–Artificial Intelligence and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 27–Information Security, Cybersecurity and Privacy Protection.
Among Karimipour’s numerous honours are the Top 25 Women of Influence Award, recognition as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100, Calgary’s Top 40 Under 40, and the ASTech Best in Sector Award. She is also a Senior Member of the IEEE, a distinction held by fewer than eight per cent of its global members.
Learn more about Karimipour’s research.
Dr. Jack Lucas, PhD
Professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts
Dr. Jack Lucas is an internationally recognized scholar in Canadian politics, specializing in political representation, public opinion and voting behaviour, particularly in local and urban contexts. His research engages with municipalities, think tanks, and community research and policy partners to advance our understanding of Canadian political science and democracy.
Lucas is the co-director of the Canadian Municipal Barometer (CMB), a research partnership that gathers and analyzes detailed data on municipal elected officials across Canada. The CMB focuses on municipal democracy, policy priorities and intergovernment relations, contributing to academic research and public policy.
He is the author or co-editor of four books. His most recent book, Ideology in Municipal Politics (2024), won the Seymour Martin Lipset Prize Best Book Award, one of the most prestigious prizes in Canadian political science. Lucas has published more than 60 articles in leading journals, including American Political Science Review, Political Research Quarterly, Urban Affairs Review, and Canadian Journal of Political Science.
A frequent media contributor, Lucas provides expert analysis on Canadian municipal elections and local political trends.
Learn more about Lucas’s research.
Dr. Pamela Roach, BSc’03, PhD
Associate Professor, departments of Family Medicine and Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine
Dr. Pamela Roach is a citizen of the Métis Nation within Alberta and is widely recognized for her leadership in dementia and Indigenous health research. Her work examines the intersection of health services, policy and upstream determinants of health to improve the health of individuals and populations.
As the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Health Systems Safety, Roach leads a program that integrates anti-racism and decolonial frameworks to co-develop culturally safe dementia-care models and community-driven strategies that enhance brain-health services for Indigenous communities.
Roach has received multiple honours, including the 2024 Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada Indigenous Health Advocacy Emerging Leader Award and the 2021 Glenda MacQueen Distinguished Leadership Award.
She currently serves as the research director of Indigenous Engagement in the Office of the Vice-President (Research) and holds dual leadership roles at the O’Brien Institute for Public Health as deputy director and associate scientific director. Additionally, she is co-editor of Dementia: The International Journal of Social Research and Practice.
Roach is also a member of the Cumming School of Medicine’s O’Brien Institute for Public Health, the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), The Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education in the HBI, and the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute. Learn more about Roach’s research.
Read more about this year’s Killam Awards recipients.
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