Black Research Network members receive Canada Research Chairs 

Four members of the Black Research Network have been awarded Canada Research Chairs in recognition and support of their work.  

Abdi Aidid, an assistant professor in the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law; Myrtede Alfred, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering; Beverley Essue, an associate professor in the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and Leticia Ridley, an assistant professor in the department of English and drama at the University of Toronto Mississauga, have been awarded new Canada Research Chairs.  

Regarded as one of Canada’s most prestigious research honours and awarded by the federal government, these positions recognize academic research and training excellence across disciplines, with the goal of improving depth of knowledge and strengthening the country’s international competitiveness.  

In total, 41 University of Toronto faculty members received new or renewed Canada Research Chairs this year. 

Learn more about their work:  

Abdi Aidid 
Tier 2 in Artificial Intelligence and Access to Justice 

Aidid is an assistant professor in the Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law. His teaching and research interests include civil procedure, torts law, and law and technology. Aidid is a faculty affiliate at the Centre for Ethics and a member of the Ethics of AI Lab. He practiced litigation and arbitration prior to joining the Faculty of Law in 2021. 

Myrtede Alfred 
Tier 2 in Clinical Systems Equity 

Alfred is an assistant professor at the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Sciences & Engineering. She utilizes human factors engineering approaches in her research, which explores the relationship between people and systems to consider how system design impacts efficiency, productivity and equity.  

Alfred is leading an new Academic Practice Partnership (APP) between U of T Engineering’s Centre for Healthcare Engineering and the William Osler Health System to strengthen research and innovation in clinical practice. An recipient of the BRN IGNITE Grant 2.0, Alfred’s project addresses maternal care disparities for racialized patients in the United States healthcare system. 

Beverley Essue 
Tier 2 in Economics for Global Health Systems Equity 

Essue is an associate professor in the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. As a global health systems researcher and health economist, her work focuses on strengthening financial risk protection and advancing equity and gender equality in global health systems. 

Essue is a two-time recipient of the BRN IGNITE Grant, which provided support to advancing the Resorting Smiles project, a partnership to help racialized survivors of intimate partner violence regain confidence and economic stability through access to dental care. 

Leticia Ridley 
Tier 2 in Black Theatre and Performance 

Ridley is an assistant professor in the department of English and drama at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Their main teaching and research focus spans African American theatre and performance, Black feminist thought, Black performance theory, and the ways Black digital studies intersect with performance.