Announcing the 2024 Weston Family Awards in Northern Research Scholars

Continuing 17 years of funding to scholars committed to science research in the North

TORONTO, ON – July 29, 2024, Today, we have the honour of sharing the winners of the 2024 Weston Family Awards in Northern Research. After receiving over 80 applications from across the country, a total of 28 were selected following a rigorous arms-length review process – 15 Master’s Students, 11 PhD students and 2 Postdoctoral Fellows. All will receive funding to study biodiversity, among other priorities, across northern Canada. This year, each academic level received the highest amount we’ve ever offered, meaning:

Master’s students received awards valued at $20,000 over one year
Doctoral students received awards valued at $120,000 over three years
Postdoctoral fellows received awards valued at $110,000 over two years, with up to $10,000 per year for travel and conference expenses

Since launching in 2007, the Weston Family Awards in Northern Research have supported 350+ early career northern scientists focusing on research in natural sciences. Of the 28 projects funded this year, studies include:

Exploration of how continual permafrost thaw and rapid but extensive fires affect the storage and flux of water within boreal peatland
Identifying and comparing marine movement patterns and spawning locations of Arctic char

Studying the drivers and management of cyanobacteria blooms, including addressing knowledge gaps that exist between climate change and bloom formation across lake trophic scale and latitudes

Understanding the tundra’s vulnerability to climate-exacerbated changes in fire regimes and refining estimates of tundra carbon recycling

As part of the Weston Family Awards in Northern Research, Northern Scholars were encouraged to co-design their research with northern communities. This can be seen in the number of students who are working directly with Indigenous communities and working to braid Indigenous knowledge with academic scientific methodology.

To learn more about the 2024 Weston Family Awards in Northern Research Scholars and their projects, click here.