Three �첥��Ƶ researchers will participate in a provincial program designed to strengthen connections between science and policy.
Ciuying Jian (associate professor, Lassonde School of Engineering), Trevor VandenBoer (associate professor, Faculty of Science) and Daanish Mulla (postdoctoral fellow, Faculty of Health) are three of 34 delegates selected to engage in dialogue with policymakers during the 2026 Science Meets Parliament – Ontario Program (SMP-ON). The event creates opportunities for in-depth knowledge sharing, in which delegates from the academic scientific community gain insights into the legislative process and learn how to effectively communicate research to policymakers.

As cities around the world grapple with mounting waste crises, researchers at the York Centre for Asian Research (YCAR) are exploring a critical but often overlooked question: who does the work of managing waste and under what conditions? At �첥��Ƶ, this question is shaping an emerging area of interdisciplinary research that connects environmental change with labour, inequality and shared global priorities. Research efforts led by Shubhra Gururani, a political ecologist, associate professor of anthropology and director of YCAR, examine how waste is a technical or environmental problem, but also a deeply political one, structured by histories of colonialism, race, caste and gender.

Ronald Pearlman, University Professor emeritus and senior scholar at �첥��Ƶ’s Faculty of Science, has been recognized for his contributions to molecular bioscience, mentorship and scientific leadership. The Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences (CSMB) has elected Pearlman as one of three 2026 CSMB Fellows. The designation honours senior faculty who have advanced molecular bioscience through research and service to the science community. Over a distinguished academic career, Pearlman pioneered expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis in the single‑celled organism Tetrahymena thermophila.

Rachel Silver, associate professor in Faculty of Education, has received a $500,000 grant to study how Malawian schools and educational organizations are adapting to international aid cuts, with insights that could inform education policy and development strategies around the world. Silver, is also a faculty affiliate in the Faculty of Graduate Studies Development Studies program and examines power dynamics in international development and humanitarian aid structures. She had the opportunity to observe how funding reductions ripple through relationships in schools and programs, which inspired a larger project: investigating how Malawians working in the education sector navigate shifts in austerity.

A new study by York researchers reveals how tuberculosis (TB) can disrupt work, relationships and daily life, leaving lasting effects even after treatment ends. “For many people, the experience of TB is debilitating physically, emotionally, socially and financially,” says Nancy Bedingfield, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, who works with Associate Professor Amrita Daftary at the School of Global Health. The way these effects are typically studied is through a unifying framework. “Quality of life (QoL) is a single concept capable of capturing these wide-ranging impacts,” she explains.

�첥��Ƶ researchers are using advanced simulation to study how emergency response decisions shape airport safety and preparedness. Emergency management at airports is uniquely demanding because of the complex, diverse and dynamic systems involved, says Ali Asgary, professor of disaster and emergency management in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. With dense traffic, multiple vehicles and operations often unfolding during changing or extreme weather, coordinating airside and landside activity remains a major challenge.

Two projects involving �첥��Ƶ researchers have received more than $14.5 million in research infrastructure funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), supporting advances in global biodiversity monitoring and particle physics. The CFI invests in state-of-the-art research facilities and equipment at institutions across the country, enabling projects that address international challenges and deliver meaningful societal impact. �첥��Ƶ researchers will play key roles in two newly funded initiatives – one focused on mapping life on Earth, and another on probing the fundamental structure of the universe.

Research led by �첥��Ƶ draws attention to inequities in Canada’s public health care system affecting immigrant and racialized families raising children on the autism spectrum. Conducted by a team at York’s Faculty of Health in partnership with the community organization SMILE Canada-Support Services, the research centres on the voices of family caregivers who are often overlooked in autism research or policy discussions despite facing disproportionate barriers to care. The study, published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, investigates the lived experiences of caregivers from marginalized communities to understand the social determinants affecting access to care and autism-related services.