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SACKVILLE, NB — Dr. Julia Riley and Dr. Jenny Wong have been appointed as �������� University’s latest Canada Research Chairs (CRC) — the country’s highest research honour. The national announcement was made on October 22, 2025.  

An assistant professor of biology, Riley’s research is in integrative wildlife ecology and Wong, an assistant professor in chemistry, concentrates her research on aerosol chemistry.  

“On behalf of �������� University, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Julia Riley and Dr. Jenny Wong on their appointments as Canada Research Chairs.” says Provost and Vice-President, Academic and Research Dr. Richard Isnor. “Dr. Riley’s innovative work in integrative wildlife biology and Dr. Wong’s cutting-edge research in aerosol chemistry exemplify the strength and diversity of ��������’s research community. These appointments not only recognize their outstanding scholarly achievements but also highlight the important contributions our researchers make to understanding the natural world and addressing pressing global challenges.” 

Riley’s research focuses on the rapidly changing biodiversity crisis, where extinction rates are between 100 and 1000 times greater than normal and threaten more than one million plants and animals. She will be assessing ectotherms and their ability to adapt to environmental change using complementary approaches from population ecology, animal behaviour, and ecophysiology. Riley will be working to better understand ecological processes that occur over extended periods, with long-term studies being established to assess the relationship between fitness-linked life-history traits of wildlife and the changing environment. 

Wong’s research focus is on how atmospheric particulate matter in both indoor and outdoor environments is among the top environmental risk factors for premature deaths globally. Her objective is to use state of the art analytical tools to investigate the sources, reactivity, and toxicological properties of metal-containing particulate matter emitted from various activities. Wong aims to advance the understanding of how particulate matter chemistry contributes to its harmful health effects.  

Both appointments are for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair, which are tenable for five years and come with $500,000 in research funding over that period, plus an additional $100,000 in direct research funding.  
 
The Canada Research Chair (CRC) program is a national research program funded by the federal government. Chairholders aim to achieve research excellence in engineering and the natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences. Dr. Julia Riley and Dr. Jenny Wong join four current CRCs at �������� — Dr. Lauren Beck (Intercultural Encounter), Dr. Claudine Bonner (Racial Justice and African Diaspora Migration in Atlantic Canada), Dr. Linda Pearse (Music, Contact, and Conflict), and Dr. Jill Rourke (Cell Signaling and Pharmacology).  For more information, visit mta.ca/research.