The Innovation Postdoctoral Award Program
The fellowship is awarded to postdoctoral fellows with a track record of innovation activities. Innovation activities refers to translating research results into societal impact. Working with non-academic research partners, creating a start-up, working with innovation organizations and engaging with government and not for profit organizations on policy development are all examples of innovation activities.
The Postdoc Fellowship Form will open on April 7, 2026 and the deadline to apply is 8:00 am on May 25, 2026
The 2026-27 Innovation Postdoctoral Fellows
Dr. Amir Azimi, MD, Cumming School of Medicine
Dr. Azimi is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Personalized Diagnostics Program at the University of Calgary. His research focuses on developing AI-enabled Cardiac Digital Twin technologies that transform routine cardiac MRI and CT scans into personalized models to improve disease diagnosis, risk prediction, and precision cardiovascular care.
Supervisor: Dr. James White, MD
Dr. Jayar Espejo, PhD, Faculty of Science
Dr. Espejo recently completed his PhD in Chemistry under Dr. Chang-Chun Ling, researching liquid crystal electrolytes for lithium batteries. He now works as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Chemistry with Dr. Todd Sutherland and Livestock Water Recycling. He is researching biopolymers such as cellulose as alternative flocculants for agricultural wastewater treatment.
Supervisor: Dr. Todd Sutherland
Dr. Manuel Ester, Postdoctoral Associate, Cumming School of Medicine
Dr. Ester is passionate about the power of movement. His research helps people with chronic conditions such as arthritis and cancer become and stay physically active. Manny works with healthcare teams and people with lived experience to integrate physical activity promotion into routine care. His team has collaborated with local and international partners to develop innovative digital tools (Just One Move.ca, Canada’s first interactive platform for people with arthritis), and international programs (Climbing Beyond Cancer, a group climbing program for young people living with and beyond cancer) that empower movement for all.
Supervisor: Dr. Claire Barber, MD PhD
Dr. Breno Garcia, Postdoctoral Associate, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Garcia's research develops innovative diagnostic and decision-support tools that integrate on-farm diagnostics and machine learning to improve mastitis management and antimicrobial stewardship in dairy herds. This work has contributed to technologies adopted by thousands of dairy farms in Brazil and is helping advance evidence-based treatment decisions for Canadian dairy producers.
Supervisor: Dr. Diego Borin Nobrega, MPVM, DVM, PhD
Dr. Sara H. Tamrin, Postdoctoral Fellow, Schulich School of Engineering
Dr. Tamrin is a Banting postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering. She obtained her PhD in Biomedical Engineering. She is developing EXOSense, a new technology that could help detect cancer earlier by studying tiny lipid-based particles that are naturally released by cancer cells into our bodily fluids. The goal is to make cancer diagnosis faster, less invasive, and more accessible for patients.
Supervisor: Dr. Arindom Sen
Dr. Prathap Iyapazham Vaigunda Suba, PhD, Faculty of Science
Dr. Iyapazham Vaigunda Suba is a Mitacs Accelerate Entrepreneur Postdoctoral Associate in the Department of Earth, Energy and Environment at the University of Calgary. His research focuses on developing and scaling up electrochemical carbon capture technologies such as direct air capture (DAC) and other carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods. He bridges academic innovation with commercial application through the university spin-off, PEACH DACquiri Inc.
Supervisors: Dr. Benjamin Tutolo and Dr. Stephen Larter
Dr. Hilkka Kontro, Postdoctoral Associate, Faculty of Kinesiology
Dr. Kontro's research develops physiology-based mathematical models that estimate an athlete's remaining capacity to produce power during exercise. She uses established principles of exercise physiology and cycling power meter data to test these models, which are then used to explain fatigue and performance in real-life fitness applications.
Supervisor: Dr. Martin MacInnis
Dr. Leila Rezaei, Postdoctoral Fellow, Owerko Centre
Dr. Rezaei is a postdoctoral fellow in the Owerko Centre for Neurodevelopment and Child Mental Health at the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute. Her research brings together microbiome science, child development, and computational biology to better understand early-life health. She uses metabolic modeling to predict how gut microbes use nutrients and produce metabolites, transforming complex microbiome data into testable insights that may inform future strategies for supporting child neurodevelopment and mental health.
Supervisor: Dr. Gerald Giesbrecht
Dr. Keely Shaw, Postdoctoral Associate, Alberta Children Hospital Research Institute
Dr. Shaw’s research investigates the interplay between physical activity and nutrition in optimizing health and physical function in diverse populations including individuals with impairments, females, and older adults. Her work draws on both scientific training and lived experience as an athlete with a physical impairment to champion more inclusive, evidence-based approaches across sport, health, and rehabilitation.
Supervisor: Dr. Jane Shearer
Dr. Farzana Shirin, Postdoctoral Associate, Research, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Dr. Shirin is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Simpson Centre for Food and Agricultural Policy at the University of Calgary. She earned her Ph.D. in Applied and Agricultural Economics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research examines how trade disruptions, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, and agricultural policy shape international trade, with a particular focus on livestock and oilseed sectors. Her current work focuses on the consequences of trade disruptions for Canadian canola, how sanitary and phytosanitary measures are associated with Canada’s pork export performance, and the economic viability of antimicrobial-use reduction strategies for dairy producers. Farzana collaborates with producer organizations, policymakers, and industry stakeholders to translate research into practical policy insights.
Supervisor: Dr. Guillaume Lhermie
Dr. Raissa Souza de Andrade, Postdoctoral Associate, Cumming School of Medicine
Dr. Souza de Andrade, who works in the Department of Radiology, develops novel privacy-preserving distributed learning frameworks that enable AI models to be trained on large, representative, multi-centre datasets without compromising patient data privacy. By treating AI as a sociotechnical solution, she ensures that her methods are context-aware, clinically grounded, and designed to operate safely and equitably across diverse patient populations.
Supervisor: Dr. Nils D. Forkert
Dr. Lukas Spirig, PhD, Schulich School of Engineering
Dr. Spirig's innovations enable sustainable transportation through novel materials and electric vehicle technologies. At ETH Zurich and Mercedes-Benz, he advanced vehicle manufacturing, battery performance, and charging systems, leading to five patent applications on which he is listed as an inventor. Spirig is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Calgary, where he develops additive manufacturing technologies for satellites.
Supervisor: Dr. Joanna Wong
Dr. Robin Trama, PhD, Faculty of Kinesiology
Dr. Trama is developing Xplode Track 'N Train, a smartphone platform that uses GPS, motion sensors and AI to measure the force, speed and power athletes generate while sprinting. Validated against professional-team equipment, this new tool brings elite-grade performance testing out of the laboratory and to athletes of every level.
Supervisor: Dr. John W. Wannop, PhD