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CIHR Scholarship celebrates health research

Tri-council awards recognize academic excellence

Alexandra Nychuk

Alexandra Nychuk. Photo supplied.

Alexandra Nychuk is one of 11 University of Winnipeg students have been awarded tri-council scholarships valued at $17,500 each over 12 months to support vital research in bioscience, criminal justice, development practice, history, and Indigenous governance.

Ali is one of our rising stars, and has demonstrated her commitment to evidence-based decision making through community driven research.

Dr. Jaime Cidro

Jackson Anderson, Breanna Belisle, Diana Cowley, Trevor Dyck, Cara Ginter, Madison Herget-Schmidt, Ashley Schers, and Breanna Waterman are recipients of the SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship. Jenna Fleet and Colleen Robertson are recipients of NSERC’s Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship.

“These are prestigious national scholarships, which recognize the hard work, the past achievements, and the research potential of the recipients,” said UWinnipeg Dean of Graduate Studies, Dr. Mavis Reimer. “The problems these students are examining are complex, with the promise of having a significant impact on our knowledge of the world around us. They make us all very proud.”

These annual awards, which are distributed by the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), are granted to student researchers who demonstrate academic excellence, research potential, and strong personal and interpersonal skills. 

Alexandra Nychuk is a Métis student, and the first Master’s in Development Practice (MDP) student to receive the CIHR Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship.

She says the support she’s received throughout her studies is critical to her success. She is a research assistant on a project that developed out of a foundational CIHR-funded project led by principle investigator Dr. Jaime Cidro, Director of MDP and Canada Research Chair in Health and Culture. The project,  Indigenous Doulas as a Culturally Based Health Intervention to Improve Health and Birth Outcomes for First Nations Women in Remote Communities Who Travel for Birth, is often referred to as the Northern Manitoba Indigenous Doulas project. It examines doula birth support as a cultural intervention for First Nations women in Cross Lake, Norway House, and Grand Rapids, who are required to travel for birth as a result of the federal evacuation policy.

“Ali is one of our rising stars, and has demonstrated her commitment to evidence-based decision making through community driven research,” said Dr. Jaime Cidro, Director of MDP and Canada Research Chair in Health and Culture in a recent profile on Nychuk. “I look forward to spending the next year with Ali and our research team as we grapple with questions relating to access to Indigenous-based maternal and child health that is culturally grounded.” 

The University of Winnipeg is proud of the achievements of these tri-council scholarship recipients. Learn more about The University of Winnipeg Graduate Studies.