27 August 2026 - Chloé Arson, Tomislav Friščić, Julie Lockwood, Sameer Sonkusale, Phillip Zamore and Ethan Zuckerman have been named McGill University's inaugural Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada. Supported by $52 million in federal funding awarded to the University over eight years, these appointments build on McGill's established strength in health, sustainability systems and public policy research.
- Chloé Arson joins McGill's Faculty of Engineering from Cornell University, conducting groundbreaking research in geomechanics, rock damage and healing, and AI-enabled subsurface exploration. Her work supports the clean energy transition by advancing geothermal energy, geologic hydrogen production, and underground energy storage. A recipient of the U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER and BRITE awards, she will reinforce Canada's position as a leader in sustainable resource development, energy security, and climate adaptation.
- Tomislav Friščić, a global leader in green and sustainable chemistry, returns to McGill's Faculty of Science from the University of Birmingham. Through his pioneering research and extensive industry partnerships in the pharmaceutical, mining, metals and advanced materials sectors, he advances solvent free, energy- and resource efficient chemical production. His innovative work accelerates Canada's adoption of green chemistry solutions and drives economic growth.
- Julie Lockwood, a world-renowned ecologist, joins McGill's Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences from Rutgers University. Her research, focusing on the interplay between environmental changes and invasive species, will strengthen Canada's biosecurity and climate resilience and help protect biodiversity and ecosystems from emerging environmental threats. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Ecological Society of America.
- Sameer Sonkusale comes to McGill's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences from Tufts University. An entrepreneur and global expert in bio-integrated medical devices, he has developed award-winning wearable, transdermal, and ingestible technologies, holds 56 patents, and has founded three MedTech startups. His research program in closed-loop precision medicine will strengthen Canada's capacity in digital health, diagnostics, and chronic disease care, contributing to improved health outcomes for Canadians. He is a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors.
- Phillip Zamore joins McGill's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences from the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. His distinguished career in RNA biology and therapeutics spans four decades, during which his discoveries have led to novel therapies for human diseases. Elected in 2023 to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the (U.S.) National Academy of Sciences and the (U.S.) National Academy of Medicine, his work will strengthen RNA therapeutics, infertility research, and translational life sciences in Canada.
- Ethan Zuckerman, a prominent media scholar, comes to McGill's Faculty of Arts and the Max Bell School of Public Policy from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Recognized by Foreign Policy magazine as a top global thinker, his research focuses on digital cosmopolitanism, including how large technology platforms shape public discourse, democratic participation, and online civic spaces. His work contributes to evidence-based digital policy, transparent AI governance, and platform accountability.
These appointments are part of the Government of Canada's $1 billion Research Chairs program, a national initiative to attract top-tier researchers in areas of strategic priority to Canada. The program's premise is that talent recruited abroad yields results at home: chairholders build their teams in Canada, train the next generation of Canadian researchers and form partnerships that reach across institutions and sectors.
In welcoming the new Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada, McGill is contributing to an already rich research community in Québec and across Canada and is putting that combined strength to work to tackle today's global challenges. McGill's strong result in this first phase underscores the University's ability to attract and support outstanding international researchers, who will contribute to and strengthen sectors in Québec and across Canada.
Quotes
"The appointments of Professors Chloé Arson, Tomislav Friščić, Julie Lockwood, Sameer Sonkusale, Phillip Zamore and Ethan Zuckerman reflect Canada and McGill's ability to attract the best and brightest from around the world - researchers whose work will shape our tomorrow. By working collaboratively and closely with the Government of Canada, we are recruiting talent in areas where McGill already has significant expertise, from therapeutics and sustainability systems to digital public policy, to help advance research that will benefit Canadians, contribute to the overall academic ecosystem in Québec, and strengthen Canada's competitiveness globally."
Deep Saini, President and Vice-Chancelor, McGill University
"The impact of this announcement goes far beyond the recruitment of six globally renowned researchers. In addition to pursuing their own groundbreaking work, each Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair will teach and mentor students and emerging Canadian scholars. The Chairs' graduate students and postdoctoral fellows will have access to and be trained by the very best in their fields. This will be one of this program's most meaningful and enduring legacies. The early-career researchers recruited through the Emerging Leaders program will gain tremendously from collaborating and working alongside globally-renowned experts. Today's appointments reflect what universities do best: advancing knowledge while transferring it from one generation to the next."
Angela Campbell, Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic), McGill University
"When we attract exceptional researchers to McGill, we do more than strengthen our University's research capacity. We create the conditions for new partnerships to take root, new industries and economic opportunities to emerge, and discoveries to move into practice. At a time when Canada must significantly improve its ability to convert research excellence into innovation and prosperity, these six Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada will help catalyze the transformation of research and innovation ecosystems in Quebec and across the country, and deliver tangible benefits for society. I am delighted to welcome them to McGill."
Dominique Bérubé, Vice-President (Research and Innovation), McGill University
Quick facts
- To support the arrival of the first cohort of Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs, McGill has raised more than $10 million in philanthropic support. This funding will help support research projects, laboratory equipment and other research needs, over and above the federal government's funding to the University through the program.
- The Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs program, formerly known as the Impact+ Research Chairs program, is a one-time federal investment of approximately $1 billion, delivered through Canada's three research funding agencies, to bring internationally based researchers to Canadian universities. Awards are made competitively to institutions, valued at $4 million or $8 million per Chair over eight years. McGill could apply for up to $200 million over eight years, the second-largest allocation under the program.
- Recruitment focused on the government's priority research areas: advanced digital technologies (AI, quantum, cybersecurity); health, including biotechnology; clean technology and resource value chains; environment, climate resilience and the Arctic; food and water security; democratic and community resilience; manufacturing and advanced materials; and defence and dual-use technologies.
- McGill will be recruiting six early career researchers under the Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders program.
- A second phase of Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs will be announced in the coming months.
