New CRCs include focus on software, AI-driven health research
October 22, 2025
The appointment of five new Canada Research Chairs at UBC Science today boosts UBC’s research strength in software security, electrocatalysts for carbon recycling, isotope geochemistry, quantum systems, and AI-driven cellular health studies.
“Canada’s research community continues to push boundaries and deliver discoveries that strengthen our economy and improve lives across the country," said Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions.
"By investing in outstanding talent and the infrastructure that fuels their work, our government is helping ensure that Canadian innovation remains a force on the world stage—now and for generations to come.”
The appointments are part of 14 new or renewed Chairs at UBC announced today by the federal government.
New Canada Research Chairs at UBC Science
Caroline Lemieux (Computer Science) Tier 2 CRC in Software Testing and Analysis
Dr. Lemieux’s research is focused on helping developers improve the security and performance of software systems—with a particular interest in methods applicable to large, existing software systems, ranging from complex open-source projects to industrial-scale software. This leads to a broad array of research interests over software engineering and programming languages topics: test-input generation, specification mining, program synthesis. Her interest in analyzing large software systems with fuzz testing touches the systems and security communities.
Eva Nichols (Chemistry) Tier 2 CRC in Molecular and Interfacial Electrocatalysts
Dr. Nichols’ group’s research centres around the development and understanding of catalysts for the electrochemical reduction of oxidized carbon into valuable products. Her research group works to improve catalyst activity and selectivity using lessons from biology by applying general design principles from CO2-fixing enzymes to synthetic molecular and materials-based systems. A key goal is to gain a deeper understanding of how the catalyst’s local environment governs reaction outcome.
Julie Prytulak (Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences) Tier 1 CRC in Isotope Geochemistry
An inorganic geochemist focused on developing and applying traditional and novel analytical methods, Dr. Prytulak brings specific expertise in isotope geochemistry. Her research interests include magma generation and evolution on Earth and other planets, element transfer in subduction zones, metal transport in the surface and near surface environment, combining experimental mineralogy with stable isotope techniques, and developing emerging stable isotope techniques for both fundamental and societally relevant challenges
Chiara Saffirio (No longer with UBC) Tier 2 CRC in Mathematics of Complex Quantum Systems
Dr. Saffirio’s research lays at the interplay of analysis and mathematical physics. It focuses on kinetic theory, scaling limits in interacting particle systems (classical and quantum), semiclassical analysis and the theoretical aspects of partial differential equations. After receiving her PhD from La Sapienza in Rome, she held postdoc positions in Bonn and Zurich. Most recently, she held an assistant professor position in Basel. Dr. Chiara works in mathematical physics, specializing in deriving effective equations for many-body quantum and classical systems.
Xin Tang (Michael Smith Laboratories / Computer Science) Tier 2 CRC in Computational Cell Biology
The Tang lab develops powerful and generic AI models to help address fundamental questions in biology and medicine. The research spans multiple scales and modalities and aims to bridge the gap between large-scale/limited-scale cellular studies and mechanistic insights that govern cellular behavior. In addition to developing generic AI methods, the team collaborate with engineers, biologists and doctors at UBC and around the world to address specific biological questions, such as those related to neurodegenerative diseases, heart disease, and aging.
Learn more about the CRCs currently working at UBC Science.
See the full UBC announcement.
