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Eleven new UNB-led projects have been awarded funding by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The projects tackle some of the complex and challenging topics facing our communities today, and highlight the importance of rigorous research that seeks to better understand and positively impact the lives of individuals, groups, and societies.

Eleven research projects at the University of New Brunswick have been awarded more than $1.75 million in research grants by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The grants, awarded under the Insight Grant and Insight Development Grant programs, were announced by the Government of Canada on July 21, 2026.

The projects tackle some of the complex and challenging issues facing our communities today, including sexual violence, energy transitions, children’s rights, education, language learning, legal and financial frameworks, and how we adapt to changing work environments, as well as better understanding the histories of our region.

Collectively, the Insight Research program supports research excellence in better understanding our human world. The Insight Development Grants program supports early-stage research, with up to two years of funding for developing new research questions or exploring new ideas and approaches, while the Insight Grants program is designed for long-term, complex projects, with funding to support this work over four or five years.

“Understanding the human elements and experiences at play in our lives and our past is an essential part of creating better futures,” said Dr. David MaGee, Vice President Research at UNB. “These projects take on important, challenging topics, and I wish them success in creating new knowledge and applying this knowledge to advancing our world.”

The five UNB researchers and projects awarded Insight Grant funding are:

• Dr. Patrick Bruning, a professor in the faculty of management, awarded $94,556 over five years for the project, “Job Crafting Responses to Work Transitions and Misfit;”
• Dr. Gabriel Hrynick, a professor of anthropology, awarded $277,562 over four years for the project, “Community Engaged Archaeology of the Late Maritime Archaic Period in the Maritime Provinces and Maine”;
• Dr. Heather Millar, an associate professor of political science, awarded $352,419 over five years for the project, “Gas Futures? The politics of fossil gas in Canadian energy transitions”;
• Dr. Lucia O'Sullivan, a professor of psychology, awarded $194,499 over four years for the project, “The Social Norms Supporting Men's Use of Sexual Aggression Against Women: A Focus on Colluders and Bystanders”; and
• Dr. Ziba Vaghri, an associate professor and Research Chair in Child Development & Child Rights, awarded $399,997 over five years for the project, “Strengthening Rights-Based Pathways to Child Development: A North-South Collaboration.”

The six UNB researchers and projects awarded Insight Development Grant funding are:

• Dr. Prince Ekoh, assistant professor of social science, awarded $42,186 over two years for the project, “Digital Pathways to Language Access: Understanding Older Immigrants’ Use of Digital Technologies for Linguistic Navigation”;
• Dr. Stefanie Hunt-Kennedy, professor of history, awarded $88,627 over two years for the project, “A Cartography of Care and Confinement: Movement, Survival, and Institutional Power”;
• Dr. Melissa Keehn, assistant professor of education, awarded $90,605 over two years for the project, “SEQuYN: The Sex Education Queer and Trans Youth Need in New Brunswick & Quebec”;
• Dr. Amanjot Singh, assistant professor in the faculty of business, awarded $50,200 over two years for the project, “Entrepreneurship on Indigenous Lands: Financing Structures and Capital Dynamics of Canadian Private Firms”;
• Dr. Jane Thomson, associate professor of law, awarded $70,016 over two years for the project, “The Law of Dependants' Relief in Canada: A Mixed-Methods Study”; and
• Dr. Kasia Van Schaik, an assistant professor of English and creative writing, awarded $98,322 over two years for the project, “Bad Housekeeping: Rescripting Domesticity in Postwar American Literature.”

The eleven projects are among the 1,788 across Canada that were collectively awarded more than $289 million in the announced bundle.