Faculty of Arts and Science welcomes 12 new tenure-track faculty for 2024-2025

This academic year, Concordia’s Faculty of Arts and Science welcomes an exceptional group of twelve new tenure-track professors. These scholars bring a diverse set of expertise and passions in the humanities, sciences and social sciences.  
 
“We are thrilled to welcome this outstanding group of scholars to the Faculty of Arts and Science,” shares dean Pascale Sicotte. “Their diverse expertise and innovative research will not only strengthen our academic programs but also enrich our community’s commitment to social justice, inclusion, and interdisciplinary learning. Together, they will inspire our students.”

Meet our new tenure-track teachers: 

Casey Burkholder 

Department of Education

Casey Burkholder is a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Social Justice in Youth and Child Studies. Her research intersects art, activism, and participatory media-making with 2SLGBTQ+ youth and sexuality education teachers, engaging in visual approaches to social justice. Burkholder co-founded the Fredericton Feminist Film Collective and leads the Pride/Swell+ project. Her Concordia research, Pride/Swell Petit, aims to foster solidarity through arts-based work with multigenerational 2SLGBTQ+ communities. 

Marie-Julie Favé

Department of Biology

Marie-Julie Favé, an associate professor, brings a background in evolutionary biology and medical population genetics. With a PhD from McGill University, she has held postdoctoral roles at Université de Montréal and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. Favé applies machine learning and bioinformatics to multi-omics data, investigating the environmental impacts on gene expression and disease. Her research leverages large human biobanks to study chronic disease origins from a genomic and evolutionary perspective. 

Gage Karahkwi:io Diabo

Department of English & School of Community and Public Affairs 

Gage Karahkwi:io Diabo (they/them) joins the School of Community and Public Affairs with a cross-appointment in English and First Peoples Studies. A Mohawk scholar from Kahnawà:ke, Diabo explores the interplay of land, oral tradition, and political philosophy in Indigenous literature. Their current work includes studies on intercultural dialogue and Indigenous horror. Diabo previously held a Horizon Postdoctoral Fellowship at Concordia.  

Vijay Kolinjivadi

School for Community and Public Affairs and Department of Geography, Planning and Environment 

Vijay Kolinjivadi joins the School for Community and Public Affairs as assistant professor in sustainable and equitable economies. His research bridges ecological economics and political ecology.  His work critiques green finance mechanisms and explores their impact on marginalized communities. Kolinjivadi’s latest book, The Sustainability Class (December 2024), examines how urban elites co-opt sustainability efforts. His work offers alternative approaches to foster equity and environmental justice, while building alternative economic practice rooted in solidarity and anti-imperialism. 

Patrick C. Lewis

Department of Sociology and Anthropology 

Patrick Lewis joins Concordia’s Department of Anthropology. His research focuses on the politics of language in Turkey and North Kurdistan, looking at the influence of state policy, language activism, and media. Lewis’s latest project examines how higher education and language policy affect youth migration between Turkey and North America. He recently completed a Postdoctoral Fulbright Fellowship in Turkey.  

Florent Michelot

Department of Education

Florent Michelot, assistant professor of educational technology, explores the impacts of AI and digital technologies on post-secondary education, focusing on critical thinking, digital literacy, and sustainability. He contributed to Quebec’s Digital Competency Framework and is active in the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of AI and Digital Technologies. Michelot previously served at Université de Montréal and Université de Moncton. He recently edited a collaborative volume on digital competencies in education. 

Julius Owusu

Department of Economics

Assistant professor Julius Owusu joins Concordia from the University of Bristol. His research in theoretical and applied econometrics focuses on causal inference and statistical decision-making in networked populations. Owusu’s recent work includes developing nonparametric tests for heterogeneous treatment effects and statistical rules for social interactions, contributing valuable insights into complex economic models. 

Colin Scott

Department of Political Science 

Colin Scott joins the Department of Political Science as an assistant professor after completing his PhD at McGill University. He has served as a behavioural scientist within Canada’s federal government, working with the Privy Council Office and Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. Scott’s research examines the psychology and politics of diversity, social cohesion, immigrant integration, and intergroup relations. His work extends into collaborations with public and non-profit organizations to support evidence-based policies and program evaluations. 

Nárlon Cassio Boa Sorte Silva

Department of Kinesiology, Health, and Applied Physiology

Nárlon C. Boa Sorte Silva joins Concordia as an assistant professor and a nominee to the Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) program. Originally from Brazil, Silva has an extensive background in aging and brain health research, having recently completed his postdoctoral training at UBC’s Centre for Brain Health. Silva holds a PhD from Western University, where he worked on exercise and healthy aging. Silva puts emphasis on outreach activities and mentorship in every aspect of his work.

Kristy Snell

Department of Journalism

With 25 years of broadcast experience at CBC, Kristy Snell joins us as an associate professor and Academic Leader of the Institute for Inclusive, Investigative, and Innovative Journalism (I3J). Her research focuses on decolonizing journalism, Indigenous education, and experiential pedagogy. Snell, a member of Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation, has fostered impactful collaborations with Kahnawà:ke Survival School, mentoring high school students to share stories from their community. Her work continues to bridge journalism with community engagement and Indigenous perspectives.

Sanaz Sohrabi

Department of Communication Studies

Sanaz Sohrabi, an artist-filmmaker and researcher, explores visual culture through her installations and essay films. With a PhD from Concordia, Sohrabi’s work has been exhibited internationally, delving into archival film and the visual politics of resource extraction in Iran and West Asia more broadly. Her current project, a feature-length documentary, examines the role of oil in geopolitical struggles in the Global South. Sohrabi brings over a decade of expertise in visual cultural studies, history of photography, and research-based art practice.

Junxi Zhang

Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Junxi Zhang joins us as an assistant professor in statistics and data science. He earned his PhD from University of Alberta, where he also conducted post-doctoral work. His research spans Bayesian nonparametric models and inference, fairness in statistics and machine learning, and optimal control. Zhang is interested in interdisciplinary areas such as time series, foundation models, survival analysis, and privacy preservation.