Engage in Global Challenges
Making a Difference in B.C. and beyond: Five scholars honoured as SFU Distinguished Professors
Five Simon Fraser University (SFU) researchers have been named 2024 Distinguished SFU Professors.
Scholars Genevieve LeBaron, Daniel Leznoff, Anne Salomon, Glen Tibbits and Andrew Wister were honoured for their outstanding performance, achievements and service. These five scholars advance research excellence in a range of areas, including marine ecology, molecular cardiac physiology and global policy.
The Distinguished SFU Professor program is a joint initiative of SFU’s office of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic and SFU’s office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation. The program honours SFU research faculty members of distinction who have achieved exceptional performance and distinguished accomplishments, relative to their rank and years of service.
“These five researchers have broken boundaries and engaged in global challenges to meet the evolving needs of our world and the communities we serve,” says Dugan O’Neil, SFU vice-president, research and innovation. “Their dedication to research excellence and innovation strengthens our capacity as a leading research university, advancing an inclusive and sustainable future.”
SFU’s faculty are a key to the university’s success as a world leader in research, knowledge development and sustainability, resulting in SFU consistently ranked among Canada’s top research-intensive universities. Since the program’s inception in 2019, 45 scholars have been awarded as Distinguished SFU professors.
“We have exceptional scholars at SFU who cultivate a thriving research and teaching environment, which equips our students with the knowledge, skills and experiences to excel in academia, industry and beyond,” says Dilson Rassier, SFU provost and vice-president academic.
2024 DISTINGUISHED SFU PROFESSORS
Genevieve LeBaron, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Public Policy
Internationally renowned expert on modern slavery, Genevieve LeBaron investigates labour and employment in the global economy. Her research centres on the business and governance dynamics of forced labour, modern slavery, and human trafficking within global supply chains.
Honoured for her significant contributions to scholarship, LeBaron was elected to the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Scientists, and Artists in 2020. She advises governments and international organizations on strategies to prevent and eliminate forced labor and human trafficking. She is a principal investigator of ReStructure Lab, a collaboration across SFU, Stanford and Yale universities, supported by grants from the Ford Foundation, Humanity United Action and Freedom Fund. She also serves on the UK Parliament’s Modern Slavery and Supply Chain Advisory Group.
Daniel Leznoff, Faculty of Science, Chemistry
Leading inorganic coordination chemist, Daniel Leznoff researches functional inorganic materials and novel catalysts. He explores a wide range of metals from lithium to uranium to better understand how to control the structure, properties, and reactions of complex metal-containing molecules, leading to new applications and uses in various fields.
In 2024, Leznoff received the prestigious Rio Tinto Award in Inorganic or Electrochemistry from the Canadian Society for Chemistry. He was also honoured with the Strem Chemicals Award for Pure and Applied Inorganic Chemistry in 2010 and is a fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada. Leznoff has been published in top scientific journals and patented advanced technologies such as highly sensitive ammonia and toxic gas sensors, and birefringent coordination polymer optics, materials that bend and split light in unique ways.
Anne Salomon, Faculty of Environment, Resource and Environmental Management
Anne Salomon, a leading applied marine ecologist and social-ecological system scientist, works across disciplines and alongside communities to explore the resilient relationship between people and other components of nature in the face of disturbances. In partnership with Indigenous knowledge holders, fishers, artists and more, her research focuses on co-creating and mobilizing ecologically effective and socially just conservation and management strategies for our oceans, shifting the way we understand and care for our coastal ecosystems.
Recognized for her research excellence and outstanding contributions, Salomon was elected to the Royal Society of Canada's College of New Scholars, Scientists and Artists in 2019. In 2013, she was named a Pew Fellow in marine conservation, and awarded the International Prize in Professional Excellence in Ecology.
Glen Tibbits, Faculty of Science, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
A leader in the field of molecular cardiac physiology, Glen Tibbits helps advance personalized treatment for life-threatening conditions such as inherited arrhythmias and cardiomyopathies.
In 2011, Tibbits was awarded a second term of his Tier I Canada Research Chair in Molecular Cardiac Physiology. The Tibbits Lab pioneered the use of human induced pluripotent stem cells. The lab studies the underlying genetic basis of cardiac diseases by inducing these cells to become beating human heart cells, called cardiomyocytes, creating a personalized disease-in-a-dish model. Tibbits also played a critical role in the building of the Cellular and Regenerative Medicine Centre at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, a world-leading facility for personalized medicine research of which he is currently co-director.
Andrew Wister, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Gerontology
Globally recognized expert on aging research, Andrew Wister helps us stay healthy, socially connected and resilient as we age. His research explores the health patterns of baby boomers, adaptation to multimorbidity, the dynamics of social isolation, including pandemic resilience and responses, and how older adults adjust to their environments.
As a faculty member of SFU’s Department of Gerontology for over three decades and current director of the Gerontology Research Centre, Wister has authored over 150 highly-cited peer-reviewed articles, along with numerous books, monographs, chapters, reports, and conference presentations. Wister is also the SFU principal investigator leading the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.
In 2014, Wister received the Victor Marshall Distinguished Member Award from the Canadian Association on Gerontology. He is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and previous chair of the National Seniors Council of Canada.
See the full list of Distinguished SFU Professors.