“We are delighted to welcome two outstanding global leaders to UVic through this program. These new chair appointments align strongly with UVic’s lofty ambitions in ocean science and mental health. Elliott Hazen and David Almeida will strengthen our research community, catalyze new collaborations and help address urgent global challenges,” said Lisa Kalynchuk, UVic’s Vice-President Research and Innovation.
Hazen joins UVic following a 12-year career leading climate and ecosystem programs with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center and a recent professorship at the University of Aarhus in Denmark. He will lead research aimed at improving climate-ready ocean stewardship through real-time data and partnerships with government and Indigenous communities.
“The goal is to shift marine governance from reactive to proactive. Rather than responding after fisheries collapse, whales are entangled in fishing gear or hit by a ship, or climate-driven disruptions reshape human uses of the ocean, we can identify early ecosystem warning signals and help managers anticipate risk and respond in near-real time,” said Elliott Hazen, Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair.
Hazen’s research will involve collaborators at Ocean Networks Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Dalhousie University, and Indigenous communities. The work will integrate Indigenous knowledge and data sovereignty principles to support climate-responsive ocean stewardship.
UVic’s other Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair will focus on prevention-focused health research. Almeida joins UVic from Pennsylvania State University, where he was a distinguished professor of human development and family studies. At UVic, he will establish a digital and community-based research hub that uses mobile and wearable technologies to measure changes in stress, mood, sleep, and cognition in everyday settings.
“Most health challenges don’t begin in hospitals. They develop gradually through the accumulation of everyday experiences. By combining detailed daily measurements with biological indicators and real-world implementation, we can identify risk trajectories years before clinical impairment becomes established. This prevention-first approach has the potential to transform how mental health is monitored and supported across the lifespan,” said David Almeida, Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair.
His research will examine connections between daily experiences and long-term outcomes related to mental health, cognitive decline, aging, and cardiometabolic disease. Almeida also plans to build a network of researchers, community organizations, health care providers, and policy leaders to accelerate the use of prevention-focused approaches.
Through this work, UVic will help advance Canada’s leadership in prevention-focused mental health and aging science while supporting innovative approaches to improving health and well-being.
The Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada program, formerly named the Canada Impact+ Research Chairs, is part of the Canada Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative, which supports Canadian institutions to recruit leading researchers from around the world.
