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Martin KrkoÅ¡ek, an associate professor in the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the ºüÀêÊÓƵ’s Faculty of Arts & Science, has been by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

Presented annually to up to six researchers, the award recognizes early-stage academic researchers in the natural sciences and engineering, enhancing their research capacity so that they can inspire and lead others.

A Canada Research Chair in population ecology, KrkoÅ¡ek sheds light on disease dynamics between wild and farmed salmon on Canada’s west coast. He collaborates with Indigenous communities, particularly with the Dzawada'enuxw and ‘Namgis First Nation, involving community members in his work.

"This award recognizes a collective effort of a community of students, collaborators, mentors and local peoples in the remote and unceded Kwakwakaʼwakw territory," says Krkošek. "I am exceptionally fortunate for this village that raised me as a mathematical and field biologist."

Krkošek’s “career and his vital research in this field are richly deserving of this support," says Melanie Woodin, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science – a sentiment echoed by Professor Stephen Wright, who won the Steacie Fellowship in 2015 and who is now EEB chair: "This stellar achievement reflects the importance of his work for both broad ecological understanding and for fisheries management."