Congratulations to 2025 Faculty Research Awardees Dr. Samantha Dawson, Dr. Paul Hewitt, and Dr. Connor Kerns.
UBC’s Faculty Research Awards recognize the research excellence and scholarly achievements of faculty from across all disciplines, ranging from the applied sciences and medicine to the social sciences and humanities. Award recipients are selected by UBC’s Faculty Research Awards Committee and include early career researchers through to established members of faculty. The award also considers research impact and leadership in the specified discipline or field of study.
UBC KILLAM RESEARCH PRIZES
Recognizing outstanding research and scholarly contributions
Dr. Paul Hewitt, a professor in UBC’s department of psychology, received the Established Category of the Killam Faculty Research Prize. Dr. Hewitt’s research focuses primarily on personality vulnerabilities and their implications for psychological difficulties among adults, adolescents, and children. In particular, he has conducted extensive research on the construct of perfectionism as a complex maladaptive and multidimensional personality trait and interpersonal style that is related to problems such as suicide, depression, personality disorders, and relationship, achievement, and health problems.
“I am honoured and excited to receive the Killam Faculty Research Prize. I would like to acknowledge that although I am the recipient of the award, the research upon which it is based is the result of collaborative efforts of the my graduate students, colleagues, and collaborators whose work contributed greatly to the knowledge we have gained. Moreover, I also acknowledge the many patients over the years who have taught us, the researchers, what we should study to understand the nature, processes, and outcomes of pernicious personality styles.”
Dr. Samantha Dawson, an associate professor in UBC’s department of psychology, received the Early Category of the Killam Faculty Research Prize. Dr. Dawson’s research focuses on identifying mechanisms contributing to sexual function in individuals and couples, with the goal of using these mechanisms to develop targeted interventions for sexual dysfunction. Dr. Dawson’s research program involves experimental laboratory-based research using various sexual psychophysiological measures (e.g., eye tracking, genital plethysmography), as well as more ecologically-valid daily experience and longitudinal methodologies.
“I’m truly honoured to receive the Killam Faculty Research Prize. I am deeply grateful to the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Fund, my colleagues for their nomination, and the letter writers whose generous evaluations made this recognition possible. I also want to acknowledge my mentors, past and present, whose guidance and example have shaped my work in lasting ways. And to my students whose curiosity, insight, and energy fuel and enrich our research.”
UBC KILLAM RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS
Enabling faculty to pursue full-time research during a recognized study leave
Dr. Connor Kerns and Dr. Dawson also received UBC Killam Research Fellowships.
“I'm honoured to receive the Killam Faculty Research Fellowship. The generous support will provide me with the time and resources necessary to launch an ambitious pan-Canadian longitudinal study of a neglected area of women+’s sexual health—sexual function during perimenopause—during my study leave.”
Dr. Connor Kerns, an associate professor in UBC’s department of psychology, focuses on the varied presentation and phenomenology of anxiety in autism and the implications of this variation for effective anxiety measurement and treatment. Dr. Kerns’ research also focuses on the understudied area of stressful and traumatic experiences in youth and young adults with autism.
“I am so thankful for the Killam Faculty Research Fellowship, which allow me to visit ongoing and new collaborators across Canada to set the stage for a multi-province investigation into how we can better recognize the sources and signs of trauma-related conditions in neurodiverse youth in Canada. In particular, this funding will allow us to deepen ties with other scientists, clinical providers and youth and families with relevant lived experiences at McMaster’s Children’s Hospital and CAMH. This will help us engage diverse perspectives in the research program and ensure a direct line of communication between research and practice.”
Join us in congratulating our faculty on this recognition!
