Mount Saint Vincent University is committed to recruiting exceptional and diverse scholars and recognized as a leader in applied research. Meet MSVU’s Postdoctoral Fellows and learn about their research interests.
Draft MSVU Postdoctoral Fellow Protocol
To stay up-to-date on MSVU’s Postdoctoral Fellow protocals, read our Draft PDF Protocol.
Dr. Sylvia Chanda Kalindi
Institution where you received your PhD and program: PhD in Developmental Psychology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Supervisor at MSVU and lab/research centre: Dr Susan Brigham, Faculty of Education.
Description of your research area: To understand the performance lag of African Nova Scotian (ANS) early childhood learners, Dr. Kalindi intends to use an Africentric approach to examine the nature and levels of emergent literacy support provided by the ANS community and families to early learners. Focusing on emergent writing development, Dr. Kalindi will explore the varied experiences associated with providing this support, including challenges triggered by the COVID-19 crises. Findings should inform a framework and strategies that address challenges.
What are you particularly enjoying about your research at MSVU? As a Mitacs Industrial Postdoctoral Fellow, I benefit greatly from the synergies between industry and academia. As such, I am very privileged to work alongside a dedicated and amazing team of researchers from both fronts (i.e., MSVU and Delmore ‘Buddy’ Daye Learning Institute, DBDLI). This collaboration is key to developing a framework for an Africentric best practice to prevent further achievement gaps among ANS learners.
Dr. Colin Osmond
Institution where you received your PhD: University of Saskatchewan.
Supervisor at MSVU: Dr. Martha Walls, Department of History.
Description of your research area: Dr. Osmond is a Community-Engaged historian who is currently working with the Pictou Landing First Nation on a project that analyzes the ways that Industrial Colonialism has shaped Mi’kmaw lives and livelihoods in Pictou County, Nova Scotia. His current project looks at how the expansion of several industries in Mi’kma’ki challenged Mi’kmaw access to resources, while also providing new opportunities for wage labour and the sale of Mi’kmaw produced goods (such as axe and pick handles for coal mining). He is also keenly interested in the history of Canadian settler colonialism, and the ways that it continues to function in Canadian society today.
What are you particularly enjoying about your research at MSVU?: After spending nearly a decade living in Western Canada, I am thrilled to return home to Nova Scotia to join the Mount community. As a Bora Laskin Fellow in Human Rights Research, I am honoured to contribute to the Mount’s reputation as a forward thinking institution that highly values social justice and equity in academic research.
Dr. Osmond has accepted a Tenure Track position with the history department at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, which will begin the summer of 2023.
Dr. De-Lawrence Lamptey
Institution where you received your PhD and program: PhD in Rehabilitation Science from Queen’s University.
Supervisor at MSVU and lab/research centre: Dr. Jessie-Lee McIsaac in the Early Childhood Collaborative Research Centre.
Description of your research area: Dr. Lamptey’s research area includes studying the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on young children and their families; best practices to promote inclusion and participation for children with disabilities; resiliency and disability; and global child health.
What are you particularly enjoying about your research at MSVU? Collaborating with a brilliant inter-professional research team to improve our understanding of the impact of COVID-19 global pandemic on families and young children.
Dr. Feinuo Sun
Institution where you received your PhD and program: Department of Sociology, University at Albany, State University of New York.
Supervisor at MSVU and lab/research centre: Dr. Zachary Zimmer, Global Aging and Community Initiative.
Description of your research area: Dr. Sun’s research is about how demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as well as community and societal contexts shape health outcomes at both the individual and ecological level. Based on a variety of national-wide datasets, her current research is to understand the development of pain, and transitions between chronic pain, disability, and mortality for older adults. She is also interested in examining the geographic distribution of pain outcomes. Findings will shed a light on explaining and addressing the challenges in an aging society.
What are you particularly enjoying about your research at MSVU?: Moving from the U.S. to Canada, I am fascinated by the new culture, ideas, opportunities, and challenges here. I am keen on learning about the aging and health issues in Canada and the possibility of expanding my research to different sites. I also enjoy a lot living in Halifax, a beautiful international city, and appreciate the rich academic and living resources here.