Scholars Ask the Big Questions
The CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program enables brilliant early career researchers to investigate the biggest questions facing science and humanity.
Since 2015, it has provided 125 early career researchers with research support, as well as access to generous mentorship and an incredible network of interdisciplinary thinkers.
In November 2022, 38 researchers from around the world, representing the first seven cohorts of the program, gathered for a four-day retreat in Montebello, Quebec, to discuss curiosity-driven research topics, strengthen their leadership skills and collaborate with people from different fields.
Megan Peters, a CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar (2019-2021) in the Brain, Mind and Consciousness Program and an Assistant Professor at the University of California, Irvine, says her “invigorating experience” at this inaugural all-cohort meeting was the culmination of many enriching experiences she had as a Global Scholar.
Retreats give scholars the chance to step away from their day-to-day responsibilities and focus on projects they have not had time for: like op-eds, which many researchers view as an important vehicle for sharing their knowledge with the public. In a day-long workshop with the OpEd Project, the Scholars developed opinion pieces, two of which have already been published.
Peters says brainstorming with her peer community helped her realize that her op-ed idea – which relates to how the brain processes misinformation – may be the seed of a bigger project.
The CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program has “helped me grow as a group leader, an effective mentor, an impactful scientist and an educator,” she says. “I’ve truly never been in another cohort like this.”
