Why leading researchers choose SFU: Canada 150 Research Chair Caroline Colijn

Simon Fraser University attracts world-class researchers from around the globe with its supportive innovation ecosystem, collaborative research culture and commitment to global impact. As one of Canada’s fastest-growing research universities, SFU provides the foundation for high-impact research—exemplified by Caroline Colijn’s return to Canada as a Canada 150 (C150) Research Chair.

Colijn was recruited back to Canada from the UK when she joined SFU in 2018 as a Canada 150 Research Chair in Mathematics for Infection, Evolution and Public Health.  

Her groundbreaking research weaves together mathematics, statistics, evolution and epidemiology to understand and predict the dynamics of infectious diseases.  

Colijn’s expertise was in high demand as COVID-19 started overtaking the globe to understand current rates of transmission, predict future transmission rates and provide data-driven public health recommendations. Colijn provided advice to the BC Centre for Disease Control, while the Public Health Agency of Canada relied on her team for COVID-19 weekly incidence projections for Canada. The public health work conducted during the pandemic by Colijn and other experts helped grow SFU’s reputation as a public health hub.  

The research advancements she has made at SFU have come after a significant amount of time abroad. After completing her education in Canada and doing postdoctoral work at the Harvard School of Public Health, she moved to the United Kingdom in 2007, taking positions at the University of Bristol, and later Imperial College London. 

The UK was a “dynamic, exciting place to do science,” says Colijn, but she always knew she would want to come back to Canada one day—she just didn’t know when. Then she heard about the C150 program. 

“It was definitely on my radar right away as an exciting opportunity, a way to bring my career to Canada and be able to run a research group there,” she says.

What attracted you to a C150 opportunity at SFU specifically? 

"SFU made a strong offer in terms of use of the C150 funds for my research group, and a good teaching reduction, compared to other Canadian universities. Vancouver is also a pretty good location for my research program.”

What are the opportunities at SFU that you see for researchers currently based internationally?

“To me, the C150 chair was a great opportunity to come back to Canada and to build a well-funded research program in my field over a seven-year period. SFU has some great researchers and can attract good graduate students from anywhere in the world. Vancouver is a beautiful city with clean air, in a peaceful country, with many opportunities for researchers themselves and for their families. 

The workload management was a draw. I would not have been able to run the C150 research program in the pandemic with a standard faculty position.”  

Are there non-work benefits that you have enjoyed while at SFU in terms of recreation, culture, or climate that you think would be a draw for internationally based researchers?

“Absolutely. The ocean, the mountains -- kayaking, skiing, hiking, and cycling.”

Caroline Colijn’s story includes excerpts from a Canada 150 researcher profile, re-published with permission from the Government of Canada.