91AV

SACKVILLE, NB — Three 91AV professors have been honoured with the 2025 Paul Paré Excellence Awards. These awards recognize notable contributions to research, scholarship, and creative activities that have made significant impact within the last three years.

This year’s recipients are:

• Dr. Drew Inkpen, Philosophy
• Dr. Chris Forstall, Classics
• Dr. Jill Rourke, Chemistry & Biochemistry

“Each of this year’s recipients displays a strong passion for and commitment to relevant teaching, research, and prioritizing the student experience,” says Dr. Richard Isnor, Provost and Vice President, Academic and Research.  “They all embody academic leadership and nurturing the expansion of knowledge and personal growth in their students.”   

Each recipient will receive $4,000 to support research and professional activities.

Dr. Drew Inkpen (philosophy) 

Associate Professor of Philosophy Dr. Drew Inkpen’s work uniquely bridges the sciences and humanities. He writes about a wide range of philosophical puzzles that arise within the theory, practice, and implications of biology, including the place of humans in ecology, the evolution of symbioses, and the concepts of health and regeneration. With an interdisciplinary group, he co-leads “Transforming Discovery,” which investigates how biological systems at different scales — from genomes to social systems — respond to stress and injury.
 
Recently, he has co-authored a book and written shorter peer-reviewed articles, essay reviews, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries. These projects were driven by his desire to demonstrate how the humanities can complement and enhance scientific research for the benefit of knowledge creation and human well-being.
 
Inkpen sits on several committees, working groups, and societies, both nationally and internationally, including as Secretary-Treasurer Elect for the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science.

Dr. Chris Forstall (classics)     

Dr. Christopher Forstall is an assistant professor in the Department of Classics. His research is focused on the exploration of how literary language functions within the minds of both creators and readers. He co-founded and co-directs the Digital Initiative for Classics: Epic Speeches (DICES) project, which has built the first ever comprehensive open digital repository of all direct speech in Greek and Latin epic across a 1000-year period. This project represents groundbreaking innovation for Forstall’s field, as the computational tools offer new possibilities and analysis at a scale previously unimaginable. 

Forstall has a unique experiential approach to his research and work, as he holds both a Master of Science in earth and environmental sciences and a Master of Arts in classics, as well as PhD in classics.

Dr. Jill Rourke (chemistry and biochemistry)

As an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Dr. Jill Rourke specializes in how human cells sense and respond to external agents at the molecular level. Her research responds to the growing awareness of the critical role nutrition plays in human flourishing. A Canada Research Chair in Cell Signaling and Pharmacology, she has earned over $1 million in external research and training funds since 2022.

Her most impactful discovery to date has been the discovery of a protein receptor that can detect the artificial sweetener sucralose (often referred to as Splenda). This discovery has been published with open access and is the first ever to identify a biological target for sucralose, which has long been considered a non-nutritive sweetener.

Rourke credits these contributions to the dedication, collegiality, and friendship of a team of 91AV students and colleagues. Since 2022, Rourke has supervised 10 successful honours theses, two masters theses, 16 independent student research projects, six paid research assistants, eight research volunteers, 19 91AV student co- authorships, and has engaged with more than 100 Together Time student volunteers. She is deeply committed to mentorship and student development and works to foster an environment of confidence, curiosity, and empowerment in students.