UPEI nominee awarded prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship
Dr. Katie Koralesky, nominated by UPEI for a prestigious Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, has been awarded one of the 2024–2025 fellowships, valued at $140,000 over two years. She will work with Dr. Caroline Ritter, Canada Research Chair in Social Epidemiology for Healthy Animals at UPEI.
The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships were included in an announcement earlier this summer by the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, and the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health, of over $1.3 billion in funding in support of over 9,700 researchers and research projects across Canada.
Only 70 Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships were awarded across the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The award attracts and retains top-tier postdoctoral researchers in Canada and helps position them as leaders in the future. Dr. Koralesky’s Banting Fellowship, which officially starts on October 1, is one of 24 awarded out of 152 applications received by SSHRC.
“We are very proud that our nominee has been awarded a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship,” said Dr. Marva Sweeney-Nixon, Associate Vice-President Research and Dean of Graduate Studies. “Working alongside Dr. Ritter, Dr. Koralesky will make important contributions to agriculture and veterinary medicine that will ultimately benefit animal, environmental, and human health and welfare.”
Drs. Ritter and Koralesky will focus their research on the role people play in animal health and welfare. Farmers, veterinarians, advisors, and others responsible for animal care make decisions daily about how to feed, breed, handle, and manage their animals. Engaging with these individuals to understand their values, attitudes, and animal care practices is critical for improving animal health and welfare. In particular, they will explore the role of policy in animal care practices, on-farm interventions to improve animal health and welfare, and links between animal and human welfare.
Initially, Drs. Ritter and Koralesky will examine decision-making around antimicrobial use (AMU) on dairy farms.
“Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), whereby microorganisms like bacteria can withstand antimicrobial medicines, is a significant threat to human, animal, and environmental health,” Dr. Koralesky said. “In dairy farming, AMR has been observed in animals suffering from bacterial infections, and inappropriate AMU may speed up the emergence of new resistant microorganisms. Thus, this is one area where understanding human behaviour is critical.”
In collaboration with researchers from the Ontario Veterinary College, they will also explore training veterinarians to train farmers on responsible antimicrobial use on dairy farms, using the educational train-the-trainer model.
“Veterinarians are trusted farm advisors and may be uniquely positioned to encourage behaviour change and responsible AMU,” said Dr. Koralesky. “The train-the-trainer model whereby—in this case—experts from industry and academia teach veterinarians who then teach farmers, can spread knowledge efficiently and build local capacity.”
Collectively, the research can be used to develop concrete recommendations for improving farmer-veterinarian communications as well as for policy on AMU and other on-farm animal care practices. The recommendations can lead to policies that will be acceptable to farmers and veterinarians, and lead to health and welfare improvements for animals.
Dr. Koralesky is currently a postdoctoral research and teaching fellow in the University of British Columbia’s Animal Welfare Program.
UPEI acknowledges the assistance of Canada’s tri-council of federal granting agencies—Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)—through its Research Support Fund, which helps fund services and infrastructure that support research activities at the University. In 2025–2026, UPEI’s RSF allocation is $1,168,176.
