Skip to main content

ISF Research Fellows Program

In the face of escalating climate risks and the growing need for a stable financial system, it has never been more important to integrate academic research with business and finance sector-led initiatives. The ISF Research Fellows Program bridges this divide, fostering collaboration between leading academics and industry experts to generate practical, real-world solutions to environmental challenges.

The ISF Research Fellows will produce high-impact research on pressing topics such as climate-related financial risk, green investment strategies, fiduciary responsibility in a changing regulatory landscape, and corporate governance. By fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas, this initiative will help translate cutting-edge academic knowledge into actionable strategies, ensuring that Canada remains at the forefront of the global sustainable finance movement.

With funding support, mentorship, and a strong research community, the ISF Research Fellows Program will cultivate a generation of thought leaders dedicated to shaping Canada’s resilient and sustainable financial future.

Inaugural ISF Research Fellows

Paul Calluzzo

Associate Professor & Toller Family Fellow of Finance, Smith School of Business, Queen’s University

Expertise: Institutional investors, corporate governance, mutual fund performance, and empirical asset pricing.

View Paul Calluzzo's bio

Pierre Chaigneau

Associate Professor & Commerce '77 Fellow of Finance, Smith School of Business, Queen’s University

Expertise: The use of financial information for the optimal design of contracts and mechanisms in corporate finance. Applications include corporate governance, financing, and executive compensation.

View Pierre Chaigneau's bio

Alison Taylor

Assistant Professor of Finance at Smith School of Business, Queen's University (currently on maternity leave).

Expertise: Climate risk and financial stability.

View Alison Taylor's bio

Sean Geobey

Associate Professor, University of Waterloo School of Environment, Enterprise and Development

Expertise: Social innovation theory, sustainable finance, planning, governance, and decision-theory.

View Pierre Chaigneau's bio

To arrange an interview with one of the ISF Research Fellows please contact David Watson.

Research Focus Areas

ISF Research Fellows will cover the following topics, among others:

  • Technological innovation, AI and sustainability.
  • Sustainability and corporate governance (executive compensation and proxy voting).
  • The scope of fiduciary duty in the context of climate change.
  • Climate-related risk and the regulatory landscape.
  • The green fixed-income market.
  • Sustainable investment.
  • Clean energy, institutional investors and financing of Canada’s electricity grid.
  • Disclosures, taxonomies and regulatory uncertainty.

Become an ISF Research Fellow

ISF will accept applications from exceptional academics and practitioners working on sustainability related topics to support their scholarship or professional development. Fellows, in turn, will contribute to ISF’s Canadian Sustainable Finance Network research community work on these issues. ISF will evaluate candidates based on their contributions to addressing issues around climate change and sustainability, and their proposals for pursuing their scholarship as part of this initiative.

Fellows may be faculty or scientists in a field related to commerce, climate finance, sustainability or impact investing. Fellows are admitted to the program either at the beginning of the fall or spring semesters. Fellows may be appointed for one year or two.

Eligibility and stipends

Applicants must have a PhD and they must hold a tenured or a tenure-track position at their home institution. ISF will offer stipends ranging from $5,000-$25,000 per academic year, (depending on level of commitment). In addition, the fellows will have an opportunity to leverage ISF’s in-house research staff.

Applications should include the following:

  • Cover letter stating your background and interest in the ISF Research Fellows Program.
  • Curriculum Vitae.
  • Research or project proposal (suggested length three pages or 2,000 words).
  • Recent writing sample or work sample.

Criteria for selection

  • Significance and quality of the proposed research or project.
  • Record of achievement.
  • Potential for engagement in academic activity around climate change and sustainability.

Application timelines

Research Fellowship applications will open June 23, 2025, with decisions made on a rolling basis as qualified candidates are identified.

How to apply

To apply or for more information, please email Maya Saryyeva.