Trent University Canada Research Chair Recognized as One of Canada's Top Scientists
Dr. Andrew Tanentzap honoured with $250,000 Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship for pioneering new frontiers in ecosystem ecology, evolutionary biology and biogeochemistry
PETERBOROUGH, ON, Oct. 30, 2025 /CNW/ - Dr. Andrew Tanentzap, Canada Research Chair in Climate Change and Northern Ecosystems at Trent University, has been awarded the prestigious Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, a $250,000 research prize recognizing his international contributions spanning biology, chemistry and biogeochemistry with direct applications in nature conservation and climate action.
"Professor Tanentzap is a world-class researcher who is bringing multiple disciplines together in innovative ways to work on critical environmental challenges from the micro to the macro scale. He is grappling with consequential issues related to climate change and the preservation of global natural resources," says Dr. Cathy Bruce, president and vice-chancellor of Trent University. "His research has been published in prestigious scientific journals, cited consistently, sparked international debate, and has been featured on major media outlets. He truly exemplifies the pursuit of research as inquisitive, integrative and collaborative, working with Trent undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and international partners."
Prof. Tanentzap is a leading authority in restoration ecology, impacts of land-use change, aquatic ecosystem health, and forest management. The revolutionary nature of his work is due to the intersection of the fields of biology and chemistry. Prof. Tanentzap and his research team use advanced scientific tools to study how invisible things, like molecules and microorganisms, drive much larger processes, such as food webs and ecosystem services and biodiversity.
The Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship is the latest in a string of national accolades for Prof. Tanentzap since being named a Canada Research Chair in 2022, including his election to the Royal Society of Canada in 2023 and receiving the Killam NRC Paul Corkum Fellowship earlier this year. The NSERC award will be presented to Prof. Tanentzap by Dr. Arthur B. McDonald himself at a ceremony in Ottawa on November 5.
"This fellowship is a tremendous honour, and it reflects the incredible team I've had the privilege to lead during my career," says Prof. Tanentzap. "Research is never a solo journey. It really does take a village, and I'm especially grateful for the support of my family, my colleagues, and the students who bring energy and curiosity to everything we do."
The funding from the fellowship will help grow Prof. Tanentzap's dynamic and diverse research program at Trent University. He has built a research group of students, postdoctoral researchers and international partners, including a network of more than 100 individuals from 70 sites worldwide tracking the molecular composition of carbon to understand its response to future climate change.
The Big Impact of Molecular Insights
As the world focuses on carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, Prof. Tanentzap is looking for solutions about where that carbon should go. Soils, forests, and freshwaters are large carbon reservoirs where organic molecules quietly shape the fate of ecosystems.
"We often talk about carbon as a single thing, but at the molecular level, it's tens of thousands of different compounds," says Prof. Tanentzap. "Some of these compounds help ecosystems thrive, others contribute to pollution or greenhouse gas emissions. If we want to protect our water and natural resources and slow climate change, we need to understand carbon at this level of detail. Our research has contributed a lot to our understanding about how environmental change like logging and wildlife impact the type of carbon that exists in different places."
A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that logging alters how carbon moves through forest soils and waters, making it more reactive and more likely to escape into the atmosphere. These findings challenge global carbon accounting models and suggest that protection of riparian zones could be a better approach for stabilizing carbon in forested landscapes.
Transforming Water Quality Monitoring
Prof. Tanentzap's work has led to important discoveries linking human land use to plastic pollution and linking forest disturbances to aquatic nutrients. His recent publication in Science introduced a new method for tracking the fate of dissolved organic compounds in freshwater, a breakthrough that could revolutionize how we monitor water quality and pollution.
In Trent Water Quality Centre, Prof. Tanentzap uses the Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR-MS)--one of only three in Canada--to fingerprint the chemical diversity in water and trace pollutants back to their sources. This technology is helping distinguish whether contaminants come from agriculture, wastewater, or other human activities, and is being used to develop affordable, next-generation water sensors for real-time monitoring of mercury, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and microplastics.
"By measuring the chemical diversity in water, we can track the impact of environmental change and its implications for things we care about--like drinking water safety," Prof. Tanentzap explains.
A Novel Learning Landscape
Undergraduate and graduate student researchers in Prof. Tanentzap's lab are on the leading edge of investigations using environmental DNA (eDNA), including tracking climate-sensitive pathogens like avian flu in Nunavik, the impact of warming temperatures on brook trout and aquatic species near Thunder Bay, and the introduction and spread of formerly frozen bacteria and viruses in the Arctic. His teaching at Trent is directly informed by this research, offering students hands-on experience with advanced tools and interdisciplinary thinking.
"We're training students to think across disciplines to understand how chemical compounds shape ecosystems and how species and ecosystems respond to change," he says. "It's not about biology or chemistry. It's about translating between them to solve these large-scale problems."
Ten of Prof. Tanentzap's undergraduate students have been published in leading scientific journals, reflecting Prof. Tanentzap's commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists.
Prof. Tanentzap has published more than 145 scientific papers, including a revolutionary study in Nature Communications that demonstrated how the productivity of entire lake food webs varied with the type and amount of surrounding land cover. This study has been cited more than 157 times and led to speaking invitations for Prof. Tanentzap in 11 countries. This study was also featured in CBC's The Nature of Things and CBC Kids, adding to the media coverage of research in the New York Times, Washington Post, and BBC.
Learn more about Canada Research Chairs at Trent University and about studying and research in the School of the Environment.
About Trent University
One of Canada's top universities, Trent University was founded on the ideal of interactive learning that's personal, purposeful and transformative. Consistently recognized nationally for leadership in teaching, research and student satisfaction, Trent attracts excellent students from across the country and around the world. Here, undergraduate and graduate students connect and collaborate with faculty, staff and their peers through diverse communities that span residential colleges, classrooms, disciplines, hands-on research, co-curricular and community-based activities. Across all disciplines, Trent brings critical, integrative thinking to life every day. Today, Trent's unique approach to personal development through supportive, collaborative community engagement is in more demand than ever. Students lead the way by co-creating experiences rooted in dialogue, diverse perspectives and collaboration. In a learning environment that builds life-long passion for inclusion, leadership and social change, Trent's students, alumni, faculty and staff are engaged global citizens who are catalysts in developing sustainable solutions to complex issues. Trent's Peterborough campus boasts award-winning architecture in a breathtaking natural setting on the banks of the Otonabee River, just 90 minutes from downtown Toronto, while Trent University Durham Greater Toronto Area, delivers a distinct mix of programming in the east GTA.
If you no longer wish to receive news releases and advisories from Trent University, please email [email protected] t o unsubscribe. Accessible versions of this document are available upon request at trentu.ca/accessible
SOURCE Trent University
For more information contact: Celia Grimbly, Communications Manager, Trent University, (705) 748-1011 x6240 or [email protected]
Share this article