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This award is presented to an early career chemist as a mark of distinction and recognition for excellence in their work in equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives.
The 2026 awards are now open for submission.
Nominate yourself or a colleague deserving of recognition.
Press release: Award winners will be recognized at the x2026 Conference.
View the Terms of Reference and list of Past Winners
The 2024 winner of the Gilead Early Career Award for Excellence in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Award is:
Nicholas J. Roberts
University of Victoria
Nick is recognized as a leader in creating equitable, accessible, and inclusive student-centric learning experiences in the realm of higher education. The pedagogical initiatives that Nick spearheaded are driven by his own lived-experience, advocacy, and leadership in supporting students with invisible disabilities. As an early career educator, Nick’s extensive work in accessible course design is the thread that weaves together pillars of equity, diversity, and inclusion in such a way that they become inseparable, and the result is a laboratory that provides more equitable experiments and invites conversation about supporting disability in large/diverse classes while simultaneously creating inclusion and belonging.
Nick’s ongoing research and advocacy toward Navigating Colour Vision Deficiency (CVD) in Chemistry has captured the attention of institutional, national, and international audiences and is the basis of 4 successful grants, 6 invited talks, several in-progress articles, and an upcoming open access book. Through this work, Nick aims to paint a picture of what it means to have CVD as a student and as an instructor, as well as how to navigate these difficulties in your work/courses without the need for drastic change.
Past Winners