(L-R) Rachel Gofffe, Beverley Essue and Myrtede Alfred (photos by Don Campbell, Johnny Guato and Daria Perevezentsev)
Rachel Goffe, Beverley Essue and Myrtede Alfred receive Connaught Major Research Challenge for Black Researchers awards
Published: March 6, 2026
University of Toronto faculty members Rachel Goffe, Beverley Essue and Myrtede Alfred have received Connaught Major Research Challenge for Black Researchers awards.
Given by U of T’s Connaught Fund in partnership with the Black Research Network (BRN), a U of T institutional strategic initiative, the awards provide up to $250,000 to strengthen Black scholars’ research programs and help foster partnerships, create training opportunities and enhance competitiveness for external funding.
Goffe, an assistant professor of human geography at U of T Scarborough, will examine beach privatization in Jamaica and how restricted access to beaches affects the livelihoods and rights of people who rely on the beach for informal economic, recreational and cultural activity.
Essue, an associate professor at the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, received the award in support of her project that aims to explore ways to strengthen financial protection in cancer care using a community of practice approach.
Alfred, an assistant professor in the department of mechanical and industrial engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, was recognized for her efforts to develop a modelling approach that will help hospitals examine inequities in care delivery and reduce adverse outcomes for racialized patients.
