On Wednesday, October 23, TMU Libraries’ announced the recipients of the 2024 Open Access Wall of Fame award. The award honours researchers who have demonstrated a commitment to ensuring their research and outputs are open and available to all.
The Libraries aim is to acknowledge and support those who consider open access avenues when publishing their work.
Dr. Trevor Hart and Dr. Frank Russo, professors in the Department of Psychology, have both demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to providing open access to their research
Hart is the Director of the HIV Prevention Lab and Director of TMU’s new HOPE Centre for Gender and Sexual Minority People: the first and only Centre in Canada dedicated to combining health research aimed at understanding disparities in sexual and gender minority health, with the identification, testing, and implementation of counselling and other practice solutions for better health outcomes. He has received several awards for his advancements to research and clinical work, including membership in the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, Fellow of the Canadian Psychological Association and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), a Toronto Metropolitan University Social Innovation and Action Research Award, and membership in the international Sigma Xi Honor Society of scholars and scientists.
“I am so honoured to receive the Open Access Wall of Fame Award,” says Hart, and notes “it is important that we make our science as accessible as possible to people across the world, including people who are in lower or middle income countries who want to know the latest updates in research.” Read more
Dr. Russo is a Full Professor of Psychology and the Director of the Science of Music Auditory Research and Technology (SMART) Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University. His research in the SMART Lab investigates the neuro-cognitive, neuro-affective, and socio-biological aspects of music, speech, and hearing. Additionally, he is the Scientific Director of SingWell, a global network dedicated to singing and wellbeing. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and has received over 10M CAD in lifetime funding. His contributions have earned him Fellowships at Massey College, the Canadian Society for Brain Behavior and Cognitive Science, and the Canadian Psychological Association.
Regarding Open Access, Russo says “my commitment is driven by a belief in making scientific research accessible to all, promoting transparency, and fostering efficiency in knowledge dissemination.” Read more
The 2024 award was presented during OA Week, with Dr. Russo being available to accept in-person, prior to a talk by Dr. Monica Granados, director of Open Science at Creative Commons
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Open Access material is scholarly work that is made legally available with no restrictions so that anyone can access the full text. Open Education makes openly licensed educational resources available publicly on the Internet.
Learn more about open access at scholarly communications at TMU Libraries