Queen’s PhD candidate Rachel Barber (Geography and Planning) and undergraduate student Alessia Cataudella (Psychology) have been named finalists in the 2026 Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’s (SSHRC) Storytellers Challenge. The national competition invites postsecondary students to show Canadians, in up to three minutes or 300 words, how social sciences and humanities research is impacting our lives, our world, and our future. Each year, approximately 20 finalists advance to the Storytellers Showcase, where five winners are selected.

Barber’s submission focuses on a lesser-known trend shaping cities worldwide. While much public discussion centres on rapid population growth, her work highlights the reality of population decline and ageing, both globally and in Canada. It points to falling birth rates and rising proportions of older adults, and explains how these shifts are already affecting many communities.

“Being named a finalist is an incredible honour,” says Barber. “Most important is the opportunity this creates for knowledge translation, so Canadians can better understand the demographic trends shaping our cities.”

Her research, conducted through the Population and Place Research Lab, contributes to an SSHRC-funded project led by Queen’s researcher Maxwell Hartt (Geography and Planning), which examines where and how populations are shrinking and ageing across urban areas worldwide. The project combines large-scale data analysis with lived experiences of older adults and insights from policymakers to develop practical strategies for more age-friendly communities.

Barber’s Storytellers piece emphasizes that these changes are not just future concerns. Many regions, including parts of Canada, are already experiencing them. The research calls attention to the need for cities and governments to rethink planning, services, and economic models in a context that is no longer defined by continuous growth.

Cataudella’s video explores how emotional expression develops from childhood through adolescence. While it is often assumed that people express emotions in consistent ways across the lifespan, the research suggests otherwise. Early findings show that adolescents may express different emotions in similar ways, making them harder to interpret, and may use fewer of the facial and vocal patterns typically associated with specific emotions.

“I’m incredibly excited to be a finalist,” says Cataudella. “Whether you’re a parent, sibling, educator or an adolescent yourself, we all interact with adolescents in some way. When we better understand adolescents’ nonverbal emotional expression and recognize it as a developmental pattern rather than a generational disposition, we are able to support youth more effectively.”

Cataudella contributed to this work in Dr. Michele Morningstar’s Development of Social and Emotional Communication Lab. The research featured in her video builds on a project led by PhD candidate Daniel Nault, examining how emotional expression develops over time. Alongside this work, she is also involved in research with Dr. Janet Menard in the Neurobiology of Anxiety Lab.

Understanding these differences has practical implications for how young people are supported. Greater awareness among parents and educators can improve communication and responsiveness, while more accurate data on adolescent emotional expression can strengthen technologies such as AI tools used to detect mood disorders.

Finalists are invited to present at the Storytellers Showcase on June 16 in Montréal, Québec, as part of the Science Writers and Communicators of Canada’s annual meeting. Entries are judged on clarity, creativity, and impact, with winners receiving a monetary prize.

Learn more about the 2026 Storytellers finalists.