Blair Attard-Frost (supplied image)
Blair Attard-Frost receives CAGS-ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award
Published: September 24, 2026
Blair Attard-Frost, a recent PhD graduate of the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto, has received a 2026 CAGS-ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award.
Presented annually by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS), the award recognizes doctoral dissertations that make significant and original contributions to their academic communities and Canadian society.
Attard-Frost received the award for their dissertation, The Impacts and Governance of Artificial Intelligence: A Transfeminist Perspective, which examines how artificial intelligence can be governed to maximize its benefits while minimizing societal harm, particularly for historically marginalized communities. Drawing on information studies, feminist and trans studies, organizational theory and public policy, Attard-Frost, who is now an assistant professor of political science at the University of Alberta, developed frameworks for understanding AI governance and applied them to AI initiatives across Canada.
“I think it is important to stress the originality of the work done by Attard-Frost…The dissertation intervenes in and advances previous work investigating gaps in AI governance, the causes of these gaps as well as what can be done to strengthen oversight and expand civic participation to prevent harm,” said Joanna Redden, associate professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies at Western University and a member of Attard-Frost’s PhD committee.
