IMS Magazine Summer 2024: Student Life in the IMS

IN THIS ISSUE

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF:

Sarah Topa

Kyla Trkulja

Iciar Iturmendi Sabater

EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS:

Niki Akbarian

Kristen Ashworth

Mahbod Ebrahimi

Elizabeth Karvasarski

Janet Li

DESIGN EDITORS:

Jayne Leggatt (Director)

Josephine Choi

Genevieve Groulx

Emily Huang

Yu-Wen Jan

Andrew Janeczek

Lauren Jones

Jeah Kim

Brendan Lazar

Anne McGrath

Anaiah Reyes

Stefanie Wang

Nichole Zhou

PHOTOGRAPHERS:

Niki Akbarian (Director)

Lauren Levy

SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM:

Elizabeth Karvasarski (Director)

Mahbod Ebrahimi

Lizabeth Teshler

JOURNALISTS & EDITORS:

Vritika Batura

Kevan Clifford

Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis

Kiko Huang

Vanessa Ip

Alyona Ivanova

Sonika Kumari

Lauren Levy

Karan Patel

Nayaab Punjani

Vaidhehi (Veena) Sanmugananthan

Hania Siddiqui

Humna Siddiqui

Beatrix Wang

Letter from the EDITORS

In the fall of 2023, Dr. Mingyao Liu, director of the IMS, contacted us–the Editors-in-Chief of the IMS Magazine–to share an idea. He suggested that we work on a special edition showcasing the wide range of student initiatives in our community. With the collaboration of Sarah Topa, Senior Partnerships and Communications Officer, as a guest Editor-in-Chief, this idea has become a reality. This special edition not only aims to celebrate student life at IMS, but also to motivate prospective and current students, faculty, alumni, and staff to actively engage with and make an impact on our inspiring community.

Promoting student-led initiatives has been a top priority for Dr. Liu since becoming Director of the IMS in 2015. His commitment to supporting student leadership and student well-being is evident in his spotlight article, which opens this issue, and in the subsequent IMS strategic plan infographic. Since 2015, the IMS Students’ Association (IMSSA), IMS Magazine, and UofT Talks have flourished, and three new student groups have launched with the support of the IMS: Raw Talk Podcast, the Peer-2-Peer Mentorship Program, and the IMS International Community. Our wonderful design team has worked on a timeline illustrating these milestones for this issue.

Our team of writers have enthusiastically interviewed past and current student leaders of each IMS student group, providing an overview of each group’s trajectory, accomplishments, and its student leaders’ invaluable learning experiences and unique perspectives. These articles reflect how IMSSA, the Peer-2-Peer Mentorship Program, and the IMS International Community foster a sense of belonging and support in our IMS community by organising student events and mentorship opportunities to help new students navigate and succeed in graduate school. Raw Talk Podcast, UofT Talks, and the IMS Magazine meaningfully contribute to this feeling of community by showcasing and disseminating the scientific achievements conducted within and beyond the boundaries of the IMS.

To illustrate the broad reach and diversity of the research conducted by IMS students, we provide a map of Toronto highlighting all research sites where IMSSA has representatives with individual student perspectives from each site. Our diverse community–spread across the city of Toronto–comes together every year at IMS Scientific Day and at the Ori Rotstein Lecture in Translational Research, which in recent years have been planned and co-led by IMS students themselves. Our writers have interviewed past leaders of these events, as well as IMS’ youngest-ever graduate student, Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis, whose involvement in several student groups

is a great example of how incoming students can immerse themselves in the student life experience while thriving in their research.

We have also interviewed students who have spearheaded novel initiatives with the support of the IMS and the Jay Keystone Memorial Award for Innovation in Scientific Communication. These include features on the development of the IMS Career Mentorship Program, promotion of graduate student wellness initiatives, and student contributions to graduate education through the creation of a new virtual reality modular course. Finally, we reflect on the pathways our IMS alumni follow after graduation through the last infographic.

As we welcome all incoming IMS students joining us in September 2024, we hope that these stories can inspire all readers— students, faculty, alumni, and staff alike—to engage more deeply with our community and to recognise the profound impact that collaborative student-led efforts can achieve.

Kyla is a PhD student studying the mechanism of action of novel therapies for lymphoma under the supervision of Dr. Armand Keating, Dr. John Kuruvilla, and Dr. Rob Laister.

@kylatrkulja

Iciar is a PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Meng-Chuan Lai and Dr.Hsiang-Yuan Lin. She investigates social adaptive behaviors in children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and obsessivecompulsive disorder.

@iciar_itur

Sarah is the Senior Partnerships & Communications Officer at IMS. She co-chairs the Student, Staff, Alumni and Faculty Engagement Committee and the Student Recruitment Committee. Sarah also advises and supports the IMS Students’ Association and other student groups. She loves spending time with her kids, cycling around Toronto, and listening to the latest true-crime podcast.

Iciar Iturmendi Sabater

Kyla Trkulja

Sarah Topa

Kyla Trkulja

Iciar Iturmendi Sabater

Sarah Topa

Contributors Summer 2024

mahbooli99

Niki Akbarian is a second-year MSc student under the supervision of Dr. James Kennedy. Her research focuses on the genomic analyses of the relationship between neuroticism and Alzheimer’s Disease. Outside of academia, Niki enjoys photography, playing the piano, and watching sitcoms.

Mahbod Ebrahimi is a second-year MSc student investigating the association between immune gene expression and schizophrenia subphenotypes under the supervison of Dr. James Kennedy. Outside of research, Mahbod enjoys a good book, playing chess, and listening to Jazz music. Mahbod is also a member of our social media team.

Sonika Kumari is a second-year MSc student conducting research on understanding the barriers and facilitators of physical activity among youth with multiple sclerosis at The Hospital for Sick Children. Outside of research, Sonika loves hiking, photography, painting, and exploring new cafes around the city.

Janet Z. Li is a second-year MSc student studying the brain-behavior relationships between conditioned pain modulation capability and functional connectivity of key pathways within the dynamic pain connectome, namely the descending antinociceptive pathway. She is supervised by Dr. Karen Davis at the Krembil Brain Institute in Toronto Western Hospital. Outside of research, she can be found practicing piano, figure skating, creating fashion content, and café hopping.

Vaidhehi (Veena) Sanmugananthan is a fourth-year PhD student under the supervision of Dr. Karen Davis at the Krembil Brain Institute, Toronto Western Hospital. Her research focuses on examining pain and attention interactions in people with chronic pain, and understanding the bidirectional relationship between painattention. Outside of the lab, she loves to play squash, flag football, and challenge herself to try different art mediums.

Kristen Ashworth is a second-year MSc student working under the supervision of Dr. Brian Ballios at the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute and Krembil Research Institute. Her thesis work is focused on developing a human retinal organoid model in which to evaluate stem cell therapies for USH2A-associated inherited retinal disease. Kristen loves cross country running, reading a good book, going to Marshalls, and, most importantly, doting on her two adorable golden retrievers.

Alyona Ivanova is a first-year PhD student investigating the molecular signature of glioblastoma at the Hospital for Sick Children under the supervision of Dr. Sunit Das. Alyona is a figure skater, equestrian rider and a model. She enjoys traveling, cooking and reading.

Lauren Levy is a third-year MSc student studying the expression, phosphorylation, and nanotube-mediated intercellular transfer of α-synuclein, using murine retinal neurons and established disease models. She is supervised by Dr. Anurag Tandon at the Tanz CRND and Dr. Valerie Wallace at the DKJ Eye Institute. When she’s not writing her thesis, she likes to spend her time paddling with NDxUC, biking, balancing IMSSA’s finances, or fiddling with her camera.

Nayaab Punjani is a 4th year PhD student at the Krembil Research Institute in Dr. Michael Fehlings’ Lab. She is studying a neuroprotective peptide drug therapy to treat cervical traumatic spinal cord injury. In her free time she enjoys digital art, outdoor photography, Nintendo Switch Mario Kart and Smash Bros tournaments, as well as watching mystery, action, and sci-fi TV shows and movies.

Hania Siddiqui is a first-year MSc student working under the supervision of Dr. Steve Lin and Dr. Rohit Mohindra at St. Michael’s Hospital. Her thesis work focuses on the identification of opioid-induced cardiac arrest. Outside of her research, Hania loves volunteering at the hospital, running and drinking coffee.

_laurenlei

jan.et.li neurobiologie

nayaab_punjani

Humna Siddiqui is a first-year MSc student working under the supervision of Dr. Melanie Penner at Holland Bloorview Kids

Rehabilitation Hospital. She is conducting research on improving care for children with neurodevelopmental diagnoses and acquired brain injuries. Outside of research, she can be found reading, crocheting, and spending time with family and friends.

Copy Editors

Vritika Batura

Kevan Clifford

Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis

Kiko Huang

Vanessa Ip

Karan Patel

Beatrix Wang

2T5 Design Team (Incoming)

The IMS Design Team is a group of second year MSc students in the Biomedical Communications (BMC) program. Turning scientific research into compelling and effective visualisations is their shared passion, and they are thrilled to contribute to the IMS Magazine.

Social Media Team

Elizabeth Karvasarki (Lead) is a PhD student at Mount Sinai Catheterization Laboratory under the supervision of Dr. Susanna Mak. Her research involves investigating right ventricular and pulmonary arterial interactions in patients with pulmonary hypertension and heart failure. Outside of research, Elizabeth practices martial arts and is a 4th degree black belt.

Lizabeth Teshler is a second year MSc student supervised by Dr. Brian Feldman at The Hospital for Sick Children. Her research investigates musculoskeletal health assessment in people with Hemophilia. Outside of research, Lizabeth loves biking, spending time outdoors and exploring new cities.

2T4 Design Team

Genevieve Groulx

Nichole Zhou (Director)

Jeah Kim

Emily Huang

Anaiah Reyes

Yu-Wen Jan

Stefanie Wang

Lauren Jones

Jayne Leggatt (Director)

Brendan Lazar

Josephine Choi Anne McGrath

Andrew Janeczek

ekarvasarski

Dr. Mingyao Liu’s 25-year Journey Through the IMS

By Iciar Iturmendi-Sabater

If time travel existed, Dr. Mingyao Liu would return to the years when he was a graduate student, without any doubt. Currently the Director of the Institute of Medical Science (IMS), a Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto, and Senior Scientist at Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, Dr. Liu shares:

“Back when I was a student in China, I was engaged in two pioneering student-led initiatives at the time. First, participating in the summer research programme [as an undergraduate student] developed my passion for research, motivating me to become a graduate student. Then, [we organised] the graduate student research rounds, where students came together in the evening to present their research projects, discussing critiques and suggestions with one another.”

Coincidentally, two weeks after our conversation, the first session of graduate student research rounds had taken place at the IMS. Following this will be the Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP), which will be happening in the summer months. These are just two examples of the student-focused initiatives that enrich our graduate student experience that Dr. Liu has forged and made a priority since becoming Director in 2015.

Dr. Liu’s journey through the IMS has been extensive: “I became an IMS faculty member in 1997. In the year 2000, when

Dr. Ori Rotstein was named the new Director of the IMS, he appointed me as a Graduate Coordinator. Back then, the IMS Students’ Association (IMSSA) was the only student-led group related to the IMS.” After moving on to another leadership role at the School of Graduate Studies, Dr. Liu was recruited back as Associate Director of the IMS by Dr. Alan Kaplan in 2012. When he came back, the IMS Magazine was taking its first steps, and the Raw Talk podcast soon followed. Dr. Liu continues: “In 2014, Alan was promoted to Vice Dean for Graduate Affairs in the Faculty of Medicine. So, I became the Interim Director for half a year. From 2015 onwards I have been the Director of the IMS.”

One person that inspired Dr. Liu to make student life a centrepiece in the IMS was Dr. Catharine Whiteside, who was a Graduate Coordinator before him and became the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. “She really saw the students as the centre of training programs”, says Dr. Liu, who says that “students are the glue that sticks our IMS community together.” Dr. Liu recounts that “In 2018, Dr. Mel Silverman, another former IMS Director, came with me to visit Harvard University’s Division of Medical Science”. They embarked on this trip because, similar to the IMS, Harvard’s Division of Medical Science has about 500 graduate students who are also in teaching hospitals, and 600 faculty members. The visit was an opportunity to learn how to make student life a centrepiece of our IMS program,

an initiative that Harvard was already pioneering at the time. “After we came back from Boston, we organised the IMS’s 50-year anniversary celebration. We had a scientific symposium on the subject of graduate education in medical science,” shares Dr. Liu. He encouraged Professor Nicole Harnett, Chair of IMS Curriculum Committee, to develop graduate, for-credit modular courses with the help of students, so that students could begin leading their own training.

Faculty and administrative staff of the IMS have strongly supported the IMS’s goal to make student life the cornerstone of the program. With their support, UofT Talks was developed, an annual symposium hosted by IMS students and alumni where a specific human-health related topic is examined. Last year, UofT Talks dived into the impact of food on human health. Moreover, the Peer-2-Peer Mentorship Program was established, partnering upper-year graduate students with new IMS students to help them navigate through graduate school and promote success. Lastly, the IMS International Community was founded during the COVID-19 pandemic to support and unite our strong body of international students.

In this way, Dr. Liu explains, “the student initiatives were gradually developed in my first couple of years as Director. Dr. Brenda Toner [a Graduate Coordinator at the time] established the Student, Alumni, and Faculty Engagement (SAFE) Committee”. The SAFE Committee now

Students are the glue sticking our IMS community together “ “

Science,

brings together faculty, alumni, and current student representatives from IMS student groups to enhance the graduate student experience. The IMS wanted “student groups to be working together and have good communication. We formalised the terms of reference for each student group and gave the Committee a budget to adjudicate among the student groups transparently. This was a critical transformation for student group management. Dr. Samantha Anthony and Sarah Topa did a great job further developing the SAFE Committee,” says Dr. Liu.

Looking ahead, Dr. Liu shares that there are new initiatives the IMS is working on. For example, the Individual Development Plan (IDP) programme has recently been introduced, aimed at ensuring that all IMS students are supported in fostering professional goals for post-graduation, and that their graduate training elevates each student to their future career success. “We are going to hire one particular faculty member to continue the development of the IDP programme,” shares Dr. Liu. The IMS will also focus on knowledge dissemination by further supporting UofT Talks, and by expanding the Health Care Innovation Challenge. The Health Care Innovation Challenge is a competition for IMS students, founded by former IMS students Serena Peck and Kayvan Aflaki, that gives an opportunity for students to find and design applicable solutions to pressing health-care problems. “We think the Health Care Innovation Challenge is a platform not only for our students to contribute to healthcare innovation, but also an opportunity for them to better understand the intricacies of the healthcare system”, comments Dr. Liu, who firmly believes this initiative really helps students in their career development.

Future plans do not stop there, says Dr. Liu, adding that “another thing we have to do is hold a welcome celebration for our graduating PhD cohorts. We want to celebrate the success of PhD students not just in the last week of their studies, but really recognise their significant contributions and encourage more

students to transfer from Masters to PhD.” Additionally, the IMS wants to further encourage international students to get to know each other by supporting the IMS International Community.

What makes student initiatives flourish at the IMS is a well-knit net of faculty, alumni, students, and staff willing to work together to improve student life. Dr. Liu attributes the success of this network to his support team: “Dr. Reinhart Reithmeier taught me how to become a leader and how to run a graduate program. Doing this would not have been possible without Dr. Lucy Osborne and Dr. Reinhart Reithmeier’s support. Again, Dr. Samantha Anthony and Sarah Topa are really the two secret weapons that turn our ideas into work.” With admiration, Dr. Liu tells me “I truly feel our students are so great” and recognises that “there are so many wonderful things about working with students” who are motivated to make the most of the opportunities they have at the IMS. Although before our interview, I felt nervous to talk to the IMS Director himself, I ended our video call feeling relaxed and grateful. We, IMS students, are in incredible hands. Promoting student life and building a sense of community at the IMS attests to Dr. Liu’s true interest and care for the wellbeing of each member of our IMS community.

Dr. Mingyao Liu

Director of the Institute of Medical

Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto, and senior-scientist at University Health Network

Photo Credit: Mikaeel Valli

IMS Strategic Plan 2021-2026:

Community, Connections, and Impact - What We’ve Accomplished

Enhance Student Experience

Goal: Upon graduation, all IMS students will feel equipped as excellent scientists and confident navigators of their future.

Accomplishments:

◊ Launch of IMS Career Mentorship Program in 2021

◊ Student-led course development:

-MSC1005H: Therapeutic Approaches in Mood and Anxiety Disorders

-MSC1121H: Clinical Research Skills

◊ IMS Connects career panel and networking event series, run in collaboration with the Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program

◊ Individual Development Plan introduced as a program requirement in 2023 for all incoming students

◊ Graduate professional development courses:

-MSC1100H: Success in Graduate School: a Professional Development Module for MSc Students

-MSC1101H: Success After Graduate School: a Professional Development Module for PhD Students

◊ Revitalized Student, Staff, Alumni and Faculty Engagement (SAFE) Committee with increased funding for IMS Students’ Association (IMSSA) and student groups

Attract and Engage

Accomplishments:

◊ New standing committees:

-Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) Committee

-Student Recruitment Committee

-Recognition & Awards Committee

◊ Launch of new IMS website and Weekly Digest and Prospective Student newsletters

◊ Prospective Student Ambassador positions

◊ IMS has welcomed 138 new faculty members since 2021

◊ Equity Enhancement Bursaries for Black and Indigenous Students ncoming students

Goal: IMS will be a destination of choice for global leaders in medical research, and for outstanding graduate students from across Canada and around the world who seek to work with them. IMS will also create space for diverse voices and talent and aim for inclusive excellence so that every member of the community will flourish.

◊ Launch of suite of new IMS Awards:

-Awards in Education

-Student IMPACT Awards

-Faculty Recognition Awards

-Jay Keystone Award for Innovation in Scientific

-Communication

-Alumni Awards

Connected Communities

Goal: Students and faculty at IMS will feel connected as communities of scholars at their site and across their areas of study in a way that enriches their experience and advances science and impact.

Accomplishments:

◊ Student leader led orientation for incoming students

◊ IMS International Community becomes official IMS student group

◊ IMS participates in 17 Collaborative Specializations, including two new ones offered beginning Fall 2022:

-Neuromodulation & Psychology

-Psychiatry & Engineering

◊ IMS collaborates with IMSSA to launch IMS Research Rounds in 2024, bi-monthly event for trainees to present their research

◊ PhD Convocation Celebrations and PhD Cohort events

IMS Student Gr Timeline

IMS Student Associatio (IMSSA)

We represent the interests of graduate students at the IMS. IMSSA engages graduate

IMS, with our primary mission being to promote the well-being of our student body as we attend to a wide range of student needs. We inspire students to participate in initiatives, activities and events beyond the lab setting within the realms of our various subcommittees: social, community and outreach, sports, academics and wellness. This framework creates a bonded community and encourages the sharing of experiences, skills and ideas during and beyond students’ graduate degree.

UofT Talks

2011 1970s

IMS Magazine

The IMS Magazine is a student-led science communication initiative showcasing the department’s diverse research and the incredible people behind it. We produce a quarterly print magazine as well as online content that highlights the innovative projects and fascinating lives of IMS members. We have three main goals. First, to broadly share IMS research through accessible and engaging stories. Second, to promote connection within the IMS community. And third, to train the next generation of medical researchers and clinicians to be strong science communicators capable of translating and transferring their knowledge to society.

UofT Talks is an annual event where we dive into a recent and relevant topic related to human health. In the form of a symposium hosted by students and alumni from the IMS, UofT Talks discusses the current state and emerging trends of a timely topic in relation to health and healthcare. Past events have featured talks from prominent experts in the field, followed by a panel discussion, and culminated in interactive activities for attendees throughout a networking reception. We are committed to representing angles, thereby shifting perspectives, and making a powerful call to action for our attendees.

Photo provided by IMSSA

Photo provided by UofT Talks

Raw Talk Podcast is a graduate student-run podcast about the journeys, experiences, and perspectives of some of the most accomplished medical researchers and professionals at the University of Toronto. Our mission is to promote a research culture within the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and broader life science student community; to provide a guide for current graduate and prospective students wishing to enter academia, and to engage the public in medical science innovations and highlight the importance of discovery and translational research being conducted at the University of Toronto.

2016

Raw Talk Podcast

Peer-2-Peer (P2P) Mentorship Program

2017

The IMS P2P Mentorship Program is designed by IMS students for IMS students. We know how

The IMS International Community student group was founded to facilitate the communication between international students currently enrolled at the Institute of Medical Science. We aim to promote an authentic, dynamic, and supportive international student community, in which students will be able to address any thoughts and concerns that may arise as they navigate their academic experience

2020

IMS International Community

graduate school can be from first-hand experience and we are here to make it a little less hectic. Modules, PAC meetings, courses, presentations… it can all be overwhelming. The Peer-to-Peer mentorship program is designed to partner each incoming graduate student with an upper year graduate student to help them navigate the complex landscape of IMS and for lasting friendships.

Photo provided by IMS International Community

Photo provided by Raw Talk Podcast

Leading Change in IMS Since 2012

The Student, Staff, Alumni, and Faculty Engagement (SAFE) Committee Fosters Student-Inspired Growth

By Sarah Topa

In 2012, a Belonging Committee was formed at the Institute of Medical Science (IMS) with the mandate to enrich the student experience. It was renamed the Student, Staff, Alumni and Faculty Engagement (SAFE) Committee in 2015, with an increased focus on faculty and alumni engagement. Over the next five years, the SAFE Committee primarily supported planning the UofT Talks Health Symposium, an annual event organized by IMS students and alumni.

In 2020, in response to the new IMS Strategic Plan 2021-2026: Community, Connections and Impact, the SAFE Committee was revitalized to serve several broader and more useful purposes: 1) to create connectivity in a community often working in siloed research areas and sites; 2) to support the IMS Students’ Association (IMSSA) and official student groups; and 3) to implement new tools and resources to support increased engagement among all stakeholders. To best serve these goals, the committee’s membership also expanded to include two representatives from each student group and more faculty, staff, and alumni members–bringing our total membership to twenty people .

To chair the newly revised SAFE Committee, the IMS recruited Dr. Samantha Anthony, PhD alumna (2010) and now IMS faculty member. She is also an associate professor in the FactorInwentash Faculty of Social Work at the University of Toronto. Dr. Anthony is a clinician-scientist in the Child Health

Evaluative Sciences Program at the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) Research Institute and has over twenty years of experience working in the SickKids Transplant and Regenerative Medicine Centre as a social worker.

Dr. Anthony’s unique training and experience as both a social worker and qualitative researcher made her an ideal candidate to lead the committee. She is gifted in listening to and meaningfully engaging with the IMS community to integrate student-identified perspectives into enhanced programming and supports.

Dr. Anthony also took on the role because she was excited by the prospect of serving the IMS community. “I saw an opportunity in accepting the role of chair of the SAFE Committee—opportunity to re-engage in supporting student initiatives and opportunity to strengthen and revitalize the purpose of the committee within the institution,” says Dr. Anthony.

In 2021, I had the opportunity to join the committee as co-chair with Dr. Anthony. One of the best and most rewarding parts of my job as Senior Partnerships & Communications Officer at IMS is working with our student leaders and being included in their inspiring and important work. Dr. Anthony and I consider it a privilege to hear and learn from our community: as co-chairs, we continuously strive to leverage our committee members’ diverse experiences and expertise to enrich the Institute’s programs and offerings.

Having worked at the IMS for nearly ten years, I wholeheartedly believe that the SAFE Committee plays an important role in shaping the IMS identity and is a vital voice of change within our community. Dr. Anthony and I are grateful for our involvement and proud of the many accomplishments and achievements we have witnessed.

In the last five years, under the umbrella of the SAFE Committee, the IMS has launched a suite of new awards, including the Jay Keystone Memorial Award for Innovation in Scientific Communication, the Student IMPACT Awards, and the Alumni Awards. The committee has formalized IMS student groups and external funding requests, and through the latter, have supported initiatives such as the Big Little Books Podcast, Stem Cell Talks, and the Temerty Medicine Research Showcase. In 2021, we worked with the IMS International Community to assist them in becoming an official student group and enthusiastically welcomed them to the SAFE Committee. Most recently, we collaborated with IMSSA to launch IMS Research Rounds, a bi-monthly event designed to highlight the diversity of research happening across IMS, encourage collaboration across research sites, and to further strengthen the sense of community among our student body.

Speaking on the evolution of the SAFE Committee, Dr. Laura Best, PhD alumna (2021), a former committee member, and student leader, believes the new

structure of the committee has improved its effectiveness, and has created a platform for increased collaboration and support that enhances the graduate student experience. Dr. Best shares that, “The IMS is creating a culture of connection, inclusivity, and unique opportunities for its students. The SAFE Committee has been an important part of that growth.”

This academic year, the SAFE Committee had another first—welcoming back Serena Peck, a former student member, in her new role as an alumni member. Serena is an MSc graduate (2022), former IMSSA co-president, and co-founder of the Healthcare Innovation Challenge. She also contributed significantly as a former member in other IMS student

groups. With her wealth of experience, Serena is uniquely positioned to offer guidance and support to our current student leaders. Reflecting on her journey, Serena emphasizes that, “The professional development I gained through the SAFE Committee has been invaluable in shaping my post-IMS endeavors. My aim is to assist students in fostering similar enriching experiences that will resonate with them for years to come.”

Looking towards the future, I am excited to see what the SAFE Committee accomplishes next. Given its track record of success, and with the inspiration and drive of our student, staff, faculty and alumni members, Dr. Anthony and I are confident that the committee will continue

to exceed expectations and amplify our voice representatively to benefit the IMS community as a whole.

SAFE Committee Co-Chairs Dr. Samantha Anthony (left) and Sarah Topa (right)

IMSSA:

Strengthening

Student

Connection within IMS and in the Broader Community

By Nayaab Punjani

The Institute of Medical Science Students’ Association (IMSSA) is the largest student group at the Institute of Medical Science (IMS) with an executive team of 40 people. This group is also the oldest student group at IMS, being founded in the 1970s shortly after the creation of IMS. IMSSA provides a platform for IMS students at various research sites to network, share common interests, have a central resource hub, and connect with the broader community. IMS Magazine interviewed 2021-2022 IMSSA Co-Presidents, Kayvan Aflaki and Serena Peck, and current Co-Presidents, Hamzah Khan and Valentina Tamayo, to explore the IMSSA’s evolution over the years.

Past Reflections: Navigating engagement during COVID-19 and establishing new opportunities.

Kayvan and Serena started their Master’s programs during the COVID-19 pandemic and joined IMSSA as Sports Director and Toronto General Hospital Site Representative, respectively; with goals to socialize with other students and gain insight into academia. In their second year, they served as IMSSA Co-Presidents, aiming to further build connections within IMS and the broader community. As their leadership on IMSSA occurred during the pandemic, Kayvan and Serena explained that their main challenge was maintaining student engagement amidst Zoom fatigue.

Throughout their presidency, Kayvan and Serena aimed to enhance access to graduate resources and events, as well as establish opportunities for IMS students to network and develop new skills. They also created the IMSSA website as an accessible centralized notice board for all IMS students. Over the academic year, they facilitated joint events with the Black Graduate Student Association to build connections outside of IMS. Near the end of Kayvan and Serena’s Co-Presidency, with the help of the Jay Keystone Award for Science Communication, they established the Healthcare Innovation Challenge, a competition whereby IMS students can apply their problem-solving skills to develop innovative solutions to issues in Canadian healthcare, with proposal finalists pitching their solution to a panel of judges.

Navigating the various facets of IMSSA helped Kayvan and Serena strengthen their management, public speaking, and accountability skills through coordinating meetings, serving on additional IMS committees, and attending each IMSSA event. The skills from their roles as active leaders also carry over to their work now. Kayvan, working as a Naval Warfare Officer with the Royal Canadian Navy, explains that “a good leader is someone who gets down on the ground with people and works with them. Appearances really matter and leadership is not about yourself, but about the collective, and representing the interests of the whole.”

Current Reflections: Enhancing student engagement and community outreach.

In 2022, while returning to IMS for his PhD, Hamzah became involved in IMSSA in the role of PhD Representative. Valentina also joined IMSSA during her first year of her MSc, looking to meet new people and give back to the community by serving as Director of Community Outreach and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). This academic year, Valentina and Hamzah are now the current Co-Presidents, aiming to foster connections between incoming IMS students and upper-year students, which they accomplished through several events including a pre-election roller skating social at the start of the school year. Valentina and Hamzah also wanted to strengthen connections outside of IMS, hosting an interdisciplinary Halloween party in collaboration with the Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology Program.

As Co-Presidents, Hamzah and Valentina share a passion for community outreach. Valentina speaks about her personal experience: “I came to Canada with my parents as an immigrant and as a refugee. We’ve worked hard and now we’re really lucky, so I’ve always wanted to give back to others less fortunate.”

Further acting on the values of community outreach, Hamzah integrated Pueblo Science, a small organization aiming to

enhance science education in low-resource communities, with IMS. In addition to the benefits the organization’s initiatives served in the community, integrating Pueblo Science with IMS created a platform for graduate students to build their teaching experience and science communication skills. Specifically, Pueblo Science’s annual fundraiser and interactive STEM event, Good Morning Science, was run last year with the help of 24 IMS students, having approximately 120 attendees and the most amount of money raised since the annual event began.

2021-2022 IMSSA Presidents [top]

Kayvan Aflaki and Serena Peck, 2021-2022 Co-Presidents of IMSSA

2023-2024 IMSSA Presidents [bottom]

Hamzah Khan and Valentina Tamayo, current Co-Presidents of IMSSA

While discussing the impact of IMSSA on their experience at IMS, they echoed similar sentiments as Serena and Kayvan. Through building a close-knit student community, navigating the logistics surrounding running a large student group, understanding the organization of IMS, and managing different work ethics to achieve the goals of IMSSA, they have gained vital skills. “IMSSA has been woven into my heart as part of my graduate experience,” Hamzah highlights. “IMSSA has really allowed me to come out of my shell and… has helped me learn who I am as a person.” Furthermore, Valentina highlights her personal experience with

the opportunities for mentorship in IMSSA. “It’s nice to have someone [who’s] already been through it and who I can ask questions to about literally anything. I think joining these types of student groups [will] provide you with that advantage for mentorship.”

While reflecting on the year, Hamzah and Valentina are proud of the amount of in-person programming and the significant student engagement within IMSSA. As they did not have pre-pandemic information, there was a lot to navigate in terms of in-person events and hybrid formats; however, the work of our current Co-Presidents sets the stage for the future leaders of IMSSA. In terms of events to keep an eye out for, in addition to the next Good Morning Science for Pueblo in July, there is an overnight IMS Camping Trip planned for the summer, and the bi-monthly IMS Research Rounds have begun, highlighting the diverse research by IMS students.

For students considering getting involved, IMSSA has a lot of options depending on your interests and allows you to network and build additional skills. Both Co-Presidents highlight the importance of being genuine and interested in the positions you hold so you can make the most of your experience.

Hamzah mentions, “This is a family and people genuinely want to make friends and get to know each other, so just try it out. If you don’t like it, you don’t need to do it; if you love it, then you’ll be lucky.”

Photo Credit: Niki Akbarian

Photo Credit for 2021-2022 presidents: Serena and Kayvan

IMS Magazine: Showcasing

UofT’s Cutting-Edge Medical Science Research

By Mahbod Ebrahimi

The Institute of Medical Science (IMS) Magazine is a student-led initiative that showcases the diverse range of scientific innovations and research at the IMS graduate unit at the University of Toronto (UofT). The multidisciplinary nature of the research conducted at IMS motivated Natalie Venier, now an alumnus of the IMS PhD program, to pioneer the development of the Magazine in 2011. Since then, IMS Magazine has gone on to produce a total of 42 issues to date, each focusing on novel, relevant subjects within the medical sciences. The magazine was conceived with the goal of connecting students from different disciplines and shining a spotlight on the ground-breaking research that happens at IMS. The release of each issue would not be possible without the hard work and collaborative effort of the magazine’s large team of IMS students, consisting of journalists, copy editors, executive editors, editors-in-chief, photographers, and graphic designers. Journalists are responsible for writing articles and conducting interviews, while copy editors take care of the initial editing and refining of articles, working closely with the executive editors, who manage the article writing process. Beautiful graphics and illustrations relevant to each article are created by talented graphic designers—students from the Biomedical Communications program. In addition, the IMS Magazine has its very own in-house photographers who capture the events and people being featured in the magazine. Lastly, editors-in-chief work tirelessly to oversee and organize the workflow of all

teams for a smooth production process. Every student on the team is essential for the operation of the magazine, which publishes four issues every year, both in print and online (imsmagazine.com). As Kyla Trkulja, IMS Magazine’s current editorin-chief says, “there are so many different pieces to this team, and everyone is working independently, but yet collaboratively at the same time, and that’s what makes the turnout so great.”

Students are the main contributors to the magazine, resulting in a relatively high turnover between different roles. Jason Lo Hog Tian and Stacey Butler, who are preparing to graduate from the IMS PhD program, were the previous editors-in-chief of the magazine. Jason’s involvement with the magazine started as a journalist in 2018, when he started his PhD studies. He later became the editor-in-chief of the magazine in 2021. Stacey had a different trajectory, beginning as a copy editor and journalist in 2019 and serving as the executive editor for the Features section in 2021 before transitioning into editor-in-chief in 2022. After Jason and Stacey finished their studies at IMS, the editor-in-chief roles were passed to Kyla Trkulja and Iciar Iturmendi Sabater, who are current IMS PhD students. Similar to Stacey, Kyla and Iciar also started as journalists with the magazine before transitioning executive editors, then to editors-in-chief.

Working with the IMS Magazine team offers a unique opportunity for students to grow as scientific communicators, and to be

part of a dynamic group. Iciar notes, “as an international student, [the IMS Magazine] gave me a lot of confidence with my English speaking and writing skills.” The magazine allows students to write about topics they normally would not think or engage in.

As Kyla notes, “it’s fun [to write viewpoint articles], especially because the topics are usually not my area of expertise, so I love the viewpoints because it gives me a chance to learn and do a mini literature review that I otherwise would not have a reason to do.” Also at its core, the magazine is a place to meet other people interested in knowledge

The IMS Magazine Executive Team for the 2023-2024 year.

Photo Credit: Headshots - Elizabeth (Left), Jason (Right), Group photo - Joanne Lee

translation and science communication. Elizabeth Karvasarski, executive editor and social media director of the IMS Magazine, explains, “In my undergrad, there weren’t many opportunities to find like-minded peers the same way as the IMS Magazine.”

In addition to the opportunities mentioned above, the magazine allows students to have unique leadership experiences, such as managing large groups of people, overseeing a budget for the magazine’s operations, and working collaboratively on a large scale. Stacey notes, “With the co-editor-in-chief role, you’re getting a lot out of that role in terms of experiences that are transferable to any type of career.” Kyla also points out that being involved with the magazine has helped her even outside of academia, as she mentioned, “at the networking events that I go to, when professionals find out that I’m the co-editor-in-chief of a magazine, they say make sure that it’s at the top of my CV.”

journalists based on their requests. There are multiple types of articles, including interview-based features that highlight the work of IMS faculty members (called “Faculty Features”); Viewpoint Articles that capture a journalist’s perspectives and opinions on “hot topics” in the medical sciences; faculty and alumni Spotlight Articles, which showcase the story and experiences of IMS graduates and educators; and Travel Bites and articles that cover IMS events, showcasing student’s conference travels and notable events held at IMS.

For each article, there are multiple rounds of copy editing and executive editing, as well as a final edit and review by the editors-in-chief. After the articles are finalized, they are sent to the design team, which creates all the artwork for the magazine, including infographics and title covers. Overall, the IMS Magazine creates high-quality articles from a diverse range of topics, resulting in publications that appeal to a broad readership.

What Is the Typical Workflow of Making An Issue? Art

From start to finish, it usually takes around three months of collaborative work to initiate and publish a single issue of the magazine. The executive editing team has quarterly meetings to brainstorm potential new and interesting topics, which are later discussed with the entire team, with the highest-voted issue theme idea selected for the next issue. Articles are then assigned to

Revealing Science Symposium:

This year, the IMS Magazine team, led by Elizabeth, hosted its first-ever event, the Art Revealing Science Symposium. This initiative aimed to demonstrate the interplay of art and science and showcase the works of creative and talented students across the University of Toronto. With great attendance, the event was hosted at

Hart House on February 12th, 2024. One notable art piece demonstrated the steps in a neuron’s action potential by composing music that takes the audience through each step. The event received abundant positive feedback from community members and attendees, meaning the IMS Magazine team is now aiming to make the event an annual one!

Most Memorable Articles:

The executive team reads, writes, or edits tens to hundreds of articles during their time with IMS Magazine. I was curious which articles stood out the most to them, so we could also read and enjoy them. Here are their responses:

Kyla: Viewpoint Article Spring 2022- Why MDMA-Assisted Therapy May Be the Future of PTSD Treatments

Stacey: Viewpoint Article Spring 2022What Do We Want? Pharmacare! When do we want it? Now!

Jason: Viewpoint 2020/21 Fall-Winter-The Real Challenge In COVID-19 Vaccine Development: Distributing A Product To The Entire World

Iciar: Viewpoint Spring 2023- Neurorights Will Let Your Mind Fly

Elizabeth: 2020/21 Fall-Winter Alumni Spotlight- Dr. Stephen Wright – The Wright Heart

UofT Talks: Enhancing Science Communication and Community Engagement through Exploring Controversial Topics in Healthcare

By:

University of Toronto (UofT) Talks is a graduate-student-led group that organizes an annual science communication symposium with the aim to provide diverse perspectives on different healthcare topics. This TED-talk styled symposium includes keynote speakers presented by field experts, discussion panels, and networking events. UofT Talks aims to encourage individuals to explore topics outside of the lab in a new, interactive, and interdisciplinary way, while also supporting the community and grassroot groups.

MD Student, University of British Columbia

PhD Graduate, Institute of Medical Science and Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Three-time lead for UofT Talks.

Photo provided by Laura Best

Medical Science (IMS) and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), served as the lead of UofT Talks for three years followed by one year as a senior advisor. Laura worked with the IMS department through various initiatives including Student Association President and the SAFE committee. The SAFE committee is a group consisting of IMS alumni, faculty, staff, and students, and aims to provide support to the student groups at IMS. Through this time, Laura saw UofT Talks transition out of the SAFE committee into a standalone student-run initiative. Laura mentions, “Through UofT Talks, I wanted to learn about and share topics in healthcare that were potentially dividing, controversial, or were going to evoke emotion in the general population and not just scientists. I wanted that experience of talking to experts in these fields, people that were in the news that were in conversations and communicate the science from all of these different multidisciplinary lenses.”

Laura helped run UofT Talks over COVID-19, converting the event to an online platform while maintaining its interactive nature for the audience. This opened up a larger conversation about the accessibility of in-person events, particularly when engaging with patient perspectives. As a lead, Laura wanted to ensure a strong camaraderie among the team and did so by taking on a team-focused leadership style. Through considering the larger goals of the committee members, Laura and her

team were able to put on a successful event and form a community with lasting friendships beyond UofT Talks. The consideration of accessibility and camaraderie allowed for the biggest event thus far, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 210 attendees and many community partners engaged.

Through her time as a senior advisor, Laura explains how proud she was of the new co-leads. “I love seeing initiatives grow and move into the direction of the people who take them on. To see them be excited to want to take on larger roles and engage and share their ideas, opinions, and perspectives.”

Laura also highlights the significant impact of UofT Talks on her student experience. “Being involved with UofT Talks was such a pinnacle of science communication in a different way and it allowed me to develop my own skills and thoughts towards what science communication, and what science engagement can be within a community, both in the IMS and beyond.” She further mentions the connections she built within the IMS department. She explains, “It also helped me to grow my peer community within IMS and really find a place where I felt at home and where I felt that I could grow as a leader, as a peer, as a logistics coordinator, as an organizer, and as a team motivator. A leader has to wear so many hats. And having the opportunity to grow that skill within a really supportive environment like the IMS was absolutely invaluable.”

Dr. Laura Best

Dr. Laura Best, current MD student at the University of British Columbia, and PhD alumnus from the Institute of

Nayaab Punjani

Current leads for UofT

The current 2023-24 co-leads of UofT Talks, Yasmin Alhamdah and Sufyan Shaikh, share a similar sentiment. While transitioning to the co-lead role, they were excited to uphold the mission of UofT Talks and its goal of science communication to the broader community. Sufyan and Yasmin also pointed to their development as leaders through UofT Talks, highlighting the amount of work put into running an annual event, building their confidence in guiding a group towards a shared goal, and as echoed by Laura, making sure the decisions for the event, regardless of how small, are made by the full planning committee. Yasmin states, “On a more

personal level, I feel like working within the SAFE committee and working within the IMS umbrella, helped me realize how much of an impact I’m having—not measured by how successful my event is, but measured by how others view the success of our event and the growth of us, not only as members, but also as leaders.”

Building off the large attendance and the quality of the symposium from last year, Yasmin and Sufyan are excited to put forth the UofT Talks this June, which will explore the topic of geriatric and end-of-life care from a wide lens—including the patient perspective. They also aim to further engage community partners through interactive initiatives, based on feedback from last year’s event. Yasmin states, “We think it’s very important to allow students, faculty, researchers, and scientists to engage with community members and organizations to see whether the research could have an impact on them or if there’s any form of interconnectedness that could come from it. And so, we really want to focus on this, especially this year because we have more of a controversial topic.”

Lastly, both past and current co-leads provided advice to prospective students who are considering getting involved in student groups. Graduate school may be a daunting experience packed full of firsts, however, it is important to be curious and take risks. Yasmin emphasizes, “Don’t let this fear prevent you from being part of something that will definitely make you grow as a person.” Laura echoes this, “Get

out of the lab. Join a club, any community, any group. It all truly enriches the experience and can remind you why you’re doing all of this work. And be authentic. There’s no right answer. It’s your journey and you get to choose.”

Don’t let this fear prevent you from being part of something that will definitely make you grow as a person.

“ “

Yasmin Alhamdah, MSc Student Institute of Medical Science and University Health Network and Sufyan Shaikh, MSc Student Institute of Medical Science and St. Michael’s Hospital

Talks.

Photo credit: Niki Akbarian

By Vaidhehi Veena Sanmugananthan

The pursuit of growth is an ongoing experience, and overtime there may be situations that force us to push our boundaries. These experiences can have a profound impact on the trajectory of new projects, ideas and our own lives, in unexpected but impactful ways.

Raw Talk Podcast (RTP) is a studentrun podcast housed at the Institute of Medical Science (IMS) that is made up of students from diverse graduate and professional programs in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. RTP is currently on its eighth season and has produced over 120+ episodes to date. The episodes developed are a collaborative effort involving the Executive Producers (EP), Content Creators, Show Hosts, Audio Engineers, Promotions Team, and Science Writers. As with any student-developed initiative, the podcast itself and many of its members have undergone journeys during their time on the team that have allowed them to grow in profound ways. In listening to the experiences of previous and current RTP members, I have come to realize that “growth” in part embodies what it means to be a part of RTP.

In episode #124 Raw Talk Reunion: Our Co-Founders, Atefeh Mohammadi (current Co-EP of RTP) spoke with our Co-Founders Richie Jeremian and Jabir Mohamed, who provided insight into how the podcast was created. As they recalled on the episode, RTP stemmed from another project that they pitched to the

was a lot of potential in the left-over audio gathered in the production process. This sparked the idea of creating a podcast with the remnant audio, which eventually led to the formation of RTP.

IMS called Spotlight. Richie shares “ …it was about highlighting the faculty at the IMS and possibly the students as well. We create a one minute video trailer where a question pops up on the screen where we ask a researcher about some of their work, and then they answer it.” Richie and Jabir explained that Spotlight was intended to give members of the IMS the space to showcase who they were as people outside of their research. While developing these videos, Richie and Jabir found that there

Earlier RTP episodes each featured one IMS Faculty member, however starting in Season 3, each episode became centered around a specific theme and slowly grew to include guests across the University of Toronto and beyond. Jabir shared “...as the episodes went along, we realized that the story, the science was just as important as the researcher. There were also a lot of other stakeholders, the patients, the benefactors of the research and the care legislators, politicians, industry, people, and others who would be just as important to feature.” Hearing this story as a current member of RTP really put into perspective how much the podcast has changed over the years. Since joining the podcast as a Science Writer back in Season 6, most of our episodes have been framed around the concept: Behind every discovery, there’s a story. With each year, the stories have grown wider to encompass as many perspectives and

“ “ Raw Talk really helped me break down that perfectionism and just embrace curiosity and learning in everything that I do.

Richie Jeremian and Jabir Mohamed

Eryn Tong and Ekaterina An Founders of Raw Talk Podcast Alumni of Raw Talk Podcast

Photo Credit: Photos provided by the Raw Talk Podcast team

Current Executive Producers of Raw Talk Podcast

voices as possible pertaining to a topic. It is clear that since its starting point, RTP has been shaped and cultivated into the podcast that we know and love today.

“Whatever you do and you invest in, there’s always going to be a civic reason… this is the problem that we’re trying to solve. Then there’s a selfish reason, the difference you want to see in yourself.” Jabir’s words set the stage for the next aspect of growth that RTP has provided for many of our team members, which is personal growth. In episode #125 Raw Talk Reunion: Our Alum, Eryn Tong (RTP alum) spoke on how RTP helped build her confidence. She recalled that she was encouraged to get involved in different aspects of the podcast, like

writing summaries for the website and hosting segments for episodes. These were tasks outside of her comfort zone. However, the positive team environment encouraged her to take on new challenges, helping her grow and build confidence. As well, being a part of RTP informed her decision to pursue a career that required her to be empathetically attuned to others. She is currently studying Clinical and Counseling Psychology, and has the opportunity to listen and amplify the perspectives of others. Similarly, Ekaterina An (RTP alumnus), expressed that her time with RTP set the stage for her learning experiences going forward. As a medical student at McMaster University, she found that creating podcast episodes on a variety of topics and speaking with different guests helped her foster open-mindedness. She states that “Raw Talk really helped me break down that perfectionism and just embrace curiosity and learning in everything that I do”. These are a few examples of how RTP has

“ As the RTP grows, our responsibilities in the community also grow.

“

provided an opportunity for growth in students, and has helped them develop key skills that are transferable in their careers and their own personal lives.

Both Atefeh Mohammadi and Madison Hossack (two of three current EPs of

RTP) think that the next steps of RTP’s growth may involve more engagement of the community. Atefeh shares “ we have grown…becoming a source of community for graduate students across the University of Toronto campus and an educational resource for our local community, helping make medicine and scientific research accessible to all. As the RTP grows, our responsibilities in the community also grow.” She states one way in which this responsibility is practiced in RTP is through intentional steps in choosing guests that represent unheard and unappreciated voices. As well, Madison shares “I can totally see the team taking advantage of in-person capacities moving forward by coming up with creative new ways to engage with the community on campus”. Overall, more engagement of the community in the podcast episodes could make them more diverse and relatable to the general public. It is clear that RTP has seen considerable change since its launch back in 2016, and surely will continue to grow in the years to come.

The perspectives provided here are only a snapshot of what was covered by our podcast team in the conversations with our Co-Founders and alum. To hear the full conversation, please tune into episodes #124 Raw Talk Reunion: Our Co-Founders and #125 Raw Talk Reunion: Our Alum.

(L-R): Madison Hossack, Atef Mohammadi, and Noor Al Kaabi

Photo Credit: Niki Akbarian

Connecting Minds, Inspiring Growth:

Peering into the Institute of Medical Science’s Peerto-Peer Mentorship Program

By Kristen Ashworth

The Institute of Medical Science (IMS)’s Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program (P2P) was established in 2017 by IMS students, for IMS students. Reflective of its namesake, the program aims to provide incoming graduate students of IMS (the “mentees”) with paired upper-year IMS graduate students (the “mentors”) who can lend support in the academic, extracurricular, and social spaces of graduate school life. The program has made an immense impact since its founding, having grown to encompass over one hundred active IMS student members this year (2023-24) alone.

P2P starts a new cycle of mentee-mentor pairings each September—in time for the large onboarding of new graduate students to the IMS community. The P2P executive team thoughtfully pairs students based on similar research fields, shared career goals, and/or other areas of common ground, such as shared personal interests and hobbies.

The “ice breaker” that kickstarts the connections for this new cohort of pairings occurs in October, with the “Meet Your Match” event. “Meet Your Match” provides a fun, informal, in-person environment (over pizza and snacks, of course) for all pairings to get together and connect for the first time. After this event, P2P mentors meet one-on-one with their mentees once a month for the duration of the school year. Mentors cover a diverse range

of support to mentees—whether it be supporting the transition into a graduate school schedule, providing guidance on scholarship applications, navigating through lab and research work dynamics, and many other common quandaries of a first-year student.

In addition to once-a-month mentorship sessions between mentees and mentors, the P2P executive team organizes staple events throughout the year to reconvene program members and cultivate a sense of community outside of individual mentor-mentee pairings. These additional events usually involve networking as well as personal and professional development opportunities. For example, the “Thriving Through Grad School” webinar in November 2023 featured a Q & A to address pressing and pertinent topics for firstyear students related to upcoming grant and scholarship deadlines, as well as information on the first Program Advisory Committee meeting. Another topical workshop that took place in February 2024, entitled “Abstracts and Presentations”, provided valuable insights on crafting a strong abstract and presenting research findings in an effective manner. In the summer ahead, P2P is hosting IMS Connects, an annual collaborative professional development program, facilitated in conjunction with the IMS department, IMSSA, and SickKids Career Development Committee, that aims to provide a networking opportunity for IMS

students to engage with IMS alumni and learn about careers in industry.

This year, P2P is being led by five dedicated IMS graduate students that compose its executive team: Nayaab Punjani, Program Director; Maryam Sorkhou, Operations Lead; Alice Shan, Treasurer Lead; and Tafsia Hussain and Ilakkiah Chandran, Marketing and Communications Co-Leads. Many members of the executive team start their roots in the P2P program as mentees themselves. Nayaab, P2P’s current Program Director, is a 4th year PhD student at the Krembil Research Institute studying a neuroprotective peptide drug for cervical-level traumatic spinal cord injury. When she started in IMS in the COVID-19 cohort of 2020, she joined P2P as a mentee. She explains that the mentorship she gained from P2P played a pivotal role in her ability to integrate into the IMS and connect on a deep level with fellow IMS students. Following her positive experience as a mentee, Nayaab sought a leadership role with P2P, stating that, “I wanted to give back [to P2P], after having benefited so much from the program myself… it’s been a really rewarding experience to connect on a larger level with all the IMS students in this role.”

Maryam, P2P’s Operations Lead, and a 3rd-year PhD student at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health studying the effects of cannabis within major depressive disorder, explains that her motivations to

be involved in P2P as an executive member also stem from her previous experiences being mentored. She states, “I’ve benefited so much from my mentors and keep in touch with them even still, and because of this, I wanted to give that experience back.” Maryam explains the usefulness of mentors in IMS specifically, stating, “empowering other students and helping other students navigate IMS is important, especially because I think IMS can be difficult to navigate for some because it’s such a broad program, and everyone has really different experiences.”

The P2P program has continued its success and growth over the years. This is largely attributable to strong leadership from a committed executive team, and a large team of IMS student mentors who are motivated by their previous experiences as mentees to provide strong mentorship to the next generation of IMS students. When asked about the most rewarding part of being a leader of the P2P program, Maryam reflected, “I would say at the end of the year, I find it so lovely when I receive thank you emails from mentees, giving

updates on how, for example, their PAC meeting wasn’t as scary as they thought thanks to their mentor […] or another one where someone received an award after being guided by their mentor through the application process. It is those little communications that you get near the end of the semester that is my favorite part.”

If you are an IMS student, you (or someone you know from IMS) has likely experienced the personal impact of P2P Mentorship at some point in the IMS journey – whether it be as a mentee, a mentor, or an active leader in the program. Not only is P2P a special initiative unique to IMS, but it is also an invaluable one. We look forward to all of what P2P continues to do to cultivate an integral community of mentee-mentor bonds in IMS for years to come!

Current Peer-to-Peer Mentorship leaders: Nayaab Punjani, Maryam Sorkhou, Alice Shan, Tafsia Hussain, and Ilakkiah Chandran

Photos provided by the Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program team

IMS International Community:

A Journey of Unity

By Hania and Humna Siddiqui

The Institute of Medical Science (IMS) at the University of Toronto is home to students from all across the globe. For international students navigating the intricacies of higher education far from home, this journey can often be a challenging one. The IMS International Community is a student group dedicated to fostering connections, providing support, and enriching the academic journey of international students at IMS.

Neda Rashidi and Fernando Montano are among the founders who helped bring the IMS International Community to life. Inspired by their own experiences as international students, they recognized the need for a supportive community amidst the challenges of navigating a new academic and cultural environment. Their vision was clear: to create a space where international students at IMS could find support and a sense of belonging.

“The IMS International Community was born out of the shared experiences and challenges faced by international students. We wanted to create a community where no one felt alone in their academic and life journey,” shared Neda.

The group was established amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a period during which a sense of community was needed most. Fernando mentioned that the loneliness was only intensified by the pandemic. “This group came at a very important time in my life. It provided a sense of community during a very big

time of uncertainty,” he said, emphasizing the pivotal role of community during uncertain times.

Neda added that the pandemic brought with it additional challenges for international students— especially for those unable to return home to their families and those who moved here alone. “We lost touch with the world that kept us connected. Everyone was internally closed,” she shared. Neda emphasizes that this was the spark that made them realize they needed a space to talk about the problems that international students share.

Neda and Fernando, though no longer students at IMS, have left an enduring legacy through the IMS International Community. The founders remain good friends and continue to stay connected with the student group through its group chat. They both expressed satisfaction and content with the group’s current trajectory, and they hope the group will continue to run and support international students within the IMS community.

“It is something we created and I hope it continues to provide a sense of community. These are the friendships that last,” Fernando concluded.

Anna Mandel and Katie Göke, current members of the IMS International Community, shed light on their roles and experiences within the group. Anna, the current President, highlights the inclusive and collaborative nature of the group,

where every member’s contribution is valued. Katie, the Financial Director, discusses the importance of funding in implementing the group’s initiatives and organizing events to unite students. Both express gratitude for the connections forged within the group, aiding in their personal and academic growth.

“Leading the IMS International Community has been an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s inspiring to see how our diverse backgrounds come together to create something meaningful,” said Anna.

“Managing finances and planning student events for the IMS International Community has taught me valuable skills in budgeting and organization. But more importantly, it’s allowed me to give back to a community that has supported me through my journey,” Katie remarked.

From its humble beginnings, the IMS International Community has grown to become a cornerstone of the IMS student community. Anna, Katie, Neda, and Fernando reflect on the group’s journey, starting from virtual meetings during the COVID-19 lockdown that have transitioned into large scale in-person events. They take pride in the diverse range of events organized, ranging from professional workshops on career development to delightful international cuisine nights, where members savour dishes from around the globe. The book club stands out as a cherished tradition,

having commenced since the group’s establishment. Here, students delve into selected books and engage in discussions to exchange their insights. Moreover, the group has embarked on numerous outdoor escapes, including excursions to Niagara Falls, Canada’s Wonderland, and hikes at Rouge National Park.

As the IMS International Community continues to thrive, its founders and current leaders remain committed to its mission. Neda emphasized the importance of passing the torch to new generations of student leaders, ensuring the group’s continuity. Fernando echoed this sentiment, underlining the value of the

friendships and support networks forged within the community. Anna and Katie express optimism for the future, eager to see the IMS International Community continue to flourish and support international students at IMS.

The IMS International Community stands as a testament to the power of community and collaboration in enriching the academic journey of international students. Through shared experiences, supportive networks, and engaging initiatives, the group embodies the spirit of inclusion and unity. As the IMS International Community continues to evolve and grow, it continues to showcase the transformative power of student-led

initiatives that address genuine needs. The group has grown into a pivotal student group within IMS, fostering a sense of belonging and unity among international students.

Neda Rashidi and Fernando Montano, founding members of the IMS International Community, and Katie Göke, the current leader of the IMS International Community

University of Toronto

Photos provided by IMS International Community Members

Jay Keystone Memorial Award for Innovation in Scientific Communication:

Supporting IMS students in bringing their innovative ideas to life

By Sarah Topa

Dr. Jay Keystone was an expert in tropical medicine, travel medicine, public health, and medical education, and a long-time faculty member in the Institute of Medical Science (IMS). He passed away on September 3, 2019, after a long battle with cancer. Dr. Keystone is fondly remembered for his skill at communicating complex scientific material. He taught students about the importance of excellence in scientific communication through the IMS core seminar series in translational research, bringing his keen sense of humor to the classroom. His lectures were also cherished by the students in the Summer Undergraduate Research Program, which he delivered as part of their seminar series.

In recognition of Dr. Keystone’s important contribution to the education of graduate students, the IMS created the Jay Keystone Memorial Award for

Innovation in Scientific Communication. Launched in 2021, this annual award— administered through the Student, Staff, Alumni and Faculty Engagement (SAFE) Committee —provides a grant to an IMS student(s), supported by a faculty member, to create a new initiative that demonstrates innovation and excellence in the communication of medical science to diverse audiences.

The IMS has so far been able to support four incredible initiatives through this award:

2024: IMS MedDash, led by Shaghayegh Foroozan, Addison Pacheco, and Archita Srinath. At this novel event, inspired by the popular TV show The Amazing Race, senior high school students will embark on an exciting journey across the University of Toronto’s (UofT) St. George campus next summer to solve hands-on science

challenges. Competing in small teams, participants will work collaboratively to solve the problems as quickly and accurately as possible to receive their next clue. After all teams have crossed the finish line, participants will enjoy a catered lunch, faculty keynote address, and the awards ceremony.

REACHing with Survivors video release graphic (2023)

2023: REACHing with Survivors, led by Priya Brahmbhatt, Maggie Chen, and Christian Lopez. This initiative took place on National Cancer Survivors Day, June 4, 2023, and aimed to bridge the gap between cancer survivorship researchers and public audiences. Researchers created short and engaging educational videos about their work, which were shared on the Cancer Survivor Twitter account and were accompanied by a live, virtual question and answer period between the video creators and the public.

Dr. Jay Keystone

IMS MedDash (2024)

Judges and event organizers from the 2023 Healthcare Innovation Challenge celebrate the end of the competition. From left to right: Noor Al-Kaabi, Atefeh Mohammadi, Serena Peck, Dr. Laura Rosella, Dr. Muhammad Mamdani, Dr. Pascal Tyrrell, and Dr. Beverley Essue.

2022: The Healthcare Innovation Challenge, led by Kayvan Aflaki and Serena Peck. Teams of graduate students utilized their creativity and critical thinking skills to solve a real-world healthcare challenge question developed by clinicians and faculty. In the first stage, participants competed through a written proposal. The top 5 scoring teams advanced to the final competition where they pitched their solution to a panel of judges and an audience of IMS community members.

2021: Youth-of-T Talks, led by Laura Best, Muzaffar Bhatti, Rachel Dadouch, Kimia Gannad-Zadeh, Jesse Knight, Swapna Mylabathula, Hannah ShusterHyman, Isis So, Sajeevan Sujanthan, and Claire Wunker. Their mission is to educate and empower young people to be active participants in addressing climate change. Using content from the 2021 UofT Talks symposium on climate change and health, the team created age-appropriate

materials for children and youth ranging in age from kindergarten to grade twelve. The materials included a comic about composting, a waste wizard character who shares tips on reducing waste, and activities that encourage critical thinking involving real-life scenarios related to environmental racism.

As co-chair of the SAFE Committee and a member of the team that has adjudicated the Jay Keystone Memorial Award since its inception, it has been inspiring to see these innovative ideas come to life and to witness the passion IMS students have for science communication. The IMS believes in students’ ability to make an impact, and providing this grant is one of the ways we’re working to realize our vision of inspiring and preparing future leaders in translational medical science.

Healthcare Innovation Challenge (2022)

Youth-of-T Talks (2021)

A Worm’s Tale comic for kids about composting, designed by Naomi Robson.

A Tale of Two Symposia: Student Involvement in IMS Scientific Day During and After COVID-19

By Lauren Levy & Kyla Trkulja

For many students at the Institute of Medical Science (IMS), the Spring season is a whirlwind of conferences, presentations, writing deadlines, and other academic and social activities. One such event that many of us are familiar with is the annual IMS Scientific Day. This day, similar to a conference curated for a tight-knit community, is jam-packed with educational and networking activities for students to share their research, practice their presentation skills, learn about relevant medical advancements through keynote speakers and panel discussions, and celebrate student and faculty achievements. It’s no wonder that IMS Scientific Day is termed the academic highlight of the year, as it is a multifaceted event that brings together students, faculty, and alumni across the IMS community.

Understandably, I jumped at the chance to interview past and present Scientific Day Student Co-Leads on behalf of the IMS Magazine to get their perspectives on what student involvement in Scientific Day looked like. Through Jesse Joynt, a previous student lead, I learned about the unprecedented IMS Scientific Day of 2021, in which students met online via the virtual conference platform Gathertown. io. This year’s leads, Kowsar Teymouri, Crizza Ching, and Slaghaniya Neupane, walked me through the experience of coordinating the numerous talks and guest speakers that make the in-person event as informative and stimulating as possible.

The past and current leads have undoubtedly had different experiences with the logistics of Scientific Day and what this meant for their involvement. Whereas the in-person leads coordinated the panel discussion, volunteers to assist with navigation around the venue and the smooth-running of poster presentations, and networking events, Jesse was responsible for the organization of the virtual conference platform and troubleshooting technological challenges when they arose.

“We even had a room in our conference hall dedicated to tech issues,” he explained. “And we had a backend chat where a bunch of us were messaging when problems would occur, we had people circulating, constantly asking [if there were any problems]...it was cool, it was like a real conference, [because] even conferences in real life have hitches and problems.”

Jesse emphasized that during the COVID19 pandemic, they had to make the most out of what they had, so despite their best efforts, some things still weren’t the same. Virtual platforms may be able to recreate the educational aspects of the conference experience, but the interpersonal aspect was still missing. There was a feeling of missing out on the in-person celebrations of awards, reception, and after-party, but given the circumstances, Jesse is still very proud of what the team accomplished in a very challenging time: “I’ve never seen anything like it, to see it be a success on our first try...I was very proud of our whole department for that one.”

On the other hand, student involvement for the in-person event typically involves managing student volunteers to assist the day of the event, as well as coordinating special speakers such as those for the panel discussion–and even monitoring the panel event itself. As a result, the challenges the current Student Leads experience are more centered around the in-person logistics, such as getting enough volunteers to assist with the event and ensuring everyone is in the right place at the right time. Kowsar emphasized how planning this event really is a team effort, with everyone on the organizing committee helping in different ways. This includes the Student Co-Leads, faculty leads Dr. Brian Ballios and Dr. Nadia Minian, staff leads Sarah Topa and Sobiga Vyravanathan, and IMS Director Dr. Mingyao Liu. The different skills and connections each have allowed them to use their strengths to create an inspiring in-person event that blends the academic and social worlds of IMS.

All of the Student Leads expressed great fulfillment with Scientific Day and felt like their contributions made an impact on the student experience, especially when it came to the interpersonal events during the day. Slaghaniya highlighted all the engaging events that students within and beyond the day’s organizing committee help organize, such as Real Conversations, networking discussions, and icebreaker games, that help contribute to a sense of community. Integrating these activities into the academic conference is a fantastic starting point for meeting new people

and seeing how you can get involved within the IMS community, making these activities especially meaningful to students. As a result of the feedback and ideas from students, Scientific Day now goes beyond just research. Kowsar emphasized that students will attend Scientific Day regardless of whether or not they are presenting, as they can go to support their peers, see their friends, and catch up with those they don’t get to see on a day-to-day basis. Jesse echoed the same thoughts, even tying the interpersonal aspects of the day into the poster competition. “One of the coolest things for me is getting to see what my friends have been actually working on, every single day…and explain it in detail,” he said. “[And I get to] ask them questions and be impressed by their drive and their work.”

Being involved in the organization of Scientific Day was reflected upon as an enriching experience, both for the connections that the Student Leads were able to make among those around them, and for the skill development opportunities getting involved brought along. Jesse and Crizza shared how their involvement made them more comfortable with time management and engaging with students and faculty, whereas Slaghaniya and Kowsar resonated with the opportunities to meet new people and make meaningful relationships with those in the community. Ultimately, all of them emphasized the importance of getting involved for their personal and interpersonal benefits, as taking on a bigger role allows you to learn, grow, and improve the world around you.

These opportunities for student involvement are abundant here at IMS, and it was awe-inspiring to hear about how getting involved in the planning of Scientific Day allowed for both improvements to the event and the professional development of the Student Leads. For those thinking of getting involved, keep an eye out for the IMS Weekly Digest next Fall–the fulfillment in taking part in this annual highlight is a rewarding one!

(Left to right) Crizza Ching, Kowsar Teymouri, Slaghaniya Neupane, and Jesse Joynt, Student Leads for IMS Scientific Day

Photo credit: Lauren Levy, Slaghaniya Neupane

Student Leaders on organizing the Ori Rotstein Lecture

By Alyona Ivanova

The Annual Ori Rotstein Lecture in Translational Research took place on November 15, 2023. The Institute of Medical Science has held the event since 2011, with the aim of presenting current research being explored in translational medicine. This year’s lecture topic was “Innovation in Transplantation: Promoting Translation”.

The Lecture brings together students, faculty, and health professionals and requires a high level of planning. We spoke to the student leads of the planning committee, Crizza Ching and Anisa Nazir, who shared their experience organizing the lecture this year.

This wasn’t the first time Crizza and Anisa served on the planning committee for this lecture. Being IMS students, they were inspired to become the leads for this event because it is very much a student-led initiative: students get to decide on the main topic of the lecture, choose the keynote speaker, and directly communicate with the panelists. As a result, it is a great opportunity to network with established scientists—a crucial part of professional development. As student leads, Crizza and Anisa were in charge of coordination and management, advertising the event, moderating and facilitating on the day of, and collecting feedback afterwards. It takes an incredible amount of work, management, and pre-planning to host a successful event, and it really is a team effort. Anisa shared, “The teamwork is amazing! It’s the team that really pulls

everything through and we get a lot of support from the faculty and staff leads.”

Event planning doesn’t come without obstacles. Anisa shared, “The biggest challenge has always been the timing: matching the availability of the keynote speaker, Dr. Rotstein, the panelists, the venue. Sometimes it’s hard to get a hold of certain people. You often have to compromise.”

Being the key figures shaping the event has provided Anisa and Crizza with lots of opportunities for learning transferable skills, leadership, and professional

development, and they feel that they have gained a lot from this experience. It’s not only about organizational skills and time management, Anisa and Crizza explained, but also about taking initiative, delegating tasks to the team, networking, and public speaking. These are all skills that are fundamental to research when it comes to project management and teamwork, so Anisa and Crizza were able to translate their knowledge and prior experience into running a successful event.

The event itself featured Dr. Robert Montgomery, MD, PhD, Chair of the

Crizza Ching and Anisa Nazir, student leads of the Ori Rotstein Lecture Planning Committee

Photo Credit: Lauren Levy

Department of Surgery, and Director of the NYU Langone Transplant Institute, as the keynote speaker. Dr. Montgomery played a pivotal role in the development of laparoscopic live kidney donation, a technique now widely adopted worldwide. In 2010, Dr. Montgomery was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for performing the most kidney transplants in a single day. Dr. Montgomery gave an inspiring and fascinating talk about his own journey of receiving a heart transplant and his research into kidney transplantation. Students had a unique chance to hear about Dr. Montgomery’s current endeavours in the transplantation field and ask questions.

Another big part of the annual lecture is the panel discussion. This year’s panel featured Dr. Olivia Hough, clinical scientist at Traferox Technologies Inc., Dr. Mamatha Bhat, staff hepatologist and

clinician-scientist at the UHN Ajmera Transplant Centre, Dr. Ana Konvalinka, senior scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, and Dr. Shaf Keshavjee, surgeon-in-chief of the Sprott Department of Surgery, Director of the Toronto Lung Transplant Program and Latner Thoracic Research Laboratories at UHN, and Professor of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Toronto. The speakers represented a mixture of recent IMS alumni and early-, mid-, and late-career scientists with non-traditional and unique career paths to encourage students to consider diverse career options in the medical sciences and beyond.

Guided by the principles of EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion), Anisa and Crizza tried to bring diversity into the panel to showcase the diversity of IMS. “[Even though] only a portion of IMS students do research in the field of organ

You can spend 24 hours with the panelists, and it still won’t be enough. There is just so much that we can get even from that one person. “ “

transplantation,” Crizza said, “there is so much overlap in terms of experiences. You can spend 24 hours with the panelists, and it still won’t be enough. There is just so much that we can get even from that one person.”

One of the concerns of the student leads when planning the event was that there wouldn’t be enough interaction between the audience and the speakers. Anisa mentioned that the students can be shy and hesitant to speak up at panel discussions. To their delight, however, the panel was a huge success. And because this represented the second time the event was in-person again following the pandemic, the panel was even more lively than before. Crizza shared, “The panel was very dynamic and there was lots of discussion. There was so little time, and it was so fun to see!”

The biggest piece of advice Crizza and Anisa could give to students attending the Ori Rotstein Lecture in future was: “Use that opportunity, ask those questions. These are the people you look up to and you don’t have that many opportunities to get career advice from people in the field. Now is a great chance!”

Overall, thanks to our student leads Crizza and Anisa the event was a huge success. We are hoping that IMS leadership will keep the tradition of hosting such a wonderful event for years to come!

Making Tangible Systemic Changes for Student Wellness:

A Discussion with Let’s Talk Grad Wellness

By Kyla Trkulja

Managing the stressful challenges of graduate school, including research, writing, and coursework, combined with thinking about future plans and maintaining a work-life balance can be a daunting task. Many students often feel isolated and stressed, not to mention the constantly-talked-aboutbut-never-properly-acknowledged imposter syndrome. One could only imagine the even greater negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic–which is what inspired a group of IMS students to take action.

When the pandemic first hit in 2020, Sandy Lee, Laura Best, Rachel Dadouch, and Swapna Mylabathula came together to obtain a wellness-related grant from the Graduate and Life Sciences Education team. “We wanted to start an initiative that supported graduate student wellness, where we wanted to make students feel comfortable to start a dialogue about their mental health and well-being during their graduate school programs,” Sandy explained. The goal of their initiative was to have real conversations surrounding wellness and create resources for students, such as information packages and wellness trackers. This would allow students to “find a unique place to not only talk about [wellness], but also find the resources that they need to get help and get support throughout their graduate programs.”

This was the beginning of Let’s Talk Grad Wellness (LTGW), the first ever wellnessoriented student group for IMS. Their four pillars include education, integration,

facilitation, and participation, which they implement by providing resources such as Mental Health & Wellness Resource Guides and Wellness Trackers, hosting Real Conversations events at IMS events such as Scientific Day, and their new student-supervisor documents that aim to increase transparency. These documents, consisting of the Individual Development Plan (IDP) and ELEFANT Agreement are the most recent accomplishments of LTGW, and arguably the most impactful.

The IDP facilitates conversations between students and their supervisors on the students’ professional and career goals. Through these discussions, the pair can decide which skills would be best for the student to focus on during their degree and make detailed plans for how to achieve these goals through mentorship, research, and extracurricular activities. First piloted with IMS students in January 2023, the IDP is designed to be a working document made at the start of the students’ degree and reviewed every meeting with their advisory committees. The goal is for students to get the most out of their degrees so they can enter the next steps of their careers with the best possible training.

The ELEFANT Agreement, on the other hand, is designed to ensure student wellness during their time at IMS. The acronym stands for the seven components that students and supervisors should discuss at the start of the students’ degree–Environment, Limits, Employment, Funding, Academics, Non-academics, and Thesis. The agreement was developed

because most of the time, at the beginning of the students’ graduate degree, “students have no idea what they’re getting themselves into, they have no idea what the expectations are coming from the supervisors,” Sandy explained. “And so we [wanted to] set these kinds of goals for both students and supervisors to achieve throughout their graduate degree and make sure that all of these tough conversations happen right at the beginning, so there’s no surprises.” The agreement covers all aspects of the students’ and supervisors’ collective expectations during their degree, such as whether the student will have a set desk, if they have set hours they need to be in the lab, what protocols are for time-off, and how much time they can put towards other activities such as extracurricular involvement. By increasing transparency, students will have peace of mind knowing they are doing what is expected of them, preventing anxiety over uncertainty or difficult conversations in the future. ELEFANT was first piloted this year in January 2024, and similar to funding agreements, will be reviewed and discussed between the student and supervisor annually.

The original LTGW team created the proposals for these documents, but members slowly began to graduate and move onto the next chapter of their lives. It has been the new LTGW team–Earvin Tio, Vanessa De Gregorio, and Ben Traubici–that carried the torch to implement these changes. “I was very impressed

with how [student feedback] was always brought back to the departments,” Earvin highlighted during our conversation. “And [IMS] acts on it. So it seemed like really tangible changes were happening.”

The impact that these changes have had on the entire IMS student body makes LTGW a small but powerful team. “I think it’s one thing to be part of a group,” Vanessa says. “But being able to see a public policy implementation is huge.”

Sandy shares the same feelings of pride for the widescale accomplishments of the group, adding that “the best thing was that we were able to find light in a time of an extreme darkness.” Starting this group

during the pandemic gave the founders a reason to touch base during a period of isolation, allowing them to find the light amongst each other and spread that light to other students. “The thought of that on its own is so fulfilling, especially since it has successfully continued on.”

Both the old and new team members reflected on how involvement with student groups such as LTGW led to lasting friendships and improvements to personal wellness as a result of finding support in one another. “Being part of LTGW has been an amazing opportunity to not only learn about ways to improve my own wellness and how I deal with stress, but hopefully to also give other students the

resources to improve their own wellbeing,” Ben highlighted. All LTGW members encourage every graduate student to join an initiative and find their community–and not to let what-ifs or apprehension get in the way. The interpersonal, professional, and potentially communitywide accomplishments one can achieve through involvement make the graduate school experience that much better. With that in mind… LTGW is looking for new members! Email letstalkgradwellness@ gmail.com to find out about how you can get involved. You never know what’s possible for you to accomplish!

Founding Members of LTGW

Current Members of LTGW

Laura Best, Rachel Dadouch, Sandy Lee, and Swapna Mylabathula.

Earvin Tio, Vanessa De Gregorio, and Ben Traubici.

Photos provided by LTGW

Immersive Learning:

IMS Graduate Student Designs a Virtual Reality Clinical Skills Course

By Sonika Kumari

As graduate students, we are typically bound to the established education curriculum, but Nairy Khodabakhshian’s decision to reshape the curriculum has opened doors for innovation. Nairy is a PhD student in the Institute of Medical Science (IMS) studying the cardiac response to exercise in pediatric patients, working under the supervision of Dr. Luc Mertens at The Hospital for Sick Children. While working on a clinical project during the early days of graduate school, she quickly realized she was not yet equipped to appropriately handle clinical situations. Nairy explains that she was “working with pediatric patients facing life-altering diagnoses and could not find any resources focusing on patient-facing communication skills.” This made it difficult to learn how to have tough conversations with patients, or to give support in emotional situations. In the intricate realm of clinical research, pivotal elements like confidentiality, consent, and the meticulous handling of sensitive data stand as pillars of ethical practice. Surprisingly, graduate students often find themselves navigating these waters without formal training, highlighting a critical gap in their education.

Nairy wondered if other students were dealing with similar situations in their clinical research, and by surveying students across IMS, she identified this as a gap in graduate education. This led her to the idea of designing a course specific to helping research students with clinical skills, which she pitched to

the IMS Curriculum Committee. A key innovation in her pitch was the use of virtual reality (VR) to expose students to clinical settings in a safe and controlled manner. Upon receiving their approval, Nairy spearheaded the course design process in 2021, working closely with Nicole Harnett and Sobiga Vyravanathan. Nairy played a central role in coordinating meetings, liaising with faculty members, and conducting research for the project.

“ “

Working with pediatric patients facing life-altering diagnoses, Nairy realized the critical need for patient-facing communication skills.

Nairy assembled a team of fellow graduate students, including Kyla Lee, Maryam Sorkhou, and Tulip Marawi, who provided invaluable assistance in shaping the course syllabus, assignments, and design. Working with faculty, Nairy also recruited Jessica Feng, a Biomedical Communications student, who undertook the VR development as her Master’s project. Collaboratively, they documented the course creation process, conducted a comprehensive review, and applied for grants to support their initiative. The team’s efforts were recently recognized with the Graduate Education Innovation Fund (GEIF) award, which will be used to develop a module focusing on Indigenous health.

The Clinical Research Skills course (MSC 1121) is divided into three sections, with two weeks dedicated to each section: plain language communication, research ethics, and professionalism. The first two weeks will be focused on learning about patientcentered language, recruitment material, and consent documentation. Weeks three and four will teach students about ethics specific to clinical research projects and students will have a chance to get the perspective of being a research ethics board reviewer for their peer’s studies. Lastly, weeks five and six will focus on professionalism and role playing through the use of VR. In the latter, students will complete virtual clinical scenarios that involve navigating ethical dilemmas, obtaining informed consent, and incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing into clinical research. Nairy suggests

Nairy Khodabakhshian, BHSc, PhD Candidate

Institute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto and Division of Cardiology, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and student lead in creating the The Clinical Research Skills course MSC 1121

that VR presents a promising avenue for alleviating strain on the healthcare system because students can receive clinical exposure without having to shadow healthcare professionals. Moreover, it offers financial efficiency, as utilizing standardized patients for traditional clinical training can be costly and VR scenarios can be repeated infinite times.

“ “

VR presents a promising avenue for alleviating strain on the healthcare system, offering financial efficiency and repeated practice opportunities.

As Nairy reflects on her journey, she says, “the IMS and its faculty really believe in innovation and novelty in graduate education” and provide students with the resources to make their idea come to life. She has acquired a multitude of skills. These include the critical significance of crafting course objectives, the art of curriculum development, adept task delegation, effective time management, proficient project management, and seamless communication with faculty members, among others. She hopes to stay

involved with the course and is excited to see how it develops. Nairy says she has “endless ideas for future courses and this course design process has made [her] fall in love with academia.” She is beyond “grateful to have had this privilege of designing a course as a graduate student and has now found a passion for [her] future.” Overall, the support provided by IMS along with Nairy’s creativity and hard work has enriched the education curriculum for future IMS students.

References

1. Khodabakhshian, N., Gaeul Lee, K., Marawi, T., Sorkhou, M., Vyravanathan, S., & Harnett, N. (2024). Virtual Reality for Developing Patient-Facing Communication Skills in Medical and Graduate Education: Protocol for a Scoping Review. JMIR research protocols, 13, e53901. https://doi. org/10.2196/53901

2. https://ims.utoronto.ca/modular-courses

Photo Credit: Niki Akbarian

Becoming a Better Researcher Through Extracurricular Involvement: Perspectives of Student Life from IMS’ Youngest Graduate Student

By Kyla Trkulja

In September 2023, the Institute of Medical Science (IMS) welcomed its youngest-ever graduate student. Entering her Master’s degree at just 12-years-old, Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis has been featured by numerous Canadian news platforms for her recordbreaking intelligence. But since she began her graduate studies, she has also taken part in many student initiatives, maximizing her opportunities to participate in student life within the IMS community.

Anthaea-Grace Patricia graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the Biomedical Science program at the University of Ottawa in 2023. Her fourth-year thesis project, as part of her Honour’s degree, focused on the cerebellum, the region of the brain involved in controlling movement. The project further fueled her pre-existing interest in movement disorders, and since September 2023 she has been studying under the supervision of Dr. Antonio Strafella at Toronto Western Hospital, researching machine learning techniques for predicting and diagnosing Parkinson’s Disease.

Like many of the students attracted to the graduate program, Anthaea-Grace Patricia chose IMS for her studies due to the collaboration between the University and its associated hospitals such as the University Health Network. “I think [this is] really important because of my interest in movement disorders, but also for all graduate students to be able to understand

the impact that our research can have on clinical practice,” she explained. This consolidation between research and clinical practice has not only been reflected in her thesis work, but also in the courses she has taken so far. For example, in her course on neurodegenerative diseases, Anthaea-Grace Patricia appreciated the clinical guest lecturers, who shared their experiences treating these disorders in their patient encounters. “There was an integration between the research that we were learning about and reading about, and the actual case studies and clinical practice,” she highlighted.

I enjoyed hearing how Anthaea-Grace Patricia’s academic journey at IMS has fulfilled the kind of experience she envisioned when she accepted her IMS offer in 2023. What was even more special was learning what her experiences with student life have been like at IMS since she joined: she had a very positive initial impression of IMS student life even before the September Orientation. When she first set up her UofT email, she received numerous blasts and invitations regarding events, orientations, and opportunities to meet new students, which made her feel a strong sense of support and belonging from the beginning. Throughout the next few weeks and months, she learned the ways in which she could get involved with the IMS community outside of her research, and joined numerous student-led initiatives, such as the Institute of Medical Science Students Association (IMSSA) and UofT Talks.

Anthaea-Grace Patricia is currently part of the Academic and Wellness Subcommittees within IMSSA, where she has taken part in organizing several events, such as the annual “Are You Smarter than a Grad Student?” competition, amongst several others. She mentioned that she has enjoyed the opportunities these initiatives have given her and others to make meaningful connections among students at different points in their academic journeys, as well as the ability to practice skills outside of the lab. “[The initiatives] are not directly related to research,” she explains. “But [they’ve] helped my skills in planning events, corresponding between different people, and other [skills] that are really important for my career.”

“ “

But when you’re able to get to know people through different committees, and you work with them on planning events … it’s much easier to foster friendships and get into contact with people, and be part of a community.

In addition to her work with IMSSA, Anthaea-Grace Patricia is also on the planning committee for this year’s UofT Talks event, an in-person multispeaker event which will share numerous perspectives on end-of-life care. “It’s really been very inspiring to see how much planning really goes into one of these events,” she reflected. “Everyone has gone to conferences, but you never really understand all the different steps that it takes: the planning of the venue, getting different speakers, getting food for the guests, all those different things that go into it that really make a difference.” She is also currently a journalist and copyeditor for the IMS Magazine, which has helped her further develop her scientific communication skills.

Anthaea-Grace Patricia feels that the diverse experiences in which she has been

involved at IMS have given her unique opportunities to shape her growth as an academic, professional, and holistically as a person. One of the skills that she is most thrilled about developing is the ability to network with like-minded peers and faculty alike. She describes the ability to network as “one of the most important skills you can have.”

“You always see people at conferences who can work the room and can give everyone their business card,” she expresses. “And you’re always like, ‘Well, how do I become like that?’ Well, you attend all these different events. So, I think that the events that I’ve gone to have contributed in all three aspects [of personal, professional, and academic growth], at least, in getting to know different people and fostering friendships, and in growing my different professional and academic skills.”

In addition to skill development, AnthaeaGrace Patricia has appreciated the opportunities that student life involvement has given her in forging friendships from class. She mentioned that many times when you meet people in class, you don’t necessarily have an avenue to grow and continue the relationship with them. “But when you’re able to get to know people through different committees, and you work with them on planning events … it’s much easier to foster friendships and get into contact with people, and be part of a community,” she says.

Anthaea-Grace Patricia looks forward to continuing her involvement with IMS student life as she continues with her Master’s (and eventual transfers into the PhD program!). She hopes to be the Director of one of the IMSSA Subcommittees she is currently involved in and expand her involvement with various extracurricular activities surrounding Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI). After completing her graduate training with IMS, she plans on using the array of research and interpersonal skills she will develop to continue her research in the area of Parkinson’s Disease. “I know that’s something that I could definitely be interested in for the rest of my life,” she says about her research field. But she feels strongly that the extracurricular opportunities at IMS are what will shape her into a truly successful researcher. “The experience has been wonderful,” she explained. “It really inspires me to continue to make a difference in research.” It was exciting to hear about how the various opportunities for growth within IMS have benefitted Anthaea-Grace Patricia as a rising star, and we look forward to seeing what she accomplishes next!

Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis MSc Student at IMS

Photo Credit: Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis

The Career Mentorship Program: Guiding Through the Maze of Job Search Post-Graduation

By Niki Akbarian

The transition into your first career post-graduation is similar to wandering through a maze without a map. Not knowing where to start the job search, how to find suitable job matches, how to effectively complete lengthy applications, and how to prepare for multiple rounds of interviews can be significantly frustrating for new graduates. The frustration that most people feel in this journey, however, does not come from incapability, but rather from a lack of knowledge and clarity about the steps that need to be taken to land the first job after graduation.

The Career Mentorship Program (CMP) at the Institute of Medical Science (IMS) has been established to address this challenge by guiding upper-year IMS students looking towards securing job positions after graduation. As Ergi Duli, a PhD candidate and the program coordinator of CMP, describes, the goal of CMP is to alleviate students from the burdens of reinventing the wheel by offering them the opportunity to learn from those who have already gone through similar paths.

Sarah Topa, the program manager, and Ergi Duli are the driving forces behind CMP as they had recognized the lack of a mentorship program geared towards aiding students in navigating the job market postgraduation. Since 2020, CMP has been run for three successful cycles. Each year, CMP welcomes approximately 20 to 25 IMS students seeking mentorship. Mentors of CMP are faculty members and IMS alumni

who deeply understand the transition from IMS to professional employment, whether in academic settings or non-academic environments such as industry and not-forprofit organizations. Although Ergi likens the process of reaching out to mentors to a scavenger hunt, CMP has managed to assemble a unique pool of mentors with diverse sociodemographic backgrounds located across the globe, spanning Canada, the US, Europe, and Asia.

Despite its complexity, CMP endeavors to pair students with the most compatible mentors. To make the process more efficient, students are asked to provide a brief overview of themselves and their career aspirations. They are also encouraged to specify any sociodemographic factors, such as race, gender, or domestic versus international status, that might aid in pairing them

with a mentor who shares similar life experiences. “We do our best to match students with the best mentor. But it’s not always as great as we want it to be. We don’t have an infinite pool of mentors to draw from. But we have been able to accommodate [the needs of students] with our pool of mentors,” Ergi says. Looking ahead, Ergi believes that the matching process will improve as CMP’s mentor pool grows. “This is my call to action to everyone who reads this. We are always looking for new mentors to add to our pool, and we would love to continue to hear what students do after they leave [IMS] and encourage them to become involved in CMP.”

The benefits of CMP for students are abundant. Beyond establishing mentorship relationships through regular meetings with mentors, students can leverage CMP to expand their professional network—a vital aspect of job searching. Moreover, CMP offers structured programming through networking events and exclusive workshops where students collaborate in small groups to hone essential job-seeking skills, such as crafting a LinkedIn profile, writing effective resumes and cover letters, and enhancing interview skills. For mentors, the experience is equally rewarding. Many enjoy the opportunity to teach, engage with students, and share their valuable experiences. Mentors in some professions can also spot potential candidates for available job positions in their organization among their mentees, which can provide significant benefits to their careers and the growth of their organizations.

Ergi Duli

Program Coordinator of CMP

Photo Credit: Kateryna Maksyutynska

As Ergi mentions, “The ultimate goal of CMP is to help students get all the connections and information they need to secure their futures. It’s great to see students who went through the program land jobs immediately—some even had positions lined up before graduating.” One such success story is Dr. Anthony Cannavicci, who started as a mentee in the program and now serves as a mentor.

Dr. Cannavicci started his journey at IMS in 2016 as an MSc student under the supervision of Dr. Michael Kutryk at St. Michaels Hospital. He then transferred to PhD where he investigated the role of microRNA dysregulation in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), a rare vascular disease. In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Cannavicci was the president of HHT Canada, a nationwide charity dedicated to advocating for HHT. Concurrently, he acted as a scientific advisor for the Cure HHT Research Network, a non-profit organization.

Currently, Dr. Cannavicci serves as a Field Medical Affairs Scientist at Pfizer Canada, specializing in hemophilia and Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy. In this role, he collaborates with healthcare professionals to lead scientific discussions regarding Pfizer’s inline and pipeline therapies. As Dr. Cannavicci explains, Medical Affairs Scientists provide scientific

and medical support for therapies and address physicians’ inquiries about these treatments.

Dr. Cannavicci highlights that one of the most valuable aspects of his PhD experience, which prepared him for his current role at Pfizer, was the opportunity to present his research at national and international conferences. He also emphasizes the significance of CMP in securing his current position. Dr. Cannavicci had a clear career goal of entering medical affairs, and he specifically expressed this in his application to CMP. He recalls, “CMP paired me very appropriately with someone who was basically doing what I am doing now. So, it was a very good fit. [My mentor] was very helpful and nice; we worked on

resume building, cover letter building, and interview preparation.”

Presently, as a mentor, Dr. Cannavicci is aiming to incorporate activities that he found helpful during his time as a mentee at CMP into the meetings with his own mentees. “Because I had that experience prior, I was more prepared to act as a mentor as I can provide the same level of quality of service that I received,” Dr. Cannavicci says. He also emphasizes that an important aspect of being a mentor is to provide a better understanding of what the job entails for students. “You need to know what you are getting into, you need to know what day-to-day life is like, because there is only so much that you can get from descriptions. But when you talk to someone who is in it, it is a completely different lens to investigate through.”

For mentees of CMP exploring potential job positions, Dr. Cannavicci advises them to learn how to effectively market themselves. He encourages them to take pride in their background, engage in extracurricular activities that make them stand out, and actively network. Lastly, he underscores the importance of seeking as much help as possible from mentors and workshops in CMP, and learning from the experiences of those who went through the same maze of job searching previously. Indeed, CMP is dedicated to helping graduate students at IMS to build the future that they dream of.

Dr. Anthony Cannavicci

Former Mentee and Current Mentor at CMP

Photo Provided by Dr. Cannavicci

Pathways of IMS Alumni

IMS graduates end up pursuing a diverse set of career paths and further education around the world following graduation

IMS International MS c Graduates

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IMS International PhD Graduates

IMS MSc Graduates

IMS MSc Graduates

IMS PhD Graduates

IMS International MSc Graduates

IMS International PhD Graduates

IMS MSc Graduates

IMS PhD Graduates

Graphic design by Jayne Leggatt

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