IMS Events

IMS Scientific Day 2022

By Dorsa Derakhshan

Planning Process

The IMS Scientific Day is the academic highlight of the year for IMS as it has been established with the purpose of showcasing novel and current research by the students in this program.1 Held on May 17, 2022 at Hart House, this event provided students with the opportunity to showcase their research achievements, network with their peers and compete for student awards such as the Laidlaw Manuscript Competition and the Alan Wu Poster Competition.1,2

Kyla Trkulja is a first year MSc. student at the IMS researching novel therapies for lymphoma and a member of this year’s planning committee. For her, the highlight of this event was the outdoor student booths as well as meeting new people after two years of virtual networking and conferences (which are just not the same as in-person!). With regards to the planning process, she mentioned that the greatest challenge the committee faced was the uncertainty around whether the event would be held virtually or in-person - especially in light of the rapid rate with which the pandemic was evolving. She encourages IMS students to join the planning committee as it was an incredible experience to be involved in the decisionmaking process for the keynote speaker presentation, the research panels, and the themes of the event.

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Gelareh Zadeh was the distinguished keynote speaker of this year’s IMS Scientific Day. Through her engaging presentation, she showcased key findings of her current research on clinically relevant molecular data driving surgical management for brain tumours. Importantly, she discussed the significance of this work and its implications for clinical decision-making and current management paradigms. For Dr. Zadeh, one of the most noteworthy aspects of this year’s scientific day was the long-awaited opportunity to network in-person following the easing of pandemic restrictions. She stated that it was immensely refreshing to finally meet with faculty and students in person. Additionally, another highlight of this year’s event for Dr. Zadeh was the novel delivery of poster presentations through an electronic poster format. She graciously provided words of encouragement for future IMS students, emphasizing participation throughout graduate school, as well as the importance of building supportive relationships both within and outside of the lab for future scientific collaborations.

Student Experience

The Great Hall of Hart House featured an enthusiastic crowd of students and faculty who had attended to learn and evaluate student poster presentations. One notable presentation was from Delara Emtyazi, a second year MSc student at IMS who presented her translational research on the behavioural effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) and focused ultrasound (FUS)-assisted drug delivery on a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rodent model. Similar to comments provided by Kyla and Dr. Zadeh, Delara also mentioned that the highlight of this event for her was the return of in-person networking with peers and faculty after a prolonged period of working remotely. Moreover, she shed light on her process of preparing for her presentation, noting that it was similar to her preparation for program advisory committee (PAC) meetings. She had initially developed an outline to incorporate key findings into a powerpoint style format, which was ultimately adapted into a poster. For future student presenters, Delara emphasized the creation of visually appealing posters which are not text heavy and feature captivating and digestible figures and images, especially in methods and results sections of the poster.

References

1. Institute of Medical Science. Scientific Day [Internet]. University of

Toronto. [cited 2022 Jun 10]. Available from: https://ims.utoronto. ca/scientific-day 2. Institute of Medical Science. Scientific Day Student Awards [Internet]. University of Toronto. [cited 2022 Jun 10]. Available from: https://ims.utoronto.ca/scientific-day-student-awards

Kyla Trkulja

“ “ It doesn’t matter if you don’t have much experience, if you just go with an open mind and you have the right support, then you can make something like this happen. Take the opportunity to meet new people, participate as you go through graduate school, and build those relationships for future collaborations. Enjoy the process and savour the milestones throughout your journey as a researcher. The IMS Scientific Day was one of my greatest academic experiences at IMS.

Dr. Gelareh Zadeh

Delara Emtyazi

Bridging Academia & Industry

By Kyla Trkulja

Thanks to the combined efforts of the IMS P2P Mentorship Program, and the IMS Student Association, IMS Connects took place on May 2nd, 2022 at the U of T Medical Sciences Building. This career panel and networking event featured professional guests from all facets of medical sciences.

The first panel focused on academic careers, featuring four U of T assistant professors: Dr. Gabriella Chan, Dr. Dmitry Rozenberg, Dr. Golmaz Karoubi, and Dr. Helen Miliotis. Dr. Chan is a lawyer that runs her firm specializing in biomedical patents and intellectual property. In contrast, Dr. Rozenberg is a clinician-scientist focusing on respiratory and skeletal muscle dysfunction, while Dr. Karoubi is a scientist at Toronto General Hospital using stem cells for regenerative medicine. Dr. Miliotis is highly involved in teaching and the Graduate Professional Development (GPD) program for student success.

With Dr. Nana Lee as the moderator, the panel shared their respective professional journeys and answered questions regarding their academic careers, simultaneously navigating parenthood, and how they made their strengths and passions into their dream jobs. Their talks emphasized the importance of not getting discouraged by minor setbacks, making your opportunities, and taking risks – which was encouraging to hear as someone who thought the academic career journey was a linear path. We then took a break for refreshments and networking among the students and panelists. I talked more to Dr. Miliotis about her background and how she ended up where she was; I was very intrigued that she did not do a postdoc and instead got her Leadership in Higher Education certificate at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). This further showed me how open career options are and how you can create your niche and do what you love with a bit of creativity.

The second session focused on careers in industry, featuring Dr. Bruce Seet, Dr. Molly Shoichet, and Dr. Sam Esfandiari. Dr. Seet is the Director of Medical Affairs at Sanofi Pasteur, Dr. Shoichet is an entrepreneur and Tier 1 Canadian Research Chair, and Dr. Esfandiari is a Medical Science Liaison at Boehringer Ingelheim. With Dr. Pamela Plant as the moderator, they discussed how they

Photo Credit: Kyla Trkulja & Kyla Lee

shifted into industry fields, found careers suiting their strengths, and advising us graduate students who did not know how to find a career they loved. My key takeaway from this panel was the importance of networking, both virtual and face-to-face. One can do this by adding people on LinkedIn to find out about job opportunities you will not see on a job board, asking questions during events so you are memorable, and not being afraid to ask people questions. You will learn so much about what is out there and get a foot in the door for your career.

I left the event with seven new LinkedIn connections and abundant information regarding my viable career options. The event made me feel more empowered to create my future and taught me how there is no linear path to success – it truly is what you make it, and there is enough room for anyone who wants to get there.