Awards in Education Winners

Reinhart Reithmeier is a professor emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry where he served as Chair from 2002-13. He has held a graduate appointment in IMS since 1986. He is known internationally for his research on membrane proteins in human health and disease. An award-winning lecturer, graduate professional development expert, and graduate mentor, Dr. Reithmeier is dedicated to ensuring that students develop their skill set and professional network.

Prof. Ted Brown is a Reproductive Physiologist in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology where he heads the Division of Reproductive Sciences. He is a Senior Investigator at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbam Research Institute at Sinai Health and has been a member of IMS since 2007. Ted sits on the IMS Membership Committee and directs the IMS Summer Undergraduate Research Program. He co-founded the MHSc Laboratory Medicine Program in the Department of LMP, and teaches various courses in LMP, IMS and Physiology. 

Kyla Lee is a fourth-year PhD candidate at the IMS whose PhD research has led her to explore the intersections of immigrant health, virtual and digital healthcare, primary care, and health equity. Through her work, Kyla hopes to advance culturally safe patient-centered research methods and create more equitable and effective healthcare systems by blending cutting-edge technology with compassionate care. 

Maryam Sorkhou is a fifth year PhD student, specializing in Addiction Studies. Her research investigates the biological, social, and psychological factors that contribute to sex and gender differences in substance use and co-occurring mood disorders. She has authored over 15 peer reviewed publications and is the recipient of several awards, including a CIHR doctoral fellowship. Maryam has also taken on leadership roles in initiatives such as the Graduate Peer Support Network and the IMS Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program. 

Sobiga Vyravanathan has been working within the Curriculum and Education portfolios at IMS for the past four years. She holds a Master of Education degree in Higher Education, Education in the Professions and an Honours Bachelor of Science degree with High Distinction, specializing in Human Biology from the University of Toronto. 

Evan Tannenbaum is an OBGYN at Mount Sinai hospital and serves as the MD Program’s Collaborator Theme Lead. He is a new addition to the IMS community, joining in 2023 to direct a new course aimed at preparing masters and PhD students to conduct research in clinical settings.

Clement Ma is the Scientific Head of the Biostatistics Core at CAMH and Assistant Professor of Biostatistics at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Dr. Ma’s research focuses on developing and implementing innovative statistical methods to improve the accuracy and efficiency of clinical trials. Dr. Ma is receiving the Course Lecturer Award for his contributions to the MSC1030H Learning from Data -Introduction to Study Design and Statistical Analysis Methods course. 

Ayesha Rashidi is a PhD Candidate in the Kimel Lab at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), supervised by Dr. Stephanie Ameis. Her research focuses on the transdiagnostic exploration of social cognition across autism spectrum and schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Ayesha has played a key role in evaluating IMS curriculum and advising opportunities to enhance the student learning experience through her roles as a Curriculum Assistant for the IMS Curriculum Department, IMS Curriculum Committee member, and teaching assistant in an IMS course. Ayesha also led the development of the IMS graduate course MSC1127H: Neuroimaging Data Science: “BrainHack School” which will be introduced in the Spring 2025 session, further expanding IMS’s course offerings in computational neuroscience.