Leadership & Committees

The Executive Committee, chaired by the IMS Director, Dr. Mingyao Liu, provides guidance and direction in all aspects of the Strategic Plan implementation and decision-making. It helps set out the vision and overall strategic direction, goals and objectives of the IMS, and is the approval body for proposals, policies and initiatives developed by the other IMS committees.

For more information about this committee, please contact sf.medscience@utoronto.ca 

2024-2025 Members:

Drs. Samantha Anthony, Isabella Caniggia, Chung-Wai Chow, Karen Gordon, Nicole Harnett, Mingyao Liu (Chair), Lucy Osborne, Reinhart Reithmeier, Pascal Tyrrell and John Vincent.

The Leadership Group, run by the IMS Associate Director, Dr. Lucy Osborne, provides operational support in all aspects of IMS day-to-day administration. It works to ensure the excellent quality of academic programs by considering proposals for new initiatives and monitoring reviews of existing programs. The group works collectively to action aspects of the Strategic Plan.

For more information about the Leadership Group, please contact Sarah Topa.

2024-2025 Members:

Stefan Aguiar, Dr. Samantha Anthony, Dr. Ted Brown, Dr. Isabella Caniggia, Dr. Chung-Wai Chow, Prof. Michael Corrin, Dr. Karen Gordon, Dr. Eyal Grunebaum, Prof. Nicole Harnett, Hamzah Khan, Dr. Marianne Koritzinsky, Kamila Lear, Dr. Mingyao Liu, Dr. Lucy Osborne (Chair), Dr. Pamela Plant, Dr. Martin Post, Dr. Reinhart Reithmeier, Sarah Topa, Dr. Pascal Tyrrell, Dr. John Vincent and Dr. Catharine Walsh.

The Admissions Committee, chaired by Dr. Eyal Grunebaum, reports to the Executive Committee. It provides thorough review of IMS graduate student applications, makes recommendations for admission, and oversees admission policies. 

For more information about the Admissions Committee, or to inquire about participation, please contact Emilie DesRosiers.

2023-2024 Members:

Dr. Moumita Barua, Dr. Isabella Caniggia, Dr. Vinod Chandran, Dr. Helen Dimaras, Dr. Daniel Felsky, Dr. Peter Giacobbe, Dr. Eyal Grunebaum (Chair), Dr. Katarzyna Jerzak, Dr. Yaping Jin, Dr. Jennifer Jones, Hamzah Khan, Nairy Khodabakhshian, Dr. Shannon Lange, Dr. Lucy Osborne, Dr. Martin Post, Dr. Markus Selzner, Dr. Mike Tymianski, Dr. John Vincent, Dr. Jerry Warsh and Dr. Herman Yeger.

The Appointments/Membership Committee, chaired by Dr. Karen Gordon, reviews and processes all applications for graduate faculty appointments and reappointments.  Further details about the application process including forms and deadlines can be found here. 

For more information about the Appointments/Membership Committee, or to inquire about participation, please contact sf.medscience@utoronto.ca 

2024-2025 Members:

Drs. Mahavir Agarwal, Cathy Barr, Ted Brown, Karen Gordon (Chair), John Griffiths, Mojgan Hodaie, Omair Husain, Warren Lee, Derek Ng, Benjamin Steinberg, Yat Tsang, Clement Zai and Gwyneth Zai.

The Awards Committee, chaired by Dr. Chung-Wai Chow, establishes policies, reviews and processes applications for student financial awards administered by the IMS. 

For more information about the Awards Committee, or to inquire about participation, please contact sf.medscience@utoronto.ca 

2024-2025 Members:

Dr. Chung-Wai Chow (Chair). TBC

IMS Representatives at SGS Awards Review Committee: Drs. Urban Emmenneger and Steven Narod.

The Curriculum Committee, chaired by Prof. Nicole Harnett, reports to the Executive Committee. It reviews and monitors all course offerings by the IMS and recommends and implements changes to the curriculum. 

For more information about the Curriculum Committee, or to inquire about participation, please contact Sobiga Vyravanathan.

2024-2025 Members:

Anna Cocco, Lisa Eunyoung Lee, Dr. Caitlin Gillan, Dr. John Griffiths, Prof. Nicole Harnett (Chair), Dr. Farzad Khalvati, Nairy Khodabakhshian, Dr. Marianne Koritzinsky, Dr. Lucy Osborne, Prof. Tony Panzarella, Ayesha Rashidi, Dr. Pascal Tyrrell, Sobiga Vyravanathan, Dr. Shelley Wall, Dr. Catharine Walsh, Abigail Wolfensohn and Dr. Alaa Youssef.

The Equity, Diversity, Indigeneity, Inclusion and Accessibility (EDIIA) Committee is chaired  by Dr. Pascal Tyrrell.

The committee aims to identify and recommend opportunities and initiatives to improve diverse representation and inclusion of historically marginalized and underrepresented groups in the IMS, and ensures equitable pathways to education, teaching and research.  This Committee reports to the Executive Committee.

For more information about the EDI Committee, click here, or to inquire about participation, please contact sf.medscience@utoronto.ca 

2023-2024 Members:

Layla Ahmed, Tibyan Ahmed, Jasmine Ali- Gami, Noor Al-Kaabi, Dr. Mahavir Agarwal, Prabjit Ajrawat, Amy Chan, Ilakkiah Chandran, Crizza Ching, Dr. Araba Chintoh, Dr. Karen Davis, Dr. Maryam Faiz, Ergi Duli, Dr. Dan Felsky, Lauren Fleshner, Dr. Kathryn Howe, Prisca Hsu, Tia Kant, Segan Kidane, Dr. Jenny Lau, Shamantha Lora, Aishwaria Maxwell, Taylor Moffat, Dr. Nadia Minian, Dr. Farooq Naeem, Anisa Nazir, Akshat Pai, Ayesha Quddusi, Ayesha Rashidi, Abimbola Saka, Sherald Sanchez, Audrey Shiner, Kowsar Teymouri, Sarah Topa, Dr. Pascal Tyrrell (Chair), Siya Verma, Giorge Voutsas and Dr. Clement Zai and Dr. Gwyneth Zai.

The Student, Staff, Alumni, and Faculty Engagement (SAFE) Committee, is Chaired by Dr. Samantha Anthony and Sarah Topa. The committee aims to create engagement and connectivity in a community that is often working in isolation amongst siloed research areas and hospital sites. The SAFE Committee supports the IMS student groups and associations, oversees a variety of student-led initiatives and activities, and implements new tools and resources to support increased faculty and alumni engagement.

For more information about the SAFE Committee, please contact Sarah Topa.

2024-2025 Members:

Dr. Mahavir Agarwal, Dr. Samantha Anthony (Chair), Stefan Aguiar, Dr. Karolina Bidzinski, Anthaea-Grace Patricia Dennis, Dr. Katharine Dunlop, Katie Goke, Shubhreet Johal, Hamzah Khan, Anisa Nazir, Anna Mandel, Katerina Maksyutynska, Suraiya Mangra, Dr. Helen Miliotis, Serena Peck, Dr. Pamela Plant, Nayaab Punjani, Dr. Jennifer Rabin, Sarah Topa (Co-Chair), Kyla Trkulja and Manraj Virk. 

The Student Recruitment Committee helps plan and guide our student recruitment strategy, in order to continue to attract outstanding and diverse students to our graduate program and research labs. It is chaired by Sarah Topa and Emilie DesRosiers. 

For more information about the Committee, please contact Sarah Topa.

2024-2025 Members:
Stefan Aguiar, Alex Boshart, Dr. Ted Brown, Emilie DesRosiers (Co-Chair), Isabella DeVuono, Mahbod Ebrahimi, Shaghayegh (Feri) Foroozan, Megan George, Anna Mandel, Dr. Lucy Osborne, Nicolette Stogios,  Sajeevan Sujanthan, Clara Sun, Sarah Topa (Chair), and Kristina Zhang.

The Recognitions & Awards Committee, chaired by Dr. Martin Post, helps identify outstanding IMS faculty, students, and staff and nominate them for internal and external recognition awards. 

2024-2025 Members:

Kayla Baker, Dr. Pushpal Desarkar, Prof. Nicole Harnett, Dr. Ana Konvalinka, Dr. Judi Laprade, Aaron Miller, Dr. Steven Narod, Akshat Pai, Braeden Page, Dr. Martin Post, Kowsar Teymouri, Sarah Topa, Dr. Jefferson Wilson and Dr. Augusto Zani.