Roncari Prize

Established in 1995 to honour the memory of Dr. Daniel Roncari, who served as the Director of the Institute of Medical Science from 1980 to 1983, this award is presented annually at IMS Scientific Day to an IMS student(s) who has made significant contributions to the academic experience of graduate students. 

The recipient(s) is chosen by the IMS Associate Director and the Co-Chairs of the SAFE Committee.

Alex is a senior PhD candidate in the laboratory of Dr. Ana Konvalinka at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, UHN. Alex transferred from his master’s degree in 2021 so he could continue to pursue his research interests in kidney transplant, antibody mediated rejection, and organ-on-chip development. Outside of his research Alex been an active member of the IMS community as a two-term Vice-president and now Senior Advisor for IMSSA, as well as a Peer-to-Peer Mentor, New Student Orientation leader, member of the IMS Student Recruitment Committee and an IMS Prospective Student Ambassador. He prides himself in being a part of raising over $3000 with IMSSA for prostate cancer and mental health during Movember. He is incredibly proud of the impact his work has had on the IMS and is overjoyed with the brilliant hardworking people has met as a result. 

Nairy is a PhD Candidate supervised by Dr. Luc Mertens and Dr. Vitor Guerra. Nairy's graduate research studies cardiovascular exercise responses in children with Marfan and Loeys-Dietz Syndrome at the SickKids Research Institute. Beyond her graduate research, Nairy has made significant contributions to graduate education at IMS. Most notably, Nairy led a working group of students and faculty in spearheading the development of a novel course which uses virtual reality to teach clinical research skills to IMS students. Launched in Winter 2024, this modular course aims to continue growing to meet the clinical research needs of graduate students. Nairy has led her team in obtaining funding and producing manuscripts to disseminate their course development findings to the broader education community. 

Sajeevan is a 4th year PhD Candidate investigating cognitive changes following an acute stroke intervention in ischemic stroke survivors, under the supervision of Dr. Richard Swartz at Sunnybrook Research Institute. Sajeevan has participated in several IMS initiatives that enhance the experience of students and the broader IMS community, including past and continued involvement with IMSSA, UofT and Youth-of-T Talks, IMS Magazine and the Ori Rotstein Lecture in Translational Research. He is also an IMS Prospective Student Ambassador and a member of the Student Recruitment Committee. Sajeevan is passionate about fostering accessible and accommodating events and initiatives that improve the academic experience of graduate students.