Student Academic Awards

Siminovitch-Salter Award 

This award was established in 1995 to honour the contributions of Dr. Lou Siminovitch and Dr. Robert Salter, eminent researchers, founders, and mentors to the Institute of Medical Science. It is presented annually at IMS Scientific Day to a recently graduated PhD student who has made outstanding scholarly contributions during their program. 

The endowment represents contributions by Mount Sinai Hospital, the University of Toronto Department of Surgery and the Institute of Medical Science. The recipient is nominated by their supervisor and selected by the IMS Graduate Coordinators.

Dr. Laureen Hachem is a senior neurosurgery resident at the University of Toronto. Her research focuses on regenerative strategies to enhance plasticity in the injured central nervous system and specifically examining the mechanisms of endogenous neural stem/progenitor cell activation after traumatic spinal cord injury. Her research is supported by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, American Academy of Neurological Surgeons/Neurosurgery Research & Education Foundation and Physicians Services Incorporated Foundation. Laureen has received numerous recognitions including a Vanier Scholarship (CIHR), AANS/CNS Neurotrauma/Critical Care Section Research Award, the Starr Medal (UofT), Kuntz Scholar Award (AANS/CNS Spine/Peripheral Nerve Section) and the Charles Tator Spinal Cord Injury Resident Research Award (AANS/CNS Neurotrauma/Critical Care Section).

Whiteside Award

This award was established in 2003 to honour the contributions of Dr. Catharine Whiteside, a former IMS Graduate Coordinator and former Dean of Medicine at the University of Toronto. It is presented annually at IMS Scientific Day to a recently graduated Master of Science student who has made outstanding scholarly contributions. 

The recipient is nominated by their supervisor and defense committee and is selected by the IMS Graduate Coordinators.

Rowaida Hussein’s MSc thesis, “Understanding the Evolving Role of Metabolic Dysfunction in Hereditary Macular Dystrophies,” supervised by Dr. Ajoy Vincent, explored novel mechanisms of metabolic dysfunction affecting photoreceptor integrity in genetic blindness. Integrating genomic, molecular, and mouse model data, her research uncovered key insights into disease pathophysiology and was published last fall in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Now pursuing her M.D. at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University, Rowaida is passionate about bridging research and clinical practice to drive advancements in patient care. 

This award was established by IMS in 2012 to honour the memory of Dr. Sara Al-Bader, a vibrant scholar and IMS PhD candidate who posthumously received her degree after colleagues completed her thesis on health innovation in sub-Saharan Africa. It is presented annually at IMS Scientific Day to an international doctoral stream student who shows exceptional academic promise. The recipient is chosen by the IMS Associate Director.

Shaghayegh Foroozan Boroojeni is a PhD candidate at the Schroeder Arthritis Institute in the lab of Dr. Nigil Haroon. Her research focuses on gut inflammation in Spondyloarthritis, using a preclinical model of SpA. She aims to uncover the possible connection between gut inflammation and SpA development through her work. Shaghayegh is actively involved at IMS as a member of the Student Recruitment Committee and serves as the Alumni Engagement Coordinator. She previously led UofT Talks for two years and is a co-founder of  IMS MedDash, an initiative that received the IMS Jay Keystone Memorial Award for Innovation in Scientific Communication.