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. Irene Telias trained as an Internist and Intensivist in the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. She undertook her doctoral studies at IMS under the supervision of Dr Laurent Brochard. Her research program is focused on understanding the determinants, physiological, and clinical consequences of abnormal patient-ventilator interactions and sleep physiology during acute respiratory failure and developing innovative monitoring tools, ventilation, and sedation strategies to achieve lung, diaphragm, and brain protection. She’s also developing a research network for the conduct of clinical trials in patients with acute respiratory failure in Argentina. 
 
She was recently appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine in the University of Toronto and a Clinician Scientist-Staff Intensivist at Toronto Western Hospital ICU. She is, therefore, thrilled to continue contributing to the research community and new generation of scientists at UofT and IMS. 

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.

Shay Simmons' MSc thesis, "Understanding Brain Transcriptome Signatures Associated with Disparate Psychiatric Outcomes in Black American Populations," under Dr. Shreejoy Tripathy's mentorship, delved into unraveling schizophrenia disparities in Black populations through a social stress lens. Integrating population health equity, social genomics, and ML clinical data science, Shay's research, which was successfully defended with no corrections, was presented at the 2023 Biological Psychiatry association in San Diego - showcasing a dedicated commitment to advancing Black health and ensuring equitable research practices. As the 2022-23 Vice-President of the Black Graduate Students' Association, Shay led community engagement efforts, including hosting the inaugural in-person Black research forum. Currently, as Lead of Health Equity and System Transformation at Ontario Health West, Shay leads initiatives like the 2SLGBTQIA+ Health Strategy, Mental Health Accessibility Table, and Black Health Plan, ensuring equitable healthcare for all Ontarians. 

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.

Atsuhiro Hibi is an IMS PhD candidate and a key member of the Temerty Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM). Under the guidance of Dr. Pascal Tyrrell and Dr. Michael Cusimano, his research centers on AI-assisted prognostication in traumatic brain injury. His thesis aims to leverage multi-modal clinical data, including CT scans, to develop efficient and reliable prognostic tools. This work is poised to enable earlier interventions and significantly improve the outcomes for patients suffering from traumatic brain injuries.