Student IMPACT Award Winners

Crizza is a PhD candidate supervised by Drs. Jason Fish and Dinesh Thavendiranathan at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute. Crizza transferred from the Master’s stream to further pursue her research on characterizing the role of the vasculature in the pathogenesis of chemotherapy-related cardiac dysfunction. Crizza was previously a Deputy Director for IMSSA’s Academic and Community and Outreach Committees. She is also an active member of the IMS Student Recruitment Committee and the EDI Highschool Subcommittee, and has co-led the Ori Rostein Lecture in Translational Research and the IMS Scientific Day planning. Crizza appreciates the collaborative nature of IMS and encourages fellow students to get involved and expand their connections to enhance their graduate experience. 

Shaghayegh 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 the SKG mouse model of SpA. Through her work, she aims to uncover the possible connection between gut inflammation and the development of SpA. Shaghayegh is actively involved at IMS as a member of the Student Recruitment Committee and as the Senior Advisor to UofT Talks, which she previously led for two years. She is the co-founder of IMS MedDash and was the student lead for Youth-of-Talks - two initiatives that received the IMS' Jay Keystone Memorial Award for Innovation in Scientific Communication. Shaghayegh appreciates all the friendships she has made in the IMS community and hopes to have positively impacted her fellow students' graduate experience.

Hartej is a PhD Candidate at the Mood Disorder Psychopharmacology Unit at Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) under the supervision of Dr. Roger McIntyre and Dr. Rodrigo Mansur. His research focuses on mood and anxiety disorders, investigating the etiology and pathophysiology of mental health disorders from both a clinical study and population health perspective. Hartej is actively involved in student mentorship programs at TWH and the University of Toronto, helping facilitate opportunities for manuscript and grant writing. He led the conception and development of an IMS course focused on therapeutic approaches in mood disorders. 

Hamzah is a second year PhD student with Dr. Mohammad Qadura, conducting research in the vascular surgery department at St. Michael's Hospital. His research focuses on the discovery of plasma biomarkers that, with machine learning models, can help with the diagnosis and/or prognosis of vascular diseases. He is the 2023-2024 Co-President of the IMS Students' Association, a Peer-to-Peer mentor, part of the UofT Talks team, and also a member of Pueblo Science, a not-for-profit organization whose aim is to advance science education across the world and create lasting solutions to poverty.

Kowsar is a PhD Candidate in Dr. James Kennedy’s lab at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She studies the genetics of schizophrenia to better understand the role of the immune system in its pathophysiology. Beyond her research, Kowsar is actively involved in the IMS community through various roles. She is a VP of Operations at the IMS Students' Association and has acted as the Student Co-lead for IMS Scientific Day for the last two years. She also is a mentor with the Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program, an active member of IMS EDI Committee and Recognitions & Awards Committee. Most recently, she lead the launch of IMS Research Rounds, a bi-monthly event where IMS students have the opportunity to connect and learn about research at other sites as well as practice their presentation skills. She is thankful for her experiences at IMS and is dedicated to giving back and supporting her fellow IMS students. 

Kristina is a PhD Candidate in Dr. George Ibrahim’s lab at the SickKids Research Institute. Her research is focused on deep brain stimulation for the treatment of self-injurious behaviours associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder in children. Kristina previously served as the Secretary and Director of Internal Communications for the IMS Students’ Association and as a mentor in the Peer-to-Peer Mentorship Program. Presently, Kristina is the IMS Communications Assistant where she coordinates the Weekly Digest newsletter and other communications initiatives. She is also actively involved in the IMS Student Recruitment Committee and the Ori Rotstein Lecture in Translational Research Planning Committee. Kristina has enhanced student engagement by helping to create a supportive and inclusive environment for all prospective, incoming, and senior graduate students in the IMS.