Meet our Students

Meet our Translational Medicine Graduate Students

2027 Candidates

2030 Candidates

2028 Candidates

2031 Candidates

2029 Candidates

2027 Candidates

Kaytlin Andrews, PhD'27 (Candidate)

Co-Supervisors: Dr. Teresa Purzner and Dr. Jamie Purzner
Thesis Title: Identifying early markers of recurrence in glioblastoma

Prusha Balaratnam, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Charles Hindmarch
Thesis Title: Closing the Loop Between the Sympathetic Nervous System Hyperactivity and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Hannah Boyd, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Kimberly Dunham-Snary
Thesis Title: Examining the effects of Sex Differences and mtDNA signature on the development of MASLD

Amanda Chapman, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Kerstin de Wit
Thesis Title: Establishing a Multidisciplinary Model for Long-Term Recovery After Pulmonary Embolism

Naiya Chhelavda, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Stephen Archer and Dr. Patti Lima
Thesis Title: The Role of DAMPs and RV Macrophages Expressing TLRs in Promoting RV Failure in PAH

Florencia Comelles, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Annette Hay
Thesis Title: Measuring and Maximizing the Impact of Canadian Cancer Clinical Trials

Abigail Davis, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Anne Ellis
Thesis Title: The open-label use of a monoclonal antibody (Tezepelumab) that targets thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) in the treatment of co-morbid allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma

Olivia DiPaolo, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Alan Lomax and Dr. David Reed
Thesis Title: Exploring the role of the vagus nerve in signaling satiety to the brain

Tarrah Ethier, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Mark Ormiston
Thesis Title: Exploring sex differences in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Alex Giff, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Allan Lomax and Dr. David Reed
Thesis Title: The effect of luminal mediators on abdominal pain in IBS patients

Roan Haggerty-Goede, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Kimberly Dunham-Snary
Thesis Title: Investigating the Impact of GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Administration on Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Bioenergetics and Substrate Modulation

Nicola Kalhok, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Mark Ormiston
Thesis Title: Understanding the impacts of bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 (BMPR2) transcripts in endothelial cells in the context of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)

Jana Livingston, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Jacob Rullo
Thesis Title: Characterizing the role of the periocular mucosa in local and systemic immune responses to novel respiratory pathogens and as a site for topical vaccination against coronaviruses

Rose Lucina, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Jennifer Flemming
Thesis Title: Clinical Characteritics and Outcomes in Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Underlying Cirrhosis

Erik McInnes, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Sarah Dick
Thesis Title: Investigating the Impact of Csf1R Deletion on Resident Macrophage Proliferation in the Post-MI Heart

Martina Perez, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. David Maslove
Thesis Title: Identifying Opportunities for Primary Prevention of Critical Illness

Brooke Rutledge, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Akihiro Nakamura and Dr. Stephen Archer
Thesis Title: Neutrophil and T-cell derived DCAF2 dysregulation drives IL-23 and IL-17 signaling in Psoriatic Arthritis

Meara Sanjayan, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Karen Yeates and Dr. Amber Simpson
Thesis Title: Improving Cervical Cancer Care Outcomes among Women in Tanzania

Danielle Shibi Rosen, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Sarah Dick
Thesis Title: Examining Renal Capsule Macrophages as Critical Mediators of Repair in Acute Kidney Injury

Sophie Spicer, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Anne Ellis
Thesis Title: Investigating Nasal and Ocular Immune Response to Conjunctival Allergen Exposure

Dilakshan Srikanthan, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Co-Supervisors: Dr. John Rudan and Dr. Parvin Mousavi
Thesis Title: Improving oncosurgical care in glioblastoma using a multiparametric machine learning platform

Leah Stanley, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Laura Gaudet and Dr. Graeme Smith
Thesis Title: The Gut Microbiome of Pregnancies Complicated by Gestational Diabetes: Feasibility of Gut Profiling and Characterization of its Changes

Mia Wilkinson, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Kimberly Dunham-Snary and Dr. Chris McGlory
Thesis Title: Platelet bioenergetics as a surrogate for skeletal muscle metabolism: Identifying a liquid biopsy for cardiometabolic disease

2028 Candidates

Simran Bhandari, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Aws Almufleh and Dr. Sudeep Gill
Thesis Title: Evidence-Based Allocation of Patients Hospitalized With Heart Failure; From a local natural experiment to a provincial learning health-system program

Emily Burke-Hall, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. M Constantine Samaan
Thesis Title: Mental health and metabolic status in survivors of childhood brain tumors

Megan Chaigneau, PhD'28 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Paula James
Thesis Title: Early genomic testing for inherited bleeding disorders in patients without a diagnosis after first-line testing: a multi-site randomized controlled trial

Rachel Di Iorio, MSc’25, PhD'28 Candidate

Supervisor: Dr. Karen Yeates
Thesis Title: Assessing the use of community-based contraceptive access points in reducing unplanned pregnancies among adolescents in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Oneah Duong, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Akihiro Nakamura
Thesis Title: The Role of Neutrophil Mechanotransduction in Spondyloarthritis

Osman Faruqi, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Anne Ellis
Thesis Title: UPEAQ: Understanding Environmental Allergies in the Kingston Region: Prevalence, Patient Perception, and Quality of Life

Declan Gainer, PhD'28 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Mark Ormiston
Thesis Title: Exploring the impact of a natural killer cell-specific Tgfbr2 deletion on lung development and the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension

Paige Hudak-Kesteven, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Paula James
Thesis Title: Investigating the role of von Willebrand factor genotype in the bleeding phenotypes of hemophilia A carriers

Nicole Major, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Prameet Sheth
Thesis Title: Gut microbiome-derived bacterial serine protease, HtrA, as a novel therapeutic intervention against Clostridioides difficile infection

Matti McFarlane, MSc’24, PhD'28 (Candidate)

Supervisor: Dr. Diane Lougheed
Thesis Title: Improving Diagnosis and Management of Asthma in Primary Care: Insights from a Data Linkage Analysis

Ryan Mickelson, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Patricia Lima and Dr. Stephen Archer
Thesis Title: Exploring the link between inflammation and RVF in conditional knockout mice lacking Tet2 and Dnmt3a

Daniel Otobrise, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Alberto Neder and Dr. Amany Elbehairy
Thesis Title: Feasibility and Reproducibility of Ultrashort Echo Time (UTE) and Phase-Resolved Functional Lung (PREFUL) MRI During Exercise in Healthy Subjects and Patients with COPD: The Dynamic Ventilation Study (DynaVent)

Abbey Politeski, PhD'28 Candidate

Supervisors: Dr. Sarah Dick and Dr. Mark Ormiston
Thesis Title: Identifying the heterogeneity of macrophage subsets and their role in muscle regeneration

Olivia Prince, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Teresa Purzner and Dr. James Purzner
Thesis Title: Determining the functional role of Septin-9 phosphorylated isoforms in Sonic Hedgehog Medulloblastoma

Mark Rodrigues, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Asish Das Gupta and Dr. Stephen Archer
Thesis Title: Role for Peroxisomes in Pseudoneoplastic Phenotype of Human Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Targeting Peroxisomal Perturbation to Reverse PASMC Hyperproliferation

Aryaman Sharma, PhD'28 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Teresa Purzner and Dr. Jamie Purzner
Thesis Title: Mechanisms of quiescence and treatment-resistance in medulloblastoma

Jinny Yu, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Supervisors: Dr. Chris Lohans and Dr. Tony Bai
Thesis Title: Regulatory Interplay Between blaZ and mecA in Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Their Contribution to Antibiotic Resistance

2029 Candidates

Kyra Fine, PhD'29 Student

Supervisor: Dr. Daniel Mulder
Thesis Title: Improving access to quantitative disease activity evaluation in IBD through computational molecular biology

Abed Abu Hijleh, PhD'29 (Candidate)

Supervisor: D r. Alberto Neder
Thesis Title: Development and Clinical Validation of New Paradigms to Unravel the Ventilatory Mechanisms of Exertional Dyspnea During Incremental Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing: The Dynamic Assessment of Dyspnea and Ventilation During Exercise (DyVe-X) Study

Jackline Ngowi, PhD'29 Student

Supervisor: Dr. Karen Yeates
Thesis Title: Advancing Culturally Safe Care Pathways for Indigenous Adults with Chronic Kidney Disease in Ontario: A Mixed-Methods Study

Amr Omar, PhD'29 Student

Supervisor: Dr. Gavin Winston and Dr. Jason Gallivan
Thesis Title: Integrative Multimodal Neuroimaging, Electrophysiological, and Clinical Data Fusion via Deep Learning approaches for Early Prediction of Seizure Recurrence After First Unprovoked Seizures

Zil Patel, PhD'29 Student

Supervisor: Dr. Michael Rauh

Thesis Title: Investigating clonal hematopoiesis as a driver of respiratory morbidity, infection risk, and vaccine-related immune dysfunction

Robert Policelli, PhD'29 Student

Supervisor: Dr. Parvin Mousavi and Dr. Gabor Fichtinger
Thesis Title: Using iKnife data to detect margin status in breast cancer intraoperatively

Jaskaran Singh Hora, PhD'29 Student

Supervisor: Dr. Stephen Archer and Dr. Asish Das Gupta
Thesis Title: Mitochondrial dynamics in PAH: A link between metabolism and cell cycle progression

Jack Teplitsky, PhD'29 Student

Supervisor: Dr. Christopher Lohans and Dr. Cindy Hutnik
Thesis Title: Exploring the Role of Bacteria on the Ocular Surface in Shaping Immune Responses

2030 Candidates

Davis E. Amani, PhD'30 Student

Supervisor: Dr. Karen Yeates
Thesis Title: Evolving Burden and Multilevel Determinants of Pancreatic Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2002–2022: Integrating Epidemiologic Risk, Health-System Capacity, Financing, Macroeconomic Context, and Data Quality

Ken Huang, MD/PhD'30 Student

Supervisors: Dr. Paul Kubes and Dr. Annette Hay
Thesis Title: Function and Targeting of Cavity Resident Peritoneal Macrophages in Metastatic High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

Tanvi Nandani, PhD'30 Student

Supervisors: Dr. Charlie Hindmarch and Dr. Stephen Archer
Thesis Title: Spatial Multi-Omics Analysis of the Temporal Progression of Right Ventricular Dysfunction in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Meera Parthipan, PhD'30 Student

Supervisors: Dr. Melanie Walker and Dr. Kerstin de Wit
Thesis Title: Understanding and Improving Older Adults’ Experiences in the Emergency Department: A Mixed-Methods Exploration

Aida Zaheer, MD/PhD'30 Student

Supervisor: Dr. Amer Johri
Thesis Title: Three-dimensional (3D) carotid ultrasound for cardiovascular prognosis in type 2 diabetes.

Meet our Translational Medicine Graduate Students

2027 Candidates

Kaytlin Andrews, PhD'27 (Candidate)

Prusha Balaratnam, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Hannah Boyd, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Amanda Chapman, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Naiya Chhelavda, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Florencia Comelles, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Abigail Davis, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Olivia DiPaolo, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Tarrah Ethier, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Alex Giff, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Roan Haggerty-Goede, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Nicola Kalhok, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Jana Livingston, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Rose Lucina, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Erik McInnes, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Martina Perez, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Brooke Rutledge, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Meara Sanjayan, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Danielle Shibi Rosen, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Sophie Spicer, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Dilakshan Srikanthan, PhD’27 (Candidate)

Leah Stanley, MSc’27 (Candidate)

Mia Wilkinson, PhD’27 (Candidate)

2028 Candidates

Simran Bhandari, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Emily Burke-Hall, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Megan Chaigneau, PhD'28 (Candidate)

Rachel Di Iorio, MSc’25, PhD'28 Candidate

Oneah Duong, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Osman Faruqi, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Declan Gainer, PhD'28 (Candidate)

Paige Hudak-Kesteven, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Nicole Major, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Matti McFarlane, MSc’24, PhD'28 (Candidate)

Ryan Mickelson, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Daniel Otobrise, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Abbey Politeski, PhD'28 Candidate

Olivia Prince, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Mark Rodrigues, MSc'28 (Candidate)

Aryaman Sharma, PhD'28 (Candidate)

Jinny Yu, MSc'28 (Candidate)

2029 Candidates

Kyra Fine, PhD'29 Student

Abed Abu Hijleh, PhD'29 (Candidate)

Jackline Ngowi, PhD'29 Student

Amr Omar, PhD'29 Student

Zil Patel, PhD'29 Student

Robert Policelli, PhD'29 Student

Jaskaran Singh Hora, PhD'29 Student

Jack Teplitsky, PhD'29 Student

2030 Candidates

Davis E. Amani, PhD'30 Student

Ken Huang, MD/PhD'30 Student

Tanvi Nandani, PhD'30 Student

Meera Parthipan, PhD'30 Student

Aida Zaheer, MD/PhD'30 Student

Program Handbook