LMP Celebration of Excellence 2023: awardees

Negin Khosraviani is a 5th year PhD student in Dr. Karim Mekhail’s laboratory, where she studies the transcriptional regulation of RNA polymerase II at the mammalian ribosomal DNA (rDNA). For the past four years, Negin has been a teaching assistant for the LMP undergraduate course, Genetic Modeling of Human Development and Disease (LMP408), which is changed to Genetic and Computational Modeling in Human Disease and Development (LMP330). During her time as a teaching assistant, Negin has helped organize and facilitate course materials, train students on class content, and provide tutorials and/or a lecture on cell systems. 

Read more Negin: Meet Negin Khosraviani LMP's 2021 Vanier Scholar

Humans of LMP: Negin Khosraviani

Miguel Alfonso Principe is an MSc student supervised by Dr. Kim Tsoi and Dr. Sonya MacParland in the lab of Dr. Irene Andrulis, Dr. Kim Tsoi, and Dr. Jay Wunder at Mount Sinai's Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute. His research project focuses on soft tissue sarcomas (STS), a group of rare and heterogenous cancers arising from tissues like muscles, fat, and cartilage. 

Read about Miguel's Ontario Graduate Scholarship success.

Asa Lau completed her undergraduate degree in health sciences at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia before moving to Toronto to pursue her PhD. She is currently a second year PhD Candidate working under the supervision of Dr. Kelsie Thu at the Keenan Research Centre in St. Michael's Hospital. Her work focuses on delineating the mechanisms of response to targeting innate immune checkpoint CD47 in non-small cell lung cancer. Through her work, she hopes that it can inform drug development and open up therapeutic options for patients with lung cancer. 

U of T graduate, Frederick H. Kahan, endowed a prize supported by Merck Sharp & Dome and it was his wish that the prize be named in honour of Dr. Norman Bethune.

The aim of this award is to recognize and encourage talented researchers and medical microbiologists on the threshold of their careers. This award goes to both a top medical microbiology resident and a graduate student in LMP.

This year we have three recipients who share this award.

Graduate recipient: Nan Chen

Nan Chen joined the LMP in 2022 after completing his undergraduate study at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. With a passion in studying immunometabolism, he is currently a PhD student in the lab of Dr. Daniel Winer, focusing on the changes in the immune system during obesity or aging. Specifically, Nan is investigating how the gut immune system can contribute to and be affected by metabolic syndromes, such as insulin resistance, associated with obesity. Through his research, he aims to unravel the complex role of the immune system in regulating metabolic homeostasis, thereby benefiting the ever-growing populations suffering from metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, as well as promoting the health span of aging individuals. 

Resident recipient: Jennifer Tat

Jennifer Tat is completing her final year of Medical Microbiology residency. She completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Physiology at the University of Toronto before journeying overseas to Ireland to complete her medical degree. She caught the research bug during an undergraduate summer project and like the multidrug-resistant pathogens that she studies, it has grown stronger and disseminated over time. Her areas of interest within Microbiology are in the domains of education, infection prevention and control, molecular diagnostics, and quality improvement. 

Post-doctoral recipient: Adriana Airo

Adriana Airo completed her Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of British Columbia. She then completed her PhD in Virology at the University of Alberta where she focused on elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which Arboviruses (such as Dengue and Zika viruses) hijack cellular pathways and cause disease. She is completing the Clinical Microbiology Fellowship Program at the University of Toronto this June. Her research interests include zoonotic diseases and emerging viral pathogens. 

Dr. Jason Fish received his PhD from the Department of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Philip Marsden. He completed postdoctoral training at the Gladstone Institutes of Cardiovascular Disease and the University of California San Francisco under the supervision of Dr. Deepak Srivastava. In 2010, Dr. Fish returned to Toronto to join the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute as a Scientist in 2010. He was promoted to Senior Scientist in 2016. 

The Fish lab seeks to understand the contribution of endothelial cells – the cells that line the inside of blood vessels – to health and disease. In particular, the lab is deciphering how endothelial cells respond to physiological and pathological changes in the microenvironment through changes in gene expression. The Fish lab has identified important roles for noncoding RNAs such as microRNAs in modulating signaling pathways in endothelial cells. They have also identified signaling pathways that are involved in vascular development and vascular malformations, including the recent discovery that active KRAS mutations are present in the endothelium of the majority of sporadic cerebral arteriovenous malformations. 

Dr. Daniel Winer is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, Departments of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, and Immunology.  He is also an Affiliate Scientist at the Toronto General Research Institute, and an Associate Professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging with adjunct affiliation to the University of Southern California.  Dr. Winer is known as an early adopter and promoter of three emerging fields in immunology: immunometabolism, mechanoimmunology, and astroimmunology.  Dr. Winer highly values graduate school education, having trained 9 graduate students, and having served on more than 25 additional graduate school thesis committees or exams.  He takes a hands-on approach for in-lab learning when possible, and always prioritizes time for his students.  He is honored to have been chosen for the LMP Teaching Excellence in Graduate Education Award for 2023 and dedicates this award to the outstanding students he has had an opportunity to mentor. 

Dr. Felix Leung is a Clinical Biochemist in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Sinai Health System and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. He completed his PhD and Clinical Chemistry Fellowship at the University of Toronto and is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry. His professional interests revolve around utilizing data analytics to enhance quality assurance and clinical biochemistry education and advocacy. 

Dr. Katerina Pavenski is the Head of Division of Transfusion Medicine and clinical hematologist at St. Michael’s Hospital. She is an associate professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology, University of Toronto. She is also actively involved in clinical research and teaching with a focus on postgraduate trainees. Her research interests include TTP, clinical transfusion medicine, and patient blood management. She is the Vice-Chair of the International Collaboration for Transfusion Medicine Guidelines (ICTMG), member of the ISBT Clinical Transfusion Working Party, and Regional Director (North America) ISBT Board of Directors. She was awarded the Ortho Award by the Canadian Society for Transfusion Medicine in 2021 for her contributions to the field of transfusion medicine in Canada. 

Dr. Andrew Williams completed his BMSc with an Honors Specialization in Pharmacology and Toxicology prior to obtaining his MD from The University of Western Ontario. He has completed residencies in Anatomical Pathology and Forensic Pathology. He joined the Provincial Forensic Pathology Unit in Toronto as a Category A Forensic Pathologist in 2017 and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at the University of Toronto. In 2020, he completed a post-graduate Certificate of Advanced Studies in Forensic Imaging & Virtopsy at the University of Zürich in Zürich, Switzerland. Dr. Williams is actively involved in the postmortem cross-sectional imaging program, workplace wellness initiatives, and resident and fellow education where he is the current Program Director of the Forensic Pathology Residency Training Program. 

Dr. Ali Sakhdari has obtained certification from the American Board of Pathology in Anatomical, Clinical, and Hematological Pathology. This certification serves as a testament to his unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of excellence within his chosen field. Dr. Sakhdari serves as an assistant professor at the prestigious University of Toronto, where he imparts his knowledge and expertise to aspiring medical professionals. Additionally, he holds a vital role as a hematopathologist at the University Health Network, contributing to the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Beyond his clinical responsibilities, Dr. Sakhdari actively engages in diverse research projects and teaching activities. His dedication and contribution to the field of research are evident in his extensive body of work, which includes over 60 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and presentations. 

Dr. Paul Yip is Division Head of Biochemistry at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and is Associate Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology where he serves as Co-Director of the Postdoctoral Training Program in Clinical Chemistry. After completing his undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate training at the University of Toronto, he obtained certification from the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry and also the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. 

Dr. Yip’s educational activities span all levels from undergraduate to continuing education, where he has been recognized by several awards including the Faculty of Medicine Undergraduate Teaching in Life Sciences Award in 2017 and the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists award for Education Excellence in 2018. Throughout his academic career, Dr. Yip’s interests focus on areas of test utilization, laboratory quality management and point-of-care testing. He thoroughly enjoys and is grateful for his collaborations across education, research and professional organizations. 

Dr. Avrum I. Gotlieb was founding Chair of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology (LMP) (1997-2008), Interim Vice Dean, Research and International Relations (2009-10), Acting and Interim Vice Dean, Graduate and Life Sciences Education (2011-2014), Senior Academic Advisor to the Dean (2010-2017), School of Graduate Studies Tenure Assessor (2017-present). He became the Program Director of the MHSc in Laboratory Medicine in May 2020. He was President of the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) and the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology (SCVP). His recent scholarly interest is on the role of the adventitia and the perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) in vascular disease. His teaching focuses on cardiovascular pathology, general pathobiology and mentorship. 

Dr. Michael Seidman is a cardiovascular, autopsy, and rheumatologic pathologist, currently practicing at University Health Network. He is engaged in diverse clinical, administrative, research, and teaching endeavours. His teaching specifically includes marked engagement in the MHSc graduate program for Pathologist Assistants and Clinical Embryology, and in the Anatomical Pathology residency program. He oversees the medical autopsy rotations for both programs, is involved in the lab quality management curriculum in both programs and teaches at numerous academic half days. Michael always tries to make time for speaking with learners, providing support and mentorship wherever he can. In his first few years at UHN and U of T, Danny Ghazarian was a valued me