Sachin Kumar receives the Adel S. Sedra distinguished graduate award
Programs: Graduate
An accomplished researcher and community health advocate, MD/PhD student Sachin Kumar has already made prominent cancer discoveries, championed graduate student wellness and led major fundraising efforts to benefit cancer, men’s health and mental health initiatives.
Before entering the prestigious MD/PhD program, Kumar developed and patented antibody tools which are now licensed by a pharmaceutical company. As a PhD student, he shifted his focus to understanding the genetics of childhood brain cancers.
His work has been awarded numerous scholarships, including the Norman Bethune Award, as well as top research grants such as the CIHR MD/PhD Fellowship.
Kumar has published two book chapters and six peer-reviewed articles – four of which appear in the seminal journals Cell and Nature. His most recent publication details the groundbreaking discovery of a novel genetic mutation that drives pediatric medulloblastoma. He has established an international collaboration investigating the role of this driver in leukemia and liver cancer.
Kumar is a tireless volunteer for campus leadership programs and community advocacy organizations. He is the event co-ordinator for Childhood Cancer Survivor Canada and the campus director for U of T’s Movember chapter since 2015. His work has synchronized efforts across five faculties to raise more than $30,000, and he inaugurated Movember’s annual educational event that brings together professionals, patients and students.
A dynamic leader, Kumar has served as president of both the Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology Department and the MD/PhD program, organizing conferences, retreats and workshops. As an executive of the Graduate Representation Committee, he initiated a survey that catalyzed the improvement of student wellness and financial supports across the Faculty of Medicine.
Kumar’s ultimate goal is to make new discoveries in pediatric cancer that benefit patient care. Describing him as an outstanding role model who motivates others, his professors say his creativity, passion, perseverance and exceptional publication record demonstrate he has tremendous potential as a leading clinician-scientist.
