Aug 16, 2022

Summer research program enables excellent undergraduate research

Programs: Undergraduate, Agile education, Impactful research
A man and a woman smile at the camera

The Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine held its annual research day for summer students last week.

The LMP Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, commonly known as the SURE Program, attracts life science students from across Canada. They spend 12 weeks working on their own research project in the lab of an LMP expert and present their findings at the end of the summer at the Research Day.

This year, over 50 undergraduates benefitted from the program. 

Alyssa Corbett, studying Kinesiology at Dalhousie University, spent the summer conducting ALS research in the lab of Dr. Janice Robertson and won a first prize for her poster. “I got so much out of this summer. I got a lot of research experience which I did not have before, and a lot of connections - I’m still going to keep in touch with my supervisor when I go back to school. I’ve so many opportunities in the future now to continue, whether that’s through masters programs or more research.”

The Research Day was led by program director, Dr. Jeff Lee and Undergraduate Life Sciences Program Administrator Louella D’Cunha, with support from faculty, postdoctoral fellows and graduate students in judging, and the administration team. Department Chair Dr. Rita Kandel spent the day talking to students, hearing about their research, and handed out the prizes in the closing award ceremony.

In a series of presentations, SURE participants also received advice from Dr. Lee and Graduate and Life Sciences Education Officer, Brandon Wells, on applying to graduate school. Former LMP Pathobiology students and SURE participants Dr. Sam Killackey, Negin Khosraviani and Richard Huang also gave presentations on their research and answered questions on careers and research from the group during a panel session.

“It never ceases to amaze me the quality of students we attract. Many have never had lab experience before and yet conduct research of such a high quality with a level of understanding that impresses me. It’s a real joy to attend this event and speak to them. We look forward to seeing their future endeavors,” said Dr. Kandel.

“This was the first year we returned to an in-person research day. The quality of the posters and presentations were excellent. All the students put in a tremendous amount of effort into their summer research, and I am proud of them all. I look forward to seeing many of these students in project courses and graduate school in our department.”  

See all the poster prize winners below!

Jeff Lee, Alyssa Corbett and Rita Kandel

Group 1 First Prize

Alyssa Corbett, Kinesiology student, Dalhousie University 

Supervisor: Dr. Janice Robertson

Shuruthi Sivadas

Group 1 Second Prize

Shuruthi Sivadas, Health Sciences student, McMaster University 

Supervisor: Dr. Isabelle Aubert

Jeff Lee, David Sag and Rita Kandel

Group 2 First Prize

David Sag, Biochemistry student, The University of British Columbia 

Supervisor: Dr. Jeffrey Lee

Jeff Lee, Renee Schryer and Rita Kandel

Group 2 Second Prize

Renee Schryer, Immunology and Physiology student, University of Toronto

Supervisor: Dr. Samira Mubareka 

Jeff Lee, Lilian Zhai and Rita Kandel

Group 3 First Prize

Lilian Zhai, Pathobiology Specialist student, LMP 

Supervisor: Dr. Amy Wong

Jeff Lee, Britney Tian and Rita Kandel

Group 3 Second Prize

Britney Tian, Pathobiology Specialist student, LMP 

Supervisor: Dr. Shinichiro Ogawa

Jeff Lee, Joshya Singh, Jin Lin and Rita Kandel

Group 4 Joint First Prize

Joshya Singh, Pathobiology Specialist student, LMP

Supervisor: Dr. Warren Lee

Jin Lin, Pathobiology Specialist student, LMP 

Supervisor: Dr. Michelle Bendeck

Jeff Lee, Mina Masoud and Rita Kandel

Group 4 Second Prize

Mina Masoud, Physiology and Pharmacology student, University of Western Ontario 

Supervisor: Dr. Heyu Ni

Jeff Lee. Benson Wu and Rita Kandel

Group 5 First Prize

Benson Wu, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Specialist student, University of Toronto 

Supervisor: Dr. Kelsie Thu

Jeff Lee, Kangni Zou and Rita Kandel

Group 5 Second Prize

Kangni Zou, Pathobiology Specialist student, LMP

Supervisor: Dr. Kelsie Thu    

Jeff Lee, Defne Urman and Rita Kandel

Group 6 First Prize

Defne Urman, Pathobiology Specialist student, LMP 

Supervisor: Dr. Karim Mekhail

Jeff Lee, Jaekyung (Jeffrey) Eo and Rita Kandel

Group 6 Second Prize

Jaekyung (Jeffrey) Eo, Pathobiology Specialist student, LMP 

Supervisor: Dr. Michael Ohh

Jeff Lee, Keya Patel and Rita Kandel

Group 7 First Prize

Keya Patel, Medical Science student, Western University

Supervisor: Dr. Stephan Ong Tone

Jeff Lee, Stefan Petrovic and Rita Kandel

Group 7 Joint Second Prize

Stefan Petrovic, Health Sciences student, Queen's University Kingston

Supervisor: Dr. Ana Konvalinka

Michael Edsid

Group 7 Joint Second Prize

Michael Edsid, Pathobiology Specialist student, LMP

Supervisor: Dr. Magdaleni Bellis

Jeff Lee, Dustin Yang and Rita Kandel

Group 8 First Prize

Dustin Yang, Immunology Specialist student, University of Toronto

Supervisor: Dr. Jeffrey Lee

Jeff Lee, Linus Schweizer and Rita Kandel

Group 8 Second Prize

Linus Schweizer, Pathobiology Specialist student, LMP

Supervisor: Dr. Stephen Girardin