Alice is completing her doctoral work in McMaster’s health policy program. Her doctoral research makes use of qualitative research methodologies to examine how physicians learn to think about intimate partner violence in the course of their professional training. Other research projects Alice is, or has been, involved in address the health and health care experiences of people who are incarcerated, access to medical abortion, justice minded pedagogies and policies for health sciences education, and the mistreatment and abuse of medical learners.

Email: cavanaam@mcmaster.ca

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Cavanagh A, Jabbar A, Vanstone M. Particularizing ‘Experiences’: Naming whiteness in the Academy. Medical Education. 2021;55(5):548-50.
2. Bell A, Cavanagh A, Connelly CE, Walsh A, Vanstone M. Why do few medical students report their experiences of mistreatment to administration? Medical Education. 2021;55(4):462-70.
3. Carter Ramirez A, Liauw J, Cavanagh A, Costescu D, Holder L, Lu H, et al. Quality of Antenatal Care for Women Who Experience Imprisonment in Ontario, Canada. JAMA Network Open. 2020;3(8):e2012576.
4. Church PT, Cavanagh A, Lee SK, Shah V. Academic challenges for the preterm infant: Parent and educators’ perspectives. Early Human Development. 2019;128:1-5.
5. Cavanagh A, Vanstone M, Ritz S. Problems of problem-based learning: Towards transformative critical pedagogy in medical education. Perspectives on Medical Education. 2019;8(1):38-42.

Leon completed his honours bachelor of health sciences at McMaster University in 2016. He is completing his doctoral studies in the lab of Dr. Karun Singh, which studies the cellular and molecular impacts of rare genetic copy number variations (CNVs) on the development of neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism. Leon’s work focuses on one of these CNVs, the 15q13.3 microdeletion disorder, which presents clinically with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), seizures and intellectual disability. By studying neuronal populations from both mouse and patient-derived models, Leon hopes to understand the functional and morphological deficits underlying this disorder and identify new therapeutic possibilities for this disorder and ones like it.

Outside of his research, Leon maintains a wide variety of hobbies and interests. At present, his main ones include reading educational/non-fiction books, fishing and collecting new hobbies. He welcomes suggestions in all these categories.

Email: leon.chalil@medportal.ca

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Deneault E, Faheem M, White SH, Rodrigues DC, Sun S, Wei W, et al. CNTN5-/+ or EHMT2 -/+ human iPSC-derived neurons from individuals with autism develop hyperactive neuronal networks. Elife. 2019 Feb 12;8.
2. Uddin M, Unda BK, Kwan V, Holzapfel NT, White SH,Chalil L, et al. OTUD7A Regulates Neurodevelopmental Phenotypes in the 15q13.3 Microdeletion Syndrome. Am J Hum Genet. 2018 01;102(2):278–95.
3. Chalil L, Sloboda DM. (2016). The “Toxic” Effects of a Perinatal Obesogenic Environment: Maternal Obesity and Impacts on Future Generations. Hughes C, Waters MD. Translational Toxicology: Defining a New Therapeutic Discipline. 1: 245-267.

Tony completed his honours bachelor of health sciences at McMaster University. Having joined the MD/PhD program in 2018, Tony is pursuing his studies at the Kristin Hope Lab, investigating the role of abnormal splicing events in myelodysplastic syndrome, as well as factors driving its subsequent transformation into leukemia. Outside of research, Tony’s interests include graphic design, educational technologies and scientific mentorship.

Email: chenht@mcmaster.ca

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Chen HT, Athreya S. Systematic review of uterine artery embolisation practice guidelines: are all the guidelines on the same page? Clin Radiol. 2018;73(5):507.e9-507.e15.

Jake started his educational career in the BHSc program at McMaster University, where he developed a strong interest in biochemistry and immunology, virology and microbiology. In the lab of Dr. Manel Jordana, he developed highly multiplexed immunofluorescent microscopy tools to study atopic disease and used those tools, alongside more traditional flow cytometry and adoptive transfer systems, to study the localization of effector T cells in the intestines in a mouse model of food allergy. Jake will be pursuing the PhD portion of his MD/PhD with Dr. John Whitney, where he plans to study novel effectors involved in antagonistic interactions between bacteria, the mechanisms by which immunity to these effectors is acquired and the regulation of this antagonism.

Email: colauttj@mcmaster.ca

Matteo completed his honours BSc at the University of Toronto in 2018, specializing in laboratory medicine and pathobiology. Upon graduation, he studied ocular genetics under the supervision of Dr. Elise Héon and Dr. Ajoy Vincent at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). There, he developed an interest in fundamental principles in genomics and the variety of genetic causes of disease. At McMaster Unviersity, he works under the supervision of Dr. Guillaume Paré to further explore the genetic architecture of complex traits and disease using quantitative genetics approaches. Outside of research, he enjoys playing basketball, going to the gym and catching up with friends.

Email: discipm@mcmaster.ca

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Di Scipio M, Tavares E, Deshmukh S, Audo I, Green-Sanderson K, Zubak Y, Zine-Eddine F, Pearson A, Vig A, Tang CY, Mollica A, Karas J, Tumber A, Yu CW, Billingsley G, Wilson MD, Zeitz C, Héon E, Vincent A. Phenotype Driven Analysis of Whole Genome Sequencing Identifies Deep Intronic Variants that Cause Retinal Dystrophies by Aberrant Exonization. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2020 Aug 3;61(10):36. doi: 10.1167/iovs.61.10.36. PMID: 32881472; PMCID: PMC7443117.
2. Ruthirakuhan M, Lanctôt KL, Di Scipio M, Ahmed M, Herrmann N. Biomarkers of agitation and aggression in Alzheimer’s disease: A systematic review. Alzheimers Dement. 2018 Oct;14(10):1344-1376. doi: 10.1016/j.jalz.2018.04.013. Epub 2018 Jun 23. PMID: 29940162.
3. Vig A, Poulter JA, Ottaviani D, Tavares E, Toropova K, Tracewska AM, Mollica A, Kang J, Kehelwathugoda O, Paton T, Maynes JT, Wheway G, Arno G; Genomics England Research Consortium, Khan KN, McKibbin M, Toomes C, Ali M, Di Scipio M, Li S, Ellingford J, Black G, Webster A, Rydzanicz M, Stawi?ski P, P?oski R, Vincent A, Cheetham ME, Inglehearn CF, Roberts A, Heon E. DYNC2H1 hypomorphic or retina-predominant variants cause nonsyndromic retinal degeneration. Genet Med. 2020 Dec;22(12):2041-2051. doi: 10.1038/s41436-020-0915-1. Epub 2020 Aug 5. PMID: 32753734; PMCID: PMC7708302.
4. Tabbarah S, Tavares E, Charish J, Vincent A, Paterson A, Di Scipio M, Yin Y, Mendoza-Londono R, Maynes J, Heon E, Monnier PP. COG5 variants lead to complex early onset retinal degeneration, upregulation of PERK and DNA damage. Sci Rep. 2020 Dec 4;10(1):21269. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-77394-3. PMID: 33277529; PMCID: PMC7718911.
5. Grudzinska Pechhacker MK, Di Scipio M, Vig A, Tumber A, Roslin N, Tavares E, Vincent A, Hèon E. CRB1-related retinopathy overlapping the ocular phenotype of S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase deficiency. Ophthalmic Genet. 2020 Oct;41(5):457-464. doi: 10.1080/13816810.2020.1790013. Epub 2020 Jul 20. PMID: 32689861.

Taylor completed her undergraduate degree in public health at Brock University and her master’s of science in health services research at the University of Toronto’s Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. Taylor’s thesis focused on teamwork skills and how they relate to adverse events in the operating room. Taylor will be pursuing her PhD in health research methodology with Dr. Laura Anderson, whose research focuses on population and public health, chronic disease prevention and modifiable determinants of health.

Email: inczet@mcmaster.ca

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Incze, T., Pinkney, S., Fan, M., & Trbovich, P. (2021, June). Assessing Surgical Teamwork Competencies During Moments of Uncertainty Using OR Black Box. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care (Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 267-271). Sage CA: Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications.
2. Atri, A., Menezes, R. J., Boerner, S. L., Incze, T., Ciapanna, C., Jia, Y., … & Ghai, S. (2021). Long-Term Impact of Thyroid Biopsy Specialists on Efficiency and Quality of Thyroid Biopsy. Journal of the American College of Radiology, 18(2), 274-279.

Eden Kapcan studied chemical biology at McMaster University for his undergraduate degree. Currently, he is engaged in the design, synthesis and testing of small molecule immunotherapeutics. Outside of the lab, he enjoys reading, hiking and classics.

Email: kapcane@mcmater.ca

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Kapcan, E.; Lake, B.; Yang, Z.; Zhang, A.; Miller, M. S.; Rullo, A. F. Covalent Stabilization of Antibody Recruitment Enhances Immune Recognition of Cancer Targets. ACS Bio. Chem. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00127.
2. Lake, B.; Serniuck, N.; Kapcan, E.; Wang, A.; Rullo, A. F. Covalent Immune Recruiters: Tools to Gain Chemical Control over Immune Recognition. ACS Chem. Biol. 2020, 15 (4), 1089–1095. https://doi.org/10.1021/acschembio.0c00112.
3. Kapcan, E.; Lake, B.; Yang, Z.; Rullo, A. F. Methods to Validate Binding and Kinetics of “Proximity-Inducing” Covalent Immune-Recruiting Molecules. Curr. Protoc. Chem. Biol. 2020, 12 (4), e88. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/cpch.88

Kevin completed his bachelor of science in nursing at McMaster University. His past research mentors, clinical training and master’s degree in clinical epidemiology all contributed to his aspiration of becoming a future clinician-scientist. He entered the MD/PhD program in 2017, under the supervision of Dr. Richard Whitlock in the Health Research Methodology graduate program. His research is focused on outcomes after valve replacement surgery in dialysis patients with end-stage kidney disease. He is also interested in advancing clinical trial methodology.

During his time off, you can find him on the tennis courts, in the kitchen, in the gym, on a trail, or binge watching Netflix and TikToks.

Email: kims95@mcmaster.ca

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Miroshnychenko A, Kim KS, Rochwerg B, Voineskos S. Comparison of early surgical intervention to delayed surgical intervention for treatment of thermal burns in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Burns Open. 2021 April;5(2):67-77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burnso.2021.02.003
2. Kim KS, Belley-Côté EP, McIntyre WF. Correspondence: Subcutaneous or Transvenous Defibrillator Therapy. NEJM. 2021 Feb;384:676-679. http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMc2034917
3. Gupta S, Kim K, Belley-Côté E, Whitlock R. How to assess a prognostic study in surgery. In: Thoma A, Sprague S, Voineskos SH, Goldsmith CH. Evidence-Based Surgery: A Guide to Understanding and Interpreting the Surgical Literature. 1st edition. Berlin, Germany: Springer Science; 2019. p. 217-223. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05120-4
4. Kim K, Belley-Côté E, Whitlock RP. No difference in superiority trial does not equate non-inferiority. Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2018 May;105(5): 1577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2017.09.045
5. Bos D, Kim K, Hoogenes J, Lambe S, Shayegan B, Matsumoto ED. Compliance of the recurrent renal stone former with current best practice guidelines. Can Urol Assoc J. 2018 Mar;12(3):E112-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.5489/cuaj.4605

Elena completed her undergraduate degree in medical sciences at Western University, then came to McMaster to do a master’s degree in health research methodology. Elena’s research interests include methods for health status measurement and clinical trials. Her thesis project, supervised by Drs. Gordon Guyatt and Imran Satia, concerns the development of a patient-reported outcome measure to assess cough severity in patients with chronic cough. During her MD/PhD training, she hopes to further explore her clinical interests and gain expertise in conducting clinical trials and observational studies.

Email: kume@mcmaster.ca

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

Google Scholar

1. Kum E, Guyatt GH, Munoz C, Beaudin S, Li SA, Abdulqawi R, et al. (2022). Assessing cough severity in refractory or unexplained chronic cough: findings from patient focus groups and an international expert panel. ERJ Open Research. 8: 00667-2021. doi: 10.1183/23120541.00667-2021.
2. Kum E, Guyatt GH, Devji T, Wang Y, Bakaa L, Lan L, et al. (2021). Cough symptom severity in patients with refractory or unexplained chronic cough: a systematic survey and conceptual framework. European Respiratory Review. 30(161):210104. doi: 10.1183/16000617.0104-2021.
3. Bartoszko JJ, Siemieniuk RA, Kum E, Qasim A, Zeraatkar D, Ge L, et al. (2021). Prophylaxis against covid-19: living systematic review and network meta-analysis. BMJ. 373:n949. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n949.
4. Siemieniuk RA, Bartoszko JJ, Zeraatkar D, Kum E, Qasim A, Martinez JPD, et al. (2020) Drug treatments for COVID-19: living systematic review and network meta-analysis. BMJ. 370: m2980. doi: 10.1136/bmj.m2980.
5. Kum E, Buckley N, de Leon-Casasola O, Lema M, Busse JW. (2020). Attitudes Towards and Management of Opioid-Induced Hyperalgesia: A Survey of Chronic Pain Practitioners. The Clinical Journal of Pain. 36(5): 359-364. doi: 10.1097/AJP.0000000000000814.

Alice completed her BSc in pharmacology at the University of British Columbia. She was introduced to research through the UBC BIOMOD design team, where their nanoparticle drug delivery system won third place at an international competition. Alice furthered her work in nanomedicine at BC Cancer under the supervision of Dr. Donald Yapp and Dr. Marcel Bally, where she optimized the synthesis of Zein protein nanocarriers and studied radiation-triggered liposomal drug release for cancer therapy. In 2019, Alice took on a new angle for tackling the safety of chemotherapeutics with the Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety. She assisted with studies investigating the pharmacogenomics of chemotherapy-induced adverse drug reactions in children and worked on a scoping review examining pharmacovigilance systems under the direction of Dr. Bruce Carleton. During her PhD training, she hopes to explore genomic and epidemiologic methodologies more broadly. Outside of research, Alice enjoys hiking and playing the flute.

Email: mana3@mcmaster.ca

Representative Peer Reviewed Publications

1. van Ballegooie C, Man A, Win M, Yapp DT. Spatially specific liposomal cancer therapy triggered by clinical external sources of energy. Pharmaceutics. 2019 Mar;11(3):125
2. van Ballegooie C, Man A, Andreu I, Gates BD, Yapp D. Using a microfluidics system to reproducibly synthesize protein nanoparticles: Factors contributing to size, homogeneity, and stability. Processes. 2019 May;7(5):290.

Sophie completed three years of her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto specializing in molecular genetics. She transferred to the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine in 2018, and entered the MD/PhD program as a first-year medical student in 2019. Under the supervision of Dr. Lesley MacNeil, Sophie aims to identify individual microbiotal bacteria influencing neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s Disease and the mechanisms mediating these effects, using a C. elegans model. Her work is funded by the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship. In her free time, you can find Sophie thrifting, enjoying musical theatre and collecting eclectic reference material. Her most prized collection is an original landmark 9th edition or “Scholar’s Edition” of the Encyclopedia Britannica, published in 1876.

Email: sophie.ngana@medportal.ca

Sawayra completed her undergraduate degree in neuroscience from the University of Western Ontario. After completing her MSc in neuroscience from McMaster University she entered the MD/PhD program in 2018, under the supervision of Dr. Ryan Van Lieshout. Sawayra’s current research interests lie in Indigenous perinatal maternal mental health and mechanisms underlying the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology from mother to offspring. Her career aspirations include being a clinician-scientist working with underserved populations, including mothers with mental health problems. Outside of school, Sawayra enjoys watching online gaming commentary, crafting handmade greeting cards and learning to play squash.

Email: owaiss3@mcmaster.ca

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

PubMed publications

1. Owais S, Faltyn M, Zou H, Hill T, Kates N, Burack JA, et al. Psychopathology in the Offspring of Indigenous Parents with Mental Health Challenges: A Systematic Review: Psychopathologie Des Descendants De Parents Autochtones Ayant Des Problèmes De Santé Mentale: Une Revue Systématique. Can J Psychiatry Rev Can Psychiatr. 2020 Oct 16;706743720966447. .
2. Owais S, Faltyn M, Johnson AVD, Gabel C, Downey B, Kates N, et al. The Perinatal Mental Health of Indigenous Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Can J Psychiatry. 2020 Mar 1;65(3):149–63. .
3. Owais S, Chow CHT, Furtado M, Frey BN, Van Lieshout RJ. Non-pharmacological interventions for improving postpartum maternal sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis. SLEEP Med Rev. 2018 Oct;41:87–100. .
4. Furtado M, Chow CHT, Owais S, Frey BN, Van Lieshout RJ. Risk factors of new onset anxiety and anxiety exacerbation in the perinatal period: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2018 Oct 1;238:626–35..
5. Mehta S, Rose L, Cook D, Herridge M, Owais S, Metaxa V. The Speaker Gender Gap at Critical Care Conferences. Crit Care Med. 2018 Jun;46(6):991–6.

Yujin is a second year MD/PhD candidate at McMaster University pursuing novel immunotherapeutic modalities against aggressive forms of pediatric medulloblastoma in the laboratory of Dr. Sheila Singh. Outside of the lab, you can find Yujin with her PhD partner Millie, the Siberian Husky, who takes her on long walks around downtown Hamilton.

Email: suky@mcmaster.ca

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Buchan TA, Malik A, Chan C, Chambers J, Suk Y, Zhu JW, Ge FZ, Huang LM, Vargas LA, Hao Q, Li S, Mustafa RA, Vandvik PO, Guyatt G, Foroutan F. Predictive models for cardiovascular and kidney outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes: systematic review and meta-analyses. Heart. 2021 Apr 8:heartjnl-2021-319243. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2021-319243.
2. Losier TT, Akuma M, McKee-Muir OC, LeBlond ND, Suk Y, Alsaadi RM, Guo Z, Reshke R, Sad S, Campbell-Valois FX, Gibbings DJ, Fullerton MD, Russell RC. AMPK Promotes Xenophagy through Priming of Autophagic Kinases upon Detection of Bacterial Outer Membrane Vesicles. Cell Rep. 2019 Feb 19;26(8):2150-2165.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.01.062.

Vithushan is a MD/PhD candidate in the Miller Laboratory in the department of biochemistry and biomedical sciences. He completed his honours bachelor of science in neuroscience and physiology at the University of Toronto. During that time, he developed an interest in the interaction between neurological disorders and the immune system from his work in the field of spinal cord injury and epilepsy. His research in the Miller Laboratory focuses on understanding the intersection between senataxin (SETX), viral infection and neurodegenerative diseases. Vithushan is currently funded by a CIHR CGS-M.

Email: vithushan.surendran@medportal.ca

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Chio JCT, Wang J, Surendran V, Li L, Zavvarian M-M, Pieczonka K, et al. Delayed administration of high dose human immunoglobulin G enhances recovery after traumatic cervical spinal cord injury by modulation of neuroinflammation and protection of the blood spinal cord barrier. Neurobiology of Disease. 2021 Jan;148:105187. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.105187
2. Chio JCT, Wang J, Badner A, Hong J, Surendran V, Fehlings MG. The effects of human immunoglobulin G on enhancing tissue protection and neurobehavioral recovery after traumatic cervical spinal cord injury are mediated through the neurovascular unit. Journal of Neuroinflammation. 2019 Dec;16(1). doi:10.1186/s12974-019-1518-0

Jianhan was born in China and raised in the neighborhoods of North York and Scarborough. Hamilton has been his home since beginning his undergraduate studies at McMaster University in the bachelor of health sciences program where he developed a passion for biomedical research. This has taken him through a journey spanning gene editing, to disease modelling, to data mining using -omics technology in the field of cancer metabolism, which he further explored through an MSc. thesis under the supervision of Dr. Gregory Steinberg. As his research interests evolve, he hopes to focus his PhD training towards developing expertise in molecular epidemiology in order to leverage the abundance of clinically relevant data for elucidating novel therapeutic targets in a wide variety of diseases. Beyond research, he dabbled in music performance as a concert pianist, spectates sports as an avid fan and organizes the Meals With Purpose program for alleviating food insecurity and waste.

Email: wuj95@mcmaster.ca

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Zhu YF, Linher-Melville K, Wu J, Fazzari J, Miladinovic T, Ungard R, Zhu KL, Singh G. Bone cancer-induced pain is associated with glutamate signalling in peripheral sensory neurons. Molecular pain. 2020 Mar;16:1744806920911536.
2. Gwynne WD, Shakeel MS, Wu J, Hallett RM, Girgis-Gabardo A, Dvorkin-Gheva A, Hassell JA. Monoamine oxidase-a activity is required for clonal tumorsphere formation by human breast tumor cells. Cellular & molecular biology letters. 2019 Dec;24(1):1-3.

Kevin completed his undergraduate bachelor of health sciences at McMaster University. Kevin entered the combined MD/PhD program in 2021. He has previously conducted research in microbiology, studying the dynamics of bacteriophage-bacterial infection. As part of his doctoral studies, he is hoping to pursue research in microbiology and immunology. Outside of research, Kevin is interested in mentorship and knowledge translation.

Email:kevin.zhao@medportal.ca