Research and Health Science Education at the University of Toronto

🎓✨ What does the next generation of researchers look like? At , it looks like curiosity, resilience and a commitment to improving lives through discovery.

As convocation approaches, we’re celebrating graduating MSc and PhD students whose research is already shaping the future of health care and science—from stem cell therapies for congenital conditions, to women and children’s health, to improving stroke outcomes through patient-centred research.

Their stories are a reminder that graduate school is more than experiments and publications. It’s about finding mentors, building community, asking bold questions and discovering the impact you want to make in the world.

Congratulations to Fabian Doktor, Jennifer C. Onuora and Sajeevan Sujanthan and each one of our graduates on this incredible milestone. We can’t wait to see what comes next. 👏🔬

Read their stories at the link in bio.

Starting early in neuroscience—and going deep 🧠

Meet Inderpreet-Kaur Virk, one of our 2026 Amgen Scholars at the University of Toronto.

Inderpreet-Kaur studies Anatomy and Cell Biology at McGill University and is passionate about neurodegenerative disease research.

She has gained experience in electrophysiology and astrocyte reconstruction and became the youngest neuron patcher in her lab.

This summer, she joins Dr. Rachel Harding’s lab to study Huntington’s disease.

🔬 Her work reflects strong early commitment to neuroscience research.

Learn more about Inderpreet-Kaur using the link in bio.

Can we engineer better treatments for diabetes? 🧬

Meet Savanna Tippe, one of our 2026 Amgen Scholars at the University of Toronto.

Savanna is a Pharmacology student at the University of Alberta with an interest in regenerative medicine.

Her work focuses on stem cell-derived beta-cells and how technologies like organ-on-a-chip systems can improve treatment development.

This summer, she joins the Rocheleau lab to study islet biology using microfluidics.

🔬 Her research brings engineering and biology together to address real-world health challenges.

Learn more about Savanna using the link in bio.

Improving how we understand autoimmune disease 🧬

Meet Josh Sumra, one of our 2026 Amgen Scholars at the University of Toronto.

Josh is a Microbiology and Immunology student at Western University focused on autoimmune disease and immune dysregulation.

This summer, he joins Dr. Vinod Chandran to study psoriatic disease through clinical and biomarker research.

🔬 His work focuses on improving diagnosis and treatment.

Learn more about Josh using the link in bio.

Understanding the brain—at the cellular level 🧠

Meet Parham Rezaeimanesh, one of our 2026 Amgen Scholars at the University of Toronto.

Parham is a neuroscience specialist at the University of Toronto with minors in immunology and physiology. His research interests focus on neuroinflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction in neurological disease.

At the Krembil Research Institute, he studied therapeutic approaches to reduce oxidative stress and hippocampal injury in epilepsy models.

This summer, Parham joins Dr. Sheena Josselyn’s lab to study the neural circuits involved in memory encoding and retrieval.

🔬 His work connects molecular mechanisms to complex brain function.

Learn more about Parham using the link in bio.