By Sara Corvinelli

Graphic design by Vicky Lin

“When I was five, I couldn’t walk and the doctors couldn’t figure out why. Access to healthcare, and healthcare research in general, is so limited in certain parts of the world. That experience has always stayed with me. It’s things like that that inspire me to keep doing research.”

Nafia Mirza, a second-year PhD candidate at the Institute of Medical Science (IMS), shared her story on how she—as an inspiring student leader—journeyed from humble beginnings. 

Born in Bangladesh, Nafia moved to Canada after facing health challenges as a child. She shared how she navigated the healthcare system with her family, thinking she would be paralyzed for life. 

“I was born in a small South Asian country [Bangladesh]… their healthcare system isn’t very good. I had a lot of health issues growing up.” Reflecting on that time, she shared, “When I was five, I had Guillain-Barré syndrome. And the doctors couldn’t catch on—they had no idea why. Why is this little girl paralyzed? And why can’t she walk? What’s going on? They had kind of given up.”

Nafia’s father had found someone practicing medicine in America who was able to help. The doctor agreed to visit Nafia and subsequently diagnosed her with Guillain-Barre syndrome. She then began physical therapy and was able to walk again. 

Beyond her own experience with the lack of research and healthcare resources, she witnessed relatives affected by poor healthcare infrastructure: “Even today, many of my family members have died from curable diseases.” Nafia explained, “Even though we lived in the city and had hospitals, the availability of research was so limited.” Her lived experience inspired her passion for research and global health equity, motivating her to improve access and equity in science and medicine. 

While attending high school in Etobicoke, Nafia was not exposed to the different pathways one could take to pursue science. Nafia explained that her high school was poorly ranked amongst schools in the school board and was underfunded; however, this did not stop her from gathering information through her network of friends who were aspiring doctors. She learned of the different undergraduate programs available at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), where she went on to be a student, and grew a passion for neuroscience.

Nafia first got involved in research with the Research Opportunity Program offered at UTM. She explored pain-social cognition research working with mice. She confessed with a laugh, “I realized working with mice was the worst thing ever. They bite you.” Nafia quickly realized her dislike for animal work and pivoted her research to a psychology laboratory where she met PhD student Katie Walsh. In retrospect, Katie’s mentorship was instrumental in Nafia’s academic journey, as she reflects, “Katie was my first mentor. She inspired me to go into a PhD.” Nafia completed her Master of Science at IMS in 2024 and is now at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) studying neuroimaging in substance use disorders for her PhD. 

As I tried to find a title for this article from the interviewee herself, I asked Nafia: “If you could title a documentary of your PhD life, what would it be?” She jokingly said, “From rats, to riches”. While we shared a laugh and it may seem humorous at first, it captures the essence of her journey and the obstacles she has overcome. Her life may have originated from systemic barriers and unenjoyable first research experiences, but she is now defying limits as the incoming 2025-26 IMS Student Association (IMSSA) Co-President. 

Alongside research, Nafia became involved with student life early on as a general member with IMSSA by joining the Academic Affairs Subcommittee in 2022. She was shy at first, but a budding friendship with peer Hamzah Khan helped her gain the confidence to lead the 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) event. 

“I joined IMSSA because I wanted to make friends. That was my only goal. I didn’t think I’d be good enough for anything more,” Nafia reflected. “But it kind of sparked something in me that I didn’t know I had.” 

Nafia’s face lit up when talking about 3MT, a competition where graduate students present their thesis within three minutes with one static slide. She explained how supportive former IMS Director, Dr. Mingyao Liu, was of the event and how it inspired her to later run for the Director of Academic Affairs: “We always invited him to the event. He kept telling me this is your event, and you need to be the one to give the closing remarks and address the audience. Afterwards he sent an email praising the event. That really gave me a lot more confidence.”

Flashforward three years, and Nafia is now the IMSSA Co-President alongside good friend Karan Patel. As Nafia puts it, “I never thought I’d have the confidence to run for IMSSA Co-President. But I’m so glad that everything in the past few years at IMS led to breaking that imposter syndrome.” 

The common thread through Nafia’s time at IMS is the motivation she has received from peers and the importance of building a network and community at IMS. She puts it simply, “You never know where your peers are going to end up one day. Building that network starts here [at IMS].”

Nafia’s involvement does not stop at IMSSA leadership, as she shared the additional roles she has taken on within IMS, including serving as a peer-to-peer mentor, being a member of the IMS Connects team and the Ori Rotstein Lecture Planning Committee, as well as volunteering with Pueblo Science and MedDash events. Most recently, she attended the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion retreat at Hart House Farms where she shared discussions on how to improve accessibility and inclusivity at IMS. 

Through her experiences navigating academia, Nafia advises students, “Don’t be afraid to get involved. It helps your career in ways you’d never expect and it’s how you meet the people who’ll become your closest friends.” Nafia sets an example to fellow and future IMS students to not let imposter syndrome get the best of you, as confidence can only be grown through action. 

I have seen how involved Nafia is with the IMS student community from playing Catan at IMSSA game nights to volunteering at events together. She inspires and reminds me to keep involving myself with opportunities at IMS—you never know the connections, friendships, and leadership opportunities that await.

“I keep going because I want to show up for others. That’s what motivates me.” This belief is clear when Nafia said, “If anyone is ever going through something in their lab, come to my office hours […] we’ll chat.”

Outside of research and academics, we bonded over shared hobbies, from binge-watching movies and television series, to drawing and reading. Nafia’s recommendations include the Star Wars movies, The Summer I Turned Pretty series, using Procreate to draw, and a recent good read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by one of her favourite writers, V.E. Schwab. 

What one might not expect to know about Nafia–with her gentle spirit–is that she is a metal music fan at heart. So, when she is not running 3MT or looking at brain scans, you can find her singing (or should I say screaming) along at a Slipknot concert.

I am excited to see the ways in which Nafia will enrich the student experience and make a meaningful impact on our IMS community in the coming years!