Contributors: Spring 2026

Meet the IMS Magazine Spring 2026 Team

Graphic design by Jinny Moon

Ahmad Mohammad is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health under the supervision of Dr. Liisa Galea. His research investigates Alzheimer’s disease risk models, and the effects of modifiable lifestyle factors on brain health, with a particular focus on hormone therapy and weight-management focused therapeutics. Outside of his research, Ahmad enjoys traveling and going to the gym.

Beatrice Acheson is a second-year MSc student working under the supervision of Dr. Peter St George-Hyslop at the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease (CRND), where she investigates the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying microglial dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease. When she is not in the lab, Beatrice is likely reading a book, attending a yoga class, or playing beach volleyball.

Instagram: @bea.acheson

Jasmine Amini is a second-year MSc student working under the supervision of Drs. Daphne Korczak and Samantha Anthony at the Hospital for Sick Children. Her research interests lie in social media use and family functioning among youth with an acute self-harm or suicide-related concern. Outside of academia, Jasmine enjoys reading, volunteering, and exploring Toronto.

Twitter: Jasmine_amini9

Carmen K. Chan is a PhD student exploring the molecular mechanisms of obesity and type 2 diabetes, focusing on immuno-metabolism. She is co-supervised by Dr. Cynthia Luk (St. Michael’s Hospital) and Dr. Daniel Winer (Toronto General Hospital Research Institute). Outside of the lab, Carmen can be found playing the piano, tending to her (many) houseplants, or taking a long walk by the waterfront.

Mya Chronopoulos is a first-year MSc student supervised by Dr. Caleb Browne at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health where she is exploring how serotonin and dopamine coordinate in the mesolimbic dopamine system to shape motivation/reward-seeking behaviour. Outside of the lab, she enjoys early morning pilates classes, spending time with family, and traveling.

Instagram: @myachronopoulos

Sara Corvinelli is a PhD student supervised by Dr. Jacques Lee at the Schwartz/Reisman Emergency Medicine Institute. Her thesis is exploring innovative ways to improve delirium recognition for older people who seek emergency care. When she’s not researching, Sara enjoys ballet, nature walks, and spending time with loved ones.

Emily Forster is a senior PhD student investigating the molecular mechanism of fertilization under the supervision of Dr. Jeffrey Lee in the department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology. Her work aims to characterize the proteins essential for sperm-egg fusion, and to develop biologics which block these interactions, as a non-hormonal contraceptive strategy. Outside of her research, she enjoys walking her rescue dog, doing escape rooms, and playing strategy board games.

Instagram: @emilyroseforster

Mia Feldman is a second-year MSc student working under the supervision of Dr. Isabella Caniggia at the Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute. They are studying the placental-maternal crosstalk in cardiovascular diseases of pregnancy. In their free time, Mia enjoys reading and exploring different neighborhoods in Toronto!

Karen Fang is a PhD student supervised by Dr. Aaron Schimmer at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, where she investigates neuroendocrine modulation of blood cancers. Outside of research, she enjoys reading, drawing, and travelling.

Instagram: @karenn_fang

Alyona Ivanova is a PhD student investigating the molecular signature of glioblastoma using spatial -omics technologies at the Hospital for Sick Children under the supervision of Dr. Sunit Das. Alyona is a professional figure skater and a model. Alyona is a Creative Director of Panoramics – A Vision Inc. She enjoys traveling, cooking, and reading.

Instagram: @_alyonaivanova_

Josephine Machado is a second-year MSc student working under the supervision of Dr. Andrea Knight at The Hospital for Sick Children. Her research is focused on examining the neurodevelopmental impacts of childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE) through the study of brain-aging in children with the condition. Outside of research, Josephine enjoys reading, playing the piano, nature walks, and volunteering.

Sabeeka Malik is a second-year MSc student at the SickKids Research Institute, working under the supervision of Dr. Andreas Schulze. Her research aims to determine effective substrate reduction therapy drug candidates for Mucopolysaccharidosis III (Sanfilippo Syndrome), a lysosomal storage disease. Outside of the lab, Sabeeka enjoys reading and playing card games with her friends.

Anna Mouzenian is a second-year MSc student working under the supervision of Dr. Victor Tang and Dr. Daniel Felsky at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Anna is investigating the use of wearable devices to predict outcomes for substance use disorders. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, hiking and pilates.

Gharaza Nasir is a second-year MSc student at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, working under the supervision of Dr. Arndt Vogel. Her research utilizes patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models to investigate tumour dynamics and evaluate potential therapeutic strategies for Cholangiocarcinoma. In her free time, Gharaza enjoys working out, playing video games, and spending time with friends and family.

Instagram: @g.harazanasir

Kinjal Parekh is a first-year MSc student at St. Michael’s Hospital, working under the supervision of Dr. Andras Kapus. Her research is focused on uncovering the mechanism of a novel inhibitor targeting the YAP/TAZ transcription factors, central regulators whose overactivation drive cancer and fibrosis. Outside of research, she enjoys cooking, playing badminton, and nature walks.

Instagram: @kinjalparekh09

Anita Rajkumar is a second-year MSc student at Women’s College Hospital, working under the supervision of Dr. Joanne Kotsopoulos. Her research aims to understand hormonal contraceptive use and breast cancer risk among BRCA carriers. In her free time, Anita enjoys reading, running, and trying new restaurants.

Instagram: @anita.raj_

Gisany Ravichandran is a first-year MSc student at Sunnybrook Research Institute working under the supervision of Dr. Andrew Lim. Her research aims to identify sleep physiological features associated with cognitive resilience and resistance in older adults with and without dementia. Outside of research, she enjoys exploring different coffee shops and travelling with her friends.

Instagram: @gisanyravi

Eesha Rehman is a first year MSc student at Centre of Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) working under the supervision of Dr. Erin Dickie. Her research examines functional connectivity patterns in a clinical youth population with psychosis spectrum symptoms (PSS). Outside of research, she loves solving puzzles, collecting stickers, and journaling.

Rebecca P. Smythe is a first-year MSc student at Women’s College Hospital working under the supervision of Dr. David Lim. Her research aims to better understand the lived experiences of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) individuals navigating breast cancer care, across the entire care continuum from screening to survivorship. Outside of her work Rebecca enjoys reading, travelling, and spending time with loved ones.

Instagram: @beckyysmythe

Rianna Sarbajna is a first-year MSc student at the Hospital for Sick Children working under the supervision of Dr. Indra Narang. Her research examines the association between pediatric asthma and the social determinants of health, in the aims of identifying social risk factors contributing to adverse asthma outcomes in children. Outside of her research she enjoys hosting dinners with her friends, fibre arts and reading.

Instagram: @rianuhhh

Omer Syed is a first-year PhD student at Sunnybrook Research Institute under the supervision of Dr. Peter Giacobbe. His research examines psychedelic and dissociative substances, primarily psilocybin and ketamine, as treatments for difficult-to-treat mood disorders and their use in non-clinical naturalistic settings. In his free time, he enjoys sleeping and reading.

Instagram: @omerssyed

Rivka van Klei is a first-year Master’s student at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, where she studies the biopsychosocial factors that contribute to increased dementia risk in individuals with a history of depression. Outside the lab, Rivka loves spending time outdoors—biking, hiking, and enjoying nature. During the winter months, you’ll more likely find her indoors, gathered with friends for cozy karaoke and board-game nights.

Instagram: @rivka_zeng_vanklei

Jiani Xie is a first-year MSc student working under Dr. Rupert Kaul, focusing on characterizing the effects of antimicrobials on the penile urethral microbiota and immunology. The outcome of her work will help inform HIV prevention programs and improve reproductive health. Some of her favourite activities include skiing, volleyball, baking and trying new things!

SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM

Lizabeth Teshler (Lead) is a PhD student supervised by Dr. Brian Feldman at The Hospital for Sick Children. Her research investigates how to improve the clinical examination of musculoskeletal health for people with Hemophilia. Outside of research, Lizabeth loves biking, spending time outdoors, and exploring new cities.

Abigail Wolfensohn is a second-year MSc student in Dr. Mojgan Hodaie’s lab at Toronto Western Hospital. She is researching how the brain’s waste-clearance system functions in people with trigeminal neuralgia, a chronic facial pain condition. In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities, puzzles, trying new restaurants, and playing the piano.

Instagram: @abbywolfen

Lielle Ronen is a second-year MSc student in Dr. Andrew Sage’s Lab at the Latner Thoracic Surgery Research Labs in PMCRT. Her research investigates smoking damage in donor lungs to improve post-transplant outcomes using Ex-Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP). Aside from research, she loves painting, baking, running and trying local restaurants in Toronto.

PHOTOGRAPHY TEAM

Jino Lim is a first-year MSc student under Dr. Katharine Dunlop’s supervision at St. Michael’s Hospital. His research focuses on multivariate analysis on structural magnetic resonance imaging data for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). In his free time, you can find Jino fish keeping or reading literature!

Instagram: @jin0lim

Eliza McCann is a first-year MSc student working under Dr. Clement Hamani at the Sunnybrook Research Institute. Her research focuses on Deep Brain Stimulation as a treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In her spare time, she likes to read, spend time with her friends, and cook.