International Day of Women and Girls in Science Spotlight
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To celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the Office of Research Trainees sheds a spotlight on three exceptional UHN trainees who are making great strides in their research and are launching a UHN trainee podcast to build more community at UHN.
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The Seeds of Science trainee podcast was an idea that Dr. Emily Mills conceived while performing her postdoctoral research at the Krembil Research Institute. With the help of UHN trainees Rima El-Sayed and Dr. Olivia Mekhael, a graduate student and postdoctoral fellow at Krembil Research Institute and Toronto General Hospital Research Institute respectively, they are developing and growing the idea into a reality.
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UHN has over 1300 trainees performing research in seven different research institutes, at sites all across Toronto. Each of these trainees has diverse experiences, backgrounds, research, and stories to share. The Seeds of Science podcast provides a platform for these UHN graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to tell their stories and connect and learn from each other. Each episode will explore the unique experience of a UHN trainee, providing a snapshot into their research, their achievements, the obstacles they’ve faced, and their life outside of research.
In addition to providing an outlet for UHN trainees to engage with their peers, the team hopes that the podcast will inspire undergraduate students to pursue graduate degrees in research by providing them a window into the lives of research trainees. This includes inspiring women and girls who are passionate about science.
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“I think it is an exciting time for women and girls to follow a STEM career path. My advice would be to find several female-identifying mentors in the STEM field who are in different stages of their research training and career. It is important to be able to identify with your mentors - this way, you can visualise yourself in their shoes at different stages throughout the journey,” says Dr. Emily Mills.
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The Seeds of Science podcast will launch in spring 2022 with guidance and financial support from the Office of Research Trainees.
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Dr. Emily Mills is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Karen Davis’ lab at Krembil Research Institute. Her research aims to use a variety of neuroimaging technologies, including MRI and magnetoencephalography, to explore underlying structural and functional neural connections that may help predict treatment outcomes in patients with chronic neuropathic pain.
Emily completed her undergraduate and PhD training at the University of Sydney. She loves all outdoor activities including hiking, rock climbing, biking, camping, running, and ice skating.
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Rima El-Sayed is a graduate student in Dr. Karen Davis’ lab at Krembil Research Institute, in the Institute of Medical Sciences. During her PhD she has collected various psychophysical and neuroimaging data from healthy individuals and those with chronic pain. Her research focus is on analyzing conditioned pain modulation (CPM) and Magnetoencephalography (MEG) collected before spinal cord stimulation treatment to discover predictors of treatment outcome.
Outside of the lab, Rima loves playing table tennis and creating colourful and sparkly nail art!
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Dr. Olivia Mekhael is a postdoctoral fellow under the supervision of Dr. Tereza Martinu and Dr. Stephen Juvet at Toronto Lung Transplant Program, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute. Her research investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms driving graft rejection in lung transplants. In particular, Olivia focuses on exploring the role of the airway epithelium in graft rejection, injury, and scarring. Olivia is also a professional development representative in the UHN Postdoc Association.
Olivia is passionate about serving and mentoring youth in her community. In her spare time, she enjoys playing guitar and listening to alternative rock music, swimming, karate, and learning new recipes for healthy dishes.
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