Next Generation
Photo: Alyssa K. Faoro
TMU supports students’ SRC activities by providing experiential opportunities to apply their education in real-world contexts. As research assistants, interns and entrepreneurs, students gain career preparedness for continued academic pursuits or post-education work environments.
Mitacs
Mitacs is a national non-profit organization connecting top graduate, post-graduate and postdoctoral students to industry through internship and fellowship programs, advancing Canada’s next generation of research and innovation thought leaders, achieving business goals and driving economic success.
Mark Aquilino, a postdoctoral fellow in information technology management and co-founder of Epiloid Biotechnology Inc., used Mitacs Accelerate Entrepreneur program support to enable the collection and analysis of data from human stem-cell-derived cerebral organoids, a new platform for functional brain tissue testing, to predict epilepsy patient treatment outcomes more successfully. Aquilino worked with professor Aziz Guergachi (Information Technology Management).
Chantelle McDonald, an undergraduate law student, received support from the Mitacs Accelerate program to comprehensively review current trends, challenges and solutions regarding the use of unsolicited proposals for economic activity by Canada’s municipal government to better understand participation barriers presented by the government’s current policy and process. McDonald worked with professor Angela Lee (Law) and the City of Toronto.
Julia Pellegrino, a graduate of The Creative School, gained support from the Mitacs Accelerate program to review public-facing multi-modal communication by medical specialists and explore whether alternative pathways to patient engagement could speed up and simplify the specialist referral process. Pellegrino worked with chair and professor Jessica Mudry (Professional Communication) and partner organization Unity Health Toronto.
Rebecca Scenna, a master’s student in chemistry and biology and founder of Scenna Creations and Consulting Incorporated, received Mitacs Accelerate Entrepreneur program support to improve the fabrication and performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), a nano-carbon ecotechnology made from polymer waste for urban solar applications where space and light are scarce. Scenna worked with professor Bryan Koivisto (Chemistry and Biology).
Yash Vyas, a PhD candidate in civil engineering, worked with professor Medhat Shehata (Civil Engineering) and the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers through the Mitacs Accelerate program to investigate the overarching advantages, disadvantages and risks associated with sustainability policies, including economic growth potential and employment opportunities, on equity-seeking groups using literature review, interviews with sustainability experts and data analysis.
Student Honours & Awards
Faculty of Arts
Ernest Leung, a master’s student in the joint Communication and Culture graduate program with York University, was the inaugural recipient of the Global Hong Kong Essay and Creative Project Award.
Faculty of Community Services
Yohana Ogbamichael, a Nutrition and Food program student, was one of 20 Black youth in Canada to receive the 1834 Fellowship for civic leadership and skills and career development.
Faculty of Engineering & Architectural Science
Kristyan Calletor and Mathieu Howard, students in the architecture program, won the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) Steel Design Student Competition for their Indigenous Lives Memorial.
Faculty of Science
Meghan Koo, a medical physics doctoral candidate, won first place in the J.R. Cunningham Young Investigators Award competition hosted by the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists.
Lincoln Alexander School of Law
Nicholas Hill, a law student, received the 2022 Precedent Innovation Award with his collaborator Aliya Ramji to create The Startup Legal Support Program.
Ted Rogers School of Management
Jacqueline Chung, a Business Technology Management student, received Adobe Research's Women-in-Technology Scholarship.
The Creative School
Allison Kinahan, a performance student, was the top recognized global winner of the Global Undergraduate Awards, the world's largest academic awards program.