Results of the 2024 Inspire Summer Studentship Competition
The Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC) is an integrated network for researchers, trainees and partners working to confront infectious disease challenges. We unite members across the University of Toronto and its hospital partners to accelerate cross-disciplinary work in the understanding and development of new countermeasures against pathogens. A key pillar of EPIC’s work is training the next generation of infectious disease research leaders that will help stop future pandemics and reduce the societal burdens of infectious disease.
The EPIC Inspire Summer Studentships aim to foster inclusive excellence by providing third-year Black and Indigenous undergraduate students with opportunities to engage in infectious disease research with and receive mentorship from EPIC’s faculty members. These awards support Black and Indigenous students who are interested in infectious diseases and to create a more diverse talent pool for the next generation of infectious disease research leaders.
We are pleased to share the results of the 2024 inaugural Inspire Summer Studentship competition.
Meet our 2024 Inspire Summer Studentship recipients
Sierrah Augustin
University of Toronto
Project title: Targeting genital bacteria to reduce HIV risk
Supervisor: Rupert Kaul (University Health Network)
Shilo Chislett
University of Toronto
Project title: Engineering bacterial surface protein antigens
Supervisor: Trevor Moraes (University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine)
Mandeq Ibrahim
York University
Project title: Using intelligent robots to screen for infectious respiratory diseases
Supervisor: Goldie Nejat (University of Toronto, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering)
Ruth Igumbor
York University
Project title: Investigating the genomic epidemiology, transmission, and infectivity of the non-influenza respiratory viruses
Supervisor: Robert Kozak (Sunnybrook Research Institute)
Isaac Iserhoff-Rosen
Western University
Project title: Identify conditions which drive anti-phage defense in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Supervisor: Karen Maxwell (University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine)
Gloria Manga-Ebengue
Toronto Metropolitan University
Project title: Exploring novel strategies to control virus replication
Supervisor: Alan Cochrane (University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine)
Adanna Nmezi
University of Toronto
Project title: Characterizing antibody levels to respiratory viruses to assess host immune
response
Supervisor: Anne-Claude Gingras (Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute)
Gelila Shefraw
University of Toronto
Project title: Characterizing bacteria from the human vaginal microbiota
Supervisor: William Navarre (University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine)
Oghenetega Ubor
Ontario Tech University
Project title: Learning from mpox: Community-based research to support the health of gay, bisexual, queer, and other men who have sex with men in Canada
Supervisor: Daniel Grace (University of Toronto, Dalla Lana School of Public Health)
