From left: Henrie Asante, William Malzar, Enuka Saint Jacques, Khalid Osman, Alicia Machava
4 May 2026
By Aideen Teeling
The Emerging & Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC) has announced the recipients of the 2026 Inspire Summer Studentships.
These $10,000 awards support Black and Indigenous third-year undergraduate students in pursuing infectious disease research with an EPIC faculty member for a 12- to 16-week period over the summer. For most awardees, this will be their first opportunity to conduct an independent research project.
On April 30th, EPIC welcomed the fourth Inspire cohort over lunch, where students connected with their mentors and supervisors.
“Meeting this year’s cohort of Inspire students is an exciting reminder that the future of infectious disease research is bright!” says Natasha Christie-Holmes, director of strategy and partnerships at EPIC. “Facilitating these research placements is one of the most impactful things that EPIC can do to foster fresh perspectives in the research ecosystem.”
Since the program began in 2023, 24 students have now taken part in the EPIC Inspire program. Over the last three years, awardees have continued pursuits in different areas of research, and multiple students have gone on to enroll in graduate programs and intend to incorporate research into their career goals.
Learn more about the fourth cohort of Inspire students below:
Henrie Asante is a third-year student in the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto who is completing a major in neuroscience and a double minor in physiology and immunology. She will be working with Jennifer Gommerman at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at U of T to investigate durable immunological protection against respiratory virus infection via oral vaccination.
Alicia Machava is a third-year Arts and Science student at U of T who is pursuing a specialist degree in molecular genetics and microbiology. She will be supervised by Daniel Grace at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health on a project exploring the experiences of structural racism encountered by Black women when accessing HIV services in Toronto.
William Malzar is a second-year student in the Faculty of Arts and Science at U of T who is completing a specialist degree in immunology. He will be taking on a project with Alexander Ensminger at Temerty Medicine to identify new bacteriophages which infect Legionella pneumophila, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease.
Khalid Osman is a third-year student in the Faculty of Arts and Science at U of T who is completing a specialist degree in laboratory medicine and pathobiology. He will be undertaking a project with Amy Wong at The Hospital for Sick Children to investigate how co-infection with respiratory syncytial virus and influenza A virus affect human airways by studying oxidative stress and epithelial barrier integrity.
Enuka Saint Jacques is a third-year Arts and Science student at U of T who is tackling a double major degree in human biology and cell and molecular biology, with a minor in immunology. She will be working with Tin Vo at U of T’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work to characterize issues around equity, social responsibility and the determinants of health related to the prophylactic use of doxycline to prevent bacterial sexually transmitted infections in sexual minority men and gender diverse people in Canada.
As part of the Inspire program, each summer student is paired with a senior trainee mentor for the summer to guide them through joining their first research group, to make the most out of their experience. The Inspire program also includes a career workshop and networking session as well as a final presentation about their research at the end of summer.
In addition to the EPIC awardees, summer students from the PRECISE initiative will also join the Inspire cohort in the summer programming activities, building out a larger community of undergraduate researchers engaged in infectious disease work.
Congratulations again to this year’s EPIC Inspire cohort as they start their summer research.