February 11, 2025

By Sunitha Chari

To mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the University of Toronto’s Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC) is sharing the stories and aspirations of four young and upcoming researchers from the EPIC community. They share their personal scientific journeys and the importance of female mentors and role models in science.

Chidumebi Idemili

PhD student, Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Unity Health Toronto

“I am the last of six children and my mother is a teacher who instilled in me a love for science. Later, I discovered mathematics and realized it was not just about solving equations; it can be applied to solving real-world problems. I was in Scotland pursuing my master’s in applied mathematical sciences when I first developed a mathematical model on the effect of climate change and the spread of malaria in Nigeria. Then in September 2022, I was selected as one of seven mathematical modelers from Nigeria who were trained for the Blackfly Project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Bites of infected blackflies cause a parasitic disease called river blindness, and our work in the project was to develop models that could predict blackfly breeding sites which entomologists then visited to test flies for the parasite.

Encouraged by these experiences, I wanted to do a PhD in public health. I became interested in Sharmistha Mishra’s mathematical modeling for sexually transmitted infections and applied to be a PhD student in her group. I am now developing a new mathematical model to assess the risk of HIV infections in female sex workers in Kenya and disparities in healthcare access for this population. I am fortunate to have a wonderful mentor in Dr. Mishra and the experience is helping me find a powerful voice in myself that can speak out for marginalized women. In the future, I will continue to use my scientific training to create an equitable world where everyone has access to the healthcare they need.”

Deepa Chaphekar

PhD student, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough

“My interest in virology stems from my childhood when I used to get regular coughs and colds. My frustrations turned to curiosity about these microorganisms that bothered me so frequently. My interest led me to do a master’s in virology and while I intended to go for my doctoral studies, I deferred getting into a PhD program due to my circumstances. Instead, I used this time to work on different projects in academia and industry. My motto has been “every little bit counts so take opportunities when you see them.” Through these opportunities, I was able to build my skills and get co-authorships on two papers, which were helpful when applying to the PhD program at UTSC.

I was an older candidate with a family and a gap of nine years since my master’s when I applied to graduate school. I am fortunate that my current mentor, Christina Guzzo, offered me the opportunity to do my doctoral research in her laboratory. I use flow virometry to study single virus particles and their surface protein composition. I am particularly interested in certain cellular proteins that get incorporated on the surface of HIV and their functions. I love infectious disease research, and in the future, I would love to translate key research findings for clinical applications. I hope there are places for women like me because we love science and are good at it. We need places that support our talent.”

Saeedeh Moayedi-Nia  

PhD student, Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Unity Health Toronto

“I was a nursing student in Tehran, Iran, when I first saw disparities in healthcare access. I was working with the Society for Protecting the Rights of the Children, offering medical services to Afghan refugees who could not otherwise access these services. I also worked with the Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS and got to know that transgender women and female sex workers who were at high risk of acquiring HIV were also the least likely to get the medical help they needed. These experiences made me think about the barriers that prevent certain groups of people from accessing healthcare.

After I immigrated to Canada, I continued to volunteer through the AIDS Community Care Montreal’s Buddy Program. The program pairs people living with HIV with caring volunteers and during the pandemic I saw how different my experience was from my buddy’s. I got interested in healthcare disparities and decided to do my PhD under the supervision of Ann Burchell looking at health- and preventative- care engagement among people living with HIV. In the future, I would like to extend the scope of my research to look at how different communities, including immigrant communities, access healthcare and engage with preventative care such as screening for cancer and other diseases. I feel like I can continue my research career because I see an example in Dr. Burchell. When you have the image of a strong female researcher in your mind, it is easier to reach that vision in your own life.”

Salma Sheikh-Mohamed

PhD student, Department of Immunology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine

“I did my master’s in Jennifer Gommerman’s laboratory where I looked at how HIV infections change the immune landscape of the gastrointestinal tract. A lot of the samples that I worked on were collected from Kenya and being of East-African descent, I loved being part of the research. I decided to come back for a PhD which I started during the pandemic. My project looks at mucosal responses in the nose and mouth to intramuscular mRNA vaccines to understand what protection looks like at the site of infection.

My research training also came in handy during the pandemic when I was able to communicate the benefits of vaccination to the people from my community and encourage them to get vaccinated. The experience taught me the importance of cultural sensitivities and unique lived experiences when doing outreach programs.

I am also the co-founder of a grassroots organization called Say Somaali which works with youth in Toronto.  We offer students from middle school through college and university services such as mentorship, career counseling and professional development. In my own life, I was fortunate to have received mentorship from Drs. Gommerman and Olga Rojas, my co-supervisor. And now through Say Somaali, we help other students and pay it forward. In the future, I want to combine research with community engagement to help students and communities differentiate between scientific facts and biases in perception stemming from culture and media influences and help them develop scientific literacy.”

“Our global response to infectious diseases will always be more successful when it reflects a broad and informed perspective,” says Natasha Christie-Holmes, EPIC’s director of Strategy & Partnerships. “EPIC is incredibly proud to support such an outstanding group of young female researchers through our trainee programs, and our community is fortunate to have such globally renowned women scientists as mentors.”