2026 EPIC Inspire Summer students alongside their mentors

September 17, 2026

By Megan Fleming

Every summer, the Emerging Pathogens and Infectious Diseases Consortium (EPIC) opens its network to a group of undergraduate researchers through the Inspire Summer Studentship program. The goal is to provide third-year Black and Indigenous undergraduate students with a chance to explore infectious disease research, from the biology of bacteriophages and respiratory viruses to community-based work on HIV prevention and health equity. Each position is fully funded by EPIC at $10,000, giving students the freedom to focus on the research itself.

Getting each student to the right lab is a careful process. Students apply and rank their top project choices based on project proposals submitted by potential supervisors. EPIC’s team then selects its top applicants, facilitates interviews between students and supervisors, and follows up with a survey to find the best possible match.

Each placement comes with a whole team in a student’s corner:

• A supervisor, who hosts them in their lab and walks them through the project itself
• A mentor, a graduate student with a similar background who acts as a guide throughout the summer
• The wider research group around them, including the senior grad students, postdocs, and technicians who round out the day-to-day support.

Mentorship that went beyond the lab bench

What made this summer distinct was so much more than the research conducted in the lab. EPIC’s graduate student mentors genuinely leaned in this year, drawing not only on their research training but on their own lived experiences and cultural backgrounds to connect with students on a more personal level. In a nice full-circle moment, one mentor even stepped up to moderate the summer’s Career Panel.

“During the moderation, I made it my mission to prod the panellist for specific and implementable advice,” said Larry Afun, a PhD student in the department of immunology at U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine. “I was very keen on asking questions directed at the heart of the actionable portion of the advice that the mentees could use directly. I also drew on my own practices as an undergraduate student that landed me a spot as a direct-entry PhD student.”

Just as notably, the mentorship model wasn’t siloed. Mentees weren’t limited to the one mentor they were formally matched with. They had access to every mentor in the program, so if a question fell outside their own mentor’s expertise, there was always someone else in the network to ask.

“I hope the students realize that there are many job prospects in both academia and industry after doing research,” noted Afun. “I also hope that they realize the importance of good mentorship in achieving their goals.”

The rhythm of the summer

The program built in one signature event each month to keep students connected to each other and to the wider EPIC community:

• Meet & mingle with mentors — an informal kickoff to build relationships early
• Career panel — with panelists Notisha Massaquoi, assistant professor in the department of health and society at UTSC and founder and director of the Black Health Equity Lab and Catherine Chi, global data analyst in immunology at CellCarta
• Presentations followed by bowling — a chance to showcase a summer’s worth of work, then unwind together.

Students described these touchpoints as valuable additions to the research experience, not just add-ons competing for their time, and even requested that more be added next year!

“Through EPIC, I am grateful to have been exposed to a network of world-class researchers,” reflected Khalid Osman, a student in the undergraduate specialist program in the department of laboratory medicine and pathobiology in U of T’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine. “During the career panel, one of the guests shared advice that has stuck with me. She encouraged us to always take the initiative to learn skills outside of our project. I will keep this in mind as I progress through my fourth year thesis project and try to absorb as much knowledge as possible from the talented researchers I am surrounded by.”

Looking ahead to summer 2027

The 2026 cohort is leaving behind yet another strong template for this annual program with engaged mentors, a cross-connected support network and a steady cadence of events. Looking ahead, EPIC is already planning a 2027 program that builds on what worked this summer while adding the extra structure students are excited to see more of.

Learn more about the EPIC Inspire Summer Studentship program at epic.utoronto.ca/opportunities/inspire-summer-studentships.