Results of the Pandemic Response and Resiliency Awards 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 Pandemic Response and Resiliency Awards (PRRA) celebrate graduate students who showed great adaptability, perseverance and initiative in taking on more during their graduate training than otherwise would have been required. The awardees demonstrated significant contributions to outbreak, pandemic, or community-based research, and/or community engagement, and exhibited qualities that will position them to be leaders in confronting future pandemics. These competitive awards support excellent students supervised by faculty from across EPIC’s partner research institutes (the Hospital for Sick Children, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Unity Health Toronto, University Health Network and University of Toronto). Applicants for these merit-based awards were evaluated using the submitted application package. 

We are pleased to share the results of our inaugural Pandemic Response and Resiliency Awards competition. 

Pandemic Response and Resiliency Award recipients

Archchun Ariyarajah

Archchun Ariyarajah

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Supervisors: Shelly Bolotin and Jeff Kwong (University of Toronto, Dalla Lana School of Public Health)

Baweleta Isho

Baweleta Isho

Department of Immunology

Supervisor: Jen Gommerman (University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine)

Vanessa Li

Vanessa Li

Institute of Biomedical Engineering

Supervisor: Warren Chan (University of Toronto, Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering)

Kuganya Nirmalajarah

Kuganya Nirmalajarah

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology

Supervisor: Samira Mubareka (Sunnybrook Research Institute)

Reuben Samson

Reuben Samson

Department of Molecular Genetics

Supervisor: Anne-Claude Gingras (Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute)

Alison Simmons

Alison Simmons

Dalla Lana School of Public Health

Supervisor: David Fisman (University of Toronto, Dalla Lana School of Public Health)

Maxine Ty

Maxine Ty

Department of Biochemistry

Supervisor: John Parkinson (Hospital for Sick Children)

Jacqueline Watt

Jacqueline Watt

Department of Molecular Genetics

Supervisor: Jun Liu (University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine)

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