Highlights from the 9th annual Summer Student Research Day

Source: The Institute
August 15, 2025

Each summer, The Institute's Summer Student Research Day offers a vibrant platform for young research trainees to showcase their research and engage with peers, mentors and the broader Institute community. The 2025 edition — the ninth in the series — was held on August 11 in the Cruess Amphitheatre and Elspeth McConnell Atrium. The event welcomed summer students from across all research programs to present their work, exchange ideas and make connections with their peers.

The 2025 event featured more than 120 abstracts, 16 oral presentations and two poster sessions. Students presented findings from experiments, literature reviews and lab collaborations. For many it was their first experience sharing their work in a formal scientific setting.

Kicking off the day, the morning session featured eight oral presentations spanning neuroscience, pediatrics, infectious disease and maternal health:

• Lareina Shen — Cortical microcircuit mapping using 2-photon optomapping under the supervision of Jesper Sjostrom, PhD.
• Maria Jimjees — School readiness in children born preterm or with low birthweight under the supervision of Ugochinyere Vivian Ukah, PhD.
• Yi-Ting Tang — Mitochondrial health and herbal therapies in diabetic cardiomyopathy under the supervision of Jun-Li Liu, PhD
• Elise Wasmer — Genomics of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales under the supervision of Dao Nguyen, MD, M.Sc.
• Zoé Frayret — Decision aids for overactive bladder and urinary incontinence under the supervision of Maryse Larouche, MD.
• Zeineb Haouari — Antimicrobial candidates targeting Mycobacterium abscessus under the supervision of Andréanne Lupien, PhD.
• Joseph Wang — Lipid metabolism in esophageal cancer under the supervision of Lorenzo Ferri, MD, PhD.
• Mina Hmimas — Long-term organ damage following pregnancy-induced hypertension under the supervision of Louise Pilote, MD, PhD.

In the afternoon, another eight talks covered advances in respiratory health, cancer biology, cardiovascular disease and dementia care:

• Aariana Lopes — Pediatric RSV hospitalizations post-COVID under the supervision of Jesse Papenburg, MD, M.Sc.
• Coralie Lefebvre — Predictive model for treatment response in HPV-positive head and neck cancer under the supervision of Julia Burnier, PhD.
• Mutian Feng — Mitochondrial dynamics and hormesis under the supervision of Jeremy Van Raamsdonk, PhD, M.Sc.
• Massimo Catena — AI tools for diagnosing asthma and COPD under the supervision of Ronald Dandurand, MD.
• Victoria Yip — NK cell-derived vesicles against glioma stem cells under the supervision of Janusz Rak, MD, PhD.
• Zaina Alsibai — Culturally responsive dementia care tools under the supervision of Claire Godard-Sebillotte, MD, PhD.
• Xinyi Guo — Causal plasma proteins in coronary artery disease and aortic stenosis under the supervision of James Engert, PhD.
• Sogand Roohi — CD109 in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis under the supervision of Anie Philip, PhD.

The poster session, held in the Elspeth McConnell Atrium, featured dozens of student researchers spanning infectious disease, cancer biology, neuroscience, public health and data-driven diagnostics. The open-format session encouraged lively discussion and cross-disciplinary exchange between students, faculty and staff.

"We are proud to celebrate the curiosity, commitment and hard work of our summer students, and to provide a platform for them to share their achievements," said Dr. Rhian Touyz, Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer of The Institute, during her welcome remarks.

Special thanks to the 2025 Organizing Committee: Emily Bell, PhD, and Ariel De Roo from the Desjardins Centre for Advanced Training; program managers Anne Mathiot (Surgical and Interventional Sciences), Inga Murawski, PhD (Translational Research in Respiratory Diseases Program), Lenka Schrorova, M.Sc., PhD (Metabolic Disorders and Complications Program) and Fanny Toussaint, PhD (Child Health and Human Development Program). Thanks also to program assistants and coordinators Jacqueline Brown, Janae Palmer, Yvonne Gardner, Mary Lapenna and Vicky Barrera, and to the trainees who served as poster moderators.

Congratulations to all students, mentors and staff who contributed to another successful Summer Student Research Day.