Five UHN researchers have been named winners of the inaugural Di Poce Research Scholars Awards, which support women-led transplantation research.
The awards represent a unique $2 million investment that will be split among recipients to cover research costs, enabling them to devote more time to their research programs.
“These awards are meant to promote the highest quality research and innovation from some of our talented and internationally recognized women faculty at the Ajmera Transplant Centre,” says Dr. Atul Humar, Director of UHN's Ajmera Transplant Centre. “The Ajmera Transplant Centre prides itself on efforts to promote equity, diversity and inclusion in all of our endeavors.”
UHN’s five award recipients are listed below:
● Dr. Ana Konvalinka, Senior Scientist at the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute (TGHRI), transplant nephrologist, and Director of the Ajmera Transplant Centre biobank for kidney, pancreas and liver transplant programs
● Dr. Tereza Martinu, Scientist at TGHRI, lung transplant respirologist and Clinician Scientist with the Toronto Lung Transplant Program
● Dr. Nazia Selzner-Malekkiani, Clinician Scientist and Medical Director of the Living Donor Liver Transplant Program at Ajmera Transplant Centre
● Dr. Deepali Kumar, Clinician Investigator at TGHRI and Director of Transplant Infectious Diseases at UHN
● Dr. Golnaz Karoubi, Assistant Scientist at TGHRI
“Receiving this award means that I'll be able to devote more time to advancing transplant research and importantly, training the next generation of women researchers in transplant science,” says Di Poce Award recipient Dr. Kumar, whose research focuses on the prevention and treatment of viral infections post-transplant.
Dr. Karoubi, whose work combines tissue engineering and stem cells to advance the development of bioartificial lungs and tracheas for transplantation, says, “I hope to be able to pay this forward by providing young women from under-represented groups with an opportunity to learn and apply exciting tissue engineering approaches to transplantation research.”
Fellow recipient Dr. Selzner-Malekkiani says, “This award will allow me to have more protected time dedicated to my research, which is focused on developing methods to improve human livers that are currently rejected, so that we can expand the pool of donor organs available to patients.”
Dr. Konvalinka says the Di Poce Award will help sustain and ignite her research in kidney transplants. Dr. Konvalinka is developing treatments to counteract antibody-mediated rejection in the kidney. She is also working to reduce kidney fibrosis, using cells and preclinical models of kidney scarring. Another aim of Dr. Konvalinka’s research program is to enhance the understanding of molecular mechanisms of kidney rejection and fibrosis.
Commenting on the funding, Dr. Martinu says, “One of my main goals with this award will be the mentorship of future investigators through the support of salaries and stipends of excellent research staff and trainees. This award will enable our team to advance our research on biomarkers and therapies for lung graft scarring. We hope to move this research closer to clinical application, so that we can improve overall transplant outcomes.”
The awards were made possible thanks to the John Di Poce Family Fund, a generous philanthropic gift from Mr. John Di Poce and his family, who are longstanding supporters of the Ajmera Transplant Centre, through their donations to the UHN Foundation.
Congratulations to all awardees!