The 18th Annual Krembil Research Day

By: Shabana Amanda Ali, UHN Trainee and ORT Times Writer

Krembil Research Day

The Krembil Research Institute (formerly the Toronto Western Research Institute) is a hub for research focused on the brain and spine, the bone and joint, and the eye. The 18th annual Krembil Research Day was a flurry of research and networking, with approximately 200 attendees, over 60 posters, and 16 oral presentations. Organized by the Krembil Administrative Team and members of the Trainee Affairs Committee led by Dr. Mary Pat McAndrews, the event was held on May 23, 2018 at the Chestnut Residence & Conference Centre. The keynote speaker was Dr. Samer Hattar, Chief and Senior Investigator in the Section on Light and Circadian Rhythms of the National Institute of Mental Health. His lecture on the interaction between light and mood was stimulating and the perfect end to the scientific program. The awards ceremony then followed with prizes in several different categories.

Elevator Pitches

For the second year, Krembil Research Day included elevator pitch presentations. An elevator pitch is a brief summary that quickly and simply defines an idea and its value. It is a useful skill for trainees to be able to summarize their research in 3 minutes or less for a general audience. To encourage this, the organizing committee selected 7 trainees to deliver elevator pitches that were interesting, memorable, succinct, and understandable to anyone (e.g. parents, spouse, children). The best presentation was recognized with the People’s Choice Award, as determined by the audience through ballot voting. This year, the People’s Choice Award for best elevator pitch went to Gerard O’Leary (supervisor Dr. Taufik Valiante) for his presentation titled “Machine Learning Based Responsive Brain Stimulation Device: An Epilepsy Clinical Trial.”

Award Winners

For the oral competition in the graduate student category:

1^st place: Helal Endisha (supervisor Dr. Mohit Kapoor)

2^nd place: James Saravanamuttu (supervisor Dr. Robert Chen)

3^rd place: Alex Laliberte (supervisor Dr. Michael Fehlings).

For oral competition in the Postdoctoral Fellow category:

1^st place: Dr. Serene Wong (supervisor Dr. Igor Jurisica)

2^nd place: Dr. John Griffiths (supervisor Dr. Jeremie Lefebvre).

For the poster competition in the graduate student category:

1^st place: Ahmed Elsehemy (supervisor Dr. Valerie Wallace)

Tie for 2^nd place: Jonathon Chio (supervisor Dr. Michael Fehlings) and Christine Snidal (supervisor Dr. Elise Stanley).

For the poster competition in the Postdoctoral Fellow category:

1^st place: Dr. Akihiro Nakamura (supervisor Dr. Mohit Kapoor)

Tie for 2^nd place: Dr. Poulami Datta (supervisor Dr. Mohit Kapoor) and Dr. Arturo Ortin-Martinez (supervisor Dr. Valerie Wallace).

On behalf of the ORT Times, congratulations to all the winners and we look forward to the next Krembil Research Day on Wednesday, May 15, 2019.