Current Studentship Award Recipients

Paul Yoo is an occupational therapist by training and a postdoctoral fellow working in the Pediatric Neuroinflammatory Disorders Program. He joined The Hospital for Sick Children after completing his PhD in Rehabilitation Science at McGill University, Montreal, where he developed the Child Community Health Inclusion Index (CHILD-CHII). His research focuses on lifestyle outcomes and environmental/contextual factors that can improve health outcomes in children with Multiple Sclerosis and other disabilities/chronic illnesses. He is an amateur coffee enthusiast, avid runner, and bookworm.

Sabastian Koprich is a Métis scholar descended from the verified Métis Solomon and Berger/Beaudoin family lineage. His traditional territory is Waaseyagami-wiikwed, the Shining Waters Bay, also known as Georgian Bay in Ontario. Sabastian is currently pursuing an MPH in the Indigenous Health stream at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. He completed his BSc in Biology at Trent University, where he evaluated the burden of cardiovascular disease on Métis citizens in Ontario for his thesis. Sabastian is interested in promoting distinctions-based health research of Indigenous peoples. As a Métis citizen, there is a specific emphasis on Métis health and wellness in his research. Disaggregated reporting and analyses of health data are critical for distinct Indigenous communities to make a difference in their health needs. He currently works at ICES as a graduate student research assistant.

The Métis Nation of Ontario has recognized a gap in services for Métis children in primary school and entering secondary school (aged 5-14). In collaboration with ICES, his project will be an environmental scan looking at examining child health indicators for Indigenous children, understanding current Métis-specific health outcomes, and compiling existing programming and services available to Métis children. Additionally, this project integrates sharing circles, an Indigenous methodology, to discuss health needs with Métis children and their primary caregivers. Understanding what Métis parents and children prioritize for their health, as well as further sources of evidence, such as data, programs, and services that have been developed to inform program planning, will help the Métis Nation of Ontario address this gap.

Dr. Jairam is a Postdoctoral Fellow and Epidemiologist. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, and an MSc in Population Epidemiology from the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University. She is affiliated with Unity Health Toronto, ICES, and the Leong Centre for Healthy Children at the University of Toronto and SickKids. Her overall research aim is to improve the health and well-being of mothers and their infants among diverse populations. She uses epidemiologic methods and health and social administrative data to address disparities in maternal and child health across the life course.

Her project will examine maternal downward income mobility between two consecutive births and the associated risk of adverse infant outcomes in the second birth relative to mothers who remain in the same income area between births.

Dr. Pearl Zaki is a second year Paediatric Neurology resident at the University of Toronto. She completed medical school at the University of Toronto and her undergraduate studies at the University of Waterloo in Health Studies. It was through her undergraduate courses that she developed a keen interest in the social determinants of health (SDoH) In her postgraduate training, she hopes to further explore the SDoH and their impact as they pertain to brain health, both in childhood and lifelong. 

Her project will explore the relationship between hippocampal development, cognition, and social disparity in children with congenital heart disease, to better understand whether: (1) SDoH impact the trajectory of hippocampal maturation in infancy and (2) SDoH modify associations between hippocampal maturation and childhood cognitive outcomes.

Chaoran Dong is a PhD student in the Health Technology Assessment Stream at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto. Her research interests primarily focus on economic evaluations in serving vulnerable populations, particularly with respect to priority setting and resource allocation in the healthcare system. Her project aims to 1) assess the economic impact of reducing geographical disparities in pediatric cancer care access through the current provincial program for households with varying socioeconomic status, and 2) to guide future expansion of the program or/and adoption of the program from different provinces. The results of this project will help understand the value of improving geographic accessibility for pediatric cancer patients in Ontario , which will address knowledge gaps in the current studies.

Fatemeh Khorramrouz is a Registered Dietitian and PhD Candidate in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto. Her work at The Applied Research Group for Kids (TARGet Kids!), Canada’s largest primary care research network for children, centers on the critical role that parents play in shaping healthy eating behaviors in early childhood. Through her research, she aims to develop strategies that empower families to make informed health choices and instill lifelong healthy eating habits in children.

Fatemeh’s current project focuses on understanding the barriers and facilitators fathers encounter when engaging in early childhood health interventions. By co-creating a father-inclusive intervention, her work seeks to engage both parents to prevent obesity and promote healthier behaviours among young children.

Sarah Malecki is a General Internal Medicine fellow at the University of Toronto and a PhD student in Clinical Epidemiology and Healthcare Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. She earned her BSc from Wilfrid Laurier University and her MSc in Molecular Medicine from the University of Ottawa. Combined with her experience as a support worker for youth with developmental disabilities, this background has fueled her research interest in young adults with medical complexity. Sarah developed research leadership experience during medical training while studying a model condition – 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, and is now expanding her focus to the broader population of young adults with medical complexity. Her goal as a clinician and independent researcher is to improve the lives of young adults with medical complexity, through policy-relevant research that informs new models of care.

Fareha Nishat is PhD Epidemiology Candidate at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, with a Master's of Public Health in Epidemiology from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.  Her research focuses on the intersection of disability and chronic disease among adolescents and young adults.

Her project will use health administrative data in Ontario to examine the effect of disability on the accumulation of chronic diseases in adolescents and young adults with disabilities compared to those without disabilities using multistate models.  

Surabhi Sivaratnam is a Pediatric Resident Physician at the University of Toronto. She completed her medical degree at McMaster University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of pediatric health and public health policy. 

Her current project aims to investigate how the federal legislative loopholes regulating synthetic nicotine products expose youth to significant health risks. The goal of this project is to inform future legislation and to advocate for stronger policies to protect children and adolescents in Canada and beyond. 

Karen Zhang is a master’s student studying nutrition at the University of Toronto, where she focuses on the intricate connections between nutrition, weight status, and academic achievement in children. Her research at The Hospital for Sick Children is dedicated to understanding how factors such as zBMI (standardized BMI) and weight status influence children's learning outcomes, intending to inform targeted interventions that support both physical health and academic success. Before her current studies, Karen gained practical experience as a summer intern at Topline Data Analytics and attended Western University for an undergraduate degree in Science, majoring in Biology. 

Her project examines the associations between child zBMI, weight status, and academic achievement, using EQAO reading, writing, and math scores among children in grades 3 and 6. Additionally, her research explores how student-reported self-perception at school and different income levels may modify these associations.