This week, we are featuring second-year TRP student Sumaya Bhatti. ✨ "I pursued an undergraduate degree in B.Sc. Honours Life Sciences at McMaster University. I was interested in mental health support for seniors and volunteered at the Juravinski Cancer Centre and with the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada in their senior-friendly visitor programs. I also worked in various medical offices as a medical assistant. I joined the TRP because I wanted to work in the healthcare space but in a way that was more directly aligned with my goals and in a way that I could feel more of an impact. I am very interested in health inequalities, mental health, and aging. I found out about this program and got really excited about the opportunity to problem solve for healthcare issues. As a second-year student in the program, I am very excited about my current capstone project. My team and I are working to co-design and implement Health and Wellness Hubs for Toronto Community Housing with a special focus on mental health support for senior tenants. I feel very lucky to be working so closely with a great team, supportive mentors, and the chance to create an impact in my field of interest." A fun fact about Sumaya is that she loves watching movies, and some of her favorites include the Harry Potter series, The Matrix, and Across the Spiderverse. #uoft #uoftmeidcine #translationalresearch

The Translational Research Program (TRP) was looking very festive at the Social Committee's annual Halloween Karaoke Party! This event provided a great opportunity for TRP students and alumni to mingle and sing their hearts out, strengthening the sense of community within the TRP. Most importantly, TRP's innovative nature was evident in attendee's Halloween costumes. The Social Committee's annual Halloween Karaoke Party not only celebrated the spooky season but also exemplified the vibrant spirit and camaraderie that helps to define the TRP experience. A heartfelt thank you goes out to all attendees for contributing to a night filled with laughter, music, and the unmistakable energy of TRP's exceptional community. You are all "treasures" in the collective story of our program!

Miranda Chan is a recent graduate from Carleton University with a BA Combined Honours in Psychology and Biology 🧪 "I joined the TRP because I want to learn more about elements of health and care that I may not be aware of. I am immensely curious about human-centric design and the hands-on experience the TRP can provide with respect to solving patient problems in real time. I am interested in regenerative medicine, hematology, space medicine, oncology, pathology, solid organ transplant, and pediatric care. I am an imaginative thinker with an abundance of ideas, so I am excited to stretch my “creative wings” and share and exchange them with a network of individuals who can give me alternate perspectives and help bring these ideas to fruition." A fun fact about Miranda is that she always carries snacks with her. #uoft #uoftmedicine #trpuoft #translationalresearch

The TRP celebrates convocation today! We got some shots of our 2021 cohort outside of Convocation Hall. 🎉 Congratulations to you all, and we can't wait to see what you do next! 🌟 🔗 TRP alumni can stay in touch with us and get involved through volunteer opportunities. Check out the link in our bio to learn how to get involved. #uoftgrad23 #uoft #uoftmedicine #uoftalumni #translationalresearch #uoftlmp #uofttrp

On October 17th and 18th, the Translational Research program in partnership with the @ideation.clinic, Health Innovation Hub (H2i), @sickkids, @arthritissociety and Prototype held The Meaningful Innovation, Leadership, and Engagement Symposium (MILES). MILES was created as a platform for people with different backgrounds and levels of expertise to explore the idea of meaningful engagement in healthcare research and innovation. The event included a discussion with experts on the topic and networking opportunities for trainees. The symposium ended with an innovation challenge aimed at turning ideas into action. MILES successfully brought together nearly 100 attendees from academia, research, industry, and clinical fields to collectively explore the concept of meaningful engagement. Diverse panel perspectives enriched attendees' knowledge and offered insights applicable to their personal and professional lives. Trainees developed at least five new connections, and together, they participated in the innovation challenge to push the boundaries of meaningful engagement. Stay tuned for future TRP events! #uoft #uoftmedicine #translationalresearch

📣 Applications are open for the Masters of Health Science in Translational Research. Research in the health sciences is advancing at a rate never seen in human history. Despite this, too much promising research is not translated into innovations that improve people’s lives. Our mission is to challenge people to think differently so they will be inspired to lead and drive change in their communities. 🔗 Learn more and apply at trp.utoronto.ca 🌟 Apply early to be considered for an entrance award scholarship!

We're welcoming our new cohort of TRP students! 🎉 Before joining the TRP, Carl trained as a physiatrist in the Philippines. He was also a 1st-year Clinical Fellow of the Azrieli Brain Medicine Fellowship Program at the U of T. Currently, he is doing his 2nd-year fellowship alongside the Translational Research Program. Here's a bit more about Carl: ✨Why did you decide to join the TRP? I joined the TRP to learn how I can improve the quality and impact of my body of research work. My research focus is telerehabilitation or virtual care to bridge the access gap to rehabilitation services. ✨What are you most excited about? I’m excited to explore the intersection between neurorehabilitation, virtual care, and translational research. ✨What is the best advice you have ever received? “View every person you meet as a door that may lead you to a new opportunity.” ✨What's a fun fact about you? I love traveling and sharing my photos and experiences on social media so my family and friends can also appreciate the beauty of other places and learn a bit about their histories and cultures. I’ve visited 20 countries so far, and I would love to see more! #uoft #uoftmedicine #uofttrp #translationalresearch

On October 12, we participated in @rhse_uoft's graduate programs fair! We spoke to prospective students and answered questions about our program and applications. Did you miss the fair? Join our mailing list and come to the information session on October 25th. Link in bio 🔗 #uoft #uoftmedicine #translationalresearch #graduateprogram

We're welcoming our new cohort of TRP students! 🎉 Starting off with Kristen Di Stefano, before joining the TRP, Kristin was an undergraduate student in the Health Sciences program at Queen’s University. Here's a bit more about Kristen: ✨Why did you decide to join the TRP? I decided to join the TRP because I am interested in patient-centered care and research. In this respect, I am passionate about the role that research has in improving the health of the community and the quality of life of the patient. I value the program’s structure and focus on competency-based learning, as my undergraduate program operated in a similar way. I believe learning through application and practice is important to translating our knowledge to real-world contexts and cultivating real change. ✨What are you most excited about? I am most excited to learn new skills, build on previous skills, and learn from my peers. I am looking forward to working with other students and professionals to successfully implement my capstone. ✨What is the best advice you have ever received? The best career/life advice I have ever received was to value criticism. Throughout my academic career, I learned about the benefits of criticism and receiving feedback. Over time, I grew to become more receptive to this feedback (both positive and negative). I learned to view feedback as constructive and build on my work to improve. In the workplace, I was able to apply this mindset and succeed in different environments. ✨What's a fun fact about you? I have been playing the piano since Grade 2! 🎹 #uoft #uoftmedicine #uofttrp #translationalresearch #

📣 Registration is open for the 2023-2024 LMP Graduate Mentoring Program cycle! This program is open to TRP students and the deadline to apply to be a mentee is September 30th. 🗓️ We are also accepting applications for mentors! Being both a mentee and a mentor in the program is possible, provided you can dedicate enough time. We offer two different kinds of mentoring for our graduate students: 🔵 Peer-to-peer: where lower-year graduate students are mentored by upper-year graduate students 🔵 Alumni: where our alumni mentor graduate students at any stage of their program All LMP graduate students are welcome to take part across all our programs. 🔗 Check out the link in our bio for more info or contact us at lmpmc@utoronto.ca if you have any questions. #uoft #uoftmedicine #graduatestudent #mentorship #uoftlmp

The TRP welcomed its newest cohort of students last week! 🎉 Students participated in an orientation where they heard some encouraging words from director Dr. Joseph Ferenbok and learned the basics of how the program works and what they need to know as a graduate student. They also had an opportunity to introduce themselves, meet their peers and meet some of their instructors. @trp.social even hosted activities at the end to help students become more acquainted with each other. We’ll be introducing some of our newest TRP students in the coming weeks so stay tuned! #uoft #trpuoft #translationalresearch #uoftmedicine

Our students have been completing their capstone defenses! Take a look at the recent presentation recordings for the following 3 teams: ▪️The Disordered Eating Project ▪️PGxOH – Translation of pharmacogenomic testing in the Ontario health system: ▪️Healthcare Research Allocation – by Team CReATive 🔗 Watch them through the link in our bio. #uoft #uoftmedicine #uoftlmp #translationalresearch