2019 MBP Geneva Park Retreat a success!
The annual Medical Biophysics (MBP) retreat was held from Sunday, September 22 to Tuesday, September 24 at Geneva Park on beautiful lake Couchiching. The three-day event brought MBP students and faculty members together to engage in meaningful knowledge-sharing activities in a relaxed and bucolic setting.
Approximately 150 MBP graduate students and 30 MBP faculty participated in the 2019 event, which featured opportunities for MBP students and faculty to network, learn more about the MBP Graduate program and discuss issues related to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in scientific research.
A keynote presentation was delivered by special guest Dr. Cristina Nostro titled 'Using Embryonic Stem Cells to model human pancreatic development: what have we learned?'
Throughout the three days, MBP-focused research presentations were provided by:
- Dr. Benjamin Lok
- Dr. Fa-Hsuan Lin
- Dr. Kamil Uludag
- Dr. Bo Wang
- Dr. Nilesh Ghugre
- Dr. Christine Demore
- Dr. Brad MacIntosh
- Dr. Arash Zarrine-Afsar
- Dr. Shane Harding
- Dr. Catherine O’Brien
- Dr. Mohammad Mazhab Jafari
Additionally, the event featured a ‘rotations market’ aimed at connecting new MBP students with recruiting MBP labs. A large number of faculty participated, showcasing research posters to first year students who are in the process of determining labs for their second and third rotations.
The Geneva Park Retreat also featured a very special MBP Awards ceremony.
Walker-Marshall Prize
The award is given to a student who has completed a PhD in the Department during the past year or is expected to have completed the PhD by December of this year. It recognizes a combination of academic excellence, scientific impact from thesis work and participation in and contribution to the culture, student life and student welfare in the Department.
The 2019 Walker-Marshall award was awarded to Sasha Doodnauth.
MBP Achievement Award
These awards recognize three PhD students (applied, basic and translational) for outstanding academic achievements, annually. Selection criteria are based on the overall quality of students’ PhD theses, with a specific focus on publications, patents, development of devices/methods, contributions to clinical practice and knowledge translation.
The 2019 MBP Achievement Award recipients:
- Elizabeth de Guzman (Applied)
- Tony Junjie Hua (Basic)
- Ankit Sinha (Translational)
Education Awards
As part of a new student-led initiative, two special awards were presented to outstanding MBP faculty as selected by MBP students.
Dr. Gang Zheng received the Excellence in Teaching Award in recognition of his significant contributions to graduate student education within the Department.
Dr. Alex Vitkin was awarded the Excellence in Mentorship Award in recognition of his exceptional dedication to graduate student development & continued commitment to mentorship within the Department.
Special thanks to all participants and event organizers for making the 2019 Geneva Park Retreat a success!
Learn more about the Geneva Park retreat.
Photos from the event:
