Congratulations to our 2023 VAST summer scholars!

As we ramp into the Vascular Training (VAST) Platform’s second year, we’d like to announce and welcome our new cohort of summer trainees.

Kristin Bessai, BSc in Life Sciences, Queen’s University

Kristin completed her Bachelor of Science (Honours) at Queen's University studying Life Sciences, with a specialization in Drug Discovery and Human Toxicology. During this time, she also worked as a Clinical Research Associate for 2 years on a Covid-19 study that investigated immunity in the immunocompromised population. Her fourth year thesis was centered around pancreatic cancer's ability to grow and form cell extensions. She transitioned to the University of Ottawa in May 2023, where she will be completing an MSc in Cellular and Molecular Medicine with Dr. Steffany Bennett starting in September. Outside of the lab, you can find her spending time outdoors with friends, baking, or at the arena! 

Sandra Bojic, MD candidate, University of Ottawa

Sandra is a first-year medical student at the University of Ottawa. Her interests include gardening, playing sports, travelling, and learning new languages. Sandra will be working in Dr. Steffany Bennett's Neural Regeneration Laboratory this summer to investigate lipidomic markers of remote ischemic pre-conditioning in vascular cognitive impairment (TRIC-VCI). 

Preet Gandhi, MD candidate, University of British Columbia

Preet is a 2nd year medical student who started his MD in 2021 at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Prior to his medical degree and throughout medical school, Preet has worked in several areas of public and global health, also completing a Master’s of Science in Global Health at McMaster University with a specialization in Business Management. His global health work has focussed on the two ends of the spectrum of aging, including gerontology and reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health (RMNCH) in the context of health systems development. He became interested in neurology while working with individuals with spinal cord injury and multiple sclerosis at the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre in Vancouver, as well as through public health projects examining aging and long-term care in high, middle and low-income countries. This summer, Preet is being supervised by Dr. Thalia Field and Dr. Cheryl Wellington.

Hayley Huston, undergraduate trainee in Psychology, University of Calgary

Hayley is in her final year of the BSc Psychology program at the University of Calgary and will be writing her honours thesis this coming fall. Her research interests include dementia, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Her long-term career goal is to practice as a clinician scientist in the field of clinical psychology, having enjoyed her work in helping roles such as dance instruction, and respite care. She’s excited about the prospect of working professionally and meaningfully in a helping role. In her spare time, she enjoys painting, hiking and spending time with friends and family. This summer she will be working on a project examining vascular burden as a mechanism for dementia risk, supervised by Dr. Brandy Callahan and Dr. Eric Smith.

George Tadros, BSc in Neuroscience, University of Calgary

George is a University of Calgary student and has just finished his honours degree in neuroscience, which he greatly enjoyed! Through his volunteering with dementia patients at Bethany Care Society for the past 6 years, George has become extremely passionate about dementia and cognitive decline, and as a result, has spent the past 4 years conducting research on novel biomarkers of cognitive decline. He is thrilled to continue his research this summer with the support of VAST, working with Dr. Phil Barber and Dr. Aravind Ganesh. Outside of academia, George is a soccer fanatic. He greatly enjoys watching soccer, cheering on his absolute favourite team, FC Barcelona. He even works as a soccer referee! 

Philippe Rousseau, undergraduate trainee in Biomedical Sciences, Laval University

Philippe is a student in Biomedical Sciences at Laval University, in Quebec City. His main field of interest in sciences is pharmacological research, especially finding treatments for diseases related to the brain. He will be working with Dr. Frederic Calon this summer on a project related to therapeutic targeting of cells in the brain vascular network. He is very proud to have the chance to contribute to the field of VCI this summer.