Clinician Scientist Profiles

COMING SOON!

COMING SOON!

Degree(s): MD, PhD

Program (Year): CSP Postgraduate Stream, (PGY2)

Email: shahab.ghorashi@gmail.com

I have a background in cognitive psychology and in studying deficits in brain oscillations in schizophrenia patients. At the beginning of my psychiatry training here at the U of T I have the opportunity to work with Dr. Daskalakis, a great supervisor and a renowned clinician scientist in this field, to broaden my experience and learn more about using repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) in treating treatment-resistant psychotic or depressed patients.

Project Title: magnetic seizure therapy (MST) for treatment resistant schizophrenia

Supervisor(s): Dr. Daskalakis

Degree(s): B.S., M.S., M.D.

Program (Year):CSP Postgraduate Stream, (PGY2)

Email: katrina.hui@utoronto.ca

I completed a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Philosophy at Stanford University, followed by an M.S. in Bioethics from Columbia University with a focus on neuroethics. I attended medical school at McMaster University and am currently a psychiatry resident at the University of Toronto. Apart from bioethics, my research interests also extend to the use of neuroimaging to identify targets for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for the optimization of treatment parameters for mental illness.

Project Title: Optimization of treatment parameters for repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression

Supervisor(s): Dr. Jonathan Downar

PubMed link: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Katrina_Hui

Degree(s): MSc, MD

Program (Year): CSP Postgraduate Stream, (PGY2)

Email: hyewon.helen.lee@gmail.com

Prior to residency, I studied Health Sciences at McMaster University, followed by a graduate degree (MSc) in neuroscience at Queen’s University and medical school at Western University. Throughout my training, I have been involved in multiple research projects including cultural comparison of stigma and deep brain stimulation. My current research interests include novel therapeutic modalities for psychiatric disorders, specifically neurostimulation. As a part of the research team at the MRI-guided rTMS clinic (Toronto Western Hospital), I am currently looking at clinical predictors of rTMS response in patients with medication-resistant MDD. My other research interests include novel targets and optimization of parameters of rTMS treatment for various psychiatric disorders.

Project Title: Clinical predictors of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) rTMS response in patients with medication-resistant MDD

My Citations 

Supervisor(s): Jonathan Downar

Degree(s): MSc, MD

Program (Year): CSP Postgraduate Stream, (PGY2)

Email: victormtang@gmail.com

I completed a BSc in Psychology and MSc in Neuroscience at the University of British Columbia. Following this, I obtained my MD at Queen’s University before entering residency in psychiatry in Toronto. Previous research projects have included the study of mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress in bipolar disorder, white matter neuroimaging in psychostimulant drug use, and the diagnosis and treatment of catatonia. 

Currently I am doing research with the Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention at CAMH in magnetic seizure therapy, a study novel brain stimulation therapy for those with severe, treatment resistant mood and psychotic disorders.

Project Title: Magnetic seizure therapy in treatment resistant psychotic disorders

My Citations 

Supervisor(s): Jeff Daskalakis

Degree(s): MD, BHSc

Program (Year): CSP Pregraduate Stream, (PGY3)

Email: zenita.alidina@mail.utoronto.ca

I became interested in academic research during my undergraduate studies in Health Sciences at McMaster University. I continued to pursue this interest in medical school at the University of Toronto and am excited to remain involved during my residency in Psychiatry. My current research focuses on children’s mental health, and specifically factors related to those that present with suicidality and their response to existing interventions, in order to guide the development of suicide prevention strategies in clinical settings.

Project Title: Examination of emergency department visits for suicide and suicide related behaviours in youth to inform prevention strategies

Supervisor(s): Dr. Peter Szatmari

Degree(s): B. Arts Sc. MD

Program (Year): CSP Pregraduate Stream, (PGY3)

Email: zainab.furqan@mail.utoronto.ca

I completed my undergraduate degree in Arts and Science and my medical training at McMaster. I am fascinated by the process of rigorously and systematically examining the lived experiences of participants. Currently, my work involves the analysis of suicide notes with a focus on personal narratives of mental illness, mental health care and how these experiences impact suicidal behaviour. More nuanced understandings of these experiences may lead to the development of more strategic and effective tools in suicide prevention.

Project Title: Mental illness and mental health care as experienced by persons who die by suicide

Supervisor(s): Dr. Juveria Zaheer, Dr. Paul Kurdyak

Degree(s): BHSc (Hons), MD

Program (Year): CSP Pregraduate Stream, (PGY3)

Email: alvin.keng@mail.utoronto.ca

I attended McMaster University for my undergraduate studies, and the University of British Columbia for medical school. I started working with Dr. Kathleen Sheehan and Dr. Donna Stewart at UHN shortly after starting my residency in Psychiatry at Toronto. I am interested in understanding the intersection between neurosurgery and psychiatric outcomes. My hope is to improve psychiatric CL services with the post-op neurosurgical population. My most recent projects have been to conduct a scoping review on psychiatric outcomes post-operatively in neurosurgical patients, and a retrospective review of psychiatry CL consultations from UHN over the last 4 years from neurosurgical services.

Project Title: Examining psychiatric issues among neuro-oncological patients post-operatively, a scoping review and a retrospective descriptive study

Supervisor(s): Drs. Kathleen Sheehan & Dr. Donna Stewart

Degree(s): BSc, MD

Program (Year): CSP Pregraduate Stream, (PGY3)

Email: cory.weissman@mail.utoronto.ca

This is an exciting time to be an academic psychiatrist. Psychiatry is starting to benefit greatly from many discoveries happening now in neuroscience. Clinical psychiatry provides unique, rewarding interactions through rich relationships that physicians are able to make with their patients. I think that coupling discovery in neuroscientific research with clinical psychiatry can lead to an engaging and satisfying career. I am thrilled to continue this journey, and I will be doing so in a project involving the treatment of suicidal ideation in treatment resistant depression.

Project Title:

The Effects of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Suicidal Ideation in Treatment Resistant Depression

Supervisor(s): Dr. Jeff Daskalakis

Degree(s): MD

Program (Year): CSP Pregraduate Stream, (PGY3)

Email: carrol.zhou@mail.utoronto.ca 

I completed my undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at Queen’s University and my medical school at the University of Toronto. I want to be a clinician scientist because I believe in the power of gaining knowledge and creating change for better treatment of patients with mental illness.

Our current health care system poses limitations on how fast we can access expert psychiatric care. My current project focuses on a collaborative care model between Psychiatry and other specialties such as Family Medicine. I believe that this can remove barriers so more individuals will receive timely and adequate psychiatric care when needed. I have no specific future plans, but hope to continue doing research wherever it takes me.

Project Title: Collaborative Care in Psychiatry

Supervisor(s): Dr. Sanjeev Sockalingam

Degree(s): BSc, MBBS, MD, PhD

Program (Year): CSP Postgraduate Stream, (PGY5)

Email: araba.chintoh@utoronto.ca

My research interests include the clinical impact of psychopharmacology in patients with psychosis.  I have experience in both pre-clinical and clinical paradigms investigating the diabetogenic effects of antipsychotic medications.  I am also interested in primary and medication-induced movement disorders, exploring neurological soft signs and dyskinetic movements in the first episode population.

Project Title: Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Fat Deposition in Adolescents with First-Time Use of Antipsychotics

Supervisor(s): Dr. Gary Remington

PubMed Link(s):

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Chintoh%20A[Author]&cauthor=true&cauthor_uid=24477569#

Degree(s): MD, MSc

Program (Year): CSP Postgraduate Stream, (PGY4)

Email: aneta.krakowski@mail.utoronto.ca

I completed my undergraduate degree in Neuroscience at the University of Toronto. For my Master’s degree, I worked under the supervision of Dr. Paul Frankland at the Hospital for Sick Children researching adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus using mouse models. I completed medical school at the University of Toronto and developed an interest in child and adolescent psychiatry. I am particularly interested in working with children with autism and hope to intertwine my future clinical practice with research in order to learn how to best understand and treat children with autism and co-morbid mental health disorders.

Project Title: Autism Spectrum Disorder

Supervisor(s): Dr. Peter Szatmari