Exploring Tomorrow's Breakthroughs: GRIP 2024

Pharmaceutical Sciences Graduate Student Association (Photo by Reg Good)

The theme of Graduate Research in Progress 2024, "Today’s Research for Tomorrow’s Breakthroughs," reflects the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy’s commitment to pursuing research advancements that will drive future innovations in pharmaceutical sciences and health care. With 200 attendees from across academia and industry, this student-led symposium showcased the diverse research of graduate trainees within our faculty, emphasizing collaborations between our BMS and CSAP streams.

Guest speakers, shared their expertise and career insights, including keynote speaker Michael Ku, head of global clinical supply at Pfizer. With over three decades of biopharmaceutical experience, Ku spoke to the transformative impact of pharmaceutical research on patients' lives, sharing Pfizer’s values and core principles.

Following the keynote, the Speaking Science panel tackled the important topic of communicating science to broader audiences. Moderated by Assistant Professor Mina Tadrous, the panel included Dr. Vanessa Allen, medical microbiologist and infectious diseases physician at Sinai Health and University Health Network and associate professor in the department of laboratory medicine at U of T; Christine Birak, award-winning journalist with CBC News; Samantha Li, MSc student in biomedical communications at U of T; and Durhane Wong-Rieger, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders and the Institute for Optimizing Health Outcomes. The discussion centred on how data informs and influences decision-making and the power of visual storytelling.

Leading the afternoon presentations, Ned Pojskic, vice president of pharmacy benefits at Greenshield, emphasized the role of critical thinking and how courage can drive strategic outcomes.

This year’s symposium introduced Lightning Talks and a Science Photo Competition, showcasing graduate research in innovative and engaging ways. These sessions underscored the creativity and dedication of our pharmaceutical sciences community.

GRIP 2024’s success was essential to the tireless efforts of the organizing committee. Special thanks to committee co-chairs Angela Pollinzi and Alex Golubovic, and committee members: Amanda Yee, Angela Liang, Ariel Corsano, Betty Li, Fatemeh Molaei, Francine He, Hetvi Shah, Lauren Cadel, Luis Perez Davalos, Pei Zhi, Sabina Panfilov, Sarah Cash, Shannon Tsai, Stephanie Borlase, Stephanie Skalitzky, Somin Park, Tiana Young, Timothy Lim, Yuna Choi, and Yuti Patel.

“Our vision for GRIP 2024 was to showcase PharmSci student research in novel ways, and to emphasize diversity not only within the faculty, but in the field of pharmaceutical sciences as a whole,” says Pollinzi. “With inaugural Lightning Talk and Science Photo competitions, the addition of engaging new external speaker formats such as the Fireside Chat, and a panel comprised of speakers from a wide range of backgrounds, we aimed to build upon the strengths of the classic GRIP program and make it our own.”

“The greatest success was to see the breadth of expertise, from invited speakers and students alike, all forging towards a tomorrow full of scientific breakthroughs.”

See more photos from GRIP 2024