Research Manitoba recently announced the recipients of our 2024 Trainee Awards for Masters, PhD, and Postdoctoral trainees. These awards recognize outstanding achievements and potential in researchers from various disciplines.
Today, we are excited to share the perspectives of several award recipients as they reflect on the significance of this recognition. They have been asked, “What will this award mean for your project or your career?” Below, you’ll find their thoughtful responses, highlighting the impact of these awards on their future.
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Kenneth Osafile, University of Manitoba “As a young pharmacologist just starting his career in cancer research, this award will greatly assist me in pursuing my research goal /project which is to identify novel targets and drug therapies for treating high-risk subtype of T-Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia called Early Thymic Progenitor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia(ETP-ALL) plaguing children and young adults. This funding will help in pushing forward my research skills, and research goals and will serve as a platform for subsequent funding, to complete my research project in good time.” |
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Elise Gork, University of Manitoba “Being a recipient of this award means very much to myself and to my career. To be recognized for my achievements and potential motivates me to pursue my future. This motivation also pushes me to set goals for myself that will empower me to reach my fullest potential. Furthermore, this award highlights the importance of this project and will allow for its continuance. Thank you to Research Manitoba for believing in me and this project.” |
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Kaihim Wong, University of Manitoba “First of all, I would like to thank Research Manitoba. I am honoured to be one of the awardees. This award has given me the confidence to turn my ideas into action. As I approach what is likely my final year of my PhD, this recognition provides me with the extra momentum to push myself even harder to reach my goals!” |
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Alexandria Delaney, University of Manitoba “Funds from Research Manitoba will help me overcome the financial challenges of graduate school and enable me to focus on completing my doctoral studies. This award will also allow me to invest more time in professional development opportunities, which are important for advancing my career goal of becoming a professor. Additionally, this award reinforces the importance of my research and enhances my confidence in its potential to better understand how to support family caregivers in Manitoba and beyond.” |
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Amarasignhe Mudalige Ovini Amarasinghe, University of Manitoba “I am absolutely honoured to have received the 2024 PhD Research Studentship Award. I would like to thank Research Manitoba and CancerCare Manitoba for this award. This award recognizes the importance of my research which greatly inspires me to work harder and to be a better scientist. My project focuses on T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL) which is an aggressive subtype of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). There are children and adults who are therapy-resistant or relapse from T-ALL. My project strives to uncover therapeutic targets and revolutionize the treatment landscape for T-ALL patients with therapy resistance and relapsed disease. I believe that discovering new therapeutic targets for therapy-resistant and relapsed patients will give them a fighting chance to beat T-ALL for good. I am motivated to make a difference in the lives of these patients. I also want to take this opportunity to thank my amazing supervisor, Dr. Cedric Tremblay for his constant support and guidance. I would also like to thank my committee members and the Department of Immunology for all their help and support.” |
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Le An Lac, University of Manitoba “I am deeply grateful to receive this incredible honour. This award will enable me to deepen my expertise in using computer science and statistics to solve problems in chronic diseases like cancer. It will also help me achieve my long-term goal of improving health care in Canada with passion and motivation, bringing me closer to becoming a health data scientist, educator, and mentor who promotes equity, diversity, and inclusion in health research.” |
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Samah Ahmed, University of Manitoba “I am deeply honoured to have been awarded the prestigious Research Manitoba PhD studentship. This recognition goes beyond financial support; it acknowledges my academic and research potential. The studentship alleviates financial pressures, enabling me to dedicate myself fully to my studies. It serves as a powerful motivator, fueling my passion and commitment to advancing research in the genetics of age-related hearing loss.” |
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Ranjini Mukherjee, University of Winnipeg “I am deeply honoured to receive this prestigious award, which marks a transformative milestone in my academic and professional journey. The Research Manitoba Master’s Studentship Award not only provides essential financial support but also offers significant recognition as I advance towards becoming an independent researcher. This award will enable me to focus on my research, which focuses on Legacy and Emerging Persistent Organic Pollutant Toxicity in Canadian Polar Bears. The support from this award will be instrumental in ensuring the success of my project. Furthermore, this award opens up invaluable opportunities for collaboration with leading professionals and organizations within Manitoba. The funding will allow me to focus intensively on my research, equipping me with the skills and experience necessary to make significant contributions to the healthcare system, industry, or other research environment. Additionally, the network and partnerships facilitated through this program will enhance my professional development, opening doors to future collaborations and ultimately enabling me to contribute to the innovative landscape of Manitoba.” |
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Deric Marcoux, University of Manitoba “I am incredibly grateful to have been chosen as a recipient of the Research Manitoba Studentship Award. With the help of this award, I am able to devote myself to my research project which investigates the complex processes of the effects of bilingualism on reading ability. This is a two-part study which involves both behavioural and Electroencephalography (EEG) data collection, which requires a considerable amount of time. The results of this study will expand our knowledge on bilingualism and reading, leading to the development of best practices to support bilingual readers.” |
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Madison Chisholm, University of Winnipeg “I am incredibly honoured to receive one of the Master’s Studentship Awards for 2024. This award represents a significant milestone for both my research project and my career. It acknowledges the hard work and dedication invested in my project, validating its potential impact. Additionally, this recognition opens the door to new opportunities for collaboration and provides a platform to reach a broader audience. This award inspires me to continue striving for excellence and innovation in my field of research.” |
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Lauren MacGowan, University of Manitoba “I am overjoyed to hear that I have been awarded one of the Research Manitoba Master’s Studentship Awards for the year 2024-2025. It is a huge honour to have even been considered for the award. For me, winning this award means that others care deeply about my research. I will have additional resources and support to not only conduct my research but also disseminate my findings to individuals outside of academia, more specifically Manitobans and Canadians. I am excited to continue doing research for my graduate degree and later in my career. I’d like to thank my advisor, Dr. Tracie Afifi for her mentorship and support, as well as the amazing team of individuals I get to collaborate with every day. Lastly, thank you, Research Manitoba, for your diligence in supporting students and your commitment to enhancing research. I share your commitment, and I am looking forward to what lies ahead.” |
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Sanjana Grover, University of Manitoba “I am extremely honoured to be one of the recipients of the Research Manitoba Master’s Studentship Award. As a graduate student, I am committed to achieving academic excellence and contributing to my research field, and receiving this award further amplifies my project’s potential to contribute meaningful insights. Additionally, this award will provide me with crucial financial support, enabling me to focus more intently on my research and paving the way for future opportunities in my career as a researcher. With this award, I am now not only equipped to make significant strides in my research but also inspired to reach new heights in my career.” |
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Tahmina Rahman, University of Manitoba “I am very grateful and honoured to have been awarded the RM Master’s Studentship Award. This award not only provides valuable financial support but also validates the importance of my research on Type 2 Diabetes remission. With this funding, I can dedicate more resources and time to exploring remission approaches and health outcomes for individuals with Type 2 Diabetes. I am very thankful for the support of my supervisors, Dr. Dylan MacKay, and Dr. Rebecca Mollard. Professionally, this award feels like a pat on the shoulder, acknowledging my hard work and motivating me to continue pushing forward in my research.” |
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Huy Luu, University of Manitoba “It is my honour to accept an offer for the Research Manitoba’s 2024 PhD Research Studentship Award. I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to Research Manitoba. My interdisciplinary project, which aims to create enzymatic tools to understand the molecular mechanism of aging-related diseases, will employ cutting-edge methods in protein engineering, synthetic biology, chemistry, and computation modelling, which require significant commitment in time and effort to master. Receiving the award enables me to dedicate my PhD to solving this challenging but important problem. If successful, the developed tools can facilitate extensive research on aging-related diseases and contribute to contribute to rejuvenation efforts to improve quality of life for Canadian seniors.” |
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Nitesh Sanghai, University of Manitoba “It is my humbling honour to receive the RM award for the year 2024, under the PhD studentship category. Honestly, this award will give a ray of “Hope” in advancing our early phase drug discovery in the academic setting, here at the College of Pharmacy, the University of Manitoba. This will be a turning point to boost and foster my research under, Dr. Geoffrey K. Tranmer’s group to create “Hope” in the community suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) an incurable and highly complex disease. Further, this award will be a huge milestone for our cutting-edge research. Accepting this prestigious award will encourage and motivate approximately 4,000 Canadians and over 400 Manitobans living with ALS. |
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Shamina Anonna, Brandon University “Receiving a provincial award like Research Manitoba, at the beginning of the second innings of my academic journey as the sole option for international researchers, is an extraordinary honor and motivation. This scholarship signifies more than financial support; it is a testament to the value and potential of breast cancer research in the eyes of esteemed experts in the field. In practical terms, it provides me with the scope to delve deeper and dedicate my full time to focusing on early breast cancer detection and therapy. This award significantly enhances my career prospects by empowering me to push experimental boundaries, explore innovative approaches and ultimately contribute to the improvement of breast cancer scenarios within the province and beyond.” |
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Indeera Hetti Arachchige, University of Winnipeg “Receiving this award was exciting and motivational as I felt it was a tribute to my hard work. At the same time, I felt the responsibility of receiving this competitive award. This award would help me to expand the scope of my project on finding a solution to minimize the phosphorus loss to snowmelt runoff from agricultural soils in Manitoba, without worrying about its financial aspects.” |
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Shubham Goyal, University of Manitoba “The Manitoba Studentship Award will be a stepping stone to a successful research career. By leveraging its financial support, recognition, and networking opportunities, I can significantly advance my project and establish myself as a promising researcher.” |
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Jayson Gislason, University of Winnipeg/University of Manitoba “The Research Manitoba award will allow me to concentrate on researching and writing my thesis on the history of land acknowledgements. The award is a tremendous vote of confidence in my project, for which I am very thankful.” |
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Dagem Yilma Chernet, University of Manitoba “The Research Manitoba Master’s Studentship award will allow me to accomplish the research goals set out for my project by alleviating financial pressures. Additionally, I can focus on communicating my findings to researchers in lung physiology, and the general public with this award. It also paves the way for opportunities in career development, mentorship and networking with experts in my field of study and industry professionals. Lastly, the reviews and feedback from my application for this award will aid me in future grant applications and improve my ability to write future grant proposals. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Research Manitoba, the Health Sciences Center Foundation and the Manitoba Lung Association for their support. I am deeply honoured and grateful to be a recipient of the 2024 Master’s Studentship Award.” |
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Julie-Anne McCarthy, University of Manitoba “There are many competing demands for graduate students, and financial support is instrumental in helping us complete our programs successfully and on time. This award is invaluable as it means having the ability to devote time to my doctoral research in the areas of childhood adversity, child and youth mental health, and protective factors across the lifespan, with my advisor Dr. Tracie Afifi. I am so grateful to Research Manitoba and the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba for this opportunity and look forward to progressing my work in French and English as a researcher and PhD candidate in the Community Health Sciences Program. Thank you! Merci!” |
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Volodymyr Shyianov, University of Manitoba “This award will greatly accelerate my research career and help me generate new innovations in the field of wireless technology.” |
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Simran Dhaliwal, University of Manitoba This award will make a significant contribution to my graduate studies as it will provide the financial support I require to complete my project and will give me access to additional resources that better enable me to critically answer my research questions. In addition, this award will help me develop professionally by furthering both my technical and soft skills via attendance at various networking, training/workshop, and conference events. I hope through my research I can find novel pharmacological strategies that can help in the pursuit to bettering healthcare in Manitoba. |
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Yina Her, University of Manitoba “Winning this award significantly elevates both my project and my career. My project is focused on rare diseases with limited research and treatment options. Receiving this award serves as a powerful endorsement of my project’s value and potential impact, lending credibility that can attract further funding and support, enabling me to contribute more significantly to the field and the disorders of interest. It also validates my dedication and hard work, boosting my professional reputation and opening doors to new opportunities.” |