Our Mission
The IMS-International Community Student Group was founded to facilitate the communication between international students currently enrolled at the Institute of Medical Sciences at the UofT.
We aim to promote an authentic, dynamic, and supportive international student community, in which students will be able to address any thoughts and concerns that may arise as they navigate their academic experience.
The IMS-ICSG Team
President
Katie Göke
Katie is a third-year PhD student at the IMS and CPIN. Her research at the Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention at CAMH focuses on repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) as a treatment for depression in older adults. She is particularly interested in how cognitive difficulties related to depression in this age group might predict their response to rTMS, and whether rTMS can help improve these cognitive deficits. Prior to her PhD, she completed a master’s degree in Psychology at the University of Düsseldorf, Germany, and a bachelors’ degree in Psychology at the University of Salzburg, Austria. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking, running, exploring the city and going to Renaissance fairs or rock music concerts. She is excited to be part of the IMS international community and to get to know more international students at UofT.
Vice President
Anna Mandel
Anna Mandel is first year PhD student at the IMS. Her research focuses on drug development in rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare cancer which is most prevalent in children. She completed her undergraduate education in Europe and arrived in Canada during COVID times. In her free time she enjoys reading, hanging out with friends, and exploring the city. She hopes to contribute to the expansion of the international community and get to know more of the international students at the IMS and the UofT!
Treasurer
Christina Plahouras
Christina is a second-year master's student at U of T', where she holds an Ontario Graduate Scholarship for her research on developing effective drug therapeutics by targeting the DNA damage pathway in leiomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. She completed her undergraduate degree at U of T, majoring in Human Biology. In her free time, she enjoys playing soccer, weightlifting, and spending time with friends and family.
Chief Technology Officer
Joel Diaz
Joel Diaz is a PhD student at the Institute of Medical Science, specializing in clinical cognitive neuroscience. His research focuses on psychophysiological measures and neuromodulation techniques, with an emphasis on attentional and perceptual processes in body image disturbance. He graduated from Florida State University with a BS in Psychology and received his Master's in Data Science from Lewis University. Before joining the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health as a practicum student, he worked as a Research Associate at the University of California-Los Angeles, where he managed projects investigating topics such as the neural oscillatory mechanism of attention, value-based decision-making, and brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression. In his free time, he enjoys exploring new cities, checking out breweries, and unwinding with friends.
IMSSA International Student Representative
Laura Llamosas-Falcón
Laura Llamosas-Falcón is a second-year PhD student at IMS. She studied Medicine at the University of Cantabria (Spain). In 2021, she finished her residency and specialized in Preventive Medicine and Public Health. As part of it, she completed a master’s degree in public health. She also completed a two-year fellowship position at the Institute for Mental Health Policy Research at CAMH (Toronto, Canada). During her fellowship, she improved her statistical skills and conducted several meta-analysis and meta-regressions. She has experience in analyzing epidemiological data of alcohol use and alcohol-related harms. Laura has worked and collaborated in international projects with The Pan American Health Organization. Outside academia, Laura enjoys taking long walks around the city and playing videogames.
Executive Member
Monika Kataria
Monika is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Medical Science (IMS), University of Toronto, conducting research at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, UHN. She is also part of the Collaborative Program in Neuroscience. Her research centers on implementation science, specifically focused on scaling and expanding Project ECHO Pain in Canada. She earned her undergraduate degree from Miranda House, University of Delhi, and completed her master’s at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. She moved to Toronto in the fall of 2024. Outside of her academic work, she enjoys painting and has a strong affection for cats.
Executive Member
Miguel Martinez Santos
Miguel Martinez Santos is an MSc student in the Institute of Medical Science at U of T, conducting research in the field of lung transplantation and ex-vivo lung perfusion at the Latner Thoracic Surgery Research Labs. He was born in Madrid, Spain, and moved to Canada in 2012. He completed his undergraduate degree at McMaster University in the Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences program, where he began his research journey in the field of blood-contacting biomaterials, later transitioning to food allergy immunology. Outside of academics, he enjoys playing tennis, hiking, watching movies, and especially traveling.
Faculty advisor
Zhong-Ping Feng
Dr. Zhong-Ping Feng, is a Professor in Physiology and Medical Science (IMS) at the University of Toronto. Her portfolio as the Director of International Development for IMS, includes promoting international experiences to IMS graduate students, leading on international recruitment initiative, and developing international programs and partnerships with leading academic institutes.
Website Director
Ali Golbabaei
Ali is a graduate student at IMS and he is perusing a PhD degree while doing research at Hospital for Sick Children. He is studying the mechanisms of memory formation and recall with the use of memory manipulation techniques in mice. He did his undergrad at University of Tehran in Cellular molecular biology and Biotechnology Majors. Ali came to Toronto during fall of 2018 and has been experiencing an international student life since then.
Former member
Anukrati Nigam
Anukrati is a PhD student at the IMS and the Collaborative Program in Neuroscience at the University of Toronto. Her work at the Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics, conducted under the guidance of Dr. Sean Hill and Dr. Shreejoy Tripathy, focuses on the integration of multi-modal data in neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. At the IMS, she is also a part of the Raw Talk Podcast (audio engineer) and the IMS Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (student volunteer for current graduate student support).
Outside of the lab, Anukrati likes to do yarn crafts (crochet, knitting, embroidery), play musical instruments (ukulele, guitar, keyboard), art (drawing, painting), read books, travel, and attend live music concerts.
Having lived in four countries and on three continents, Anukrati is well on her way of completing her goal to live on all habitable continents. She loves meeting people from all over the world and wants to facilitate events that bring the world—in this case, the IMS community—closer together.
Former Member
Atsuhiro Hibi
Atsuhiro Hibi is a second-year PhD student at the Institute of Medical Science. He is a member of the Temerty Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research and Education in Medicine (T-CAIREM). After receiving his master’s degree in computer science at Kyoto University, Japan, he worked as an AI corporate researcher in manufacturing industry for eight years and led multidisciplinary projects specializing in machine learning for image recognition tasks. His PhD research, under the supervision of Drs. Pascal Tyrrell and Michael Cusimano, focuses on AI-assisted CT assessment methods applicable to traumatic brain injury. He has a research interest in dramatically decreasing annotation workload with the aim of increasing speed of technology translation from bench to bedside.
Former Member
Neda Rashidi-Ranjbar
Neda is a 5th year PhD candidate at IMS, and her research focus is on investigating structural and functional MRI scans in the population at-risk of Alzheimer’s dementia. She has received the Alzheimer Society Research Program (ASRP) Doctoral Award for her studies.
Neda holds a medical doctorate (MD) from Tehran University of Medical Science and a MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience from Trento University, Italy, and the Donders Institute, the Netherlands.
Neda’s rich international experience has helped her in identifying the need for creating an international community for IMS graduate students.
Neda holds a medical doctorate (MD) from Tehran University of Medical Science and a MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience from Trento University, Italy, and the Donders Institute, the Netherlands.
Neda’s rich international experience has helped her in identifying the need for creating an international community for IMS graduate students.
Former Member
Fernando Montano Rendon
Fernando Montano Rendon is a medical graduate from Mexico, currently pursuing his PhD at the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto and conducting research at the Hospital for Sick Children as part of the program in Cell Biology.
Fernando has acquired robust international experience and has been able to collaborate with top international universities and research institutes around the world. He has done academic and research attachments in the Netherlands, Singapore, Canada, and Mexico.
Former Member
Mohsen Poorganji
Mohsen is a third-year Ph.D. candidate at the IMS and CPIN at UofT. His area of research focuses on the optimization of Brain Stimulation using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). He enjoys the atmosphere of his laboratory, Temerty Centre for Therapeutic Brain Intervention. Mohsen would like to invite all of the students at IMS to join ISCE where he and the other members have founded a group for international students to develop a sense of engagement and community building. Mohsen is an enthusiast of reading literature from various countries.
Former Member
Vidushi Madaan
Vidushi Madaan is a third-year PhD candidate at IMS, and her research focuses on understanding molecular mechanisms that lead to development of ovarian cancer. She was born and raised in India, and has completed her Masters in Microbiology and Immunology from Germany. She has gained extensive international experience in world-class institutes in Germany and India, which has helped her to broaden horizons and strengthened her fundamental learnings. Outside of the lab, Vidushi enjoys to paint, dance, travel, and listen to music. She feels being an international student can be quite overwhelming at first therefore, through IMS international community, she would like to make the journey of the incoming international students easier and at the same time, learn from different perspectives and experiences which will help her to grow as a person.
Join the IMS
International
Community
We are looking for graduate students to
fill a variety of committee positions!
fill a variety of committee positions!