“This year it was bigger and better,” said Dr. Samantha Pauls, assistant professor at the College of Pharmacy and chair of the MSHRF, noting 50 more students participated in 2024 over last year, with most participants Rady Faculty of Health Sciences’ graduate students. Other students came from UM Fort Garry campus grad programs, University of Winnipeg and Brandon University. 

“For the first time we gave undergraduate students the opportunity to be nominated for participation in the poster competition. We are hoping the experience will encourage these undergrads to pursue graduate school.” 

One of those undergraduate students was Camila Oda Jallime, from the UM Faculty of Science.

“I was so excited to present this year and learn as much as I could from the experience. It was incredibly rewarding to hear feedback and ideas from others about my project.” 

Jallime said the MSHRF is where she first discovered her love for immunology and met others in the department and which led to her working as an undergraduate student researcher at associate professor of immunology Dr. Thomas Marooka’s lab. This year, she won the first undergraduate poster award for her research on therapeutics for improving vaginal barrier function to prevent sexually transmitted infections.  

“I was not expecting to win the poster award and it was a very emotional moment when I found out the results. I couldn’t have done this without the endless support of everyone in my lab.” 

Jallime is now entering the fifth-year of the B.Sc. Genetics (honours) program and said she plans to pursue a graduate program in health sciences, but is still deciding which one. 

Saeid Magsoudi, a fourth-year PhD student in the department of physiology and pathophysiology in the Max Rady College of Medicine, was participating for the third time, presenting his research on life-saving drug treatments that can help babies who have difficulty breathing immediately after birth. Magsoudi said he was very grateful to win several awards, especially the major award from the Child Health Research Institute of Manitoba. 

Saeid Magsoudi is presented with an award during the MSHRF from Dr. Jude Uzonna, professor and vice-dean (research), Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

“It means that if you work hard and you dedicate yourself to the research you can get your results – by getting awards or recognitions. All the students here are working for the community, so that was meaningful for me.” 

Magsoudi said he has been to many research conferences across Canada and Europe over the past three years and MSHRF really stands out for the diversity and the high calibre of work being presented. 

“The quality of research is excellent here. It covers a broad spectrum ranging from basic science to clinical studies to population studies and more. Many universities focus on one specific type of research, but in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences it covers all aspects of health sciences. It’s fantastic.”     

The MSHRF also included special lectures, early career researcher presentations and professional development workshops, along with plenty of opportunities to network with colleagues and mentors. 

“MSHRF was an excellent place for networking. I was able to network with many students and principal investigators here. Each day in the afternoon we had a networking session, so we had the chance to collaborate or just communicate with people from the industry of health sciences,” said Magsoudi. 

New this year was the addition of chairs in key roles, including poster competition chair, Dr. Eftekhar Eftekharpour; major awards chair, Dr. Brad Doble; early career researcher symposium chair, Dr. Janilyn Arsenio; and event planning chair, Bianca Felisbino. 

This was the 2nd year of the MSHRF under the current name and format, based on the similar event previously known as “Research Days” or the “Canadian Student Health Research Forum” which ran for 34 years prior. 

Additional funding for MSHRF was provided by many sponsors, including platinum sponsors: The Manitoba Medical Service Foundation Inc., Manitoba Blue Cross, UM Faculty of Graduate Studies and UM Rady Faculty of Health Sciences. 

“This event is all about the grad students. It provides opportunity for them to present their research, refine their communication skills and be recognized for their achievements through the large suite of awards,” said Dr. Samantha Pauls, assistant professor at the College of Pharmacy and co-chair of the MSHRF.

There were 24 poster awards and 22 travel awards tied to the poster competition this year. The top 10 PhD students were given the opportunity to represent the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences at the national poster competition at next year’s International Congress on Academic Medicine (ICAM) in Vancouver.

“After participating in many virtual research forums after starting my PhD in 2019, it is nice to be back to in-person events to really interact with others and have those in-depth, one-on-one discussions that were not possible in a virtual format,“ said Emma Martell, a fourth-year graduate student in the department of pathology, Max Rady College of Medicine.

Martell took home a record-breaking six awards, including the top poster award, ICAM travel award, the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba major award and all three available oncology awards. Martell’s poster presented part of her thesis work on the discovery of new strategies for targeting cells related to aggressive childhood cancers.

Emma Martell won six awards at the poster competition during the MSHRF

“It was an incredible feeling, and I am so pleased that the judges and committees enjoyed and appreciated the research work I’ve done. Of course, research is a team effort and I am so grateful to all the students, technicians and collaborators that helped me with this research. I am especially thankful to my supervisor and mentor, Dr. Tanveer Sharif, who fostered a supportive and encouraging lab environment that made all this work possible,” said Martell.

Although the name is different, the MSHRF follows a tradition over 30 years in existence. Starting out as a simple poster competition, what was once called “Awards Day” has evolved and grown over time, with the original founder Dr. Ed Kroeger, professor emeritus, Max Rady College of Medicine, continuing to guide the event.

“Amidst the changes, the four key pillars envisioned by Dr. Kroeger many years ago still guide us today: mentoring, networking, showcasing and recognizing,” said Pauls.

This year the MSHRF also included nine early career researcher presentations from prominent faculty members from all five Rady Faculty of Health Sciences colleges, along with networking events with Manitoba-based alumni, employers and mentors.

There were over 250 registered participants in the MSHRF with graduate students representing 70% of those in attendance. The Health Sciences Graduate Students’ Association (HSGSA) along with additional graduate student volunteers assisted in the planning and execution of MSHRF on multiple levels, including hosting a student networking event in the evening and sponsoring several of the awards. 

“I have participated every year since I started my program and I continuously learn new tips, tricks and techniques to improve my presentation style,” said Martell.

“If it is your first time presenting a research project, then the MSHRF is a great place to practice in a friendly local environment to prepare for larger conferences.”