Katrina Carver

Katrina Carver is a graduate student in the field of computational neuroscience at the University of Toronto, where she utilizes novel machine learning techniques to understand and explain Alzheimer’s Disease. With the results of her research, she aims to guide drug development, improve diagnosis and enhance patient care. Katrina has been awarded a Canada Graduate Scholarship and a Medical Biophysics Excellence Award for her work, continuing the recognition of her dedication to academic and research excellence established as an Honours Physics student at �첥��Ƶ. At York, she was awarded the Schulich Leader Scholarship, three Undergraduate Student Research Awards and the Iristel Undergraduate Scholarship. Notably, her undergraduate thesis research using neural networks to improve adaptive deep brain stimulation in Parkinson’s Disease has been published in Nature Communications and presented internationally. Katrina’s ultimate motivation is to serve society by advancing diagnosis, treatment and care for those living with neurodegenerative diseases using artificial intelligence, while considering and advancing the highest standards of ethics and privacy.

Pablo Gonzalez

Pablo Gonzalez, a medical student at the University of Toronto, is a dedicated advocate for diversity and inclusion. He founded the Canadian Association of Latin Medical Students (CALMS) to unite those interested in Latin American culture and healthcare. As CALMS president, Pablo and his team empower marginalized Latin American youth to pursue healthcare careers, addressing underrepresentation in the field. Pablo's community-building extends to his role as an ally to Jewish community leaders in the fight against antisemitism. As a keynote speaker at provincial interfaith events, Pablo fosters empathetic dialogues, seeking common ground with diverse cultural and religious communities. Furthermore, he is passionate about supporting underserved and marginalized groups through his academic endeavours. Collaborating with leading diabetes researchers at the University of Calgary, he sheds light on the healthcare barriers faced by those experiencing homelessness. He has presented his research at national and international medical conferences to drive policy discussions. Pablo's advocacy stems from his experiences at �첥��Ƶ, where he graduated from the Bachelor of Science Biotechnology Program. Active in student life, Pablo represented �첥��Ƶ students through the President's Ambassador Program and as a Student Representative on the �첥��Ƶ Alumni Board. In these roles, he collaborated with university executives and stakeholders to ensure that �첥��Ƶ remains a vibrant place for diverse learning experiences.

Adrian Leva

Adrian is the COO and co-founder of Nu-Rise Construction Management, a firm specializing in mid to high-rise construction in the Greater Toronto Area. Prior to co-founding Nu-Rise, Adrian founded New Mission Investments, a real estate company focused on building generational wealth through multifamily properties and increasing access to housing in Ontario. Adrian Leva's humanitarian background began in 2013, when he was an international missionary for The Samaritan Foundation. Adrian visited the Dominican Republic to help build homes for at-risk families who lived on less than $1 dollar per day. Adrian helped with fundraising and building over 25 homes between 2013 and 2019, which were equipped with basic electrical and plumbing services. To support this goal, Adrian inspires youth to engage with their community and to take philanthropic action. Since 2019, Adrian has influenced 800 students through keynote presentations, raising funds to further home construction in the Dominican Republic.

Brian Serapio

Brian Serapio is a resident physician in psychiatry based in Toronto with a strong interest in the psychiatric care of older adults and adults with complex health needs. Brian is exploring a newfound interest in psychotherapy. Throughout his career, Brian has been involved in geriatrics interest groups at the local and national levels that raise awareness about the health challenges older adults face and promote a career in geriatrics amongst medical learners. Brian has engaged in research on the impact of volunteers on hospitalized older adult patients and the views of long-term care staff on technological innovation. As a first-generation immigrant from the Philippines who has had to overcome significant hurdles in his career, Brian is also passionate about rectifying the underrepresentation of minorities, including Filipinos, in medicine. While in medical school, he was involved in programs and initiatives including the Filipino Association of Medical Students (FAMS), Community of Support (COS) and Altitude Healthcare Mentoring that provide mentorship to pre-med and medical students from underrepresented groups. As Brian continues to progress through his training, he aims to equip himself with the necessary knowledge to provide care to underserved communities.

Batool Barodi

Health equity advocate
BSc ’19, Faculty of Science

In 2016, Batool arrived in Canada as a Syrian newcomer. Upon graduation from York, Batool was selected to represent Canada as a youth delegate at the Open Government Partnership Global Summit 2019. Following her selection, she received a scholarship to start her master’s degree in Global Affairs and Justice at the University of Toronto where she received the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Award to study the impact of the Canadian medical, economic and social policies to promote successful integration of refugees and newcomers. Batool is currently a second-year medical student at Central Michigan University where she focuses her research on heart transplant surgeries with an emphasis on developing measures to improve outcomes of heart primary-graft dysfunction. She was awarded the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research scholarship in 2022 by the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre due to her extensive work on heart research in Canada and US. Batool creates videos documenting her journey of becoming a doctor and supporting students who don’t have access to mentorship opportunities. Her goal is to make the journey accessible to everyone, regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, religion or socioeconomic background.

Clarelle Gonsalves

Health equity advocate
BSc ’18, Faculty of Science

Clarelle is a first-year paediatrics resident at the University of Toronto based out of The Hospital for Sick Children. Clarelle is dedicated to standardizing and optimizing health outcomes for children who do not readily have access to tertiary paediatric centres through research and clinical practice. She completed her MD at McMaster University where she co-developed a quality improvement and patient safety workshop for health professionals and trainees aimed at recognizing and speaking up against racism in healthcare and medical education. During her time in medical school, she worked closely with local organizations to develop resources for children new to Canada to connect them with primary and preventative healthcare and ensure food security. Her research work has been featured in leading paediatric journals and has been cited in the Canadian Paediatric Society position statement on protecting adolescents against the harms of vaping. Clarelle is also a passionate mentor to students pursuing careers in medicine. She is currently involved in working towards removing systemic barriers and increasing equity in the medical school application process as well as developing medical education curricula that fosters sustainable and equitable healthcare delivery.

Shalini Iyer

Scientist, STEM educator and EDI advocate
BSc ’20, Faculty of Science
MSc ’22, Faculty of Health

Shalini is a scientist, leader and equity diversity and inclusion (EDI) advocate. One of Shalini's goals is to help break down systemic biases and barriers in the scientific community and to provide equitable opportunities for marginalized communities in Canada. At �첥��Ƶ, Shalini was dedicated to increasing accessibility to STEM education for youth across Canada through her work with Let's Talk Science. As the former site coordinator for York, Shalini increased the site's outreach to marginalized communities by organizing hands-on STEM workshops catered towards different learning styles. She helped establish several large STEM events and obtained several sponsorships to help break down socioeconomic barriers for less affluent communities. As the program assistant for Let's Talk Science, she developed online STEM workshops to increase accessibility in the pandemic. She also helped design STEM activity kits which were delivered to the homes of youth from communities where online content was not accessible, such as low-income, Indigenous and rural communities. Shalini had also been actively involved in increasing science accessibility for Black youth in the Jane and Finch community, where she conducts weekly STEM workshops and organized career workshops highlighting people of colour. Following her MSc in Neuroscience at York, she began her PhD in Neuroscience at the University of British Columbia and looks forward to continuing her advocacy work.

Tarnem Afify (BSc '21) is a scientist, leader, and advocate. While pursuing a bachelor of science in biophysics, she worked as a president’s ambassador at York and an advisor as well as representative of the Canadian Association of Physicists in the International Association of Physics Students. She led by example and aimed to be a role model to encourage and inspire female scientists to break any barriers that impede their progress. Alongside being a research assistant, she founded Future Women in Physics (FWiP). As FWiP’s president for three years she advocated for a diverse and inclusive academic environment in the physics field that permits equal access to opportunities, enhances students’ success, and encourages them to reach their fullest potential. She is looking forward to returning to York again as a master’s student this September to study artificial intelligence. Her goal is to continue learning about ways of applying science to serve our society as well as advocating for the social causes she is passionate about.

Yaakov Green (BSc ’17) is a fifth-year MD/MBA student at Yale University who is dedicated to solving structural issues in healthcare. He recently served as a data, analytics, and research intern for the U.S. Federal COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, where he drafted policy recommendations on national data infrastructure and research priorities for mitigating inequities exacerbated by the pandemic. During his MBA, he worked for McKinsey & Co, where he consulted on health equity strategy for the private sector. At Yale, he has conducted research on social determinants of health, led quality improvement projects within the hospital, and sits on the board of Yale’s innovation center. This year, he will begin medical residency training at Columbia University, specializing in psychiatry.

Sarah Laframboise (BSc ’18) is a scientist and passionate science communicator and advocate for women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). During the final year of her PhD in biochemistry at the University of Ottawa, Sarah co-founded the non-profit Next Generation Women, an online resource for women entering classically male-dominated industries. By increasing the visibility of women in these fields, Sarah hopes to grow the organization to provide girls with mentorship opportunities and leadership training. Sarah adores spreading her love for science with others and communicates this through published pieces and graphic design; she is chair of the Editorial Committee at the Canadian Science Policy Centre, where she has created the last two editions of the Centre’s magazine. Most recently, Sarah founded the Ottawa Science Policy Network at the University of Ottawa with the goal of promoting the use of science and evidence in decision-making, both at the government and university level.