Racchana Ramamurthy (PhD, Civil Engineering)

Winner: First place 3MT (English)

Racchana is a PhD candidate in Civil Engineering at McGill University and a Vanier Scholar. Growing up in India, she witnessed the devastating effects of environmental pollution firsthand, igniting her passion for science and sustainability. This drive led her to pursue Environmental Engineering, where she built a strong foundation in understanding global environmental challenges. At McGill, her research focuses on the detection, occurrence, and fate of persistent contaminants in the environment. Beyond the lab, Racchana is a dedicated student advocate, currently serving as the University Affairs Officer at McGill’s Post-Graduate Students' Society. With a deep commitment to both science and society, her ultimate mission is to bridge the gap between research and real-world impact, developing solutions that safeguard both people and the environment.

Daniel Mendelson (MD-PhD, Programme intégré en neurosciences)

Gagnant: Première place MT180 (Français)

Daniel est un étudiant de deuxième année dans le programme MDCM-PhD à l’Université McGill. Il a entrepris de devenir chercheur-clinicien après avoir réalisé que ses expériences les plus enrichissantes étaient celles passées au service des autres en milieux cliniques et en recherche clinique. Fasciné par la biologie des troubles neuropsychiatriques comme l’épilepsie, il s’engage à transformer ces connaissances en actions concrètes pour améliorer la qualité de vie des patients.

Gabriel Blanco Gomez (PhD, Integrated Program in Neuroscience)

Winner: Second place + People's Choice

Gabriel is a PhD student, patient advocate, and neuroscientist with a passion for learning languages and exploring new places. While learning French, he became curious about why learning a new language is easy for some but difficult for others. This curiosity led him to study language development in children on the autism spectrum where he combines insights from linguistics and neuroscience. Gabriel's mission is to enhance clinical practices in autism by bridging the gap between research and application, all while uncovering the mysteries of how language works in the brain.

Keziah Brothers (Master's, Political Science)

Winner: Third place

Keziah is a second-year master’s student in Political Science. Her research focuses on poverty and poverty reduction. She is especially interested in how beliefs and perceptions about those experiencing poverty shape policy approaches and impact our ability to address economic inequality. Her background as a competitive athlete, including her time on the University of Manitoba’s basketball team, has instilled in her a strong sense of discipline, teamwork, and perseverance— values that also shape her approach to research and advocacy. Her passion for poverty reduction stems from experiences in Winnipeg and time abroad that exposed her to poverty in different contexts, deepening her commitment to challenging assumptions and fostering compassionate solutions. Outside of her research, she enjoys spending time with her family, running, hiking, and playing ultimate frisbee.

Michael Cunningham (PhD, Chemistry)

Michael is a second-year PhD student in the Department of Chemistry. During his undergraduate studies in medicinal chemistry at Trinity College Dublin, he came to McGill on exchange and fell in love with the university and the city of Montreal. It was during this time that his interest in genetic engineering began to grow, and in 2023, he returned to start his graduate studies under the supervision of Dr. Masad Damha, working on the chemical modification of CRISPR systems. Outside of the lab, he is an investment associate with Front Row Ventures, a venture capital firm supporting student-led startups across Canada. In his spare time, he plays two of Ireland’s national sports, Gaelic football and hurling, with the Montreal Shamrocks, as well as intramural Ultimate Frisbee with the “legendary” Deuterated Discs.

Charlotte Ouimet (PhD, Médecine expérimentale)

Charlotte est en troisième année de doctorat en médecine expérimentale. S’appuyant sur sa formation interdisciplinaire en biochimie et en bioéthique, elle a souhaité relier sa rigueur scientifique à un impact direct sur les patients. Son intérêt pour l’éthique de la recherche l’a menée à son doctorat, où elle applique des méthodes de méta recherche et de statistiques pour améliorer les politiques des essais cliniques. Son projet doctoral explore l’éthique des essais de phase 2 en oncologie, un domaine encore peu étudié, afin de mieux caractériser le rapport risque-bénéfice pour les patients. Elle vise à rendre la recherche clinique plus transparente et mieux alignée sur les besoins des patients.

Zoey Chapman (Master's, Psychiatry)

Zoey is a first-year MSc student in Mental Health, conducting research under the supervision of Dr. Massimiliano Orri. During her undergraduate studies at Acadia University, she developed a passion for psychological research, community mental health, and suicide prevention, which led her to focus on suicide risk factors during her graduate studies. Her research examines the longitudinal association between childhood physical health problems and youth suicidal behaviours. In her free time, Zoey enjoys perfecting her grandmother’s bread recipe, reading psychological thrillers, and exploring new places in Montreal.

Li Xiao (PhD, Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry)

Li is currently a fourth-year PhD candidate in Food Science at McGill University. Her passion for food safety and protection stems from her early love of cooking and chemistry in high school.This interest inspired her to pursue both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Food Science from Southwest University in China. During her studies, Li became acutely aware of the alarming prevalence of food borne illnesses and the widespread chemical contamination in agricultural products. This realization fuelled her decision to pursue a PhD, focusing on developing rapid detection methods for food hazards and spoilage using advanced techniques (i.e., vibrational spectroscopy, nanotechnology, machine learning) to ensure food quality and safety.

Laurianne Bastien (PhD, Educational and Counselling Psychology)

Laurianne is a fourth-year PhD student in Human Development under the supervision of Dr. Nancy Heath. Her research focuses on the knowledge mobilization of digital stress management resources in higher education, aiming to bridge the gap between research and practice to enhance student well-being. Given her commitment to knowledge mobilization and mental health outreach, she has led stress management and skills-building workshops for diverse audiences, including students, educators, mental health professionals, and community leaders. Bringing her research into practice, Laurianne currently works as a project coordinator for a collaborative research initiative that provides students with disabilities accessible and tailored digital stress management resources.

Maria Nicole Palacio Prada (PhD, Programme intégré en neurosciences)

À l’Université de Los Andes (Colombie), Nicole a obtenu ses diplômes summa cum laude en psychologie et magna cum laude en microbiologie. Après avoir déménagé au Canada pour sa maîtrise en neuroscience, elle a fait le passage accéléré au doctorat dans le laboratoire T.A.B.(McGill), et reçu une bourse du FRQ-S. Elle veut aider à déchiffrer les interactions entre les gènes et l’environnement pour mieux comprendre les toxicomanies, en utilisant la neuro-imagerie. En dehors du laboratoire, sa passion est l’écriture créative des livres de fantaisie.

Ceci Hes (PhD, Experimental Medicine)

Ceci is in her third year of her PhD in Experimental Medicine. She trained as a dietitian in her native Guatemala, and later discovered her passion for scientific research. Because of this, she pursued postgraduate studies in genetics and bioinformatics. She is particularly interested in wasting syndromes in chronic diseases, which led her to study neurometabolism in cancer in Paul Sabatini's lab. After long hours in lab (wet and dry), she enjoys meditating, exercising, reading, dancing salsa, following interior design trends and spending time with her quebecois dog.

Trey Chernoff (Master's, Medical Physics Unit)

Trey is a second-year MSc student in medical radiation physics. When growing up, he developed a passion for physics and problem solving that first led to his partaking in a medical physics co-op position in Regina, SK, and later to his moving to Montreal, QC to pursue full-time graduate studies. He is actively involved with both the local and national medical physics student bodies, and his current project aims to help inform the evolution of pain in patients with malignant cancers. He is excited to further apply his knowledge by beginning a PhD at McGill in Fall 2025.

Jeffrey To (PhD, Psychology)

Jeffrey is a 3rd year PhD student in Experimental Psychology. He did his undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Toronto and worked at a behavioral science consultancy before doing his PhD. His research focuses on implicit biases – the spontaneous thoughts we associate with certain groups – and how we perceive (or misperceive) the diversity around us. Outside of research, you can catch him doing improv around Montreal.

Lynn Hein (PhD, Mechanical Engineering)

Lynn is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Her interdisciplinary graduate project focuses on controlled drug delivery to improve existing treatments for cardiovascular diseases. A research term project on the calcification of heart valves during her undergraduate studies in Materials Engineering at McGill first raised her interest in the development of medical device technology. She is passionate about every step, from the design of a novel medical device, to the regulatory and quality requirements necessary to bring it to market. For that reason, she has participated in several entrepreneurship programs and gained experience through courses and internships in the field.