Organizing Committee
Leads
Shaghayegh Foroozan
About: Shaghayeh is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate at IMS researching Gut inflammation in Spondyloarthritis.
If you could teleport to anywhere, where would it be and what would you order? Tokyo and I will order Ramen.
Why is food science interesting to you? I want to know how technology is reforming the food industry.
Muzaffar Bhatti
About: Muzaffar is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate at IMS researching mechanisms of acute myeloid leukemia resistance.
Why is food science interesting to you? I like how food has historically served as a domain where scientific principles were employed, e.g., optimizing crops and creating beers, showcasing how our ancestors harnessed scientific knowledge to improve food production and culinary experiences. More recently, food production has been revolutionized through innovations in genetic engineering, food preservation, and sustainable agriculture. Despite our daily consumption of food, we often overlook its origins and the profound impact it has on our lives. I am hoping that with our event, we can dig into this exciting field together!
If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be? Butter chicken w/ rice. I pretty much already do that :p
Organizing Team Members
Stefan Aguiar
About: Stefan is a first-year Master’s student at IMS researching Psychosocial Oncology and Medical Assistance in Dying.
Why is food science interesting to you? It’s fascinating how foods of similar composition but different structure may affect our digestion and health. What happens when we fry or bake ingredients and how does this affect how we digest and eat them? For example the small differences between lab grown meat and natural meat may potentially affect how we digest certain proteins and fats due to the different layering of these chains and molecules. Thanks for listening to my rabbit hole Ted Talk!
If you could teleport to anywhere, where would it be and what would you order? Maui, Hawaii and Id be ordering some premium sushi!
Rami Ajaj
About: Rami is a second-year Master’s Student at IMS researching AI in healthcare.
Why is food science interesting to you?: Food is fundamental to humans (and all living species). It is important to understand it, and how it affect us such that we can optimize our lives.
If you could teleport to anywhere, where would it be and what would you order? Teleport back in time and get a chicken club from Cluney’s, Toronto, where it’s now replaced by some other sandwich.
Yasmin Alhamdah
About: Yasmin is a first-year Master’s student at IMS researching cognition in older adults.
Why is food science interesting to you? I grew up being an incredibly picky eater – thanks to my mom and her guide to baby food that made me that way. Today, however, things have changed and I grew to be a big foodie. I am always excited and eager to explore and try new food. But, I have so many questions about food and food science. Why do some people like certain foods but others don’t? Let alone, why do some people like certain foods a certain way? Why do people like their food at different temperatures? With relation to food science, is organic food really better? What does the future look like for food sustainability? Why does caffeine not work on me? Do we need to be on a certain diet based on our genetics? I believe that food is a huge part of someone’s life and identity and so it is important that we all better understand the thing that joins everyone together.
If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be? This is an extremely difficult question to answer – I thought long and hard. If I had to pick, I would chose a Syrian dish called Kosa b Laban which consists of zucchini stuffed with ground meat, parsley and pine nuts, cooked in a yoghurt-based sauce. The zucchini simply melts in your mouth. It’s absolutely delicious.
Ergi Duli
About: Ergi is a fifth-year Ph.D. Student at IMS studying Nephrology and researching Thrombotic Disease.
If you could teleport to anywhere, where would it be and what would you order? Japan, I want to order some fresh and artistic sushi.
What is your favourite food science fun fact? That bacteria in the gut respond to food that you eat and communicate with mitochondria in the cells of your body.
Mahbod Ebrahimi
About: Mahbod is first-year Master’s Student at IMS studying Neuroscience.
What is your favourite food science fun fact? Food loses about 30% of its flavour when tasted in the sky.
If you could teleport to anywhere, where would it be and what would you order? Somewhere in Italy to get original neapolitan pizza.
Mahrukh Fatima
About: Mahrukh is a first-year Master’s Student in Biochemistry studying host-pathogen interactions.
If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be? Shawarma.
If you could teleport to anywhere, where would it be and what would you order? Italy, gelato.
Hamzah Khan
About: Hamza is a first-year PhD. student at IMS researching Cardiovascular Surgery.
Why is food science interesting to you? As they say “you are what you eat’. We eat three times a day, yet don’t often think about how our food is made, or how its processed. It is interesting to delve into the people and the science behind how our food get to our plates.
If you could teleport to anywhere, where would it be and what would you order? Thailand, Spicy Pad Kee Mao!
Sonika Kumari
About: Sonika is a first-year Master’s student at IMS studying Neurology.
Why is food science interesting to you? I love learning about the innovations created from combining different fields such as nutrition, biochemistry and technology to improve food quality and reduce food insecurity.
If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be? Pasta and sweet potato fries!! 🙂
Sabrina Rasna
About: Sabrina is a first-year Master’s student at IMS researching the impact of HIV and antiretroviral drug use during pregnancy.
Why is food science interesting to you? Food science interests me because it is the science that ensures we find ways to make the best use of our food resources and minimize waste!
If you could teleport to anywhere, where would it be and what would you order? I’d teleport to Spain for Paella!
Elsa Salvant
About: Elsa is first-year Master’s Student at IMS researching Autoimmunity and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).
Why is food science interesting to you? Food science is multidisciplinary and encompasses the field of microbiology, chemistry, biology, nutrition, engineering and more all of which affects our health and our daily lives in so many ways!
What is your favourite food science fun fact? Food tastes different on a plane due to changes in altitude, humidity and your body being pressurized which impact the sensitivity of your taste buds!
Sufyan Shaikh
About: Sufyan is a first-year Master’s student studying Urology with respect to Clinical Research and Device Development.
Why is food science interesting to you? I am most fascinated by the innovations in lab grown food and the technogies that can lead to sustainable farming with higher yields. Agriculture is one of the biggest contributors to climate change and simply growing more crops to combat issues like food insecurity is not sustainable. Thus, I am curious to see what alternative ways humanity can come up with to feed the population while also preserving the planet.
If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be? This question is like torture, because how can you pick just one! However, being forced to I would pick a traditional Indian dish, achaari chicken. For me, it is the perfect blend of spicy and savoury, and you get some sweetness from the rice or bread or roti. It is also quite high in protein, medium in carbohydrates, and low in fat, so nutritionally a win too. Lastly, it is one of the few dishes, if not the only one, that I can cook really well…so that is an important contributing factor too!
Salsabil Siddiqui
About: Salsabil is a first-year Master’s student at IMS whose research focuses on Schizophrenia and Psychosis.
What is your favourite food science fun fact? One of the most important chemical reactions involved in cooking includes the Maillard reaction, in which the reactive carbonyl of a reducing sugar reacts with the nucleophilic amino of a protein/amino acid after applying some heat. This leads to browning, changes in protein digestibility, and release of distinct aromas and flavours without even needing help from enzymes. You might’ve not realized this, but cooking really is an organic chemistry experiment and your kitchen is essentially your own lab!
If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be? Any form of pasta!
Maryam Sorkhou
About: Maryam is a third-year PhD. candidate at IMS researching neuroscience and addictions.
Why is food science interesting to you? I find the multidisciplinary aspect to food science extremely interesting, which encompasses the the chemical, physical, and biological properties of food, as well as its nutritional value. Also, food science is an exciting field because it is constantly evolving, with new discoveries and innovations being made all the time.
If you could teleport to anywhere, where would it be and what would you order? Positano, cacio e pepe.
Oana Mirel
About: Oana is a first-year Master’s student in the department of Pharmacology. Her research focuses on the link between oxidative stress and youth bipolar disorder.
What is your favourite food science fun fact? Scientists can make diamonds out of tequila and peanut butter.
If you could teleport to anywhere, where would it be and what would you order? An espresso on a patio in Rome.
Julia Novielli
About: Julia is a first-year Master’s student at IMS whose research is centred around H.pylori infection & gastric cancer.
Why is food science interesting to you? Food science is interesting to me because it is a topic that everyone can relate to and learn something from no matter your lifestyle or experiences. I enjoy this topic because it is also incredibly broad! the science of food and nutrition can intersect with policy, business, mental & physical health, and many other fields! Experts in food science are continuously making new discoveries and finding new ways to improve our lives; there’s really no end in sight to where we can take this ever-evolving field!
If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be? Pasta with seafood (or really any kind of seafood dish).
Dhvani Mehta
About: Dhvani is a first-year Master’s student at IMS whose research is centred around brain stimulation for substance use disorders.
Why is food science interesting to you? Food sustainability is what intrigues me the most. From food policy to innovation, providing safe and quality foods in an environmentally conscious way is a more important now then ever. I particularly love how technological advancements like green technologies, biotech, and artificial intelligence are allowing us to manage and tame our agricultural emissions and waste, and build sustainable food systems.
If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be? It would have to be an indian dish called chole, which is curried chickpeas. Combined with some rice or roti, it is truly perfection on a plate.
Graphic Design Artist
Tunyalux Langsub
About: Tunya is a first-year Master’s student at IMS in the Biomedical Communications program.
Why is food science interesting to you? Growing up to two professional chefs, food has been a huge part of my life. The way we grow and consume food not only reflects our cultures, traditions, and terroir, but also our technology and research. Food is something we must interact with multiple times a day, so I think it is important to engage with the food systems that surround us and analyze how we can improve it for our own health and the health of our environment.
If you could eat one meal for the rest of your life what would it be? Salad (think of all the possibilities!)
Advisor
Swapna Mylabathula
About: Swapna is an MD/PhD student at IMS. Her research focuses on concussion policy.
What is your favourite food science fun fact? Carrots taste sweeter when harvested after a frost because of an adaptation that converts starches to sugar to avoid having the water in the carrot’s cells from freezing! 🥕😋
If you could teleport to anywhere, where would it be and what would you order? I would teleport back in time to India to eat some of my grandmothers cooking!
Dig In: Our Health on a Platter 