Bioinformatics Team
Dr. Alper Celik
Senior Bioinformatician
Alper received his B.Sc. in molecular biology and economics from Brown University and his PhD in bioinformatics from the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His thesis work focused on regulation and substrate selection of mRNA decay pathways and their interactions with the translation machinery. Alper joined the CCM in August of 2018 where his responsibilities include training machine learning models for diverse datasets including but not limited to genomic, proteomic and clinical data. He has worked on a large array of projects with a diverse group of researchers. Alper's main research interest is applying machine learning and artificial intelligence methods to elucidate fundamental patterns in biology and how these patterns relate to disease phenotypes.
Dr. Andrei Turinsky
Manager of CCM Bioinformatics
Andrei is a mathematician and computer scientist who is happy to apply his skills in medical research. His main interest is in bringing data science, statistical and computational methods to the biomedical community. He has many years of experience in data analysis and machine learning applications, and has managed several large-scale, multi-team research projects. His typical tasks involve leading a computational research team, writing scientific papers, collaborating with other biomedical teams, managing research projects, supervising students, and teaching computational methods. Andrei holds a PhD in mathematical computer science with concentration in machine learning.
Anjali Jain
Bioinformatician
Anjali holds an M.H.Sc. in Medical Genomics from the University of Toronto and is a gold medalist from Amity University, India in B.Tech in Bioinformatics. During her undergraduate studies in India, she gained industry experience at a bioinformatics start-up, where she contributed to the development of software designed to assist transplant lab professionals in identifying potential organ donors for sensitized patients. While pursuing her graduate degree in Toronto, Anjali volunteered as a Genome Analyst for the GENCOV research study at the Mount Sinai Health System. In 2022, she joined the CCM team, where she collaborates with scientists and clinicians on various bioinformatics projects focused on rare diseases and genomics. Outside of work, Anjali enjoys dancing, hiking scenic trails, taking long walks, and spending quality time with her family and friends.
Arteen Torabi-Marashi
Bioinformatician
Arteen joined the CCM team in 2023. He received his B.Sc. with an honours specialization in Genetics and minor in Computer Science from the University of Western Ontario. He obtained his M.Sc. in Biology from McMaster University where his work focused on developing pipelines and integrating the analyses of differential gene expression, differential transcript usage and population genomics to investigate the genetic basis of natural variation in Drosophila melanogaster. Outside of bioinformatics, Arteen's interests are in sports (namely basketball and baseball) and video games.
Kevin Mo
Programmer/Analyst
Kevin joined CCM in July 2021 as part of his PEY Co-op and remained full-time after graduating with his Honours Bachelor of Science (HBSc), specializing in Computer Science, from the University of Toronto. During his undergraduate studies, he developed a keen interest in information security, full-stack development, UI/UX design, and the structure and implementation of compilers. In his spare time, he enjoys watching hockey, baking, building LEGO sets, and video games.
Kimberly Burke
Senior Project Coordinator
Kimberly is a seasoned business professional with over 20 years of healthcare experience, specializing in enhancing productivity, efficiency, and service quality. She holds a BBA in Project Management from Yorkville University and is CAPM certified. Since 2021, Kimberly has played a key role at CCM, ensuring smooth operations aligned with the strategic goals of SickKids Research Institute. Her expertise spans program management, office administration, and HR, with a focus on fostering equity and inclusion. Kimberly previously supported various departments at the University Health Network, building strong stakeholder relationships and delivering impactful solutions. In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, and spending time with her family.
Lauren Liang
Bioinformatician
Lauren joined the CCM in November 2020. She primarily focuses on short-read and long-read RNA-sequencing data processing pipeline development and utilizing different bioinformatic tools to perform various types of transcriptomic analysis. Lauren obtained both her bachelor of science degree in biochemistry and a master's of health sciences degree in medical genomics from the University of Toronto. She is interested in developing bioinformatics tools to facilitate biological research and genomics data processing. In her spare time, she enjoys playing badminton and various forms of media.
Mackenzie Frew
Programmer/Analyst
Mackenzie graduated from the University of Toronto in 2022 with an HBSc. in Information Security. He joined the CCM initially in 2020 as part of the UofT PEY program, and came back in May 2022 to work full-time as a developer. He uses his background in web development as well as the principles of software design and security to develop and maintain a host of web applications for the CCM. Outside of work, you can find him playing PC games or practicing drums.
Madeline Couse
Senior Bioinformatician
Madeline earned a B.Sc. (Honours) in Biology from the University of Waterloo before heading west to pursue an M.Sc. in Genome Science and Technology at the University of British Columbia. There, she focused on developing bioinformatic workflows to identify genetic variants associated with rare Mendelian diseases in children. Following graduation, she leveraged her expertise as a bioinformatician for clinical research sequencing studies at British Columbia Children's Hospital. After gaining experience at a company specializing in personalized medicine for cancer, Madeline joined the CCM team in March 2020. She is passionate about using bioinformatics and data science to advance research in precision medicine and continues to hone her skills in these areas. In her free time, she enjoys cycling, backpacking, reading, and drawing.
Michael Cultrera
Programmer/Analyst
Michael joined CCM in May 2024 after graduating from Ontario Tech University with a B.Sc. in Computer Science. He is passionate about developing and designing web applications and is motivated to learn more about the different branches of computer science and apply this knowledge within CCM. Outside of work, Michael enjoys playing/watching soccer, golf, and hockey and spending time with friends and family.
Michael Li
Bioinformatician
Michael graduated from the University of Waterloo with a bachelor of computer science in honours computer science. He pursued an option in bioinformatics to join his interests in biological sciences and computing. Since graduation, Michael continued to diversify his interests in the other branches of computer science. In late 2016, he worked at the CCM as a part of the university's co-op program. Michael rejoined the CCM in February 2021 as part of the bioinformatics team. Outside of the CCM, Michael spends his time tackling his growing backlog of video games and technical books.
Nour Hanafi
Bioinformatician
Nour received her bachelor of science in molecular biology and master’s of health science in medical genomics at the University of Toronto. She completed her masters’s capstone practicum at the CCM in 2021 and has since worked there on several bioinformatics projects involving pipeline development, cohort-level data analyses, and variant interpretation. She has a strong interest in understanding the effects of genetic variation and in applying genomics to better understand health and disease. In her free time, she enjoys reading, going for long walks, and watching sports.
Pamela Xu
Bioinformatician
Pamela obtained her Bachelors degree in Molecular Genetics and masters degree in Medical Genomics at the University of Toronto. She joined the CCM team in July 2021. Pamela has a strong interest in bioinformatics, pipeline development and big data analysis. She has experience with various topics including but not limited to: whole genome sequencing analysis, use clustering techniques to study clinical data, single-cell sequencing analysis etc. In her spare time, she enjoys the company of her cat, baking and exploring Chinese culture.
Dr. Prajkta Kallurkar
Bioinformatician
Prajkta completed her bachelors in instrumentation & control engineering and masters in biomedical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi, India. She pursued her PhD in neuroscience from William & Mary, US where her dissertation focused on studying the neural control of breathing. She has always been intrigued by the integration of biological sciences and engineering. Her interest in the field of bioinformatics began when she became part of two transcriptomics studies on breathing-related neurons. She is passionate about genomics, big data analytics and communicating scientific research to people from diverse backgrounds. In her spare time, she enjoys painting and baking.
Dr. Shireen Parimoo
Bioinformatician
Shireen joined the CCM team in October 2023. She completed her PhD at the University of Toronto in May 2023. Her research explored how the structural and functional properties of the human brain were altered over the course of the adult lifespan and how those contributed to age-related differences in cognitive functioning. She was also a Research Intern at GEMINI Medicine where she worked on projects related to deidentifying personal health information from medical data and examining physician-level variations in patient outcomes like hospital readmissions. Outside of work, Shireen enjoys long-distance running and biking, bouldering, hiking/camping, creative writing, and hosting trivia and board game nights.
Dr. Stan He
Data Scientist/Bioinformatician
Stan joined the CCM team in July 2021. Previously, he worked as a machine learning engineer at luci.ai, where he helped build the route optimization platform for food delivery. Stan also has more than eight years of experience in academic research in the field of geophysics using numerical simulation and seismic tomography through programming languages such as Python and Bash under the Linux system. In his spare time, Stan likes to go hiking, play badminton, hang out with friends, and expand on his skills using various online resources.
HPC Team
Andrew Maksymowsky
Senior Technical Specialist
Andrew graduated with a B.A.Sc. in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto. He got his start in high-performance computing systems while he was there building a small compute grid to run fluid dynamics simulations for the BlueSky Solar Racing Team. He is currently part of the CCM High Performance Computing Facility, responsible for managing and supporting the compute cluster. Outside of work he spends his time kayaking, building things and practicing violin.
Aravind Padmanabhan
Systems Analyst
Aravind is a passionate advocate for open-source technology and loves working with compute hardware. He is part of the HPC team. Outside of work, he enjoys photography and testing electronics.
Don Birtch
Senior Technical Specialist
Don is a seasoned cloud engineer with expertise in designing large-scale compute environments on Azure and AWS platforms. He also brings more than a decade of experience supporting compute infrastructure in educational and scientific research labs at the University of Toronto. A graduate of the University of Toronto's Physics program (B.Sc.), Don currently plays a key role at the CCM High Performance Computing Facility, where he manages and supports the compute cluster. In his free time, Don enjoys sailing and weight training.
Fernando Silva
Manager of CCM High Performance Computing
Fernando began his IT career at an early age in the dot-com industry, quickly showcasing his passion for technology. Seeking greater challenges, he took on a lead IT role with a major financial institution on the TSX. Now a seasoned professional, Fernando manages the SickKids High Performance Computing core facility, supporting cutting-edge healthcare research. Outside of work, he enjoys riding his motorcycle and gaming.
Natalie Stewart
Senior Project Coordinator
Natalie has been an integral part of the CCM HPC team for over three years, serving as a Senior Project Coordinator. Her role has been pivotal in steering the team through numerous hardware and software upgrades, ensuring seamless transitions and minimal disruptions to ongoing projects. Outside of her professional life, Natalie enjoys cooking, entertaining friends and family, fishing and gardening.
Roshni KP
Systems Analyst
As part of the HPC team, I thrive on the daily challenges and continuous learning opportunities my role offers. With nearly five years of experience at Dell EMC supporting PowerScale, I bring valuable expertise to my team. Outside of work, I'm a true crime enthusiast, always engrossed in a novel, podcast, or a documentary.
Vinicius Monegatto
Sr. Systems Analyst