Team

Arun’s curious nature to understand how and why things work has propelled him to a career in research. He holds a PhD in cellular and molecular biology, and joined the CCM team in 2014 to apply his skills in biology with computation and statistics. His main interests include gene regulation, and analysis of -omics data sets. He is currently involved in developing pipelines for the analysis of these data sets to understand rare diseases. He spends most of his spare time with his family and hanging out with his young son. One of his favourite pastimes is cycling, especially long bike rides exploring the country. His other pleasures include books, music, food and cooking.

Lauren Erdman is the Project Manager for the new Machine Learning Core within the CCM and a PhD student in computer science at the University of Toronto (U of T) under the supervision of Anna Goldenberg. Previously, she completed a M.Sc. in computer science and a M.Sc. in biostatistics at U of T under the supervision of Anna Goldenberg and Lisa Strug, respectively. Her research is primarily focused on developing and applying machine learning methods for data integration and improved translational discovery in the areas of population genetics, genome biology, and complex disease. More recently, Lauren has become involved in the development of clinical decision support systems for Canadian hospitals. She is excited to see what opportunities the availability of larger data, increasingly digital medical records, and powerful predictive algorithms will open up for improving clinical care.

Hajany graduated from Western University with an honours bachelor of health sciences and further completed her master’s in health informatics at the University of Toronto. Prior to joining the CCM, she worked within the Departments of Respiratory Medicine and Translational Medicine at SickKids. Using her experience in project management, she currently oversees the business operations of the CCM while executing the strategic vision of the facility. She is interested in exploring the use of new technologies to advance quality improvement and assurance projects. In her spare time, Hajany enjoys hiking, travelling, and solving puzzles.

Alper received his B.Sc. in molecular biology and economics from Brown University and his PhD in bioinformatics from 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. In addition to his thesis work, Alper has been involved in several projects in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital investigating the effects of mindfulness interventions in physician burnout by analyzing survey and smartwatch data. He joined the CCM in August of 2018 where his responsibilities include bioinformatics pipeline development, next-generation sequencing data analysis, statistical analysis and web application development. Alper's main research interest is applying machine learning methods to elucidate fundamental patterns in biological data and how these patterns relate to disease phenotypes.

Dr. Qureshi is a Senior Data Analyst for the new Machine Learning Core within the CCM. Previously, he completed a research fellowship at Sickkids. Prior to this, he was a FRQS fellow at McGill University. He holds a PhD in biomedical sciences and engineering, and a master in computer engineering with focus on computer vision. His research is primarily focused on applying machine/deep learning methods for neuroimaging data of multiple neurological disorders including but not limited to Dementia, Alzheimer's Disease, Schizophrenia, ADHD, and Multiple Sclerosis to name a few. He also develops models for disease progression assessment and prognosis.

Mia has a B.Sc. in biology and genes, genetics & biotechnology and an M.Sc. in cell & systems biology, both from the University of Toronto. She is a researcher with a penchant for the written word and has previous experience as a medical writer in both academic and industry settings. At the CCM she is involved in scientific writing for various projects, working with the team and collaborators to organize, compose and edit manuscripts, grants and more. In her free time, she enjoys reading, dabbling in various hobbies such as drawing, sewing and photography, and watching her favourite sports teams.

Lauren joined the CCM in November 2020. She currently works on RNA-sequencing data analysis pipeline development. Lauren obtained both her bachelor of science degree in biochemistry and 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.

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 spent his time tackling his growing backlog of video games and technical books.

Conor joined the CCM team in March 2021. Previously, he worked as a software developer for the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, where he built applications supporting research related to the genomics of Alzheimer's disease. After seven years in Chicago followed by four years in Philadelphia, he is very happy to be back on the shores of a Great Lake in Toronto. In his spare time he enjoys riding his bike and reading books.

Nour received her bachelor of science in molecular biology from the University of Toronto, and is currently a master's of health science candidate in medical genomics, also at the University of Toronto. During her graduate studies, she developed a strong interest in bioinformatics, particularly in the use and development of -omics pipelines, which she is pursuing as part of her capstone practicum at the CCM.  In her free time, she enjoys reading, going for long walks, and watching sports.

Mackenzie is a co-op student from the University of Toronto working as a Software Developer for CCM, and part-time Teaching Assistant. He currently works on front-end development on SampleTracker for Care4Rare. In school he is currently studying Information Security, while also exploring other computer science subjects such as User Experience Design, Machine Learning and Computer Forensics. He likes to spend his spare time practicing guitar and drums, or playing online indie games.