Rising Stars

Ontario Rising Stars in Cancer Research is a pan-Ontarian student and trainee network that highlights trainee research across the province, providing trainees with exposure to cutting-edge oncology innovations and novel training opportunities. Rising Stars brings together the province’s next generation of cancer researchers to facilitate collaborations and promote networking to help advance and elevate our impact in Ontario and beyond now and in years to come.

Get Involved

Rising Stars is a federated network with delegates at institutions across the province. Students and trainees working in cancer research in Ontario at the graduate and postdoctoral levels are encouraged to get involved.

Rising Stars Co-Leads

David Bakhshinyan
david.bakhshinyan@oicr.on.ca

Dr. David Bakhshinyan is a third year medical student in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Prior to starting his medical training, he defended a PhD thesis at McMaster University under the supervision of Dr. Sheila Singh. His research focused on identifying and exploiting molecular vulnerabilities of childhood medulloblastoma, an aggressive brain tumour, to develop novel treatment paradigms. David is the co-founder and co-leader of the Ontario Rising Stars in Cancer Research Network.

Kimberly Skead
kimberly.skead@oicr.on.ca

Kimberly Skead is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research. Her research combines medical genomics with machine learning to understand how our immune systems evolve as we age and develop disease. Kimberly is the National Scientific Coordinator of the Canadian Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health platform, the Program Coordinator for the Canadian Data Integration Center and the co-founder and co-leader of the Ontario Rising Stars in Cancer Research Network.