Congratulations to Population Health Analytics Lab members Gemma Postill and David-Dan Nguyen on receiving Vanier Scholarships for their graduate research! Read on to discover more about the 2024 Vanier awardees and their perspectives on their work.
Gemma Postill
Gemma Postill is an MD/PhD Student studying clinical epidemiology at the University of Toronto. Originally from Toronto, Gemma returned after the completion of her undergraduate degree at Western University where she studied One Health, which inspired her to become a clinician-scientist by highlighting the intersection of research and medicine as well as the need to take a systems-level approach to healthcare given the many factors that influence health.
Now in her PhD, her thesis uses population health data, geospatial analysis, and machine learning to improve the ability of older adults to remain at home in the long-term following traumatic injuries. With her research she plans to identify and address areas for interventions, advocacy, and strategic innovation that will improve the quality of surgical and post-operative care.
What was your reaction to being named a Vanier Scholar?
I was thrilled and deeply honored to be named a Vanier Scholar. The Vanier Canadian Graduate Scholarship recognizes and awards academic excellence, research potential, and leadership. As I continue my journey to become a clinician scientist, I could not be more excited by this recognition!
How will this achievement impact your studies and career ambitions moving forward?
My research exists at the intersection of data science, population health, and clinical care. During the award’s tenure, I will develop skills and perspective from each discipline, better enabling me to contribute to and lead interdisciplinary teams in my future career. My overarching career goal, both during and after my PhD, is to create and deploy machine learning models for improved patient care.
David-Dan Nguyen
David-Dan Nguyen is an incoming Ph.D. student in clinical epidemiology and health care research and Vanier scholar at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. He is a urology resident at the University of Toronto and will be pausing his clinical training as part of the Surgeon-Scientist Training Program of the Department of Surgery.
Under the co-supervision of Dr. Laura Rosella and Dr. Girish Kulkarni, David-Dan’s research will focus on enhancing health equity and reducing overdiagnosis of prostate cancer by developing and evaluating machine-learning-driven prostate cancer screening policies. As part of this research, David-Dan will engage with stakeholders and remain involved in grassroots initiatives tackling disparities in cancer care delivery.
What was your reaction to being named a Vanier Scholar?
Upon receiving the Vanier Scholarship, David-Dan expressed immense gratitude: “I felt immense gratitude for the unwavering support from my family, friends, mentors, and co-supervisors, Dr. Rosella and Dr. Kulkarni, as well as the Division of Urology and the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. This recognition is a testament to the collective efforts and encouragement of many who have been integral to my journey. I am deeply mindful of this and hope to pay it forward in the future.”
How will this achievement impact your studies and career ambitions moving forward?
Receiving the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship is incredibly motivating as I embark on this new chapter in my training. It brings me significantly closer to my ambition of becoming a surgeon-scientist, working at the intersection of health policy, artificial intelligence, and cancer care delivery to tackle health disparities.