STAFF
Our team is supported by professionals such as Research Associates, Clinical Trial Coordinators, Scientific Associates, Research Analysts, Genetic Counsellors, and myself.
We all work collaboratively with weekly team meetings discussing our active projects within the lab, brainstorming ideas for new projects, and process improvement for current projects being some of the agenda items. I also lead monthly research rounds which provides opportunities for latest research and clinical updates to be presented which everyone in the department benefits from.
Most importantly, UHN itself has a huge support system in terms of research and graduate trainees, with active workshops for manuscript and grant writing, building soft skills, and other trainings. All the neurologists within the department work collaboratively and are always willing to help each other with their area of expertise.
Danielle M. Andrade, MD, MSc, FRCPC, CSCN (EEG), Professor of Medicine (Neurology), Medical Director, Epilepsy Program, Director of Adult Genetic Epilepsy
Quratulain Zulfiqar Ali, MD, MHSc. Medical Genomics (c.) she/her, Research Associate
With a strong passion for Medicine, Quratulain graduated with her Doctor of Medicine (MD), and has worked both in the capacity of a General Physician and a researcher in the past. Currently, she is working in a dynamic clinical research team of the Adult Genetic Epilepsy (AGE) Program at Toronto Western Hospital investigating the genetic basis of epilepsy and seizures. As a part of this team, she coordinates genetic investigations and study recruitment for patients coming to the Epilepsy Clinic. She is also pursuing her MHSc in Medical Genomics from University of Toronto.
She is also involved in maintaining multiple retrospective and prospective projects within the lab, assisting with coordination of genetic samples and data, hiring and training new staff, creating and maintaining REDCap database and tracking funding. She is thrilled to be a part of this team working fervently towards unraveling new genes involved in epilepsy leading to a promising impact on patient care.
Victor Lira, MD, CSCN (EEG), Clinical Fellow
Clinical fellow at the Adult Genetic Epilepsy (AGE) Program at the Toronto Western Hospital, actively involved in direct patient care and research studies under direct supervision of Dr. Danielle Andrade. Specialized in neurophysiology (electroencephalography) and epilepsy at the University of São Paulo, Neurologist, University of Pernambuco.
Titular Member of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology, Junior member of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN); Aspirant Member of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology. Has experience and interest in the areas of Neurology, Epilepsy, Neurophysiology and Critical Care. Graduated in Medicine from the Faculdade Pernambucana de Saúde at the Instituto de Medicina Integral de Pernambuco. Sandwich Graduation (Sciences Without borders scholarship) in Medicine at the University of Manitoba. Trained in the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba (2013). Member of the Academic League of Neurology and Neurosurgery of Pernambuco (2012-2014). Former Cardiology-Neurology trainee at the Pelopidas Silveira Hospital in the Emergency and Intensive Therapy area.
Sarah Iskandarani, BSc, she/her, Clinical Research Coordinator
Sarah Iskandarani has completed her undergrad at the University of Toronto studying Human Biology. She has a passion for medicine and is really interested in learning the different aspects of clinical research. Currently, she is working on handling multiple clinical trials within the lab. She is excited to be a part of the lab and to learn more about genetic epilepsy in adults.
Lana Sladoje, BSc, she/her, Research Assistant
- Lana is a clinical and translational research assistant at the University Health Network with a strong background in genetics and neurology. She holds an HBSc in Fundamental Genetics from the University of Toronto and is currently involved in research focused on identifying novel genetic causes of epilepsy in adults. Her work spans wet lab experimentation, genetic data analysis, and clinical trial support for emerging anti-seizure therapies, including patient-facing research procedures and study coordination. She also has experience conducting literature reviews on psychedelics for affective disorders. As an aspiring medical student, she is passionate about advancing neurological research and is eager to deepen her understanding of genetic epilepsy through collaborative research.
Ilakkiah Chandran, PhD Candidate, she/her, Graduate Student
Ilakkiah Chandran is a third year PhD student at the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto, supervised by Dr. Danielle Andrade. She is passionate about understanding and exploring the many layers of disease and illness from an interdisciplinary perspective.
At the Adult Genetic Epilepsy Program, she spearheads the recruitment for many studies, collaborates with clinicians and external organizations, and supports other lab projects. Her thesis project investigates adult outcomes amongst pediatric-onset developmental epileptic encephalopathy patients. She is excited to continue contributing to the efforts of the lab to understand genetic influences on adult epilepsy experiences and knowledge translation strategies to improve patient experiences.
Vedansh Kaushik, MSc Candidate, he/him, Graduate Student
Vedansh Kaushik is a second year Master’s Student studying at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Medical Science. He works in the Epilepsy Genetics Research Lab at Toronto Western Hospital being supervised by Dr Danielle Andrade.
Vedansh’s thesis project involves using polygenic risk scores to learn more about patients with genetic epilepsy. He also works with patients to examine metabolic and neurodegeneration factors that may contribute to their conditions. Vedansh is passionate about his research into epilepsy, neurodegeneration, and genetics, with a special focus on Dravet Syndrome. He is also interested in using a multidisciplinary approach to better understand epilepsy. He hopes to continue to contribute to the field of neuroscience research and help patients with epilepsy.
Cheryl Xia, MSc, CGC, she/her, Certified Genetic Counsellor
Cheryl Xia graduated with a Master of Science in Genetic Counselling and a Master of Science in Pharmacology from the University of Toronto. She works in the Adult Genetic Epilepsy (AGE) clinic and the Adult Genetics clinic at UHN. She is a clinical supervisor for the University of Toronto Master of Genetic Counselling Program. She is certified by the American Board of Genetic Counselling.
Farah Qaiser, MSc, she/her, Genomics Research Analyst
Farah Qaiser is a research analyst at the Toronto Western Hospital’s Epilepsy Genetics Clinic, where she analyzes whole-genome sequencing data from individuals with epilepsy.
Farah recently completed a Master of Science degree at the University of Toronto’s Department of Molecular Genetics and is now pursuing medicine at University of Toronto.
ALUMNI
Charlotte Fung, MSc, CGC, CCGC, she/her, Certified Genetic Counsellor
Charlotte Fung is a graduate of the University of Toronto MSc Genetic Counselling Program and an active member of the Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors. She previously worked at Lakeridge Health Oshawa in the areas of prenatal, hereditary cancer and general genetics and at the Adult Genetic Epilepsy (AGE) Clinic in the areas of epilepsy genetics.
She currently works in Adult Genetics at Mount Sinai Hospital. She is a clinical supervisor for the University of Toronto MSC Genetic Counselling Program. She holds certification by the Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors and American Board of Genetic Counseling.
Caihong Ji, MD, she/her, Research Fellow
Caihong Ji completed her Bachelor of Medicine degree at Zhejiang University, China, and her MD at the Peking Union Medical College, Tsinghua University. After graduation from medical school, she worked as a neurological physician in The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China for five years.
She worked with Dr. Danielle Andrade at Toronto Western Hospital as a research fellow 2022-2023. Her area of interest in research includes studying genetic factors in epilepsy. As a part of the Adult Genetic Epilepsy Program, she is involved in several projects, including the long-term outcome of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, the outcome of surgery for genetic epilepsy, genetic contributors to risk of seizure in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, psychosis in Dravet syndrome.
With a clinical background, she is skilled at electroencephalogram reading, genetic data analysis, and essay writing. She is thrilled to be a part of this team working fervently towards unraveling new genes involved in epilepsy leading to a promising impact on patient care.
Bronte Kerrigan, MSc, she/her, Clinical Research Coordinator
Bronte Kerrigan graduated from the University of Guelph with a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science. Her interest in clinical research began when she pursued a Master of Biomedical Science at the University of Guelph and continued her studies with a Master of Science at the University of Glasgow, focused on Cancer Research and Precision Oncology. Her interests include clinical research, oncology, and genetics. She was research assistant at the AGE Program at TWH 2023-2024, where her responsibilities include patient recruitment, coordinating genetics investigations, phenotypic data entry and supporting various research projects. She is currently pursuing her PhD at University of Toronto
Jannat Irfan, HBSc, she/her, Research Trainee
- Jannat Irfan is a last year undergraduate student studying Hons. B.Sc., specializing in Health Sciences at the University of Toronto. She is passionate about healthcare, specifically neuroscience and enjoys working with and contributing to the Epilepsy and Genetics Research team which is led by Dr. Andrade. Jannat volunteers at the research lab and currently is working on archiving various past epilepsy clinical study documents. Jannat also conducted a literary search on the association between dementia and epilepsy.
- https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3714-266X
Sarah Selvadurai, MSc, she/her, Research Trainee
Sarah Selvadurai graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology. Her interest in clinical research began when she pursued a Master of Science at the University of Toronto, where her project focused on the impact of general anesthesia on sleep quality and behavior in children. She continued to manage multiple research studies and clinical trials in cardiology and oncology, and has written several publications regarding pediatric sleep disorders.
She is contributed as a clinical research coordinator with the Adult Genetic Epilepsy Program at Toronto Western Hospital, working on several drug treatment trials for genetic disorders including Clemizole and Fenfluramine for Dravet syndrome and Ganaxolone for Tuberous Sclerosis.
Currently, she devotes her time as a volunteer on multiple projects within the lab.
Julia Ming Lo, HBSc, she/her, Research Trainee
Julia is a fourth year undergraduate Neuroscience and Psychology student at the University of Toronto Scarborough. She is enthusiastic to learn more about epilepsy while helping those within the population. She worked as a Research Trainee who is part of a project that aims to create a unified database for future improved epilepsy treatments. She also supports other research projects in the lab. Julia aspires to work in the field of neuropsychology, and is eager to contribute to the work and research of the Adult Genetic Epilepsy Program. She is currently obtaining her PhD at University of Ottawa in Clinical Neuropsychology.
Brittany Davis, she/her, Administrative Assistant
Miles Thompson, PhD, he/him, Volunteer
Miles Thompson completed his Ph.D. in University of Toronto. As a Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Associate at the University of Toronto, Miles named the genetic developmental disability now known as Mabry syndrome (MIM 239300) and participated in the identification of variants in four glycophosphatidylinositol (GPI) biosynthesis pathway genes that result in disorder (PIGV, PIGO, PGAP2 and PGAP3).
In partnership with Dr. Danielle Andrade, Miles funded this project from a Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation grant. In 2018, Miles joined University of California, San Diego (UCSD) as a ‘Scientist’ at Rady Children’s Hospital where he collaborated with Dr. Mabry, University of Kentucky, to provide diagnostic services to children and adults with developmental disabilities in underserviced regions. In 2020, Miles led Dr. Mabry’s 50 year-follow-up of the patients that Dr. Mabry had first described in 1970. Having returned to Canada, Miles joined Dr. Danielle Andrade’s Adult Epilepsy Program research group in the Krembil Research Institute at Toronto Western Hospital of the University Health Network. Miles worked with Dr. Andrade’s team 2023-2024 to gain a better understanding of the genetic rick factors for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in Dravet syndrome in particular and Epilepsy in general.
Tia Ewadh, HBSc Candidate, she/her, Research Trainee
Tia Ewadh is a third-year undergraduate student majoring in the Honors. B.A.Sc., Applied Psychology in Human Behavior program at McMaster University. She continues to be fascinated by the complexity of the brain and is considering pursuing a career in neuroscience research corresponding to various brain disorders such as epilepsy. Tia is excited to work with Dr. Andrade and her team as a research volunteer. She hopes to gain hands-on-experience in her field of interest as well as insight into the recent ongoing research of how genetics contribute to the development of various types of epilepsy.
Lohitha Kehelwathugoda, BSc Candidate, he/him, Research Trainee
Lohitha is a recent graduate from the University of Toronto with a bachelors in neuroscience and biology. He is an aspiring pre-med student that is working towards a career in medicine.
In the lab, he is a research trainee that is currently working on a project involving encephalitis and epilepsy. The project is a study that aims to determine if epileptic patients that had a prior confirmed or suspected diagnosis of encephalitis have an underlying genetic cause for their disease.
- Monica Duong, BSc, she/her, Clinical Research Study Assistant, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3149-0167
- Karen Barboza, HBSc, she/her, Research Trainee
- Carolina Fernandes da Silva, BSc, she/her, Research Clerk
- Rachelle Foster, she/her, Administrative Assistant
- Paula Marques, MD, she/her, Clinical Fellow, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1303-9273
- Tara Sadoway, MSc. she/her, Research Associate
- Arunan Selvarajah, BSc., he/him, Graduate Student
- Marlene Rong, HBSc, Msc Candidate, she/her, Research Coordinator, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4389-4932