Fall 2011 - Institute of Medical Science - University of Toronto

More documents

Recommendations

Info

FUTURE DIRECTIONS Dr. Aristotle Voineskos By Zeynep Yilmaz Combining Genetics and Neuroimaging to Understand the Etiology of Psychiatric Disorders How many graduates do you know who have earned their academic appointment only six months after completing their PhD? In a day and age where academic jobs are sparse and highly competitive, most of us may think of such an accomplishment as unlikely and farfetched. But then again, Dr. Aristotle Voineskos is not your average young researcher. Having graduated from the IMS with a PhD in September 2010, he has become an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto in March 2011 and an Associate Member at the IMS in July 2011. The fact that he has received funding from some of the most prestigious and competitive funding agencies such as the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) further shows that Dr. Voineskos has proven himself to be a role model to which many young medical and research trainees aspire. Born and raised in Toronto, Dr. Voineskos attended the University of Western Ontario for his undergraduate studies and was accepted to the University of Toronto Medical School after his third year at UWO. It was during this time that he started developing an in- Photo by Paulina Rzeczkowska 37 | IMS MAGAZINE FALL 2011 PROSTATE CANCER
FUTURE DIRECTIONS terest in genetics and the brain. Following completion of his medical degree, his combined clinical and research interests led to a residency choice in psychiatry at the University of Toronto. He recalls his rotation at the First Episode Schizophrenia Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) as a third-year resident, and how this experience shaped his future research interest in schizophrenia as a brain disorder. During the fourth year of his residency training, he started his PhD with the IMS under the primary supervision of Dr. James Kennedy. A year later, he had the serendipitous opportunity to spend six months at the Harvard Medical School to learn about brain imaging techniques. This opportunity opened doors for fruitful collaborations as well as new ways to think about neuropsychiatry, leading Dr. Voineskos to go back to Boston later on during his PhD studies to continue learning about these cutting-edge techniques. Having started his graduate training in Dr. Kennedy’s neurogenetics laboratory, Dr. Voineskos has also done some work in PET imaging in the earlier days of his training. Under the mentorship of Dr. Martha Shenton at the Brigham and Women’s College at the Harvard Medical School, he gained vast experience working with diffusor tensor imaging (DTI), a more advanced MRI technique. DTI allows for the measurement of structural properties in different brain regions, which fits well with Dr. Voineskos’s passion for understanding how risk genes influence brain structures in patients with severe psychiatric disorders, particularly schizophrenia. He also credits the opportunities he had in the Geriatrics Program at CAMH for shaping his research scope. Being given a chance to work as a part of the team and be involved in data collection and scans led him to a whole different area of collaboration and research opportunities: recruitment of a healthy aging control cohort, as well as studying healthy aging and Alzheimer’s disease. His current research combines multi-modal neuroimaging and genetics approaches to map gene effects in the brain with the aim of discovering vulnerability pathways for severe mental illness. His research findings on the role of the BDNF gene in Alzheimer’s disease have been featured widely in the news media earlier this year. Dr. Voineskos recognizes the influence of many mentors on this work and credits them greatly with where he is now as a scientist. He emphasizes the importance of the mentorship of Dr. Shenton at Harvard and Dr. Kennedy as his supervisors, and states that apart from research training, he has learned so much from them about how to get funding, grant writing, and the importance of networking. He also thanks Dr. Nancy Lobaugh, his clinical mentors Drs. Gary Remington and Jeff Daskalakis in the Schizophrenia Program at CAMH, as well as Drs. Bruce Pollock and Benoit Mulsant in the Geriatrics Program for their mentorship and support. Last but not least, he acknowledges the role IMS has played in his training and career. “I’d like to thank Dr. Mary Seeman for being flexible and allowing me to be away for my imaging training,” he says and continues, “the door was always open at the IMS, and the staff has been wonderful and very helpful in answering my questions on procedures and timeline.” Having delivered the very prestigious Salter-Siminovich lecture in the 2011 IMS Scientific Day this May, Dr. Voineskos has always seen the Scientific Day as a great opportunity to exchange ideas and learning more about the research of his peers. He also recalls having enjoyed taking IMS courses, which gave him the chance to meet faculty, explore areas relevant to his research in an in-depth fashion, as well as publish highcaliber scientific papers resulting form his course work. As the Director of the Kimel Family Translational Imaging-Genetics Research Laboratory at CAMH, Dr. Voineskos is eager to pass his research experience to a new generation of research trainees: he is currently supervising two Master’s level IMS students and is looking forward to expanding his laboratory. One piece of advice Dr. Voineskos has for IMS students has undoubtedly shaped his young but stellar career, “having a great set of mentors is at least as important as your specific research focus; keeping an open mind may open many doors for you in an unexpected fashion.” He highlights the benefits of learning as much as possible from each mentor and taking their best qualities to better yourself and your research skills. He also reminds the students the importance of hard work and staying motivated to succeed. Having been an avid participant in sports from a young age, he also emphasizes the importance of work-life balance. Indeed, this is not the typical career of a recent PhD graduate. At the age of 33, Dr. Voineskos has achieved success that many senior researchers have not had in their long careers. His stellar accomplishments surely are inspirational to graduate students interested in research as well as aspiring medical trainees and residents. Most importantly, the achievements of Dr. Voineskos serve as a testament to the importance of a solid research training, dedication, devotion, flexibility and eagerness to learn from others as the hallmarks of success and a fruitful research career. IMS MAGAZINE FALL 2011 PROSTATE CANCER | 38
Page 1: IMSMAGAZINE FALL THINK, LEARN, DISC
Page 4 and 5: COMMENTARY Tell us what you think
Page 6 and 7: NEWS AT A GLANCE NEWS&VIEWS OCTOBER
Page 9 and 10: DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Director’s M
Page 11 and 12: IMS SURP HIGHLIGHT IMS SUMMER INTER
Page 13 and 14: IMS SURP HIGHLIGHT SURP Day Winners
Page 15 and 16: FEATURE The prostate is a walnut-s
Page 17 and 18: FEATURE analysis suggested a small
Page 19 and 20: FEATURE Photo courtesy of http://ww
Page 21 and 22: FEATURE T ADC DCE MRI - K ep map Fi
Page 23 and 24: FEATURE Pick Your Brain... A column
Page 25 and 26: FEATURE I n line with this hope, it
Page 27 and 28: SPOTLIGHT itself as a versatile and
Page 29 and 30: CLOSE UP Dr. Jill Cameron many of t
Page 31 and 32: SURP RESEARCH FOCUS Given the rigou
Page 33 and 34: VIEWPOINT I think about the ablest
Page 35 and 36: VIEWPOINT this bias should be of hi
Page 37: BEHIND THE SCENES Most students kno
Page 41 and 42: Ask Experts the Dear Experts, Last
Page 43 and 44: DIVERSIONS SUDOKU 2 7 1 5 8 4 9 6 2

Fall 2011 - Institute of Medical Science - University of Toronto

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?