Exceptional master’s and doctoral students recognized in School of Optometry and Vision Science’s Graduate Student Awards Ceremony
Vision Science graduate students and some of their professors
Outstanding graduate students were recognized on April 29, 2025, at the School of Optometry and Vision Science Graduate Student Awards Ceremony during the annual Graduate Student Research Conference. Thanks to the donors who made the awards possible.
Congratulations to the following award winners:
- Daytech Manufacturing Ltd. Prize for best 2024 Graduate Student Conference seminar: Teddy Chow, PhD level, and Lauren Hoare, MSc level
- Desmond Fonn Contact Lens Research Award: Piyush Garg and Nijani Nagaarudkumaran
- Dr. Emerson Woodruff Graduate Scholarship in Pediatrics: Lauren Hoare
- Class of 1948 Graduate Scholarship: Sharon Qiu
- H. Winston Algate Award in Graduate Studies: Shilpa Gorla
- Clinical Scientist Graduate Award: Daniel Kessie
- Douglas Ingleton Graduate Scholarship in Ocular Health: Ashita Bidarkar
- Samit & Reshma Sharma Graduate Scholarship in Optometry and Vision Science: Cassandra Huynh
- Outstanding Teaching Assistantship Award: Iman Salehi, Basic Science Award; Lauren Hoare, Clinical Science Award
The following students received University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ Graduate Scholarships:
- Ashita Bidarkar
- Theodore Chow
- Piyush Garg
- Sadaf Ghaeni Hesaroueiyeh
- Shilpa Gorla
- Lauren Hoare
- Heather Hudecki
- Cassandra Huynh
- Daniel Kessie
- Allison Lynch
- Mana Monfared
- Nijani Nagaarudkumaran
- Sharon Qiu
- Anne Marie Yeboah
 Congratulations also to the following students, who won external awards in 2024–2025:
- Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program (OGS) Doctoral Research Award: Nijani Nagaarudkumaran and Sharon Qiu
- NSERC Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral: Anne Marie Yeboah
- President's Graduate Scholarship: Nijani Nagaarudkumaran, Sharon Qiu and Anne Marie Yeboah
- WS Rickert Graduate Student Fellowship in Science: Nijani Nagaarudkumaran
- 2024 Fighting Blindness Canada (FBC) Clinician Scientist Emerging Leader Award: Sharon Qiu
In addition, several University of À¶Ý®ÊÓƵ vision science graduate students were awarded research funding through the Canadian Optometric Education Trust Fund (COETF).
Congratulations also to the following vision science graduates from spring and fall 2024:
- Mehdi Al Atrach (MSc)
- Rishav Bhardwaj (MSc)
- Xiaoxin Chen (PhD)
- Heather Hudecki (MSc)
- Sandra Mazur (MSc)
- Abdul Rasheed Mohammed (PhD)
- Megala Ramasamy (MSc)
- Navid Shahsavari (MSc)
- Manish Shukla (MSc)
The following, who have recently satisfied requirements to graduate, will convocate in 2025:
- Piyush Garg (PhD)
- Asiya Jabeen (PhD)
- Marisa McKinney (MSc)