Narratives
In February 2020, our team of graduate student researchers started reaching out to interview McGill PhDs who graduated between 2008-2018.
If you graduated from McGill with a PhD and would like to share your story, please get in touch with us.
Madhuwanthi Buddhadasa, Postdoctoral Researcher
Madhuwanthi Buddhadasa graduated in 2018 with a PhD in Chemical Engineering specialised in plasma chemical processing. Currently, she works as a postdoctoral ...
Heather McShane, Program Director for the McGill Sustainability Systems Initiative
Heather McShane graduated with a PhD from the Department of Natural Resources Sciences in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in 2013. She ...
Tanya Chichekian, Assistant Professor
Tanya Chichekian graduated with a PhD in Learning Sciences from the Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology in 2014. She is currently an ...
Audrey Macleod, Research Officer
Audrey Macleod completed her PhD in Physics in 2014. For her thesis research, she developed a Compton Imaging detector for imaging gamma radiation. Today, she ...
Rory Sleno, Senior Scientific Evaluator
Rory Sleno graduated with a PhD from the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in 2017. He is currently a Senior Scientific Evaluator at Health Canada.. ...
Reflections from TRaCE McGill Interviewers
Interviews for the TRaCE McGill project began in February 2020 and ended in September 2020. Each of the interviews we’ve selected for publication shares a ...
New! Video recordings of our Career Pathways for PhDs events coming this summer
Over the past year, we’ve hosted eleven different events, bringing over thirty McGill PhD grads back virtually to connect with the McGill community. ...
Lian Chang, Brand Data Journalist
Lian Chang received her PhD from the School of Architecture in 2010. Her thesis research was focused on the origins of the concept of proportion in archaic ...
Timothy Newfield, Assistant Professor
Timothy Newfield graduated with a PhD in History in 2011. He is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of History and the Department of Biology at ...
Uday Kurien, Postdoctoral Fellow
Uday Kurien graduated with a PhD from McGill University in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences in 2018. In his thesis research, he studied the uptake and ...
Dea van Lierop, Assistant Professor
Dea van Lierop completed her PhD in Urban Planning in 2017. In her thesis research she studied ways of increasing satisfaction and loyalty among users of ...
Anna Taylor, Assistant Professor
Anna Taylor graduated with a PhD in Pharmacology and Therapeutics in 2010. She is currently an Assistant Professor. Q: What made you interested in doing a PhD ...
Ghulam Jalani, Lead Scientist
Ghulam Jalani received his PhD from the Department of Mining and Materials in 2015. His thesis research was focused on building a multi-functional platform ...
Yasmin D’Souza, Clinical Research Coordinator
Yasmin D’Souza graduated with a PhD in Anatomy and Cell Biology in 2013. She currently works as a Clinical Research Coordinator. Q: What made you interested ...
Mathieu Boudreau, Research Fellow
Mathieu Boudreau completed his PhD in Biomedical Engineering in 2018. His thesis focused on characterizing and optimizing quantitative MRI techniques used for ...
Kent Nnadozie, International Civil Servant
Kent Nnadozie received his PhD from the Faculty of Law in 2016. In his thesis research he studied the international governance of plant genetic resources and ...
Where do McGill PhD grads go after graduation?
The TRaCE McGill quantitative study successfully tracked over 88% of all 5,523 alumni who earned their PhD at McGill from 2008 to 2018 inclusive. The ...
Nada Farsi, Assistant Professor
Nada Farsi graduated in 2015 with a PhD from the Faculty of Dentistry in the Division of Oral Health and Society. She is currently an Assistant Professor. Q: ...
Lisa Buchy, Medical Science Liaison
Lisa Buchy graduated with a PhD from the Integrated Program in Neuroscience in 2012. She currently works as Medical Science Liaison at AbbVie. Q: How did you ...
Mohammad Nsour, Associate Professor
Mohammad received his DCL from the Faculty of Law in 2009. His thesis research explored the legal understanding of the role of regionalism in the multilateral ...
Susane Havelka, Postdoctoral Fellow
Cover photo by Emelie Desrochers-Turgeon Susane Havelka received her PhD from the School of Architecture in 2018. Her thesis research was focused on the rise ...
Daniel Poremski, Senior Research Fellow
Daniel Poremski graduated with a PhD in Psychiatry in 2014. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow. Q: How did you decide to start a PhD? My background was ...
Chelsea Cavanagh, Senior Consultant
Chelsea Cavanagh graduated with a PhD from the Integrated Program in Neuroscience in 2016. She currently works as a Senior Consultant at Ernst and Young. Q: ...
Emrah Sahin, Senior Lecturer
Emrah Sahin graduated with a PhD in History in 2011 with a dissertation about the Ottoman imperial state responding to American evangelical missionary ...
Eliza Bateman, Senior Research Analyst
Eliza Bateman received her PhD from the Faculty of Law in 2019. In her dissertation, she explored religious and sexual identity conflict through a legal ...
Ava Schlisser, Clinical Study Manager
Ava Schlisser graduated with a PhD in Pharmacology and Therapeutics in 2014. She currently works as a Senior Clinical Study Manager. Q: What made you ...
Mia Biondi, Clinician Scientist
Mia Biondi graduated with a PhD in Microbiology and Immunology in 2013. She is currently a Clinician Scientist. Q: What made you interested in doing a PhD in ...
Mark Pitcher, Research Director
Mark Pitcher graduated with a PhD from the Integrated Program in Neuroscience in 2010. His research has focused on understanding and treating chronic pain. He ...
Cheryl Thompson, Assistant Professor
Cheryl Thompson graduated with a PhD in Communication Studies in 2015. She currently works as an Assistant Professor at Ryerson University. Q: What made you ...
Daphne Ling, Sports Medicine Epidemiologist and Assistant Professor
Daphne Ling graduated with a PhD in Epidemiology in 2012. She is currently a Sports Medicine Epidemiologist at Hospital for Special Surgery and an Assistant ...
Clement (Moeed) Shahamat, Application Development Engineer
Moeed graduated with a PhD from the Department of Chemical Engineering in 2015. His thesis focused on multiscale computational modeling of high-pressure ...
Mehrnoosh Azodi, Environmental Policy Specialist
Mehrnoosh Azodi received her PhD from the Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics in 2017. In her thesis research, she studied the dissolution ...
Jennifer Hutcheon, Associate Professor
Jennifer Hutcheon graduated with a PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics in 2009. She is currently an Associate Professor at the University of British. ...
Kristina Kasparian, Entrepreneur
Kristina Kasparian graduated with a PhD from the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders (SCSD) in the Faculty of Medicine. She is currently a business ...
Gabriel Kaufman, Associate Scientist
Gabriel Kaufman graduated from the Department of Experimental Medicine in 2016. His PhD research focused on allergies and immune modulation. He currently (Jan ...
Carey You Lim Huh, Project Scientist
Carey You Lim Huh graduated with a PhD from the Integrated Program in Neuroscience in 2013. She currently works as a Project Scientist. Q: What made you ...
Sofia Waissbluth, Physician and Clinician Scientist
Sofia Waissbluth graduated with a PhD in Experimental Surgery in 2013. She currently works as a medical doctor (specialized in otolaryngology) and a clinician ...
Yang Ding, Software Development Consultant
Yang Ding graduated from the Integrated Program in Neuroscience in 2017. He is currently a software consultant at his own technical consulting corporation. Q: ...
Mike Quashie, Director of Analytics and Model Development
Mike Quashie received his PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2018. His research and thesis focused on the optimization of energy management system ...
Adya Karthikeyan, Senior Research Engineer
Adya Karthikeyan completed her PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2018. In her thesis research, she developed a method for improving boiling heat transfer using ...
Carlos Yoong, Director of Consulting Services
Carlos Yoong graduated with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2018. In his thesis, he studied methods of simulating and characterizing the vibration of ...
Taylor McLinden, Scientific and Quality Assurance Officer
Taylor McLinden graduated with a PhD from the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health in 2018. He currently works as the Scientific ...
Inga Murawski, Program Manager
Inga Murawski graduated with a PhD in Human Genetics in 2009. She currently works as a Program Manager for the Translational Research in Respiratory Disease ...
Sandeep Subramanian, Assistant Professor
Sandeep Subramanian graduated with a PhD from the Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy in 2013. He is currently an Assistant Professor at ...
Keiko Shikako-Thomas, Associate Professor
Keiko Shikako-Thomas graduated with a PhD in Rehabilitation Science from the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy in 2012. She is currently an ...
Ryen MacDonald, Senior Strategic Marketing Manager
Q: So what made you interested in doing a PhD? I went to Northeastern University for my undergraduate degree in behavioral neuroscience. I completed one co-op ...
Maryssa Canuel, Associate Medical Director
Maryssa Canuel graduated with a PhD from the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology in 2008 and obtained an MBA in 2010. She currently works as an Associate ...
François Mouillot, Research Assistant Professor
François Mouillot graduated with a PhD in Communication Studies in 2018. His dissertation looked at the role of small record labels in the musical, linguistic ...
Lorie Kloda, Academic Librarian
Lorie Kloda graduated with a PhD from the School of Information Studies in 2012. She currently works as an Academic Librarian. Q: What made you decide to do a ...
Terrence Bell, Assistant Professor
Terrence Bell graduated with a PhD from the Department of Natural Resources Sciences in the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in 2013. He is ...
Adrian Buzatu, Senior Data Scientist
Adrian Buzatu completed his PhD in physics in 2011. His research involved the detection of a rare process of decay of the Higgs boson to two beauty quarks. ...
Catie Lichten, Scientific Writer
Catie Lichten graduated with a PhD from the Department of Physiology in 2012. She is currently a Scientific Writer at the University of Oxford. Q: What made ...
Olivier Roche, Professor and Dean of the School of Business and Economics
Olivier Roche completed his PhD in Management in 2008 from the Desautels Faculty of Management. He is currently a Professor and the Dean of the School of ...
Andrew Komar, Project Coordinator
Andrew Komar graduated with a PhD in Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics in 2017. His thesis research focused on concrete durability and the development ...
Nina Penner, Assistant Professor
Nina Penner completed her PhD in musicology in 2016. She later published the research from her thesis in a book, Storytelling in Opera and Musical Theatre ...
Robert (Bob) Saggers, Management Consultant
Bob completed his PhD in 2009. His thesis research on leadership and learning showed that managers who teach their employees learn to lead more effectively ...
Michel Ntemgwa, Acting Manager
Michel Ntemgwa graduated with a PhD in Experimental Medicine in 2008. He currently works as an Acting Manager for the Non-prescription Drugs Evaluation ...
Hanno Erythropel, Associate Research Scientist
Hanno Erythropel completed his PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2016. His thesis focused on designing, synthesizing and testing greener plasticizers. Today, he ...
Sara Antunes-Alves, Psychologist and Program Manager
Sara Antunes-Alves graduated with a PhD from the Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology from the Faculty of Education in 2017. She is ...
Jessica Toste, Associate Professor
Jessica Toste graduated from the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology in 2011. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of ...
Kaitlin Soye, Lawyer
Kaitlin Soye graduated from the Department of Experimental Medicine in 2011. She is currently an Intellectual Property Litigation Lawyer. Q: What made you ...
Carolyn Samuel, Senior Academic Associate
Carolyn Samuel graduated in 2016 from the Department of Integrated Studies in Education. Her PhD research explored how university instructors who teach in ...
Laura Jones, Lead Clinical Specialist
Laura graduated with a PhD from the Department of Biochemistry in 2018. She is currently a Lead Clinical Specialist. Q: What made you first interested in ...
Claudia Wever, Medical Science Liaison
Claudia Wever obtained her PhD in Biology in 2015 after completing her thesis on the physiological role of nematode-specific ligand gated ion channels and ...
Morgan Phillips, Research Coordinator
Morgan Phillips graduated from the Department of Integrated Studies in Education in 2019. She is currently a Research Coordinator for Network Environment for ...
Mark Bazett, Director of Preclinical Development
Mark Bazett graduated from the Department of Human Genetics in 2015. After finishing his PhD, Mark transitioned into industry, leading preclinical drug ...
Samuel Rodrigues, Associate Professor
Samuel Filgueiras Rodrigues completed his PhD in Mining and Materials Engineering in 2018 with a thesis focused on phase transformations of metal alloys under ...
Colette Simonot-Maiello, Assistant Professor
Dr. Colette Simonot-Maiello completed her PhD in Musicology in 2011, focusing on the theme of hysteria in an opera by Francis Poulenc. After beginning her ...
Dawn Rouse, Professor at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Dawn graduated from the Department of Integrated Studies in Education in 2012. She is currently a professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Q: What ...
Misia Kowanda, Simons Searchlight Outreach Manager
Misia Kowanda graduated with a PhD in Biology in 2017. Her research focused on genes specific to RNA transport and protein organization during Drosophila ...
Andrew King, Director of Performance Research
Andrew King completed his PhD in Computer Science in 2009 with a theoretical thesis focused on graph colouring, which describes how networks of objects can be ...
Daniel Lametti, Assistant Professor
Daniel Lametti graduated from McGill with a PhD in Psychology in 2013. His thesis research focused on the brain basis of limb movements and speech production. ...
Juan Sebastian Delgado, Cellist
Juan Sebastian Delgado received his doctorate from the Schulich School of Music in 2017 with a thesis focused on the crossroad between tango and contemporary ...
José Carlos Marques, Assistant Professor at the University of Ottawa
José Carlos Marques graduated from Desautels Faculty of Management in 2017. He is currently an Assistant Professor (Strategy & Sustainability) at the ...
Laura Gougeon, Healthy Communities Scientist
Laura Gougeon graduated in 2014 from the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in Human Nutrition, where she studied dietary factors associated ...
Nathaniel Robichaud, Business Development Manager at Genome Quebec
Nathaniel Robichaud graduated from the Faculty of Medicine in Biochemistry in 2018. He is currently a Business Development Manager at Genome Quebec and a ...
Judy Prasad, Operations & Program Manager, KickStart Venture Services
Judy Prasad completed her PhD in psychology (behavioral neuroscience) in 2014, focusing on the thalamus’ role in cognitive processes. She is currently the ...
Anna Peletsis, Pianist and piano instructor
Anna Peletsis completed her doctorate in music in 2017 with a thesis focused on piano music by the Latvian composer Georgs Pelēcis. She is currently a- ...
Derek Wray, R&D Manager
Derek graduated from the Department of Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry in 2015. He currently works as an R&D Manager for Bonduelle. Q: What made ...
Nafisa Jadavji, Assistant Professor
Nafisa Jadavji completed her PhD in 2012 from the Department of Human Genetics in the Faculty of Medicine. She is currently an Assistant Professor at ...
Tatiana Dardykina, Pianist and piano instructor
Tatiana Dardykina completed her Doctor of Music degree in 2017 with a thesis focusing on the piano writing of the French composer, Henri Duparc. Tatiana now ...
David Tang, Officer at National Research Council Canada
David Tang received his PhD from the School of Information Studies in 2012, focusing on innovation in information services. He is currently an Officer at the ...
Petra Gyles, Clinical & School Psychologist
Petra Gyles graduated in 2016 from the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology. She is currently a Child and Adolescent Clinical and School ...
Ian Gerard, Radiation Oncology Resident Physician
Ian Gerard graduated in 2018 from the Faculty of Medicine in Biomedical Engineering and in 2020 from the Faculty of Medicine in the MDCM program. He is ...
Erin Parkes, Founder and Executive Director of Lotus Centre for Special Music Education
Dr Erin Parkes graduated with a PhD in Music Education in 2015. Her research focused on training music teachers to work with students with autism. She ...
Heather Newell, Linguistics Professor
Heather Newell graduated with a PhD from the Department of Linguistics in 2008. She is currently a Linguistics Professor at Université du Québec à Montréal ...
Patrick Cortbaoui, Managing Director, Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security
Patrick Cortbaoui completed his PhD in 2015 in bioresource engineering, focusing on post-harvest quality management of fruits and vegetables. He is currently ...
Kait Pinder, Assistant Professor
Kait Pinder graduated with a PhD in English in 2015 with a focus on Canadian literature. She is now an Assistant Professor in the English Department at Acadia ...
Stephen Wittek, Assistant Professor
Stephen Wittek graduated with a PhD in English in 2013 and is now an Assistant Professor in the English Department at Carnegie Mellon University in.& ...
Lilia Eskildsen-Torres, Fellowships Officer, McGill
Lilia Eskildsen-Torres received her PhD in 2018, focusing on the role of dance in Mexico and the Mexican diaspora. She is currently a Fellowships Officer at ...
Alex Klotz, Assistant Professor
Klotz received his PhD in Physics from McGill in 2015. He is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at California State ...
Dia Dabby, Law Professor, UQAM
Dia Dabby received her Doctorate in Civil Law (DCL) in 2017, focusing on religious diversity in public schools in Canada. She is currently an Assistant ...
Caolan Kovach-Orr, Data Scientist, Verisk Analytics
Caolan Kovach-Orr completed his PhD in biology in 2015, focusing on predator-prey interactions. He started, in industry, as a Data Scientist, and currently ...
Tim Haltigin, Senior Mission Scientist, Planetary Exploration, Canadian Space Agency
Tim Haltigin completed his PhD in geography in 2010, focusing on permafrost geomorphology. He is currently the Senior Mission Scientist for Planetary ...
Monica Granados, Policy Analyst
Monica Granados graduated with a PhD in Biology in 2016. She is now a policy analyst for the Government of Canada working on open science. Monica also is on ...
Dorothy Maguire, Environmental Scientist, Environmental Protection Agency
Dorothy Maguire completed her PhD in Natural Resource Sciences in 2015, focusing on the effects of plant feeding insects on forest ecosystem services. ...
Joan Wry, Professor
Joan Wry graduated with a PhD in English in 2010. She is now a Professor of nineteenth-century American Literature and Honors Program Director at Saint’ ...
Susan King, Engineer, Writer, Educator, and Public Speaker
Susan King completed her PhD in bioresource engineering in 2010, focusing on treatment systems for swine manure. She has worked as an engineer, science and ...
Jocelyn Moore, Senior Scientific Evaluator, Health Canada
Jocelyn Moore completed her PhD in biology in 2008, studying Drosophila (fruit fly) oogenesis and RNA. She currently works as a Senior Scientific Evaluator in ...
Mary Cullinan, Teacher
Mary Cullinan completed her PhD in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education in 2016. She gave voice to the experiences of 39 women who entered ...
Jamshid Rahimi, Food Product and Process Innovation Engineering Scientist, Griffith Food
Jamshid Rahimi received his PhD in bioresource engineering in 2014, focusing on the microstructure of batter coating on food products. He is currently a Food ...
Malvina Klag, Independent Consultant
Malvina Klag graduated with a PhD in Organizational Behaviour from the Desautels Faculty of Management in 2009. She is now an independent consultant. Q: ...
Russell Seidle, Assistant Professor
Seidle graduated with a PhD in Management (Strategy and Organization; Support field in Sociology) from the Desautels Faculty of Management in 2013. He is now ...
Jeremy Macdonald, Faculty Lecturer
Jeremy Macdonald completed his PhD in mathematics in 2012, focusing on the algorithmic theory of groups. He is a faculty lecturer in the department of ...
Madhu Kaushik, Vice-President of Vera Inkjet
Madhu Kaushik is the Vice-President of Vera Inkjet. She received her PhD in Chemistry from McGill University. Her research experience includes inkjet fluids, ...
Tamara Cohen, Assistant Professor
Tamara Cohen graduated with a PhD in human nutrition in 2017, researching childhood obesity. She is currently the Director of Dietetics and an Assistant ...
Diego Mastroianni, Senior Services Strategist
Diego Mastroianni graduated with a PhD in Management Information Systems in 2016. He now works as a Senior Services Strategist at Moody’s Analytics Q: ...
Lance Rappaport, Assistant Professor
Lance Rappaport completed his PhD in psychology in 2015, specializing in clinical psychology and focusing on anxiety disorders. He is an Assistant Professor ...
Sooyoun Seo, Research and Development Manager
Sooyoun Seo completed her PhD in 2014 in Food Science and Agricultural Chemistry, focusing on food proteins. She is currently a Research and Development ...
Danielle Barkley, Career Educator
Danielle Barkley graduated with a PhD in English in 2015. Her dissertation focused on the nineteenth-century novel. She is now a career educator, working ...
Jackie Goordial, Assistant Professor
Jackie Goordial completed her PhD in natural resource sciences in 2015, focusing on polar microbiology. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the School ...
Matthew Wyman-McCarthy, Research Facilitator
Matthew Wyman-McCarthy graduated with a PhD from the Department of History in 2015. His dissertation considered the origins and legacy of the British ...
Vanessa Bao, Psychologist
Vanessa Bao received her PhD in School/Applied Child Psychology in 2018. She is now a licensed psychologist specializing in helping children, adolescents and ...
Normand Cyr, Manager of Structural Biology Platform
Normand Cyr completed his PhD in parasitology in 2012, focusing on the parasite Leishmania donovani. He is currently the Manager of the Structural Biology ...
Lucas McCartney, Greenhouse Engineering Consultant and Poultry Farmer, Aviculture KDEM
Lucas McCartney completed his PhD in bioresource engineering in 2017, focusing on greenhouse cooling. He currently helps to run Aviculture KDEM Inc., a large ...
Racheli Haliva, Junior Professor
Racheli Haliva received her PhD from the Department of Jewish Studies at McGill University in 2016. Her dissertation considered the works of the 14th century ...
Hilary Havens, Associate Professor
Hilary Havens graduated with a PhD in English Literature in 2013. Her dissertation considered the novels of Frances Burney, an eighteenth-century English ...
Frieda Beauregard, Herbarium Curator and Instructor
Frieda Beauregard completed her PhD in plant science in 2016, focusing on the impact of climate change on forest ecosystems. She is currently the curator for ...
Emmanuelle Richez, Associate Professor
Emmanuelle Richez graduated with a PhD in Political Science in 2012. Her dissertation considered the impact of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on ...
Eric Yen, Software Developer and Research Scientist
Eric Yen received his PhD in biology in 2017, focusing on protein dynamics during cell division. He is currently a software developer and research scientist. ...
Leah Moss, Senior Advisor to the Vice-Principal (Health Affairs) & Dean, Faculty of Medicine
Leah Moss graduated in 2007 with a PhD in Integrated Studies in Education. Her dissertation considered the recognition of prior learning (RPL) and ...
Ndonkeu Tita Walter, Professor
Ndonkeu Tita Walter graduated in 2008 with a PhD in natural resource sciences, focusing on entomology and pest management. He is currently a Professor at ...