Team
Dr. Brian Kalish
Brian is a Clinician-Scientist and Neonatologist at SickKids. He completed his undergraduate degree in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, and his MD degree Magna Cum Laude at Harvard Medical School. Brian pursued Pediatrics and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine training at Boston Children’s Hospital. He completed postdoctoral research in Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School. He is an Assistant Professor of Paediatrics and Molecular Genetics at the University of Toronto, and he is the Director of Research in the Division of Neonatology.
His research is motivated by the desire to improve the lives of fragile newborns and to prevent or treat neurodevelopmental disorders.
In his spare time, he enjoys adventures with his wife (Marykate) and daughter (Nora), including hiking/kayaking/cycling at any opportunity.
Bharti Kukreja
Bharti joined the team in March 2021 as a Research Technologist II. She did her Master’s in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Guru Nanak Dev University, India. She has over eight years of experience in a multidisciplinary research environment with strong knowledge in molecular techniques in general, and next generation sequencing (NGS) methodologies in particular, encompassing various techniques of nucleic acid extraction, NGS cDNA library preparation, sequencing, and data analysis.
With an inclination to understand the molecular basis of early life neurodevelopment, she is excited and grateful to join the Neurosciences & Mental Health Program at SickKids Research Institute.
Bianca Rusu
Bianca joined the team in the Fall of 2021 as a first year Master’s student in the Department of Molecular Genetics. She completed her undergraduate degree with a major in Human Biology and minors in Physiology and Immunology at the University of Toronto. Throughout her upcoming years in the M.Sc. program, Bianca is excited to learn a breadth of new techniques, approaches, and topics within the spheres of developmental neuroscience and molecular genetics.
In her spare time, Bianca enjoys spending time with her friends and family. She is looking forward to working in the Kalish lab as it grows and expands over the coming years!
Aliza Aziz Lakho
Aliza is a fourth-year undergraduate student doing a double major in Statistics and Mathematics with a minor in Computer Sciences at the University of Toronto. She joined the team in August 2022. Aliza is passionate about working with data and uncovering patterns. She looks forward to using her knowledge of statistics and computer science in developmental neuroscience and molecular genetics to further advancements in the field.
In her spare time, Aliza enjoys cooking, going on a walk, or playing badminton.
We work closely with colleagues in the Centre for Computational Medicine (CCM) at SickKids (https://ccm.sickkids.ca/).
We are grateful for the work of students in the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Undergraduate Specialist Program at the University of Toronto.
Past Lab Members and Students:
Taiyi (Apollo) Wu
Angela Ng
Yue Zhou
Xinyi Zhang
Max Somer
DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, AND BELONGING
We believe that scientific endeavours proceed in the most innovative fashion when research teams represent a spectrum of human experiences. We recognize the role that institutional racism, sexism, classism, transphobia, and many other forms of structural discrimination have played in impeding the realization of a truly diverse scientific community. As we believe in the inherent value of diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging in biomedical research and academia, we are committed to recruiting and advocating for colleagues from a broad field of backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, challenges, and abilities.