Current Trainees

Costanza Di Chiara is a paediatrician with expertise in the field of Infectious Diseases. She is a PhD candidate in the Division of Paediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Padova in Italy, attending a research fellowship at SickKids in Toronto. Viral infections are her research interest area, and since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, she has been focusing on epidemiological, clinical and immunological features of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination in children.

Ya-Li Hu (she/her) is a visiting scientist from Taiwan at SickKids from September 2025 to June 2026. She is a pediatric infectious disease physician at National Taiwan University Hospital. She completed her Master’s degree in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at National Taiwan University in 2023. Her research focuses on the epidemiology of enterovirus and RSV infections.

Robyn Elphinstone is a pediatric infectious diseases physician. She did the combined MD/PhD Program through the University of Toronto. Robyn completed her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Kevin Kain looking at the host response to severe malaria. She is currently a post-doctoral research fellow looking at a novel biomarker for the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis in neonates and young infants. Her other research interests including host pathogen interactions, endothelial dysfunction, CNS infections and neonatal outcomes.