CMGSS Events
Multicultural Night
The CMGSS multicultural night is scheduled for November 20, 2026 from 6-9 pm in the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Health Sciences Building room 1B21. We invite you to share parts of your culture and participate in trivia. Food will be provided from a diverse cuisine by potluck. Please bring food representative of your culture or something that you enjoy. You can still join us without bringing food.
Monthly Coffee Event
The CMGSS hosts ongoing monthly morning coffee sessions, typically hosted the first Wednesday of each month from 9-11 am in the USask Health Sciences Building room 1B21. Meet other graduate students at the event or just come to have coffee and enjoy a snack. Everyone is welcome.
Planned Events
We are planning a Graduate Students Information Event for undergraduate students to learn more about the life of a graduate student and why students should consider pursuing research. We hope to answer any questions and will host research professors who are enthusiastic about their work to help students network.
We have a Wellness Event with therapy dogs planned. We will discuss mindfulness techniques and provide information about abuse.
Student Appreciation
Would you like your hard work recognized and shared with a larger platform including other students and faculty? Submit the link to your recent first author publication along with a brief (one sentence) description in lay terms and your program of study to cmgss@usask.ca.
Articles will be posted on Facebook and Twitter.
Everyone who submits a publication will receive a small congratulatory gift from CMGSS!
Current CMGSS Members
Taylor Dzikowski (Health Sciences)
CMGSS Co-President
I am a third-year PhD student supervised by Dr. Dean Chamberlain and we are developing a new 3D tumour model to study the ability of triple negative breast cancer cells to undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invade through collagen, and acquire drug resistance. In my free time I like to go to hockey games and concerts, play trumpet and soccer, and read comic books.
Griffin Lehnert (BMI)
CMGSS Co-President
Theodor Zaharia (Pharmacy and Nutrition)
VP Internal and VP Finance
I am a first-year MSc student working under the co-supervision of Dr. Robert Laprairie and Dr. Justin Botterill. My research explores the pharmacology of positive allosteric modulators of the type 1 cannabinoid receptor and their application in mouse models of temporal lobe epilepsy.
Mohammadreza Javan (APP)
VP Communications
Caleb White (APP)
VP Communications and APP Representative
I am a first-year MSc student co-supervised by Dr. Justin Botterill and Dr. John Howland researching the neural circuitry of a mouse model of autism. In my spare time, I like to play the piano and read.
Amber Jurke (APP)
VP Student Affairs
Hi everyone! I am a second-year MSc student in the department of APP supervised by Dr. Wendie Marks. My research looks at how a double-hit model of early life adversity impacts rat offspring's motivational preference towards palatable food.
Bisrat Bekele (APP)
VP Academic
I am a third-year PhD candidate in biomedical sciences at the University of Saskatchewan with a background in pharmacy, biotechnology, and cancer research. My current PhD research in Dr. Asmahan Abu-Arish's lab focuses on inflammation, cellular stress responses, and bioactive lipids in infectious disease. My long-term career goal is translating basic science discoveries into improved therapies and personalized medicine.
Jay Patel (APP)
VP Academic
Anisha Regmi (CHEP)
EDI Representative and CHEP Representative
I am a first-year MSc student in community health and epidemiology, supervised by Dr. Tracey Carr. My research explores the experiences of unattached patients (individuals without a primary care provider) and how they navigate the Canadian healthcare system. I am also examining how alternative forms of primary care can be incorporated into programs and initiatives to better serve this population.
Christopher Chivers (APP)
APP Representative
Breanne Bevelander (BMI)
BMI Representative
Chelsey Thistle (BMI)
BMI Representative
I am a second-year MSc student in Dr. Joyce Wilson's lab. My research project investigates the role of Argonaute-2 phosphorylation during HCV infection. Off campus, I am usually at the gym or watching Netflix.
Paul Oni (Health Sciences)
Health Sciences Representative
Hi my name is Paul Oni, I'm a second-year masters student under the Chelico lab. I work on APOBEC3A inhibition of telomerase. Outside of science, I enjoy fitness and playing and watching sports such as soccer, basketball, and football.
Any questions (or suggestions!) about anything related to the College of Medicine graduate programs and community can be directed to cmgss@usask.ca or to any of our members or to https://www.facebook.com/groups/CoMGradStudents/. We are always willing to help.
GSA Student/Supervisor Contract
Needing to talk to your supervisor about the expectations of you and your supervisor during your program? The GSA Student-Supervisor Contract can help guide the conversation.
Governance
The CMGSS constitution and recent meeting minutes are posted here.
Representation
College of Medicine Faculty Council
The CMGSS has 2 voting positions on the Faculty Council for the College of Medicine (https://medicine.usask.ca/contacts/faculty-council.php). These meetings are open to all. These positions are filled by:
Jared Price (MD-PhD, HSC)
Elyse Proulx-Cullen (PhD, HSC)
College of Medicine Graduate Chair Committee
The CMGSS provides two student representatives to the Graduate Chair committee meetings, which bring together all graduate chairs in the CoM programs to discuss the allocation of College scholarship funding and other issues that affect the graduate programs. These positions are filled by:
Fabrice Njotu (PhD, HSC)
Una Goncin (PhD, HSC)
GSA Council
The CMGSS has 4 voting positions on the GSA council (https://gsa.usask.ca/Governance/council/council.php), one for each department. These meetings are open to all. The representatives for this year are:
APP: Kundanika Mukherjee (PhD), Arshdeep Jagait (MSc)
BMI: Maddie Stewart (PhD), Rachel Harris (PhD)
CHEP: Amanda Gannon (MSc), Nahin Shakurun (MSc)
HSC: Elyse Proulx-Cullen (PhD), Sara Dalkilic (MSc)