CAREERS IN LIFE SCIENCES
The POP Career Series is inspired by student questions such as: Are there more options than just med school or grad school? Can I combine my artistic interests with a career in science? Take a look and download POP's Spark Guide to help facilitate discussions with your group.
Family Doctor
Dr. Peter Lin is the Director of Primary Care Initiatives at the Canadian Heart Research Centre. He has two busy family practices in Toronto and he is the health columnist for CBC Radio. He is also Associate Editor for the Elsevier Web Portal – Practice Update Primary Care and a contributing author to the Canadian Diabetes Guidelines 2013. Through his work with the diabetes guidelines, he has lectured on diabetic macular degeneration (DME). In addition, he has been the guest editor for Focus on Cardiology, worked as a consultant for Perspectives in Cardiology, and was on of the editorial board for The Canadian Alzheimer Disease Review. Dr. Lin received a teaching award from the Canadian College of Family Physicians in 2011.
POP Spark Guide
POP Spark Guide
Medical Illustrator
Natalie Intven is a biomedical illustrator based in Toronto. She completed her undergraduate degree in Human Kinetics at the University of Guelph. Upon graduating, she took a year off to prepare her portfolio for her application to the Masters of Science in Biomedical Communications (BMC) program at U of T. Only 16 students are accepted each year, and this program is the only one of its kind in Canada. Natalie was accepted in 2006 and graduated in 2008. Since then, she has been working for Imagineeringart.com where she makes amazing medical illustrations on a daily basis for educational textbooks and digital learning platforms. She also uses her artistic skills to make creative pastries!​
POP Spark Guide
Manager, Clinical Trials Ontario
Manal Siddiqui is a systems change strategist in the healthcare and life sciences industry. She has established and managed operations and programs to support public policy initiatives in Ontario related to clinical research and innovation procurement of medical technologies. She was instrumental in operationalizing Clinical Trials Ontario and managing the implementation of its multi-pronged business strategies, resulting in the successful roll out of a single research ethics review system for multi-centre clinical trials in Ontario. Manal holds a B.Sc. in Life Sciences with a minor in Bioethics from the University of Toronto and an M.Sc. in Business Management with a focus on Internal Audit from the Cass Business School, City of London, United Kingdom.
POP Spark Guide
POP Spark Guide
Forensic Identification Assistant
Tamryn Loy Son graduated from the University of Toronto Mississauga in 2013 with a Bachelor of Science specializing in Forensic Chemistry. She now works as a Forensic Identification Assistant with the York Regional Police where she collects and documents evidence from crime scenes on a daily basis. The information that Tamryn collects can be used in court hearings and has been used to bring clarification to each criminal case.
Professor, Human Biology Department
Dr. Ju has been an associate professor in the Human Biology Department since 2009. Dr. Ju was a student at U of T where he did his undergrad in life sciences, his graduate work in the Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology Department, and his postdoctoral fellowship in Physiology. His understanding of the pressure that students face while obtaining their education, led Dr. Ju to become an active advocate for students, dedicating his research to the development of educational technology to enhance student learning. In addition, he has created a supportive presence on Facebook for students.