September 2019
Our ambassador of the month is Bryan Gascon. Bryan become an Immunopaedia ambassador last year while he was a visiting students at the University of Cape Town. He has contributed to the online platform by developing MCQs for various immunology topics, assisted with content for ImmunoKenya as well as written numerous news articles.
Name: Bryan Gascon
Position: Staff Research Analyst at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center, and incoming Master of Science (MSc) candidate in the Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto
Research Institute: Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network.
Research interests: Psychoneuroimmunology, health services, clinical epidemiology, infectious diseases/tropical diseases, cancer
Recent publications:
Ikumi, NM., Bangani, N., Barboure, M., Alinde, B., Gascon, B., et al.., . The Impact of HIV Exposure on Placenta Pathology and Regulatory T Cells. Poster presentation: 2019 Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI); March 4-7, 2019; Seattle, Washington, USA. Abstract 322.
Kariyawasam, R., Gascon, B., et al., 2018. Spectrum of Bacterial Pathogens in Inflammatory and Non-Inflammatory Ulcers of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 73, p.306.
Why I love immunology: The ‘curiosity mind-set’ required to advance in the field of immunology has really captured my interests and forms one of the reasons why I find this field fascinating. Understanding the emerging complex intersections immunology has with human evolution and more recently, mental illness, is challenging, but at least it’s never boring!
Tips for young people who want to enter the field of immunology: As a young, budding scientist myself, my tip for ‘young’ people who want to enter ANY field within the realm of research/medicine is to seek mentorship from those more senior than you. There really is no substitute for good mentorship. Cultivate your curiosity in particular areas of research/medicine that you genuinely find most interesting, and reach out to the principal investigators (PIs) who are leading projects in these areas. Once you begin working with said PIs, practice being independent, but still seek feedback early and often with regards to your specific project and make sure to solicit general career-wisdom. Most PIs have academic appointments at reputable universities, which means being a teacher within their arena of expertise is a hard requirement, so don’t be afraid to seem ‘annoying’. Anyone who labels you as such is unlikely to be someone who has your best interests in mind and therefore, not someone you want to be working with anyways.
What being an Immunopaedia Ambassador means to me: Being an Immunopaedia Ambassador means that I’m able to collaborate with a community of scholars to disseminate immunology knowledge at a global-level.
How I have contributed to Immunopaedia so far: With my undergraduate background in immunology at the University of Toronto, I have developed and published ~40 multiple choice questions across numerous advanced immunology topics (complete them for CDP points!). In addition, I also developed pre-course content (HIV and cancers) for the ImmunoKenya course offered in September 2018, and will be contributing content related to psychoneuroimmunology in the form of paper and clinical cases in the near future.
How can you get in touch with me ? LinkedIn and Twitter