Humans of RHSE: Introducing Zarif Mohaiemen

Our Research and Health Science Education (RHSE) community is a diverse but close-knit group of undergraduate and graduate students, trainees, faculty and staff. In this series, we introduce you to some of our members, talk about their roles in the university and share a few fun facts about them.

Today we introduce Zarif Mohaiemen, a master’s student in the Applied Clinical Pharmacology (ACP) program in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

Zarif is supervised by Dr. Cindy Woodland, Professor, Teaching Stream, Director, Applied Clinical Pharmacology Program and Director, Collaborative Specialization in Toxicology, in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and by Dr. Prateek Lala, Associate Director, Applied Clinical Pharmacology Program and Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.

The ACP program is a two-year, course-based Master of Science degree that provides training in clinical pharmacology, including trial design, pharmacokinetic analysis and laboratory work. Students in the program complete a research project and a full-time placement in a workplace setting.

Before joining the ACP program, Zarif completed his undergraduate degree in physiology and biomedical toxicology at the University of Toronto (U of T). He decided to complete his graduate studies at U of T because of its strong research reputation, the surrounding network of research hospitals associated with the university and the unique atmosphere of the campus. 

Zarif appreciates that the ACP program integrates opportunities for personal and professional development with academics, and he is excited to work with Toronto Western Hospital to complete his major research project.

Since starting his master’s degree, Zarif has learned to appreciate the value of networking, a task he once considered daunting. In fact, he argues that networking is a key skill to develop as a student. “Network, network, network!” he says. “By networking, you let your professors and peers know what you’re interested in, what kind of person you are, and what you hope to be doing in the future.”

This, according to Zarif, helps when it comes time to secure references for your graduate school applications. By pushing himself outside of his comfort zone this past year, Zarif used his newfound networking skills to secure a lab to work with for his major research project.

Another area of growth for Zarif is his communication skills. He hopes to take what he’s learning in his degree and use it to effectively share his passion for science with others.

“Much to my chagrin, close friends of mine have often compared me to Dora the Explorer. This is because I often like giving simple explanations that could be understood by a 5-year-old, with pauses and probing questions in the middle to boot. While it used to irk me, I now wear it as a badge of honour.”

It sounds like he’s well on his way to achieving his communication goals, too.