Dec 21, 2022

Welcoming a Temerty-Tanz-TDRA Postdoc Research Fellow

About the TDRA, Announcements, Partnerships, Research, TDRA Investigators

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Samar Elsheikh has been awarded a Temerty-Tanz-TDRA Postdoc Research Fellowship. This fellowship investigates the interactions between dementia and depression, and provides fellows with transdisciplinary competencies that complement their doctorate training.

Dr. Samar Elsheikh completed her PhD and a post-doctoral fellowship in bioinformatics at the Computational Biology Group, University of Cape Town, South Africa. Throughout her PhD, Dr. Elsheikh integrated a wide range of neuroimaging characteristics and multi-omic data to better understand their associations in the context of brain-related diseases.

In 2021, Dr. Elsheikh joined the Pharmacogenetics Research Clinic at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) as a Postdoctoral Fellow. In this fellowship, Dr. Elsheikh is elucidating the underlying biological mechanisms of late-life depression, with a special focus on predictive modelling to analyze large datasets composed of genetic, epidemiological, clinical, and psychosocial data.

During the Temerty-Tanz-TDRA Postdoc Research Fellowship, Dr. Elsheikh will conduct multi-site research under the co-supervision of Dr. Daniel Mueller at CAMH, and Dr. Corinne Fischer at St. Michael’s Hospital. Their study will investigate the genetic interplay between antidepressant response and the development of early symptoms of dementia in late life. Late-life depression (LLD) and dementia share many common symptoms (e.g., memory loss), cognitive complaints, and biological mechanisms. This study hypothesizes that genetic variants and biological pathways associated with cognitive domains of dementia will allow for the development of clinically-relevant, predictive models for antidepressant response in late life. Study findings may act as a new target in predicting and delaying the onset of dementia and LLD, as well as provide new treatment targets.

Welcome to the TDRA community Dr. Elsheikh!

Learn more about the Temerty-Tanz-TDRA Initiative