For each of the past 4 years, the McMaster Autism Research Team (MacART) has welcomed a summer placement student from the HHS High School Research Bursary Program, where youth become part of a research team and have the opportunity to conduct basic or clinical research activities within one of Hamilton’s internationally renowned research programs.
Our placement student in 2018 was Marwah Samim, a Grade 11 student interested in pursuing a career in medicine with the hope of becoming a pediatrician. Marwah spent the summer working with Dr. Stelios Georgiades and MacART. She helped to computerize patient surveys, drafted a clinician report template, and generated infographics to present the data collected for the Pediatric Autism Research Cohort (PARC) Project, which aims to embed a standardized research protocol into the Ron Joyce Children’s Health Centre ASD Service. Through this placement Marwah gained valuable research skills while learning about the state of scientific research in ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders – most importantly, learning how research can be directed to best support the needs of families living with autism. Watch the brief video to learn more about her experience with us!