Meet the Team

Dr. Bousman received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, a Master in Public Health from San Diego State University, and a PhD from the University of California-San Diego. Prior to arriving at the University of Calgary, he spent seven years at the University of Melbourne, Department of Psychiatry, where he remains a Honorary Senior Research Fellow. Dr. Bousman is a full member of the Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education. In addition, Dr. Bousman is a member of the Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium and Pharmacogenomics Research Network.

Dr. Abdullah Al Maruf is a Pharmacist in training and holds a M.Sc. in Clinical Pharmacology and a PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology. He would like to capitalize on his past education and research training during his Bachelor’s and Master’s of Pharmacy studies in Bangladesh that focused on genetic epidemiological studies in diseased and healthy population and epidemiological assessment of health hazards in vulnerable communities and his doctoral work at the University of Toronto that focused on idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury.

Dr. Toyin Shonubi is an international medical graduate who holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from Nigeria with clinical and research experience in mental health. She is passionate about mental health and will leverage her past research training during her residency program in Nigeria that focused on severe depression and suicide. She will be assisting with recruitment efforts across the range of projects being conducted within the PsychPGx Lab. She also hopes to pursue her medical practice in Canada.

Mikayla is a Biomedical Sciences student and Chancellor’s Club Scholar at the University of Calgary. She has previously interned within the Wasserman Lab at BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, which does exome and genome analysis for rare paediatric diseases. Mikayla would like to pursue her passion for genetics by continuing to gain research experience within this field. To this end, she has received a Program for Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) award to conduct a systematic evaluation of commercial pharmacogenetic tests ability to facilitate the implementation of international dosing guidelines.

Noah Richardson is a Biomedical Sciences student at the University of Calgary. While he is hoping to pursue a career in medicine, he is active on campus in both sciences as well as the arts, appearing in performances with the student run theatre at the University. Noah is hoping to explore pharmacogenetics in order to extend his understanding of how genetics interface with medicine. Noah will be working on the PROCLAIM study this year to gain research experience and continue expanding his passion in both genetics and medicine.

Aisouda is a Neuroscience student at the University of Calgary. She is the Vice President of Marketing for the Neuroscience Student Association. She has conducted research on the influence of Ibuprofen in water bodies on neuronal regeneration in Lymnaea stagnalis. Additionally, Aisouda has finished a summer studentship at the Ungrin lab working on Age-Related Macular Degeneration treatments. Aisouda’s passion for mental health research and improving current therapeutic methods has made her interested in the field of pharmacogenetics. Her research will focus on the CYP450 enzymatic family and how it relates to brain function and structure as well as behaviour.

Chaten is a first year Neuroscience Student at the University of Calgary. This past year he served as a First-Year representative on the Neuroscience Students Association, and also volunteered as a VP External for Run for the Little Ones, a non-profit student-run organization that raises money for the Neuro-critical Care Unit at the Alberta Children's Hospital. This is Chaten’s first experience doing research and he’s super excited to explore the field of antidepressant pharmacogenetics.

Joshua is a Biological Sciences student at the University of Calgary. He has a passion for medicine as well as research, and hopes to pursue both in the future. His interest in research began in Grade 11, when he was a recipient of the Heritage Youth Researcher Summer Program (HYRS) at the University of Calgary. He worked in the Health and Wellness lab on the Alberta Cancer Exercise (ACE) Program where he identified strategic opportunities for the implementation of a clinic-to-community model of care. Joshua has also worked with the Calgary Critical Care Research Network, assisting with the Family ICU Delirium Detection Study (FIDDS) and the Electronic ICU Discharge Summary study. In the Greenway Lab, he worked on the effects of SS-31 in fibroblasts from patients with DCMA syndrome. This summer, Joshua has received an Alberta Innovates Summer Research Studentship to conduct a contractile analysis of heart muscle cells treated with clozapine as part of the PROCLAIM Study.

Dr. Md Shaki Mostaid completed his Bachelor of Pharmacy and Master of Pharmacy in Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He holds a PhD in psychiatric genetics from the University of Melbourne, Australia. Dr. Mostaid is interested in genetic, transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of candidate genes for suitable biomarkers in schizophrenia. He is worked on the pharmacogenetics of clozapine induced myocarditis in treatment-resistant schizophrenia patients.

Camilia Thieba is a Research Coordinator working with the Mathison Center for Mental Health Research and Education and the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Clinic at the Alberta’s Children Hospital. She holds a Master degree in Molecular Biology, Certificate in Project Management, a Graduate Diploma in Population Health Risk Assessment and Management and a Certificate in Patient-Oriented Research: Pragmatic Clinical Trials. She is interested in understanding the impact of various determinants on population health outcomes.

Alexandra is Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology student with a specialization in mind sciences at the University of Calgary. She has strong interests in mental health and neurology. Alexandra is a dedicated volunteer at the Alberta Children’s Cottage Society, where she cares for high needs children. This volunteer experience has given her an immersive perspective on mental health. Alexandra received a Program for Undergraduate Research (PURE) award to conduct a systematic review on antidepressant pharmacogenetics in children.

Jake is a Bachelor of Science in Psychology student at the University of Calgary. He has an interest in neuropsychology/pharmacology and related fields that can improve the quality of people’s lives. He volunteered in the PsychPGx Lab to learn more about the effective usage of medication as well as to broaden his knowledge in how genetic components can impact responses to medication. He conducted a systemic review on general anesthetic medication response in children.