Sufyan Rather

Snapshot

  • Honours Life Sciences Level IV student researching invasive fungal infections

  • Currently in a research practicum

  • Position obtained through: Cold-emailing

  • Our research looks at Invasive Fungal Infections and how prevalent they are in Canada; these are extremely deadly forms of infections that recently caused an uproar in India during the COVID era, so alas, our lab was interested to see what the incidence was like in Canada.

  • My responsibilities generally include looking at patients who were suspected to have an invasive fungal infection and start computing percentages. I also look at other factors to try to see if there is any particular symptom that makes them more likely to develop these deadly infections. 


“Medicine is often seen as an ivory tower of research, but people who study fungal pathogens (mycologists) are amongst the most unrepresented. So if you wish to study the wondrous world of fungi, it would serve you well to learn the field's lingo. 

When I emailed my supervisor, the most significant component of the application was my ability to connect what I knew about fungi, what I was interested in investigating, and what I could do to advance that topic. When it comes to niche fields, it certainly helps to develop specialized knowledge on the topic, however unnecessary it may seem initially.

“All of it starts by reading an article, it does not need to be some gargantuan anthology of mycological rants, but just a simple article about mushrooms. That's where it starts.”