The Tri-Agency Awards are awarded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). These awards support outstanding students pursuing a doctoral or master’s degree in a health-related field.
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Aniqa Shahid: CIHR Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships Doctoral Award
Aniqa Shahid, a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), has been successful in the CIHR doctoral research competition, winning the Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships Doctoral Award. In addition to supporting her current research, this award will help her with future applications for post-doctoral research opportunities, as well as other research grants.
Originally from Pakistan, Shahid attended the University of Karachi, earning a three-year Bachelor’s degree, followed by a one-year master’s degree (non-thesis) in Biotechnology. Upon graduation, she joined the HIV molecular epidemiology research laboratory at the Aga Khan University in Karachi. There, she characterized population-level HIV diversity in samples from Pakistan, Nepal, Kenya, and Afghanistan, helping her better understand the HIV epidemic in those populations. Her work led to four peer-reviewed publications, and inspired her to pursue a career in HIV basic science research.
Shahid, who also completed her Master of Science degree with FHS in 2015, is focusing her PhD research on HIV persistence and eradication. With her PhD project, “Towards an HIV cure for all: increasing female representation in HIV latency research,” she is studying the latent HIV reservoir dynamics and diversity in females. She hopes to help develop a cure for HIV that will be effective and accessible for all.