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.
“It is certainly encouraging to be externally recognized for my research work and achievements,” she says. “I feel more determined and confident about my research topic, and this award will allow me to focus wholeheartedly on my research.”
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.
“At the time, the stigma attached to HIV was so intense that discussing the disease was frowned upon, making it challenging to work in the field,” she explains. “Therefore, I explored training opportunities in HIV biomedical research internationally and decided to pursue graduate studies in Canada in 2012.”