2023-2024 Team

Bryn Livingston, Co-President

Bryn is a fourth-year PhD student in the department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology at U of T. Her research focuses on the genetic and molecular mechanisms behind the most common pediatric brain cancer, medulloblastoma. She joined TSPN in 2022 so she could be more involved in the promotion of evidence-based policy. She was Internal Affairs Director of TSPN for the 2022-2023 academic year and became Co-President in August 2023. Working in basic research, it can be easy to lose sight of how science and society impact each other, but Bryn believes it is crucial to ensure that scientific knowledge is working to impact policy in a responsible way.

Maria Medeleanu, Co-President

Maria is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Physiology (Cardiology and Respiratory Platform) and SickKids Hospital, studying how early-life exposures affect immune development and pediatric asthma and allergic disease. Maria is also deeply interested in healthy policies and is receiving a Collaborative Specialization in Public Health Policy at Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Maria was the former TSPN marketing director and is passionate about advocating for a rich and thriving Canadian scientific research ecosystem. She is excited to return as a Co-President to continue TSPN’s mission in developing educational events and a platform to engage in evidence-informed science policy.

Luna Taguchi, Treasurer

Luna Taguchi is a second year Ph.D. student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. She is studying evolution of infectious disease, with a particular interest in using mathematical models to understand why outcomes of infections are so diverse. Her current focus is on coinfection – simultaneous infection of different pathogen strains – and how they can determine infection outcomes. She joined TSPN in 2022 because of her interest in science communication and evidence-based public health policy. With experiences teaching and mentoring young students of all ages, she strongly believes that scientific knowledge should be accessible to everyone.

Melanie Seabrook, External Affairs Director

Mélanie is a Masters student in Health Systems Research at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. Her research focuses on Canadian public health systems and investigates how they may be funded more sustainably to allow for crisis preparedness and promoting population health. Through her studies, she has grappled with the challenge of translating research insights into effective tools for policy-making, and is looking forward to being part of the TSPN Team in her role as External Affairs Director.