PhD student Zaid Taha is a cancer researcher at The Ottawa Hospital. Since his undergraduate years, Zaid has been an active volunteer in youth science outreach and is now a coordinator for the University of Ottawa chapter of the national Let’s Talk Cancer program, a free symposium for secondary school students.
When the pandemic struck right before the 2020 event, Zaid took the lead in adapting the event for a virtual audience. The 2022 event will also be held virtually, from June 2 to 3, and will feature presentations from researchers at The Ottawa Hospital. Zaid has also volunteered with science outreach events such as Grade 9 Job Shadowing Day and Doors Open Ottawa at The Ottawa Hospital, as well as the Ontario Hospital Association’s Youth DiverSTEAM Symposium.
For Zaid, the most rewarding part about his role is offering insight to young people who have been personally touched by cancer. “Some students attend these events because they have relatives with cancer, and they are looking for information to put them at ease and help them through those difficult times.”
The event is also a learning experience for the organizers. “We also have a lot of survivors, students who have had childhood cancers. They’ve gone through so much, and they teach us a lot.”
Join Zaid and his colleagues on a virtual tour of The Ottawa Hospital’s cancer research laboratories: https://bit.ly/37ShkUH.
Learn more about Let’s Talk Cancer, hosted by science outreach organization Let’s Talk Science and the Canadian Cancer Society: https://bit.ly/3klpg3d.
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The Ottawa Hospital is a leading academic health, research and learning hospital proudly affiliated with the University of Ottawa and supported by The Ottawa Hospital Foundation.
