Working Towards Inclusivity in Chemistry Toronto

Promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion within the chemistry community through awareness, engagement, and advocacy

Current Members


Executive Team 2023/2024

Abbey

Abbey Clapperton - Chair

Abbey (she/her) is a 3rd year PhD student in Polymers and Materials Chemistry in the Tran group. Her research focuses on the development of synthetic methods for peptoid polymers and their applications. She has been a part of WICTO since September 2021 and is really excited to be part of the executive team again this year! Abbey enjoys reading, baking, rollerblading, and spending time with her dogs.


Alex2

Alex Gabbey - Vice-Chair

Alex is a 4th year PhD student in organic chemistry in the Rousseaux group. Her research focuses on the development of Nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions for the synthesis of small, drug-like molecules. She has been a part of WICTO since September 2021 and is excited to take up a new role as vice-chair! When she’s not in lab (or in a WICTO meeting), Alex enjoys piano, cooking, trying new coffee shops, and bopping back to her home province of Alberta for a quick trip to the mountains.


Anna

Anna Watson - Secretary

Anna is a 2nd year PhD student in the Tran group focusing on polymers and materials chemistry. Her research focus is on synthetic methods for peptoids and their functionalization as well as mechanical testing for polymer materials. She has worked with WICTO since September 2022 as a general member and is excited to be a part of the executive team. When not in lab, Anna enjoys painting, cooking and reading fiction.


Nathan

Nathan Hsu - Treasurer

Nathan is a 2nd year PhD student in Polymers and Materials Chemistry in the Tran group. His research is focused on developing degradable semiconducting conjugated polymers utilizing greener polymerization methods. He helped and participated in several WICTO meetings and events in the past and looks forward to be more involved this year as Treasurer! Outside of research and school, Nathan enjoys sipping on coffee, going out for walks, reading books (particularly in finance, business, or economics), and listening to podcasts.


Sam

Sam Dudra - Events Coordinator

Sam is a 2nd year PhD student in the Organic stream in the Rousseaux group. Her research is centred on exploring nickel catalysis to develop new reactions that are of interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Last year, Sam was a Member-at-Large in WICTO and is looking forward to bringing people together through her role as an Events Coordinator. Outside of the lab, she enjoys running, hiking, knitting and reading.


Jill

Jill Downey - Events Coordinator

Jill is a second year PhD student in the Abbatt group studying Environmental Chemistry. In her research, Jill looks at the kinetics of oxidation reactions happening on common indoor surfaces that produce potentially harmful products. This is Jill’s first year being a part of WICTO and is so excited to be involved. Outside of school, Jill is a member of the UofT synchronized swimming team, enjoys playing volleyball and spending time with friends.


Yingshan

Yingshan Ma - Seminar Series Coordinator

Yingshan is a 5th year PhD student in Polymers and Materials Chemistry in the Kumacheva group. Her research focuses on utilizing biosourced polysaccharide materials for biomedical applications. She participated in several WICTO events in the past years and decided to make her contributions by coordinating the seminar series this year. While not in the lab, Yingshan enjoys exploring nature, playing badminton, and being a foodie.


Camelia

Camelia Atassi - Mentorship & Outreach Coordinator

Camelia is a second year Undergraduate student studying Cell and Molecular Biology, Chemistry and Statistics. She is interested in organic and inorganic chemistry, and is looking forward to organizing the mentorship program this year. The program’s mission is to provide mentors with an opportunity to lead and guide their undergraduate mentees, who will gain valuable advice and insight about post-graduate plans. Camelia enjoys running, playing basketball and hiking.


Elyse%20WICTO

Elyse Hudson - UTM Campus Representative

Elyse is a third year PhD student within the biological chemistry division, studying in the Beharry group at UTM. Her research focuses on using fluorophores to develop novel probes to be applied during fluorescence guided surgery of tumours. This is Elyse’s third year being apart of WICTO as the UTM representative! Outside of research, Elyse enjoys pilates, trying new restaurants, and trying to keep her plants alive.


Jenny

Jenny Oh - UTSC Campus Representative

Jenny is a third year PhD student of the Wania group in the field of Environmental Chemistry. Her research focuses on studying the fate of persistent organic pollutants in various environmental media using multimedia fate models. This is her first year as a member of the WICTO executive team and is looking forward to being involved. Outside of school, Jenny enjoys trying out new cooking recipes found on Youtube and reading. You can often find her running in the Toronto trails, training for the Toronto Waterfront Marathon.


Anna

Anna Galang - Social Media Relations Coordinator

Anna is a second year PhD student in Analytical and Biological chemistry in the Sullan group. Her current research focuses on developing nanotherapeutics to address biofilm infections on the skin. This is her first year with the WICTO team, and she is excited to connect everyone with all the fun things WICTO has planned this year. Besides looking at bacteria, Anna enjoys going on long runs/walks outside, reading books and trying to incorporate noodles in every meal.


Members at Large

Azalea Uva, Alicia Battaglia, Madeleine Larson, Sam Corapi

If you are interested in becoming a member at large, feel free to contact us for more information. All are welcome!