Meet The Team
achieving new
heights together.
Nikko Gimpaya
Nikko is a research assistant at St. Michael's Hospital. He completed his undergraduate studies (HBSc 2014-2018) and Master of Education (MEd 2019-2020) at the University of Toronto. He joined the Grover lab in 2017 and his research interests include the development and improvement of simulation-based training curricula in gastrointestinal endoscopy, appraisal of clinical guidelines, and evaluation of research practices.
Michael Scaffidi
Michael is a resident at Queen's University (Internal Medicine 2022-2025), who first started working in the lab in 2011. He completed his Masters of Education in 2013 at the University of Toronto. His research interests are curricular development and evaluation and simulation-based training in endoscopy. He is also a composer with published music on Spotify.
Rishad Khan
Rishad is a resident at the University of Toronto (Internal Medicine 2019-2022, Gastroenterology 2022-2024) who began working in the lab in 2015. His research interests include endoscopy education and assessment, physician-industry interactions in gastroenterology, and clinical outcomes and safety of advanced endoscopic procedures.
Rishi Bansal
Rishi Bansal is a medical student at McMaster University (class of 2023), and began working with the lab in the summer of 2018. His research interests include using clinical data to improve hospital outcomes, critical appraisal, and the medical-industrial complex. Rishi is also a deputy editor and contributor at Healthy debate.
Chandni Pattni
Chandni is a resident at the University of Toronto (Internal Medicine 2018-2021, Gastroenterology 2021-2023) and one of the incoming Chief residents of her final year of Gastroenterology & Hepatology residency. She began working in the lab in 2018. Her research interests include medical education, quality improvement research with a focus on identifying the barriers facing women in the field.
Nasruddin Sabrie
Nas is an internal medicine resident with a strong interest in GI and GI research particularly as it pertains to general education and endoscopy training. Most recently Nas has collaborated on a project that aims to understand the process of credentialing in endoscopy from an international point of view.
Daniel Tham
Daniel is a Medical Student at the University of Ottawa (Class of 2026) and a graduate of the McMaster Bachelor of Health Sciences Program (Class of 2022). He began working in the lab in 2018 and his research interests include medical education, simulation and augmented reality in training, financial conflicts of interest in GI, and clinical practice guidelines.
Juana Li
Juana Li is a medical student at McMaster University (c2024, Hamilton) and has worked in the lab since 2018. Her research interests include medical education in endoscopy and physician-industry relationships. In her free time, Juana likes to go for hikes, play ultimate frisbee, bake, and spend time with family and friends.
Karam Elsolh
Karam is a medical student at McMaster University (2020-2023). Karam began working at the lab in 2019. His research interests are in the areas of medical education and patient engagement in research. He’s an avid swimmer and likes spending his free time experimenting in the kitchen!
Reza Gholami
Dr. Reza Gholami is a gastroenterology fellow in the hospitalist medicine program at St. Michael’s Hospital. He has completed 2 years of advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) fellowship training from 2019-2021. His main research interests are Medical Reversal, IBD, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Education and In-patient Clinical Research.
James Lisondra
James Lisondra is an undergraduate student at Ontario Tech University. He joined the Grover Lab in Summer 2020 as a Keenan Research Summer Student. He is passionate about using health systems research to alleviate socioeconomic disparities and integrating simulation-based strategies into medical education. Outside of work, he enjoys illustration, travelling, and watching documentaries.
Ally Zhao
Ally is an undergraduate student at McMaster University who began working in the lab in 2022. She is currently working on a project related to re-creating low-cost simulations for novice endoscopists to practice with. Some of her hobbies include cooking, spending time with friends, and going on runs.
Adeel Akhtar
Adeel Akhtar is a first year Internal Medicine Resident at Northeast Georgia Medical Center who joined the Grover lab in 2022. He completed his medical education at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. His research interests include evaluating the efficacy and utility of endoscopic procedures with a focus on medical education.
Shai Genis
Shai Genis is a recent graduate of molecular genetics at the University of Toronto (HBSc 2022) and started at the Grover Lab in the summer of 2018. He participated in projects examining the ergonomics of scoping procedures and the role non-technical skills play in the clinic. Shai will be starting paramedic studies in September 2022.
Tina Shahrokhi
Tina is an undergraduate student at York University (B.Sc, Biology) and an incoming medical student at Trinity College Dublin. She joined the Grover lab in 2022 as a Keenan Summer Research Student. She is passionate about research in medicine, preventative healthcare strategies, and preferential publications. During her free time, Tina enjoys trying out different types of food, watching movies and figure skating.
Amy Li
Amy Li is a medical student at the University of Ottawa and has worked in the lab since 2021. Her research interests include preferential publications and patient engagement in research. Amy likes to hike, bake, and go on bike rides in her free time.
Yash Verma
Yash is an undergraduate student at the University of Toronto (HBSc, 2018-2022), he has worked with the Grover lab since June 2019. His current research interests include preferential publication rates among editors, relationships between industry and patient advocacy groups, and endoscopic educational interventions. In his free time, Yash enjoys cooking, playing sports and working with children.
Sam Seleq
Sam is a New Zealand trained Gastroenterologist currently at St. Michael's Hospital. He is commencing his therapeutic endoscopy fellowship in 2022, having recently completed an IBD fellowship. His research interests are focused on endoscopy training as well as advanced endoscopic procedure outcomes and quality improvement.
Basile Montagnese
Basile is a recent biomedical engineering graduate from Dartmouth College who began working in the lab in 2019. His research interests include the use of virtual reality in endoscopy education, examining financial conflicts of interest in medical journal editors, and discovering and presenting predatory medical journals. Beyond research, Basile enjoys playing soccer, hockey, and going on hikes with his dog!
Raina Fujiyoshi
Dr. Raina Fujiyoshi is a gastroenterologist and endoscopist, currently doing an Advanced Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Fellowship at St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto. She received the 2022 CAG Educational Grant for her first project with the lab, entitled “Unified Magnifying Endoscopic Classification (UMEC): a North American education study”.
Michael Atalla
Michael Atalla is a 4th year undergraduate student at the University of Waterloo. He has been with the Grover Lab since 2019 and has worked on various projects. The first was a Simulation Course for Polypectomy Skills Training using Augmented Reality. He organized a training plan for novice endoscopists to enhance their polypectomy skills over a 4-week course.
Dr. Samir C Grover
MD, MEd, FRCPC.
Lab Head
Dr. Grover’s research is in the application of simulation and technology-enhanced learning strategies to endoscopy education. Among other areas, his research has demonstrated that curricular approaches to endoscopy simulation are superior to ad hoc training and that training of progressive fidelity and complexity in endoscopy simulation improves transfer to the clinical setting. His research work has also evaluated simulation to teach non-technical skills in endoscopy, and to teach ergonomic behaviours.