Bhavana Akilan (She/Her)

Hello! I'm an incoming PhD student at the University of Toronto. Prior to this, I earned my HBSc at the University of Toronto, studying biology, anthropology, and business. For my first summer research, I examined what environmental variables influenced sleep patterns in children located in the Republic of Congo. I will be extending this research, with a focus on how sleep is affected with the extent of market integration. I've done research ranging from biomedical physics to pedagogy studies. I'm very passionate about interdisciplinary research, and currently have many research projects intersecting numerous aspects. For my Leadership-in-Action project, I was in a tiny island in Japan called Yoron, There, I helped out as an Assistant Language Teacher, piloted a Pen Pal project, and helping the science camp students affiliated with the University of Tokyo by teaching academic writing and by extension, academic presentation skills. The last goal was an extension of research I conducted with another professor outside of Laidlaw, on pedagogical implications of expert writers' citation practices. I would also like to take this time firsthand to understand cultural differences in academic writing. I'd love to chat more! Please don't hesitate to send me a message. Let's connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aisha-mir-903354403/

Hello! I’m a psychology researcher and the founder of HaHaHelps, a comedy-based psychosocial programme designed to support young people in residential care. I am currently completing an MSocSci in Psychology at the University of Cape Town, where my dissertation examines the feasibility of HaHaHelps with adolescents in South African child and youth care centres. My broader interests include youth mental health, psychosocial intervention development, implementation, participatory approaches, and the use of humour and play to support connection, emotional expression, self-efficacy, and coping with uncertainty. HaHaHelps grew out of my Laidlaw Leadership-in-Action project at SOS Children’s Villages in Cape Town, where I designed and facilitated an improv-comedy programme for adolescents. Since then, I have continued developing and delivering the programme with young people in residential care and am now studying how it can be refined, evaluated, and ultimately adapted for use in other communities and settings. Before this, my Laidlaw research at the University of Toronto examined relationships between childhood adversity, aggression, and self-regulation. I’d love to connect with other Laidlaw Scholars and alumni interested in youth mental health, social impact, intervention development, social entrepreneurship, or simply finding creative ways to turn research into something useful in the world.

On weekdays, I'm a microengineering student fascinated by 3D bioprinting of living tissue, wearable devices, electronic skin,  soft robotics and neural interfaces.  On weekends, I'm a House and Freestyle Hip-Hop dancer.

I am interested in the fields of mechanobiology, biohybrid prosthetics, biophysics, Jungian psychology, and philosophy. Recently in association with Laidlaw; In Cornell University (N.Y, U.S.A.) I worked on curating an art book on biomechanics for charity to raise awareness in this field of science. And in Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), we worked on developing a microphysiological model of the osteocytic network in the bone that can be used to better understand the (patho)physiology of bone using Direct Laser Writing technology using MLO-Y4 cell culture.  On the side; In ETH Zürich (Switzerland), I was working on understanding bio-hybrid muscle actuators using C2C12 cell culture by amassing literature review, designing biobot unit, and conducting biocompatibility tests along with growing and differentiating muscle cells for further electrical stimulation. At DogPatch Labs's Patch (Dublin, Ireland) I was experimenting with creating a start-up company to help amputees get affordable prosthetics.  On the (other) side; I like to dance, write, and read anything I get my hands on; be it music, poetry, or even shampoo bottles. Please feel free to contact me here or on LinkedIn for any discussions regarding the aforementioned topics!