WELCOMING TOMORROW: Reflections on the Power of Commitment
On February 26, The Department of Biology invites you to "Welcoming Tomorrow: Reflections on the Power of Commitment", a symposium in honor of Zeynab and Mohammed Asadi Lari.
This public event will start at 5pm in MN1210. Register here: https://bit.ly/324I3WN
5-6 pm: Reception (light refreshments & coffee)
6-9pm: Featured Speakers:
Dr. Sacha Noukhovitch, Founder and President of the STEM Fellowship, leads a federal nonprofit organization that equips the n
Dr. Sacha Noukhovitch is a champion of the data-native generation talent development and digital learner pedagogy. He is actively involved in the design and implementation of early data science education and student big data inquiry.
He started his career as an electrical engineer in the nuclear power industry and obtained a Ph.D. in Management theory from the Moscow State University. He is a member of The National Taskforce on Education and Skills, Ontario College of Teachers, sits on the marketing committee of the Council of Science Editors (US) and a fellow of the LEAD International and LEAD Canada.
Dr. Tina Malti is Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, founding director of the Laboratory for Social-Emo
Her research interests include the foundations, pathways, and antecedents of aggression and kindness during childhood and adolescence. In order to study these topics, she utilizes a variety of designs, ranging from experimental cross-sectional and large-scale longitudinal approaches to randomized controlled trials. Based on findings in her research, she creates and implements social-emotional intervention approaches to enhance kindness and reduce aggression and negative consequences of exposure to violence, war, and trauma in children facing varying levels of adversity. As a scholar with a diverse ethnic background, she collaborates with colleagues in over 15 countries on five continents to conduct these lines of research.
Dr. Malti is President-elect of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development (ISSBD) and serves as Associate Editor of Child Development (2013-present). She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 7 and 53) and the Association of Psychological Science. She has received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for her research on children’s development and mental health.
Among her honors are the Desmond Morton Research Excellence Award from the University of Toronto (2019), the CIHR New Investigator Award, the Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, the Young Investigator Award from the Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA), and the New Investigator Award from the International Society for Research on Aggression (ISRA).
Tina has published over 180 empirical journal articles and book chapters, and she has co-edited 11 special issues and 5 books. Her research has been profiled in The New York Times, The Atlantic, as well as other print and media outlets.
She has served on several expert advisory panels. These include among others, the Jacobs Foundation, the CIHR, and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Dr. Samantha Nutt MD, MSc, CCFP, FRCPC, C.M. is an award-winning humanitarian, bestselling author and acclaimed 
public speaker. A medical doctor and the founder of the renowned international humanitarian organizations War Child Canada and War Child USA, Dr. Nutt has worked with children and their families at the frontline of many of the world’s major crises – from Iraq to Afghanistan, Somalia to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sierra Leone to Darfur, Sudan. A leading authority on current affairs, conflict, international aid and foreign policy, Dr. Nutt is one of the most intrepid and recognized voices in the humanitarian arena and a highly sought-after public speaker in North America. With a career that has spanned more than two decades and dozens of conflict zones, her international work has benefited millions of war-affected children globally.
Dr. Nutt is a respected authority for many of North America's leading media outlets. She is a regular foreign affairs panelist on the acclaimed news program, CBC TV NEWS “The National”, and a contributor to NowThis News. Nutt’s written work has been published by TED Ideas, Reuters, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, The Toronto Star, Maclean’s Magazine, The Ottawa Citizen, The Huffington Post, and other publications. She has appeared in AP News, Forbes, Town & Country Magazine, AP News, Time Magazine, The Epoch Times (New York), More Magazine and on NBC Nightly News, BBC World News Service, America’s Radio News Network, NPR, CTV Power Play, CTV National News, Global TV News, and CBC Radio, to name just a few. In November 2015, Dr. Nutt spoke at TED Talks Live “War & Peace” at The Town Hall Theater in New York, which aired on PBS the following year. Dr. Nutt’s TED Talk on the deadly impact of small arms garnered over a million views on TED.com.
Dr. Nutt’s critically-acclaimed debut book, entitled Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies and Aid, was released by McClelland and Stewart Ltd. (a division of Random House) and was a #1 national bestseller in both hardcover and paperback. Lewis Lapham declared it a “brave and necessary book”, while the Literary Review of Canada called it a “brilliant polemic.” Damned Nations is a bracing and uncompromising account of Dr. Nutt’s work in some of the most devastated regions of the world. The new edition of Damned Nations was released on November 6, 2018 in Canada and the U.S.A. by Penguin Random House.
Dr. Nutt has been appointed to the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian honour, for her contributions to improving the plight of young people in the world's worst conflict zones. Dr. Nutt was named one of Canada's 25 Transformational Canadians by The Globe and Mail, and has been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. Time Magazine has featured her as one of Canada's Five Leading Activists.
Samantha Nutt graduated summa cum laude from McMaster University, earned an M.Sc in Public Health with distinction from the University of London and holds a Fellowship in Community Medicine (FRCPC) from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. She is further certified by the College of Family Practice and completed a sub specialization in women’s health through the University of Toronto as a Women’s Health Scholar. Dr. Nutt is the recipient of numerous honorary doctorates from universities in Canada and the U.S.A.
Dr. Nutt is a staff physician at Women's College Hospital in Toronto and is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is a Senior Fellow at Massey College, University of Toronto and is on the board of the David Suzuki Foundation.
We will be taking photos and videos to share this evening’s event at other times and places, potentially including on-line. If you do not want to your image to be shared, please let our photographer/videographer know so that you can be directed to an area in the room that won’t be visually recorded.
Also, as many of you likely knew Zeynab and Mohammad, to whom this event is a tribute, we recognize that you may still feel sadness and grief around their loss. U of T has resources readily available 24-7, for employees through our Employee & Family Assistance Program, and for students through our free MySSP student support program phoneline and app.
Thanks for taking good care of yourselves and others as we celebrate Zeynab and Mohammad’s passion for science with this evening’s activities.