Our Team
of Volunteers

Meet the members of our teams! Pulsar Collective relies on the dedication of its volunteer members to operate and grow. Through upholding the Pulsar Collective values, our fantastic team helps make our mission a reality.

Meet our Board of Directors

Nina Hadžimustafić

Board Member
(she/her)

MD Candidate at the University of Toronto, avid classical piano lover, ask me about mitochondria or composing music!

Cora Larkins

Board Member
(she/her)

Strategic fundraising leader, community development Master’s student at the University of Victoria. Lover of city parks and public art.

Joanne Zhou

Board Member
(she/her)

Dietitian and Product Management Professional. Building Products and Community are my passions.

Farhana Alarakhiya

Board Member
(she/her)

Data nerd; obsessed about making life smarter through data insights and analytics. Ask me why society suffers from DRIP - Data Rich but Insight Poor.

Aqeela Somani

Board Member
(she/her)

Certificate in Health Management & a Masters of Management in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Building a social impact start up and exploring the world of data.

Sam Yee

Board Member
(she/her)

HBSc student in Biomedical Sciences, Indigenous Studies, and Science Policy. Passionate about social justice and equity, and loves all brightly-coloured things.

Meet our Executives

Cassidy Swanston

Founder
(she/her)

Master's student in science communication, Communications Director at the Pelling Lab. Ask me how to grow an ear out of an apple.

Nina Hadžimustafić

Interim Executive Director
(she/her)

MD Candidate at the University of Toronto, avid classical piano lover, ask me about mitochondria or composing music!

Rahna Rasouli

Director of Programs
(she/her)

Medical student at the University of Toronto & piano teacher. Ask me about music in medicine!

Emily Hashimoto-Roth

Director of Communications
(she/her)

Master's student in bioinformatics in the Lavallée-Adam and Neural Regeneration Labs. I develop software that uses machine learning to mine and analyze mass spectrometry data!

Breana Hooks

Director of Human Resources
(she/her)

Master's student in biochemistry, working on immunometabolism in the Harper Lab. I grew up wanting to be the first female astronaut to go to Mars.

Jenny Baek

Director of Finance
(she/her)

Undergraduate student in Health Sciences with a minor in psychology! Ask me how to dissect a heart or perform a CABG!

Meet the University of Ottawa Chapter

Khadija Kamal

Chapter President​
(she/her)

HBA student in Psychology, ask me about neurobiological markers for treatment efficacy in mental health disorders.

Catalina Fernandez

Volunteer Coordinator​
(she/her)

Honours student in a Translational Molecular Medicine program, working in medicinal chemistry lab. Ask me about drug synthesis!​

Alex Kasatkina

Programs Coordinator
(she/her)

Honours BSc student in Biomedical Sciences.