DONNY LI

Although my first pillar focuses on my own research initiatives, I am a strong believer that one person’s research can never be as impactful as the harmonised, combined effort of researchers. Therefore, I have taken action to be a demonstrated advocate and leader in supporting undergraduate research. The first is my founding of AlumNav, a federally-registered nonprofit that I created in 2020 to highlight the potential of student research and initiative. Through a 100+ member international team we built, students connect with each other in groups of 4-6 (remaining true-to-life towards research project teams) to work on tackling self-guided social and scientific research issues informed by their local communities. This has allowed students to start small, attempting to contribute to a challenge they are familiar with, while building confidence and the lifelong lesson of the unrestricted potential a person has to make a difference. Some projects that our members have initiated include a research study on the health of children during COVID-19, an exploration the healthcare discriminations in Canada, a synthesis of medical research to publish with the public, a podcast on self-care, and much more. Our accomplishments have also been further supported by the Government of Canada, as well as other industry partners such as Google, Microsoft, Canva, and more, permitting us with annual resources totalling over $160 000 CAD. Through this, I was also invited to serve on the Board of Directors on a larger international nonprofit, Race to a Cure, which specialises in engaging high school and undergraduate students to participate in scientific inquiry through brief article writing, research skills workshops, community inquiry opportunities, and team-based original research projects. 

However, none of either pillars were without challenge—they dominated my journey. In an example involving my work at SPA-LTC, often seeing and working with the people who my research serves every day reminded me of the heavy responsibilities I had—the people who have entrusted us with their future can be a double-edged sword that casts doubt over my head in whether I was good enough, experienced enough, or quite simply, smart enough. Further, in being a student, there is a tendency for people to overlook me—although my research achievements do not appear that way, I have always feared that a look of my face often leads to judgement. Why would a hospital listen to a student? What is he doing here? Why don’t you have any degrees? Some show it in their eyes, and some say it directly. Though the principle I have lived by to overcome these challenges is to understand that others may not understand me, and the path I took may not be one others care to learn about. Regardless, we are united by our commitment to research and advancement—I find comfort in knowing that my work will speak for itself. Doubt becomes curiosity, and condescension becomes intrigue. Similarly in creating AlumNav, there were great challenges. I had no background in starting an initiative. I felt alone, scared, and most importantly, unsure of my impact. There were nights I would sleep feeling proud—other nights uncertain—and furthermore forgotten because of the exhaustion of the efforts I had dedicated. Understanding a concept and practising it is one thing, but to share and spread it to diverse students across the world is an immense challenge. Between balancing the legal, logistical, relational, and structural components of the organisation, it became draining to even think of their matters. However, I persisted—I did not allow my own uncertainty to overcome reality, and reality itself became my haven. Seeing the people of my organisation, speaking to them, learning about their work we facilitated became ways to ground me—it allowed me to see the tangible impact we made. Understanding the lives I have made better and the communities that have improved resolved all angst that opposed our beautiful journey. 

To begin with the first pillar, my work can be further divided into columns of personal passion research, and organisation-based research (i.e., affiliated with a University, hospital, etc.). I would like to present such experiences as a story. My first committed experience to research began during my first year at McMaster in 2020, where a burning interest to use the newfound resources of my University facilitated my collaboration on a self-guided research project on the current challenges and policy solutions to inadequate sepsis screening provided by emergency medical services. With a small group of like-minded peers, we interviewed physician-scientists and stakeholders, creating policy ideas informed by the literature which we were invited to present at a global health conference at McMaster. Excitingly, we published this work on Issue 39 of the Meducator—it is fair to say that my roots in research dissemination started at the Meducator! Inspired by the education components we explored, I further pursued my research career through affiliations by joining the TEaCH Medical Education lab at McMaster, where I learnt, from the grassroots level, the methods in creating informed, well-designed reviews. Recently, we sent our article for publication to the journal Medical Education. It was at this point, during the summer of my first year, that my experience as a student researcher greatly elevated. Despite being quite young at the time, my early demonstration of research interest and ability, especially in healthcare education, was realised by the Strengthening a Palliative Approach in Long Term Care (SPA-LTC) research group at McMaster, where I was hired as a research student to lead the implementation of a novel palliative intervention for residents, families, and staff in long-term care homes (LTC). This was during the height of COVID-19, when all LTC homes were heavily restricted—I saw this as an opportunity to contribute to the community when it needed help the most, and acted as one of the only members of our research team who worked on-site to facilitate the implementation over the summer. To this day, I continue to work in the SPA-LTC group, involved in the authorship, design, and implementation of various research studies, including being the lead investigator of the evaluation of a virtual LTC home staff education module our team created through the 2022 BHSc Summer Research Scholarship. Yet, there were more opportunities ahead. Though there were invaluable lessons I had learnt, I sought to apply my research both in the clinic, and in community health. Concurrently, I had the great fortune to reach out and be accepted as a research student by the medical director of palliative and supportive care at William Osler Health System (WOHS) in the summer of 2021 (where I was soon hired as a research staff member) who became my supervisor and mentor. Throughout my time here, I developed a strong relationship with him and soon was entrusted as the lead investigator for several hospital and community research projects revolving around cancer survivorship and palliative care. The first project I began as lead investigator was a control-matched retrospective review of the RELIEF App, an app designed by our team which provided real-time symptom reporting of patients with palliative care needs to improve proactive care. My analysis had gained international attention, where I was invited to present at hospital rounds where I educated hospital physicians and staff on the app, as well as invited to present at numerous hospitals who were interested in implementing the initiative. Further, my research was accepted as a conference presentation and published abstract at the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) at their 2022 annual conference in Toronto, as well as the GIPPEC institute for research at the University of Toronto. Most recently, the journal Current Oncology invited me to publish a feature article on this project that will be made available to the public near the end of this year. My focus on palliative care and community health then led me to head the evaluation of the ESMO-accredited (first hospital in Canada with this accreditation) survivorship clinic at WOHS. With over 5000 patient visits since 2017, it was a novel initiative that I had the privilege to share with the world. Through my supervisor’s mentorship and the learning of new skills in community health data, my findings were again accepted for presentation by MASCC (June 2022), as well as for poster presentation at the University of Toronto Barrie Rose Research Day (June 2022), and recently, I was invited and gave a presentation to the UHN Canadian Cancer Survivorship Research Consortium to leading researchers and physicians in this field (pre-released recording here if interested https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uOmlLXDzFk)! Finally, one of the more current projects I have initiated as the primary investigator is the investigation of how the Ensure Protein Max supplement influences the lives of patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy from a cohort of patients in our hospital. This project was preceded by a fascinating workshop session I co-delivered with advanced practice dieticians and physicians at the Canadian Nutrition Society 2022 Annual Conference in Quebec, which allowed me to gain insight on how nutrition contributes to survivorship and palliation. Although ongoing, the preliminary analysis I conducted was accepted for an oral presentation at the University of Toronto, and most notably accepted for a brief oral presentation at the 2022 Annual Conference of the Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders in Lisbon, Portugal. I was privileged to have my trip to Portugal sponsored by WOHS, where I represented the whole of the research team in presenting our results—although I was the youngest at the conference among highly-respected and well-known international researchers, it certainly inspired me to one day reach among their ranks, carving my own path along this journey. I was incredibly honoured upon arriving back in Canada, where I had learnt that industry representatives had attended my presentation, and contacted me to have my results published in the Abbott Educational Modules that are accessed by physicians and healthcare workers across Canada.

Of which of your outlined achievements, work, or challenges overcome are you most proud?

For me, the pride in my work comes only partially from its “degree” of accomplishment. It comes more so from personal sentiment, goals, and beliefs as it relates to my achievements. Thus, I can isolate this pride to the moment I first stepped on the plane as I headed to Lisbon to present my research at the Society on Sarcopenia, Cachexia and Wasting Disorders annual conference. 

One may think that I am proud because it was an international conference. That is not completely so. Others may believe I am proud because it was sponsored, it involved travelling around the world, or that it allowed me to network with leading researchers. The answers are all not correct.

I was proud, because I was able to achieve what my grandmother had dreamt of. She was the most incredible woman who was a research technician at an institute in Beijing, China. She had lived a difficult life—a life that carried unimaginable challenges that offered me this better life. Yet, she was rich in love, in passion, and in commitment to my life abroad. Her dedication to research at a time when her country targeted intellectuals only demonstrates her perseverance and dedication. I used to ask what I could do to make her happy, and she always responded with the wish to see my success in University and in my career. When she passed away just two years before I started University, I made a promise that she would see her sacrifices redeemed through me. Thus, when I stepped to the plane that day, I saw more than just a conference and my name as the first author. I felt her presence with me, as she saw her grandson as a leader of advancement through research. She was able to see me as a recognized researcher, passionate student, and scholar in a part of the world that was free from the political, social, and financial confines that her research was in. She never had the opportunities that many researchers today take for granted, but this time, she could live that experience along with me.