Hello BRIGHT Run Family,
Hope you are doing well and enjoying the summer weather.
We are halfway through this year already, but summer seems to be a bit late. I eagerly wait for seasonal flowers to bloom every year.
I also wait for the visiting birds that build nests in our yard. Occasionally, I get a chance to see the nestlings. This year, we got to see one (see photo). It was a little common grackle. It will mature into a full-grown adult very soon, find its own course, and gain more experience.
While reflecting upon that, I realized that no matter where we are in our life, we continue to grow and learn. It gives me immense pleasure to see my students gaining knowledge and watch them stepping into the next phases of their careers. In the past few months, I supervised and co-supervised many students and some of them graduated in Spring 2025.
My home department, Oncology, organizes an annual Student Research Day (SRD). I was given the opportunity to be the keynote speaker this year which is also the 20th year of this event. It is a great honour and I enjoyed presenting the insights I acquired from my previous experience in cancer research as an engineer. It was a joy to see BRIGHT Run Event Chair, Nancy McMillan, at the event.
See my photo (courtesy: SRD organizing team) with Nancy and Lisa Rudd-Scott (BRIGHT Run event day committee member and secretary, as well as my neighbour in the office).
Gaining insights is a form of growth and that way, I am also growing as a researcher and as a teacher. I want to thank BRIGHT Run for their help in preparing the ground on which I am growing.
There are barely two months between now and our 18th BRIGHT Run!!
Stay well and take care.
Best,
Ashirbani
Dr. Ashirbani Saha is the first holder of the BRIGHT Run Breast Cancer Learning Health System Chair, a permanent research position established by the BRIGHT Run in partnership with McMaster University.
