The award recognizes exceptional graduate students with disabilities at UHN's KITE Research Institute.
KITE trainees Cindy Nguyen and Jillian Scandiffio are the recipients of the 2025 TD Graduate Scholarship for Students with Disabilities.
The award is given to two outstanding KITE trainees with disabilities who are pursuing a rehabilitation-related graduate program. It provides each recipient with $20,000 to support their studies and covers some additional expenses, such as disability-related aids. It has been generously funded by TD Bank since 2005.
“The TD Scholarship for Students with Disabilities honours exceptional graduate students whose academic achievements and research contributions exemplify excellence," says Dr. Jennifer Campos, Associate Director - Academic and Senior Scientist at UHN’s KITE Research Institute. "Progress and innovation in the rehabilitation research will be greatly enriched by the unique perspectives, leadership, and scientific advancements of these award recipients.”
Advancing Sex- and Gender-Informed Brain Injury Research
Nguyen was shocked when she learned she had been awarded the TD Graduate Scholarship. “Despite knowing it was for students with disabilities, my past experiences of struggling with my disability often led me to expect setbacks and failures,” she says. “My academic history tells a story of a steep beginning followed by considerable growth. To have that growth and hard work recognized and validated by this award is an incredible honour.”
She is pursuing her PhD in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Toronto, with a collaborative specialization in Women’s Health. Her interdisciplinary research, done with KITE-UHN and the University of Toronto, explores how sex and gender influence the use of depression healthcare services following traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Before this, she earned a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Sciences and a Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto. As part of those degrees, she researched deep-brain stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation. She co-leads the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute’s EDIIA Committee and the University of Toronto's chapter of the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health’s Sex and Gender Trainee Network. Outside of her university extracurricular activities, she helped develop inclusive community programs for the Toronto Council on Aging.
Supporting People with MS Through Physical Activity
Scandiffio is a Graduate Student at KITE and a PhD student at the University of Toronto’s Rehabilitation Sciences Institute. Her research focuses on developing tools to help healthcare providers prescribe physical activity to people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
Her current work builds on her experience at the Barlo MS Centre, where she studied how rehabilitation initiatives can improve well-being for people with MS, and at Humber River Hospital, where she worked on studies on the impact of inpatient multidisciplinary rehabilitation.
She holds a Master of Science in Kinesiology and Health Studies from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from McMaster University. She was awarded the Temerty Graduate Entrance Scholarship and the RSI Entrance Scholarship.
“This award allows me to further my research skills and fuel my passion for physical activity research by engaging with incredible scientists at KITE,” she says. “I was excited to receive it not only because it allows me to devote the necessary time to my project, but also because it recognizes and honours the ability of students with disabilities to conduct meaningful and successful research.”