Congratulations to DMCBH trainees Todd Kamensek and Leah Kuzmuk for receiving 2021-2022 Killam Graduate Teaching Assistant Awards.
As one of six Killam institutions, UBC offers annual awards from the Killam Endowment Fund to faculty and teaching assistants in recognition of outstanding contributions to teaching and learning. This year, 19 teaching assistants were awarded this honour, with only one in the Faculty of Medicine and three in the Faculty of Arts.
Learn more about our awardees:
Todd Kamensek, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Faculty of Medicine
Todd Kamensek is a graduate researcher in the Neuroscience of Vision & Action Lab (supervised by Dr. Ipek Oruc) and a doctoral candidate in the Graduate Program in Neuroscience (GPN). Since 2017, Todd has held eight TA appointments and taught 735 students at UBC. Most recently (2021W1), Todd has served as the Instructor in PSYC 370, Behavioural Neuroscience I, a third-year lecture-based large-class undergraduate course. Todd’s extraordinary teaching skills and contributions have also been recognized by the Demetri Papageorgis Teaching Assistant Award presented by the UBC Psychology Department. This award celebrates a passion for teaching, as exemplified well by Todd’s approach to instruction.
Leah Kuzmuk, Psychology, Faculty of Arts
Leah Kuzmuk is a Master’s student in the Graduate Program in Neuroscience and in the Oculomotor Laboratory (supervised by Dr. Miriam Spering). Leah joined the GPN in the fall of 2021 after obtaining her Bachelors of Science in Cognitive Systems at UBC, and subsequently worked with the Vancouver Stroke Program as a study manager. She is a passionate contributor to the social and intellectual environment in the GPN and serves on the program’s admissions committee. She received the Killam Graduate Teaching Award in recognition of her outstanding contributions as a TA in Psychology. Outside of her research activities, Leah is an avid road cyclist and runner with a love of the outdoors.
