Intern Feature Friday: Meet Mootaz

For Mootaz Husien, a fourth year student at the University of Waterloo studying Health Sciences, his summer internship with Grand River Hospital (GRH) was an opportunity to experience the field of research. “For me, it really gave me the experience that I really needed to understand how the research world works just because I feel like it’s its own kind of community with its own set of rules and its own set of guidelines,” he explains. In the summer of 2021, he completed a research internship that Carla Girolametto, Director of Innovation, Research and Clinical Trials coordinated through the Office of Innovation and Research (OIR). Dr. Ernest Osei, Director of Medical Physics, and Dr. Johnson Darko, Medical Physicist, served as his supervisors.

“During my internship, my main priority was handling the data and dealing with the data abstraction,” Husien says. “The main goal of this was to make sense of the data using tables, figures and charts. For example, we were able to look at what meaning the data gives us when we look at certain plots and tables. The internship for me, I think, will really impact the way I move forward in my future because I really do look to go towards a research-based future and I think this is a really good starting point for students looking to get their feet wet with research.”

Husien would recommend an internship to fellow students for the hands on experience and transferable knowledge that can be gained. “[An internship is] a really good way to get yourself into the community and understand the tips and tricks required to get stuff published and to be able to understand research and the total purpose of what a certain project is meant for.”

He is grateful to Carla for connecting him with Dr. Osei and Dr. Darko, and also extends his gratitude to donors of the Grand River Hospital Foundation (GRHF). “Funding gave me the opportunity to build my clinical research skills at Grand River Hospital. The donations are greatly benefiting our patients, their families, and the community overall. Thank you, I couldn’t have been a part of this without you guys. By supporting innovation and research, you are lighting the spark that ignites new discoveries, better patient outcomes and a healthier future for all of us.”