Arshvir Singh Dhari

I am an undergraduate student in the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Simon Fraser University and am passionate about global health, bioethics, and the interplay between politics and healthcare. My previous research experiences have focused on studying expression levels of various antimicrobial peptide genes in the common bed bug, in order to better understand why bed bugs are incompetent vectors of human disease transmission, a feature that makes them unique from other blood-feeding insects.

My broad research interests perpetually encourage me to explore fields that are new to me. Through the Amgen Scholars Program, I am learning about aspects of clinical research, specifically in the realm of respiratory diseases. I am conducting research at the Asthma and Airway Centre at Toronto Western Hospital, under the supervision of Dr. Kenneth Chapman. I am thrilled to be supporting a project that aims to investigate diagnostic delay in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) in Canada, as well as another project that aims to study the relationship between Asthma Control Test and Asthma Control Questionnaire scores.

In my spare time, I can be found indulging in the complexity of espionage and political thriller films, reading about modern Middle Eastern history, hiking with family, and occasionally playing the harmonium.