Editors

rehabINK Editors-In-Chief

Ellora Khandekar

Ellora Khandekar is a first-year masters student in the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto. She is currently conducting research on the use of patient education materials to improve current informed consent processes for research trials. She is supervised by Dr. Avril Mansfield at the KITE research institute with TRI and UHN. Ellora’s goal is to become a physician-researcher working within Canadian universities.

Ellora has always been passionate about writing; English was her favourite subject in school. She has always favoured creative writing, but as a research trainee, is learning how to adapt her skills for academic writing. When the opportunity to become an Editor-in-Chief of the student magazine within her organization was presented, she jumped at it. It has taken a considerable amount of work to wake rehabINK back up, but Ellora is proud of where she and her Co-Editor in Chief have brought it. In putting together this latest issue of rehabINK, Ellora was consistantly impressed by her colleagues’ work, and hopes readers enjoy this summer issue as much as she does. Ellora has thoroughly enjoyed working with Helen, the authors, and editorial team, and is excited for future opportunities with the magazine.

Helen Zheng

Runqun Helen Zheng is a first-year PhD candidate at the University of Toronto in the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, supervised by Dr. Mary Forhan. Her research focuses on obesity and long-term care. Through her work, she aims to inform more equitable and inclusive health systems and care environments. Helen serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief of RehabINK for the 2026–2027 academic year.

rehabINK Editorial Team

Agnes Wong

Agnes is a postdoctoral fellow at CAMH whose research focuses on autism and neuroaffirming care. She is also a registered occupational therapist currently working primarily in the pediatric field. With her combined background in psychology and occupational therapy, along with her cultural experiences, Agnes hopes to promote greater public understanding of autism and neuroaffirming care.

Alexander Kalli

I wanted to get involved with the rehabINK editorial team was expand on my knowledge and love for the writing process. Having the opportunity to help review my colleagues’ work was a great experience; reading about their work gave me a better understanding of the different ways you can communicate complex ideas and tell a compelling story. My main goal throughout my time in grad school was to become a more competent and proficient writer, and I believe editing someone else’s work is a good way to ensure you are learning how to see through a different writing lens.

Angelika Aziz

Angelika Aziz is a MSc student in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Toronto, supervised by Dr. Sally Lindsay. Her research explores the lived experiences of autistic youth and young adults in relation to housing. She takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on rehabilitation and occupational sciences, housing architecture, and core principles of neuroscience.

Outside of her studies, Angelika is passionate about supporting meaningful engagement of patient and public partners in research. Her other experiences and interests include global and mental health, accessibility design, and equity, diversity, and inclusion. Angelika enjoys being an editor at rehabINK, where she brings together her interests in rehabilitation sciences, science communication, and making research more accessible. She is passionate about engaging with the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute community and values contributing to meaningful, student-led initiatives.

Deja Forde-Dixon

Deja Forde-Dixon is a speech-language pathologist and MSc student in the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute at the University of Toronto. Her research explores the experiences of Black and racialized disabled women caregivers and examines issues of disability, caregiving, health equity, and social justice within rehabilitation. She became involved with RehabINK because of her passion for accessible knowledge translation and her commitment to ensuring research reaches and resonates with the communities it aims to serve.

Ilakkiah Chandran

Ilakkiah Chandran is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, where her research focuses on developmental and epileptic encephalopathies and the lifelong impact of infantile-onset genetic epilepsies. Her work investigates how patients age through studies of epigenetic aging, natural history, and healthcare transition, with the goal of better understanding long-term outcomes across the lifespan. Alongside her research, Ilakkiah is an educator serving as both a teaching assistant and course instructor, with a strong interest in inclusive teaching, mentorship, and student engagement. Beyond the classroom, she is actively involved in graduate student leadership and science communication initiatives aimed at improving accessibility and community within academia. Having published in rehabINK as both an undergraduate and graduate trainee, Ilakkiah experienced firsthand how the journal supports trainees in developing their voices as science communicators. She joined this issue as an editor to give back to that community by contributing to the journal’s mission of accessible, engaging rehabilitation science.

Judy Wang

Judy Wang is a first‑year MSc candidate in Rehabilitation Sciences with a collaborative specialization in Neuroscience and a trainee at KITE. She is supervised by Dr. Yana Yunusova in collaboration with neurologist Dr. Carolina Barnett‑Tapia at the Toronto General Hospital. Her current research focuses on improving access to speech‑language pathology care for individuals with myasthenia gravis. She recently presented her scoping‑review poster at the 2026 Conference for Motor Speech, and was inspired to include a version in lay-terms as part of the Rehab Ink magazine to spread awareness on the importance of rehabilitative care for this rare disease.

Laura MacGrath

Laura MacGrath is a speech-language pathologist with over 15 years of experience in bilingual English–French public schools. She is currently completing an MSc under the supervision of Dr. Monika Molnar at the Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, University of Toronto, and plans to pursue a PhD focused on literacy interventions for bi- and multilingual children.An experienced presenter and course lecturer for future SLPs, she teaches primarily about reading and writing development and difficulties. She is a new member of the Board of Directors of the International Dyslexia Association, Ontario Branch. Laura’s interest in making complex systemic issues more accessible to wider audiences led her to contribute to and serve as an editor for rehabINK.

Moira Robertson

Moira Slater Robertson has completed a Child and Youth Care Advanced Diploma with an Indigenous Perspectives Designation and a Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Studies. She is currently completing her Masters of Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Toronto and is a research trainee at CAMH with the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre. Her thesis is looking at autistic individuals’ experiences with problematic substance use and the care they have received. Outside of RSI Moira works and volunteers as an autistic advocate in such roles as a ECHO Autism Ontario Hub-team member, Re:Action4Inclusion, a public speaker and consultant with various organizations across Ontario.

Somayah Al-Ees

Somayah Al-Ees is a PhD candidate in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Toronto, where her research spans basic science to clinical application. She is investigating voluntary control of the velopharyngeal mechanism in typical speakers, in individuals seeking to reduce hypernasality, and the role of proprioception in how speakers perceive and regulate their own resonance. She approaches this work with a critical eye toward the prevailing assumptions in the field, attentive to how the knowledge we produce shapes beliefs about what speech should sound like and whose speech gets to count as normal. She approaches these questions not only as a scientist, but as a practicing Speech-Language Pathologist committed to centering the lived experiences of the people she works with. For Somayah, research and clinical practice are inseparable: understanding the mechanism is in service of the person, and advocacy is as much a part of her role as assessment or treatment. As an editor for Rehab Ink, Somayah is invested in what this journal represents. A space built by and for graduate students in rehabilitation sciences. She believes strongly in the importance of creating outlets where emerging scholars can bring their ideas forward, develop their scholarly voice, and share their perspectives with audiences beyond the academy. Her editorial work is an extension of that belief: that graduate students have something meaningful to say, and deserve the platforms and support to say it.