Aniqa Shahid, a new Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) alumnus, was awarded the 2025 Governor General’s Gold Medal. The annual award recognizes graduating students that have accomplished outstanding academic achievement.
“Being recognized with such a prestigious award is both an immense honor and motivation,” she explains. “It’s reassuring to know that the work I did has made a meaningful impact. Reflecting on my thesis research, I’m proud that it provided new methods and insights, helping to advance our understanding of the HIV reservoir and bringing us closer to the ultimate goal of an HIV cure.”
Shahid completed her Master of Science in FHS in 2015, pursuing her PhD in FHS soon after researching persistent cellular reservoirs of HIV. In 2024 she defended her thesis, where she completed detailed studies of both individual and population-level HIV diversity, working to further understand the virus and find insights into how to design HIV vaccine and cure approaches.
Amidst her FHS experience working through COVID-19, and winning the Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarships Doctoral Award, Shahid continues her work investigating HIV in her postdoctoral research.
