Amina and Charles-Étienne: proud recipients of the Jeffrey Michael Cherbaka Scholarship

The Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont Foundation is pleased to announce that Amina Dahmani and Charles-Étienne Lebert-Ghali are the proud recipients of the 2016 Jeffrey Michael Cherbaka Scholarship.

Origin of the Cherbaka Scholarship

Jeffrey Michael Cherbaka was a young 28-year-old lawyer with a great future ahead of him when he died of leukemia. Strong-willed, he was not afraid of taking risks to make his dreams come true. The hard-fought battle he waged against the disease made him a hero in the hearts of his family and friends. In order to honour Jeffrey Michael’s memory in perpetuity, his parents, Michèle and Normand Cherbaka, decided to establish an endowment fund that awards two grants in their son’s name every year. The $2500 grants help support training for young researchers and foster development for senior researchers in leukemia at the Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont.

A Real Impact on Research

Thanks to her grant, Amina was able to work on her research project: To improve the efficacy of immunotherapy on blood cancers using a new approach that would enable the generation of more effective lines of lymphocytes when transferred to the patient. For his part, Charles-Étienne focused on new cellular therapy to counter the graft versus host reaction, a major complication during which the transplant patient’s new immune system attacks his or her organs.

The HMR Foundation is very grateful to the Cherbaka family and wishes to express heartfelt thanks to Dr. Josée Hébert and Dr. Denis Claude Roy, both members of the Selection Committee. Donate to the HMR Foundation and change lives!