Irina Serbanescu

Currently pursuing doctoral studies at Harvard University, Irina Serbanescu’s research focuses on molecular signals that guide neurons in the creation of specific synapses in the mammalian retina and brain. Ms. Serbanescu received a Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning for her work as a teaching fellow in the course Neurobiology of Behavior.

Irina Serbanescu graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College in 2003 with a concentration in Chemistry and Chemical Biology. As an undergraduate she gained research experience in biochemistry by studying the activity of homing endonuclease enzymes. Ms. Serbanescu coauthored the 2002 paper “An In Vivo Selection System for Homing Endonuclease Activity,” published in Nucleic Acids Research. While an undergraduate, Irina Serbanescu also received a Samuel Lunenfeld Studentship to participate in neurobiology research at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.

From 2003 to 2009, Ms. Serbanescu pursued an M.D. at the Queen's University School of Medicine in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. From September 2005 to 2007, between her second and third years of medical school, Irina Serbanescu undertook initial neuroscience graduate work at Harvard University. She has continued that work since 2009.

During medical school, Irina Serbanescu’s summer work at The Hospital for Sick Children involved developing a finite element model of the infant eye and research into parental understanding of informed consent for pediatric cataract surgery. The latter formed the basis of a 2011 paper she coauthored, “Parental comprehension following informed consent for pediatric cataract surgery,” which was accepted by the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology. Notably, the paper was presented for discussion at the June 2011 Canadian Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology conference in Vancouver.