Improving patient outcomes through breast cancer research
Christina Yang advanced global breast cancer research by developing quality‑of‑life tools and supporting clinical trials, earning her the Faculty of Health Co-op Student of the Year Award.
Christina Yang, a third-year Health Sciences student, worked at the Odette Cancer Center at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center as a clinical research assistant for a radiation oncologist who treated breast cancer.
During her co-op work term, Christina developed quality-of-life questionnaires that patients could use in clinical trials. She enrolled many patients from around the world in the study, followed them throughout their treatment, collected their data and contributed to written research outputs.
Christina also helped administer clinic flow to make sure patients were getting into rooms and promptly seeing doctors and nurses, while also answering any questions they had.
In addition to this award, Christina also received the 2025 Experiential & Work Integrated Learning Ontario (EWO) Co-op Student of the Year Award.
Q&A with Christina
What technical or professional skills did you develop that were essential to your success during your work term?
“When I first came into Sunnybrook, I did not know anything about research. I was a Health Sciences student, but at that point, the only thing I knew about research was from my courses, which helped a lot, but it's not the same as putting it into practice. However, through a lot of mentorships from fellow co-op students and the doctor I was working with, I learned how to go through the steps of a clinical trial, write my own papers and systematic reviews and perform meta-analyses.”
“I never thought I would be able to learn that at an undergraduate level. I was really happy and grateful that I had this opportunity to learn about all things that people in the real world are using daily to further science and medicine.”
If you were talking to another student, what skills would you tell them are important for the workplace?
“Communication and being able to work with a variety of different people are so incredibly important in any workplace. No matter what you do as your job, you'll be working with other people. You will have to learn how to work efficiently and effectively to use each of your strengths in the team to accomplish your goals.”
“This was seen when I was writing up the papers for the quality-of-life modules. It was a process of peer editing; I would write up a paper, send it out to all the different doctors from different countries, and they would come back with a lot of feedback and comments. Seeing all our brains together to be able to produce one final manuscript was awesome because with just my skills, the paper would not have been as good as it was with everyone's ideas together.”
In what ways did your supervisor or colleagues support your learning and growth?
“The level of trust from my supervisor meant a lot to me because it showed that what I was putting into my work was being seen.”
They respected and trusted me enough to let me handle complex tasks and important projects. They weren't just giving me the grunt work that they didn't want to do, nor the really easy work that was at the bottom of the barrel. They gave me projects that were difficult, challenged me but also allowed me to grow so much in my work
“My supervisor was a great support through all four months of my co-op term. On my first week at Sunnybrook, he sat me down in his office, and we went over the game plan for the next four months. We went over what I wanted to learn from this work term, what goals I wanted to accomplish, what expectations I had for him and what expectations he had for me. This laid out the foundation for the next four months and helped me envision what exactly I needed to do to succeed in this role, how I could go above and beyond and all the different opportunities available to me at Sunnybrook.”
Tell me about a moment when you realized your work was making a real difference.
“When I was interacting with a patient, she raised some concerns about a lot of swelling in her arm and breasts after her treatment. At this point, it had been six months post her radiation treatment, which is a bit concerning. I brought this to the doctor and he was able to see her very promptly within that week. He was able to book her ultrasounds and other tests to make sure that it wasn't a cancer recurrence. After this entire experience, the patient was extremely grateful and wrote me a letter of gratitude filled with kind and uplifting words that solidified why I wanted to work in medicine and help patients. I was so grateful for the opportunity to be part of her treatment journey.”
What does receiving the Co-op Student of the Year Award mean to you?
“Getting this award is an accumulation of all my hard work, my past experiences and shows all the support that I've had along my way. It's definitely not just me through this process. My supervisor, my fellow co-op students, my friends and everybody at Sunnybrook helped lift me up and taught me what it means to be a good health care worker, a good researcher and a good student.”
“Looking back and seeing how far I've come, starting in my first term of co-op, when I was so fresh to the workforce, to now in my third year, I've gained so many more experiences thanks to co-op. I feel so much more confident in myself.”
“Getting this recognition is honestly such an honour because it shows that co-op students are not unseen. We really matter to both the University of Waterloo and our employers. As co-op students, we often might think that we can't make a big difference in four months, but these awards show that we can. It encourages me to keep going and do my best in these places of work.”
If you could give one piece of advice to future co-op students, what would it be?
“I would definitely want them to try their best in every single co-op position that they have. Every single co-op position you have will teach you something. Use these four months to learn as much as you can and use all your resources when you're there. Go to your supervisor and ask them for more work. Ask them what projects you can take on so that you can go above and beyond expectations. Not only will your employer be happy, but you will grow so much more because of it.”
What’s next for you?
“My aspirations for my future career path are to go to medical school and eventually become a physician. This co-op position affirmed my love for patient care because it showed me how much of a difference I can make, even as a co-op student. I'm still in my third year, so I want to focus on school. Hopefully, in the summer, I'll be writing my medical college admission test for medical schools, and then I'll apply. We'll see where we go with that.”
“Everything that I'm doing currently is working towards that through extracurriculars, my schooling and I'm grateful for what co-op has taught me and how it's brought me closer to this goal. Without co-op, I would never have been able to even imagine learning about research and getting these awards, going to conferences and publishing papers. I’m excited to see what's in store for me!”
