Even before graduating, Innis College’s Larry Afun was pursuing his passion for research

Larry Afun has been accepted into the direct entry PhD program in immunology. Photo by Shayla Anderson, Innis College.

As a young student in Ghana, Larry Afun (BSc 2025) had the natural instincts and curiosity of a scientist.

“When I was 11 or 12, I was fascinated with a science book my mother gave me,” says Afun. “It showed me what science had to offer and I still remember it fondly.

“Then, as I got older, I learned how to ask questions and test hypotheses like a scientist,” he says. “I would ask my teachers questions and they would tell me, ‘Don’t worry, Larry. That’s not on the test.’ But I didn’t care. I just wanted to know the answer.”

Recognizing this inquisitiveness, Afun’s teachers encouraged him to pursue his studies abroad. After a brief stint at McGill University, he eventually enrolled at U of T, joined Innis College and, this spring, graduated from his physiology and immunology programs.

What’s more, he has been accepted into the direct entry PhD program in immunology in the Department of Immunology in Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

“It feels unreal,” says Afun about his approaching graduation. “In first year, I really doubted my abilities. But now I look back at all that I’ve accomplished and feel proud — proud and grateful to everyone who trusted and believed in me.”

Arts & Science News spoke to Afun before spring convocation about his experience at U of T and Innis College, and the research he’s conducted as an undergrad.

What was your Innis College experience like?

In my first year, I was extremely shy and timid, and suffered from severe imposter syndrome. So, I was always at the back of the class, I never asked questions, I just took my notes and went home. But then Dianthi Fernando, who was the Innis College student life coordinator at the time, asked me if I wanted to be an orientation leader. So, against my better judgment – because I was extremely shy – I did it and it was a great experience.

After that, I joined a couple of committees, including the college’s EDI committee. I started mentoring other students. And I became involved in the college’s Black Student Network.

So it’s thanks to Innis that I gained all of this leadership experience and confidence which has meant so much to me. My experience at Innis was nothing short of amazing.

You founded the Bayes Institute in Ghana to provide support to high school students using research to tackle social problems. Can you tell us about the research you did through the institute?

In Ghana, bullying and hazing in high school is a big problem. My hypothesis for why this was happening was that there's something about the structure of senior high schools that brings out these bullying tendencies in students.

So, I surveyed students and found there was a hierarchical nature – but the result was counterintuitive. I found that “popular” junior students, who you might think would be the least likely to be bullied, were bullied very often; and “unpopular” senior students who didn’t have a lot of status in school bullied others very often. In other words, I found that bullying was a means for those students to rise up this hierarchy. I published those results in the Journal of Science and Technology from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana.

Did you study this problem further?

Yes, because the first result was just a survey and I was interested in understanding the cause. So, we partnered with my old high school and conducted an experiment. We randomly picked students, assigned them to two groups and asked them to do tasks.

In one group, we created a hierarchy like the one that exists in schools; and in another, there was no hierarchy, it was “flat” with seniors working equally with juniors. And what we saw is that in the second group, with no hierarchy, there was about a 64 per cent less bullying than in the other group.

What this told us is that it’s not about popularity or what grade you’re in, but your status and whether you’re trying to raise your status through bullying.

So, now that we've identified what we think is the key variable that causes bullying, this should lead to better strategies to reduce bullying. In fact, we’ve shared our findings and recommendations, and the next step would be to see if they’re adopted and make a difference.

You also did research last summer. Can you tell us about it?

This past summer, I had the opportunity to do research into the interactions between glial cells in our nervous systems and neurodegenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis and traumatic brain injury. It started when I observed a connection between a diabetes drug and protection against MS. However, because this diabetes drug acts through interacting with a lipid receptor, I reasoned that it was protective against MS because it promotes the differentiation of lipid rich cells that restore myelin.

So I did my own cell culture experiment with the drug and got the exact results I predicted. Unfortunately, shortly after I got my result, a large collaboration published a paper with the exact same finding. Of course, I was sad but my supervisors were extremely proud of me and I was very proud, too. And I ended up presenting my work at an immunology conference in May.

Finally, do you have any advice for a student entering their first year at U of T?

If you're passionate about something, pursue it stubbornly – but with a caveat. I think the pursuit of something is always contingent on certain facts. And you shouldn’t be afraid to change course when changing course is the right thing to do. For example, it might seem like I gave up on McGill but ultimately, it was the right decision. So, don’t be afraid to alter your plans. What seems like a step back can often be the right way forward.

Originally published by Faculty of Arts & Science