Winnipeggers are "shocked" and "deeply saddened" by the loss of Manitobans in the Iranian plane crash.

Forough Khadem was a 38-year-old woman who worked with academic institutions focussing on innovation. Khadem was one of the 68 Canadians to die in Wednesday's plane crash. She was a recent Ph.D. grad from the University of Manitoba.

“We are deeply saddened to hear that Forough Khadem was on flight PS752 today. We extend our deepest condolences to Forough’s family and friends. Forough was our Business Development Specialist in Winnipeg. She joined Mitacs in May 2016 and had been a passionate supporter of innovation in Manitoba ever since. We will remember Forough’s passion for Mitacs, enthusiasm for innovation in Manitoba, and her positive outlook on life. We will miss her humour, her kindness, and her warm spirit,” Khadem's coworker Eric Bosco, Chief Business Development Officer at Mitacs says in a prepared statement.

James Magnus Johnston, a professor at Canadian Mennonite University, was working with Khadem and Mitacs and had a meeting scheduled with the organization on the day of the crash.

"These events seem really distant until suddenly they're not," Magnus Johnston says. "It's tragic for folks who were working with her that she won't be joining them in the journey."

Khadem was known for her energetic personality and was described as a "bright light" in the community.