Dr. Nasim Montazeri

Biography:

Dr. Nasim Montazeri is a postdoctoral researcher at the Sleep and Brain laboratory, Sunnybrook Research institute, and affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. Before joining Sunnybrook, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the Intelligent Assistive Technology and Systems and SleepdB laboratories at University Health Network (UHN). She received her PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Rennes 1 in France, with foci on biomedical signal processing and machine learning. She has won several awards for conducting research on developing innovative health monitoring wearables. Nasim is a woman entrepreneur and the cofounder of the BioSenseTex, a start-up company that develops innovative medical textile-based wearables. Dr. Montazeri is joining the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Queen's University as an Assistant Professor. Her research foci will include the development of medical wearables that promote remote health monitoring, and the use of artificial intelligence in analysing health data.

Dr. Shumit Saha

Biography:

Dr. Shumit Saha will be joining as a Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Biomedical Data Science from Fall 2023 at the School of Applied Computation Sciences, Meharry Medical College, Tennessee, USA. Dr. Saha completed his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2020, M.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Manitoba in 2016, and B.Sc. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology in 2012. 

Currently, Dr. Saha’s primary role is as a Senior Scientific Associate with the Centre for Digital Therapeutics at University Health Network (UHN), Toronto, Canada. He is also an Assistant Professor (status only) at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation (IHPME), University of Toronto.  He is committed to advancing a patient-centered research program that utilizes technologies to enhance digital health interventions and empower equitable outcomes for patients living with chronic conditions. In his capacity, he leads the data science team of the Centre to design, develop, evaluate, and implement digital health products and services. Till Date, he has been awarded $200K worth of funding as principal investigator along with published 16+ journals and presented in 32+ conferences.

Dr. Raheleh Saryazdi

Biography:

Dr. Raheleh Saryazdi is a postdoctoral researcher under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Campos at KITE-Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, University Health Network. She is also a member of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging and a member of AGE-WELL, Canada’s Technology and Aging network. Dr. Saryazdi received her PhD in Psychology in the Perception, Cognition, and Cognitive Neuroscience stream at the University of Toronto under the supervision of Dr. Craig Chambers. She has published broadly in journals such as Cognition, Cognitive Science, and Psychology and Aging. Dr. Saryazdi is the recipient of several awards and fellowships such as the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council doctoral award and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research postdoctoral fellowship. Recently, she received the early career award on Compassion and Artificial Intelligence from the Associated Medical Services. Dr. Saryazdi will soon be starting a faculty position in the department of psychology at one of the universities in the Greater Toronto Area. 

Dr. Ahmed Elwali

Biography:

Dr. Ahmed Elwali is a post-doctoral fellow at The University of Toronto and the SleepdB lab in the Kite research institute at The University Health Network. He is an expert in signal processing, machine learning, wearable devices, smart textiles, and statistical data analysis with experience in human-centered design and electronic circuit design. He is committed to developing equitable and inclusive technologies in digital health, medicine, and wellness and has contributed to several projects on sleep apnea, COVID-19 long-term effects, and heart problems. Dr. Elwali's work includes developing an obstructive sleep apnea screening tool that was patented in Canada and the US, licensed by an American company, and publishing articles in prestigious journals and magazines.

In addition, Dr. Elwali has delivered several lectures, labs, workshops, and tutorials, mentored several students, and received multiple awards, including the Transform HF Post-Doc Trainee Award, the Top Post-Doctoral Student Sleep Research Award, and the Most Promising Bioscience Student of 2021. He also holds a certificate in Higher Education Teaching and has entrepreneurial skills as a co-founder of tech-related startups. Dr. Elwali's successful grant proposals have resulted in receiving over $325,000 in grants and funding support.