New Canada Research Chairs

Three professors in the Max Rady College of Medicine were recently awarded prestigious Canada Research Chairs by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. This brings the number of current Canada Research Chairs in the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences to 26.

AMANI HAMAD (PhD/20), assistant professor, community health sciences, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in population data science and data curation

Hamad, who earned her PhD in the College of Pharmacy, analyzes administrative data (anonymized government data, such as records of doctor visits, diagnoses and prescriptions) in order to construct family health histories and investigate the intergenerational transfer of illness. She also transforms complex administrative data into standardized, research-ready data, making it easier to use while ensuring that it is of high quality.

DR. JI HYUN KO, associate professor, human anatomy and cell science, Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in neuroimaging and neuromodulation

Ko holds degrees in electrical engineering and neuroscience. He is an expert on brain imaging and non-invasive brain stimulation, with research interests in Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy and psychiatric disorders. He is developing artificial intelligence (AI) programs to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders and is investigating whether stimulating a brain region with electricity can slow the progression of disease.

DR. MINA NOUREDANESH, assistant professor, community health sciences, Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in AI for complex health data

Nouredanesh, who completed a PhD in mechanical and mechatronics engineering, focuses her research at the intersection of machine learning and health care for the aging population. By using AI to analyze multiple kinds of health-related data, she aims to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of age-related problems such as falls, dementia and Parkinson’s disease. One of her interests is in wearable technologies for collecting health data.