Our People
The Team
The CaRDM Eq training program is supported by a multidisciplinary research team and more than 30 industry, community, academic, and clinical collaborators.
Working together, they will provide unique technical, professional, and experiential training to ensure graduates are able to transition successfully into highly in-demand careers.
Meet our team!
Research Team
Program Co-Directors
Senior Scientist, KITE Research Institute at UHN
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering,
U of T
Distinguished Professor, Mechanical & Biomedical Engineering, U of T
Scientific Director, Translational Biology & Engineering Program
TRANSFORM HF Co-Lead
Field-Ready Point-of-Care Diagnostic Devices Experts
Alana Ogata (she/her), Chair, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Anti-Racism Committee
Assistant Professor of Chemistry, U of T
Professor of Mechanical Engineering, U of T
Wearable and Embedded Sensors Experts
Leyla Soleymani, Research Theme Lead
Associate Professor of Engineering Physics and Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University
Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, U of T
Digital Health Implementation Experts
Associate Professor, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, U of T
Program Committee
The CaRDM Eq Program Committee guides the strategic direction of the program, evaluates its progress, and assesses its overall impact. Committee members include:
- Prof. Milos Popovic, Chair (Director of the KITE Research Institute, University Health Network & Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto)
- Prof. John A. Rogers (Northwestern University)
- Dr. Melanie Kok (
- Dr. Mike McDonald (Martha Rogers Chair in Heart Failure Training and Education in TRCHR)
- Sania Aftab (CaRDM Eq trainee)
Collaborators
Industry & Innovation
- ams OSRAM Group
- Arma Biosciences
- Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Limited
- ECHO Program
- Hoffman-La Roche Limited
- Klick Applied Sciences
- Loblaw Companies Ltd.
- MaRS Discovery District
- Novartis
- ZS
Community
- Dixon Hall Neighbourhood Services
-
Gattuso Centre for Social Medicine
- Indigenous Friends Association
- Indigenous Health Program, UHN
- Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre
- People With Lived Experience
- South Riverdale Community Health Centre
- Unison Community and Health Services
Clinical
- KITE Research, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute
- Mount Sinai Hospital
- SickKids
- Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research
- Toronto General Hospital
- Toronto Western Hospital
- Weeneebayko Area Health Authority
- Women’s College Hospital
Academic Institutions
- International Centre for Translational Digital Health
- McMaster University
- Northwestern University
- Reach Alliance
- Translational Biology and Engineering Program, U of T
- University of Toronto & UTM
- Western University
- Yale University
Institutional Collaborators
- Anna Chudyk, University of Manitoba
- Anne Simard, UHN
- Angela Mashford-Pringle, U of T
- Daniel Capurro, University of Melbourne
- Dionne Aleman, U of T
- Jodie Jenkinson, U of T Mississauga
- John Rogers, Northwestern University
- Joseph Cafazzo, U of T
- Joseph Ferenbok, U of T
- Julia Abelson, McMaster University
- Mansoor Husain, U of T
- Mike McDonald, U of T
- Nicholas Woolridge, U of T Mississuaga
- Niels Peek, University of Manchester
- Sheila Gariepy, TRANSFORM HF patient partner
- William Dixon, University of Manchester
- Wendy Chapman, University of Melbourne
- Zahra Shakeri, U of T
Program Management Team
Augusta Lipscombe (Program Manager, TRANSFORM HF)
For questions about the program – please direct all inquires to Augusta Lipscombe at a.lipscombe@utoronto.ca.
Our Trainees
By 2029, CaRDM Eq will have equipped over 120 graduates with the skillsets and perspectives to translate in-demand digital health technologies that are impactful and equitable.
Welcome to our incoming CaRDM Eq Cohort!
Amika Shah (she/her/hers)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Emily Seto
Antonio Bandur (he/him/his)
Doctoral Student, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi
Chloe Taylor (they/them/theirs)
Masters Student, Insitute of Biomedical Engineering, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Aaron Wheeler
Jason Zhang (he/him/his)
Masters Student, Electrical & Computer Engineering, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Ofer Levi
Lola Oyefeso (she/her/hers)
Masters Student, Institute of Medical Science, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Heather Ross
Mathys Mulot–Hauriez (he/him)
Doctoral Student, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi
Mehreen Zaman (she/her/hers)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Emily Seto
Rawad Alkallas (he/him/his)
Doctoral Student, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Daniel Franklin
Shukri Ali (she/her/hers)
Masters Student, Department of Chemical & Physical Sciences, U of T Mississauga
Supervised by Dr. Alana Ogata
Shiva Akbari (she/her/hers)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi
Zainab Husain (she/her/hers)
Doctoral Student, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Enid Montague
Our Active Trainees:
- Abigail Richards, Masters Student
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Alana Ogata - Anthony Yong, PhD Candidate
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Aaron Wheeler - Delaram Sadatamin, PhD Candidate
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi - Fatima Shafique, PhD Candidate
School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University
Supervised by Dr. Leyla Soleymani - Hugo Higueros (he/him), PhD Candidate
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Daniel Franklin - Jie Jiao (he/him), PhD Candidate
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Ofer Levi - Kevin Da (he/him), PhD Candidate
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Craig Simmons - Mayank Garg (he/him), Postdoctoral Fellow
School of Biomedical Engineering, McMaster University
Supervised by Dr. Leyla Soleymani - Megh Rathod (he/him), PhD Candidate
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Daniel Franklin - Saiful Hoque (he/him), Postdoctoral Fellow
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi - Samantha Unger, PhD Candidate
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Daniel Franklin - Sania Aftab (she/her), Masters Student
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi - Sarvath Sharma, PhD Candidate
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Ofer Levi - Serine Sahakyan (she/her), PhD Candidate
Institute of Health, Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Emily Seto - Sidy Ndiongue, Masters Student
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Ofer Levi - Tselot Tessema (she/her)
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Enid Montague
Our Graduates:
- Behrad TaghiBeyglou (he/him), PhD Candidate
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi - Ruben Castillo Barberi, Masters Student
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Alana Ogata - Ryan Li, Masters Student
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Xinyu Liu
NSERC Acknowledgement
The Translating Cardiovascular Remote Monitoring and Diagnostic Technologies for Health Equity (CaRDM Eq) is a CREATE training program funded by NSERC that will train the next generation of digital cardiovascular health innovators to design for equity.
We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Nous remercions le Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada (CRSNG) de son soutien.
