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)
- Shay Chavoshian (CaRDM Eq trainee)
Collaborators
Industry & Innovation
- ams OSRAM Group
- Arma Biosciences
- Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Limited
- Hoffman-La Roche Limited
- Klick Applied Sciences
- Loblaw Companies Ltd.
- MaRS Discovery District
- Novartis
- ZS
Community
- Dixon Hall Neighbourhood Services
- 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
- Translational Biology and Engineering Program, U of T
- University of Toronto & UTM
- 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
- Anne Simard (Director, Strategy & Translation, TRANSFORM HF; Staff Scientist, UHN)
- Augusta Lipscombe (Research & Communications Specialist, TRANSFORM HF)
- Samantha Engbers (
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!
Abigail Richards (she/her/hers)
Masters Student, Department of Chemistry, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Alana Ogata
Jie Jiao (he/him/his)
Doctoral Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Ofer Levi
Megh Rathod (he/him/his)
Doctoral Student, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Dan Franklin
Saiful Hoque (he/him/his)
Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi
Sania Aftab (she/her/hers)
Masters Student, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, U of T
Supervised by Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi
Mayank Garg (he/him/his)
Postdoctoral Fellow, McMaster University
Supervised by Dr. Leyla Soleymani
Our Inaugural Cohort Trainees:
- Anthony Yong, PhD Candidate
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Aaron Wheeler - Behrad TaghiBeyglou (he/him), PhD Candidate
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi - 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 - Kevin Da (he/him), PhD Candidate
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Daniel Franklin - 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 - Samantha Unger, PhD Candidate
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
Supervised by Dr. Daniel Franklin - Sarvath Sharma, Masters Student
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 - Shay Chavoshian (she/her), PhD Candidate
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto - 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 - Zefang Zhang, PhD Candidate
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.
