TRANSFORM HF is committed to training the next generation of heart failure digital health leaders. As part of this commitment, our Trainee Awards support master’s, PhD, and postdoctoral students who are researching new technology or models of care to address inequities in heart failure care.
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Trainee Awards! Learn about the heart failure trainees and their projects below.
PEDRO VELMOVITSKY
A Large Language Model Conversational Therapeutic to Support Patients Living with Heart Failure
Supervisors: Quynh Pham, Scott Sanner, and Myrtede Alfred
Medly, a smartphone-based telemonitoring program for heart failure, allows patients and caregivers to communicate directly with a nurse on weekdays between 9am to 5pm. However, outside these working hours, Medly users are unable to receive support from their care team via the app. Pedro is hoping to address this gap in care by developing a chatbot for after-hours care.
With support from TRANSFORM HF, Pedro will be exploring the feasibility of using Large Language Models (LLMs) for chatbots. Cognizant of the challenges associated with deploying LLMs for this purpose (including the possibility of incorrect responses to queries), he will co-design the new Medly chatbot with patients and providers to provide a precise conversational experience while reducing risks.
The eventual outcome of Pedro’s project is the integration of the chatbot in Medly, allowing users to receive support and guidance – anytime and anywhere.
This Trainee Award and access to the TRANSFORM HF network will be essential in ensuring that the needs of people with lived experience and heart failure care providers are taken into account at each stage of my project – from initial research to clinical implementation.
TENZIN YANGZOM
Development of a Novel, Wearable Device for Remote Blood Flow Monitoring for Endothelial Function Assessment
Supervisors: Dan Franklin and Kathryn Howe
Endothelial Dysfunction (ED) is an early marker of cardiovascular disease with significant prognostic value. However, the current gold standard ED assessment method – a coronary angiogram – is invasive and potentially risky. Although non-invasive methods have been developed, they are only accessible in the presence of trained specialists.
Recognizing the value of a non-invasive, at-home method for routinely assessing ED, Tenzin is seeking to develop a novel, wearable device capable of capturing accurate blood flow metrics. Such measurements can provide key information on endothelial function, potentially preventing worsening conditions and even devastating events.
There are currently no low-cost, practical methods for monitoring blood flow – continuously or intermittently. Tenzin’s work is an important step towards more accessible and scalable remote blood flow measurement.
TRANSFORM HF’s support will allow me to advance the development of our team’s device and clinically validate its performance against current well-established blood flow measurement tools.
SOYUN OH
Adaptation of the Skills fOr Life Adjustment and Resilience (SOLAR) for Medly to Support Mental Health of Patients and Caregivers Living with Heart Failure: A User-Centered Design
Supervisors: Quynh Pham and Enid Montague
Soyun is developing a mental health module to manage comorbid mental health issues experienced by heart failure patients and their caregivers. Both groups face an increased risk of developing mental health issues (e.g., anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms), which are associated with adverse heart failure outcomes such as reduced treatment adherence, increased hospitalizations, and elevated mortality rates. To address these heart failure-related mental health challenges, Soyun will adapt SOLAR (an evidence-based digital mental health intervention) and introduce it as a mental health module within Medly (a comprehensive heart failure self-management system).
Soyun aims to ensure the mental health module is equitable and patient-centered. To develop a patient-centered intervention, Medly end-users—an ethnically and age-diverse population—will be engaged throughout the project. Co-designed in collaboration with Medly heart failure patients and caregivers, the module will be tailored to their needs, fostering inclusivity in heart failure management.
Through her work, Soyun will improve access to mental health care for heart failure patients and their caregivers in Canada and beyond.
I am deeply grateful for this Trainee Award. TRANSFORM HF’s support of young researchers with diverse backgrounds helps bring varied lenses to heart failure research, allowing us to develop authentically equitable care.
TRANSFORM HF will be checking in on our heart failure trainees throughout their projects. Stay in the loop by subscribing to our newsletter and following us on Twitter!
