Waterloo for Health, Technology and Society Conference

Dr. Vivek Goel

Vice-Chancellor and President | University of Waterloo, Canada

Dr. Vivek Goel is a distinguished scholar with extensive achievements in research, teaching and leadership across both public and private sectors. Goel is recognized in Canada and around the world as a leading public-health researcher, health-services evaluation expert, and champion for the use of research evidence in health policy making.

Dr. David Marsh

Associate Dean, Research Innovation and International Relations | Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Canada

Dr. Marsh is the Vice Dean Research, Innovation and International Relations at the NOSM University and Adjunct Scientist ICES North. David graduated in Medicine from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1992, following prior training in neuroscience and pharmacology. From July 2010 to Feb 2018, Dr. Marsh served NOSM as Associate Dean, Community Engagement. Prior to moving to NOSM, David held leadership positions with Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health Care and faculty appointment with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia from 2004-2010. Previously, he held leadership roles at the Addiction Research Foundation and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto from 1996-2003. Dr. Marsh was Chief Medical Director for Canadian Addiction Treatment Centres from 2014 to 2020. Author of over 150 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and government reports, Dr. Marsh’s research interests focus primarily on treatment of opioid dependence. Dr. Marsh received the Nyswander-Dole Award from the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence and Fellowships from the International and American Societies of Addiction Medicine in recognition of his contribution to this field.

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Kerstin Dautenhahn

Canada 150 Research Chair in Intelligent Robotics | University of Waterloo, Canada

Kerstin Dautenhahn, IEEE Fellow, AISB Fellow, is Full Professor and Canada 150 Research Chair in Intelligent Robotics at University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada where she directs the Social and Intelligent Robotics Laboratory. Her research areas are social robotics, human-robot interaction, assistive robotics, and cognitive and developmental robotics. She has published more than 400 peer-reviewed publications, including 108 journal articles (H-Index 89), and frequently gives invited keynote presentations at international conferences. She has several senior Editorial Roles in international journals.

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Alfred Yu

Professor, NSERC Steacie Fellow | University of Waterloo, Canada

Alfred Yu is a Professor in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Waterloo. He has long-standing research interests in ultrasound imaging innovations and therapeutic ultrasound discoveries. He is the Director of the Laboratory on Innovative Technology in Medical Ultrasound (LITMUS) at Waterloo, and he leads the NSERC CREATE Program on Next-Generation Innovations in Ultrasonics. He is an NSERC Steacie Memorial Fellow and a Fellow of multiple societies (AIUM, EIC). His research has been recognized by various prestigious prizes, including the Frederic Lizzi Award, the IEEE Ultrasonics Early Career Investigator Award, and the Ontario Early Researcher Award. He is now the Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, & Frequency Control, the Program Chair of IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium, and the Co-Leader of AIUM Basic Science & Instrumentation Community. He has also previously chaired the Medical Ultrasound Group of the IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium and ISTU Education Committee, and has served as an Associate Editor of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology.

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Dr. Scott J. Adams

Attending Radiologist | Saskatchewan Health Authority, Canada

Scott J. Adams, MD, PhD, FRCPC is an attending radiologist with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, Scientific Director of National Medical Imaging Clinic, Education, and Research Centre, and a Cardiovascular Imaging Fellow at Stanford University. Dr. Adams completed his MD, PhD, and residency at the University of Saskatchewan, studying as a Vanier Scholar and receiving the Governor General’s Gold Medal. He subsequently completed a research fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, followed by a clinical fellowship in cardiothoracic radiology at Stanford University. Dr. Adams’ research interests are at the intersection of improving access to care for underserved populations, cardiothoracic imaging, and artificial intelligence. His research has provided actionable new insights for health systems to improve access to medical imaging in northern and remote communities using telerobotic ultrasound. The clinical translation of his research has helped reduce barriers for patients accessing ultrasound imaging and has enabled earlier diagnosis and treatment and reduced healthcare costs.

He is a past recipient of the Artificial Intelligence Health Research Fellowship from Innovative Medicines Canada, President’s Award from the American Roentgen Ray Society, and Amis Fellowship from the American College of Radiology. In 2020 he was recognized by the Canadian Medical Association as a Physician Changemaker. Passionate about advancing healthcare through health research, medical education, and leadership, Dr. Adams has served on the board of directors of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and Canadian Association for Medical Education. He served as Chair of the University of Saskatchewan Health Innovation and Public Policy Conference to help effect positive change in healthcare, and has helped promote research and innovation as President and Board Chair of the Saskatoon Regional Science Fair and as a judge for the Canada-Wide Science Fair. He is a past member of the Health Opportunities Committee of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce. He has helped advance artificial intelligence and patient and family centred care through his research and service on committees of the Canadian Association of Radiologists and American College of Radiology.

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Warren Dodd

Assistant Professor, School of Public Health Science | University of Waterloo, Canada

Warren Dodd is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo. His research examines how poverty, migration, food security, and climate change interact and shape health and development outcomes in resource constrained settings. He conducts research in close collaboration with community partners and organizations with the goal of co-producing information to support decision-making and action. He has worked and conducted research in Honduras, Guatemala, India, the Philippines, and Canada.

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Honourable Sylvia Jones

Deputy Premier and Minister of Health | Ontario, Canada

Her focus is building a stronger health care system for all Ontarians. Minister Jones has worked with health care partners from across Ontario to:

• Introduce A Plan to Stay Open, Ontario’s five-point plan to strengthen the health care workforce and stabilize the health system by providing faster access to care and more options for care in the community
• Make it easier and faster for health care workers trained in Ontario, other provinces, and internationally to register and practise in Ontario
• Expand pharmacist scope of practice to prescribe and treat 13 common ailments, such as rashes, pink eye, and sprains
• Fund annual operating for 27 new MRI machines in hospitals across Ontario, to reduce wait times and increase access
• Advance 50 hospital redevelopment projects that will create more than 3,000 new hospital beds within the next 10 years

Minister Jones previously served as Solicitor General from 2019-2022, where she championed public safety initiatives, including leading the country with a $307 million anti-human trafficking strategy and legislation, and passing Canada’s toughest animal protection legislation. Minister Jones has lived in Dufferin-Caledon for over 30 years with her husband, David.

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Ashnoor Rahim

Executive Director | KW4 OHT, Canada

Ashnoor Rahim has joined the KW4 OHT as its inaugural Executive Director. With 25 years of experience in a variety of health and care settings, including extensive work with seniors and marginalized populations. She is a health system leader committed to improving the overall health of Ontarians by creating coordinated and integrated health delivery models that are focused on improving the health of our population. Ashnoor is committed to using evidence based data and clinical best practices to support the overall health and wellbeing of the KW4 communities.

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Charmaine Dean

Vice-President, Research and International at the University of Waterloo | Canada

Dr. Charmaine Dean (PhD, University of Waterloo) is Vice-President, Research and International at the University of Waterloo. In this role, she provides strategic leadership in the areas of research and innovation, commercialization, and internationalization. She is also responsible for building strategic alliances and partnerships with other academic institutions, governments, businesses, and industries at the regional, national, federal, and international levels.
Several key collaboration portfolios are managed by her office, including the university-level Centres and Institutes and several major industrial partnerships spanning various units in the university. She has drawn a focus to ethics and social impact related to technology developments through various initiatives and is a key driver for equity and diversity in the context of research and internationalization.
Prior to joining the University of Waterloo, Dr. Dean served as the Dean of Science at Western University from 2011 to 2017. She also played a major role in establishing the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, as the Associate Dean of that Faculty, and was the founding Chair of the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at Simon Fraser University.
Dr. Dean has been awarded numerous awards for her work including Fellowships with the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, the Fields Institute, the American Statistical Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has held several editorships and served in numerous leadership roles internationally and nationally, related to equity and inclusion, statistics and data science, research, and computing infrastructure. In Canada, she served as President of the Statistical Society of Canada and serves on several Boards of Directors. She is currently Chair of Council for NSERC (the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada).

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Dr. Alan J. Forster

Executive Vice President & Chief Innovation and Quality Officer | The Ottawa Hospital, Canada

Alan J.Forster MD, FRCPC, MSc is the Executive Vice President, Chief Innovation and Quality Officer at the Ottawa Hospital, Canada’s largest Academic Health Sciences Center. His focus is enabling teams to create higher value health care –€“ in which patient centered health outcomes are realized and health system costs are lowered.

Over his career, he has led research on patient safety and quality improvement. He performed the seminal work evaluating the incidence of adverse events following discharge from hospital. He has also led the Ottawa Hospital’s data strategy which has been used to support research, operations, and planning. Overall, his work has led to over 240 publications in peer review journals and innumerable advances in quality of care.

In addition to his role at the Ottawa Hospital, Alan is a leader in the field of healthcare quality. He is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and Senior Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. He provides ongoing advice to agencies at the local, national, and international levels, and he has served as associated editor for several prestigious peer-review journals.

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Maura R. Grossman

Professor, School of Computer Science | University of Waterloo, Canada

Maura R. Grossman is a Research Professor in the School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, and an affiliate faculty member at the Vector Institute of Artificial Intelligence, all in Ontario, Canada. She also is a Principal at Maura Grossman Law, an eDiscovery law and consulting firm in Buffalo, New York. Maura has been recognized for her scholarly work evaluating the application of supervised machine-learning technologies in the fields of law, government archives, and health. Her studies have been widely cited in the case law and literature, in North America and abroad. Maura is also well known for her appointments as a special master and/or as an expert in multiple, high-profile U.S. federal and state court cases. In addition to her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, Maura also holds M.A. and PhD degrees in Psychology from the Derner Institute of Adelphi University.

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Daniel Blumenthal

VP Strategy | MD CLONE, North America

Daniel joined MDClone in its early days, launching the company's operations in North America and establishing its first partnerships with healthcare organizations in the U.S. and Canada. With MDClone's growth, Daniel now leads efforts to expand key partnerships and develop new software, services and collaborations around the globe. Based in Chicago, Daniel has extensive experience building startup ecosystems and supporting entrepreneurs in the U.S. and Israel having served as Deputy Consul for Economic Affairs at the Government of Israel Economic Mission in Chicago.

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Dale Hall

Executive Vice President | Thoughtwire, Canada

Dale Hall is a co-founder and Executive VP at ThoughtWire and is responsible for developing the company's sales, strategic partner, and alliances channel strategy.

Dale has over 25 years experience in software, professional services and IT consulting and has worked on some of the largest healthcare IT innovation projects in Canada. From health system transformation by enabling electronic health records, to working on enabling the latest Smart Hospitals over the past decade, Dale has had the opportunity to work both directly and with partners to help drive innovation across the broader health sector in Canada, and globally in Europe and Australia. Dale is also a seasoned entrepreneur who has been a founder and principal of two successful professional services consulting firms prior to co-founding ThoughtWire.

Dale is recognized as a thought leader in the Healthcare integration and Smart Buildings marketplace in Canada. He brings a depth of skills and experience that supports ThoughtWire to deliver transformational solutions to its customers in the Healthcare and Built Spaces markets.

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Michael Duong

Head of Innovation | Hoffmann-La Roche, Canada

Michael is the Head of Innovation for Hoffmann-La Roche Limited across all of its Canadian divisions, including Roche Pharmaceuticals, Roche Diagnostics, and Roche Diabetes Care. In this role, Michael leads the Roche Innovation Hive –€“ a team dedicated to bringing innovative ideas and solutions to Roche that will help us accelerate and enhance our value to patients and our healthcare system. In addition to his role at Roche, Michael is also co-founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Personalized Healthcare Innovation Network (CPHIN) and a Board Member of the STEM Fellowship. CPHIN is a not for profit corporation representing a consortium of members from both public and private sectors focused on the acceleration of personalized healthcare for Canada and the STEM Fellowship is a non-profit charity represented by a community of students, educators and industry professionals working together to create opportunities for peer learning and open science.

Michael received his undergraduate degree in Biology and Pharmacology and a Ph.D. in Medical Sciences with a specialization in Neuroscience, both from McMaster University.

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Darren Hay

Vice President, Business Development | Medioh (Hypertec Group), Canada

Darren Hay, Vice President, Business Development at Medioh (Hypertec Group) is a digital health executive and entrepreneur dedicated to the development of a stronger health system and healthier people through the acceleration of innovative healthcare, business and technology solutions. He has over twenty-five years’ experience in the management of innovative organizations on the leading edge of healthcare innovation in government, health system, health plan and consumer markets in both Canada and the United States.

Darren currenty serves as the Vice President, Business Development for Hypertec’s global healthcare division, Medioh (the logistics and scalability partner behind North America's largest digital health and RPM deployments (including OTN, Optum, United Health Group, Ascension, UPMC, Anthem, etc.). Prior to joining Medioh/Hypertec, Darren held senior executive roles as Chief Revenue Officer at Care Angel, Senior Vice President at ADT/IdealLife, Vice President at Telus Health and Vice President at Emergis. He has served as a Governor-appointed member of the State of Florida’s Telehealth Advisory Council, Executive in Residence for both McMaster University’s Department of Family Medicine’s and Ontario Centres of Excellence’s OSCAR EMR initiatives, Advisor to BCTech and Chief Health Advisor for the Pathway Group.

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Dr. Josh Liu

Chief Executive Officer | SeamlessMD, Canada

Dr. Joshua Liu is a physician turned digital health entrepreneur, and co-founder/CEO of SeamlessMD –€“ a Digital Patient Engagement and Remote Monitoring platform used by hospitals and health systems to engage, monitor and stay connected with patients across healthcare journeys. During his medical training at the University of Toronto, Dr. Liu co-led a research project at UHN on hospital readmissions. As a result, Dr. Liu was inspired to develop technology to help providers engage and monitor patients to prevent adverse outcomes such as a readmission - which ultimately led to him co-founding SeamlessMD in 2012. An advocate for healthcare innovation, Dr. Liu has served as Chair of the Canadian Medical Association’s Joule Innovation Council and on the Advisory Group to the Office of the Chief Health Innovation Strategist for the Ontario Ministry of Health. Dr. Liu has received numerous honours, including being named Digital Health Executive of the Year by Digital Health Canada and Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science and Healthcare. Dr. Liu holds a MD from the University of Toronto and a BSc from York University.

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Karina Guy

Managing Director and National Lead, Applied Intelligence, Healthcare and Life Sciences |  €‹Accenture, Canada

Karina Guy is a highly skilled and dynamic Digital Transformation Leader with over 25 years of experience, the majority in Health Care and Life Sciences. She is a Managing Director with Accenture and leads Applied Intelligence in Health Care and Life Sciences nationally for Canada, in addition to her role as the National Lead for Data Science. Karina helps her clients improve health systems through applied health informatics; client/patient-centric service design; advanced analytics; interoperability; security and privacy. She holds a Masters degree from the iSchool@UBC; a post-masters in applied health informatics from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Nursing. Karina also holds certifications in privacy, security and information systems audit.

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Location: University of Waterloo, Student Life Centre multipurpose room