Wednesday, April 8, 2026 10:00 am - 4:30 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

Biomedical Engineering Research Day 2026

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Join us for a celebration of research and innovation in Biomedical Engineering!

Biomedical Engineering (BME) Research Day is a showcase of the remarkable research of students in the Biomedical Engineering graduate programs. The event will feature student presentations, a keynote presentation by Youssef Helwa, CEO and co-founder of FluidAI Medical, and networking opportunities. 

See the presentation abstracts (PDF) and full schedule below. 

Youssef Helwa, CEO and Co-founder of FluidAI Medical

Youssef Helwa is the CEO and Co-founder of FluidAI Medical, a Waterloo-based medical technology company transforming postoperative care through data-driven patient monitoring. FluidAI has developed the Stream Platform, which combines nanosensors and artificial intelligence to enable early detection of complications following general and gastrointestinal surgeries. The platform has demonstrated the ability to detect anastomotic leaks 80% faster than the standard of care and is currently deployed internationally, with collaborations with leading institutions including Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, and Medtronic.

Prior to founding FluidAI, Youssef completed his graduate studies at the University of Waterloo, where his research focused on biomedical engineering and medical device innovation. Under his leadership, FluidAI has grown from a university research project into a commercialized medical technology company operating across multiple countries, raising significant venture capital, and advancing the shift toward proactive, value-based healthcare.

Schedule

Time Session
10:00 a.m. Opening Remarks by Dr. Nima Maftoon, BME Graduate Program Director
10:05 a.m. Genevie Tran, MASc Student
Investigating the response of early and late tear polymorphonuclear neutrophils to bacterial challenge: Development of an in vitro infection model of the closed eye environment
10:20 a.m. Polina Stepanenko, MASc Student
Semantic-Lexical Adaptation to Adverse Noise Conditions
10:35 a.m. Mariya Peskova, MASc Student
In-vitro model of bone remodeling: studying osteoblast and osteoclast response to novel nanocomposite biopolymers
10:50 a.m.

Alyson Colpitts, PhD Student
Towards better understanding of trimester-specific gait kinematics during pregnancy
11:05 a.m. Break
11:15 a.m.

Rahul Menon, PhD Student
Quantum sensing for sperm oxidative stress analysis
11:30 a.m.

Mu Yun Zhang, PhD Student
Magnetic microrobots for targeted blastocyst delivery
11:45 a.m.

Alyson Ranger, PhD Student
Characterization of strontium-substituted calcium phosphate apatite mineralization 
12:00 p.m.

Taha Liaqat, PhD Student
Intelligent autonomous navigation to restore independence in assistive mobility
12:15 p.m. Break
1:00 p.m. Keynote Speaker: Youssef Helwa, FluidAI 
Where Research Meets Reality: Scaling Innovation Beyond the University
1:45 p.m.

Dan Currie, PhD Student
Bilateral external knee adduction moment during cycling in people with and without knee pain from osteoarthritis
2:00 p.m.

Ben Masters, PhD Student
Investigating the regulation of speech level during conversations in noise
2:15 p.m.

Bianca Simone, PhD Student
Biomechanical analysis of the backhand drive in disc golf players
2:30 p.m. Break
2:45 p.m. Claire Thompson, PhD Student
Development of an integrated virtual twin lumbar intervertebral disc model for a spinal loading simulator
3:00 p.m.

Elizabeth Diederichs, PhD Student
Optimizing biopolymer nanocomposites for mechanical robustness and degradability
3:15 p.m.

Corin Seelemann, PhD Student
Fractographic analysis of collagen denaturation on human cortical bone using machine learning
3:30 p.m.

Arya Amiri, PhD Student
Averaging material parameters in hyperelastic models: impact of model type, deformation range, data source
3:45 p.m. Networking break
4:15 p.m. Closing remarks and award presentation
Location Information
Location Address: PSE 2317
200 University Ave West
Waterloo, ON, CA  N2L 3G1
Location coordinates: