Federica Tomao is an Associate Professor at the Department of Maternal, Child and Urological Sciences within Sapienza University of Rome. She actively teaches and supervises courses in Medicine and Surgery , Nursing , and Midwifery programs across multiple institutions. Current faculty member with academic rank Teaching roles in 6th, 3rd, and 2nd year courses Specialized in gynecologic oncology Research Focus : Her work spans ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and endometrial cancer, emphasizing chemotherapy optimization, precision medicine, and radiomics. Notably, she contributes to understanding PARP inhibitors, immune checkpoint therapies, and fertility preservation techniques in cancer survivors. Recent Publications highlight advancements in sarcopenia analysis, BRCA testing, and radiogenomic nomograms. These studies demonstrate her commitment to bridging imaging and molecular data for improved cancer management. Email : federica.tomao@uniroma1.it
Associate Professor Adam Irwin is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and Associate Professor in Infectious Diseases at the University of Queensland (UQ) and Queensland Children’s Hospital. He holds positions within the UQ Centre for Clinical Research, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. His work focuses on early sepsis recognition, antimicrobial stewardship, and pediatric infectious diseases. Dr. Irwin completed his medical degree at the University of Birmingham and his PhD in 2016 from the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Infection and Global Health. He has led initiatives like the Queensland Paediatric Sepsis Program, recognized with a Global Sepsis Alliance Award and Queensland Health Excellence Awards. His research spans sepsis pathway implementation, antimicrobial resistance trends, and rapid diagnostic tools. Notable grants include NHMRC funding for studies on multi-drug resistant infections and Children’s Hospital Foundation support for genomics and antimicrobial stewardship projects. He supervises PhD candidates in areas like bloodstream infections and molecular diagnostics. Dr. Irwin collaborates across institutions, contributing to projects such as the RAPIDS Study Group and the PAEDS surveillance network. Awards include the NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellowship and recognition for sepsis program excellence. His work emphasizes translating research into clinical practice, improving outcomes for critically ill children through evidence-based protocols and innovative diagnostics.
Jonathan W. Friedberg, M.D., M.M.Sc. is the Director of the Wilmot Cancer Institute and Professor in the Department of Medicine, Hematology/Oncology at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. He holds the Samuel E. Durand Chair in Medicine and leads one of the nation's premier lymphoma programs. Dr. Friedberg is internationally recognized for his expertise in lymphoma treatment, particularly in developing novel therapies and clinical trial approaches. Dr. Friedberg's research focuses on lymphoma, with particular expertise in Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. His work spans the entire treatment continuum from diagnosis through novel therapies including autologous stem cell transplantation and CAR-T cell interventions. He has built a comprehensive lymphoma program with expertise spanning hematopathology, radiation oncology, dermatology, and neurology, in addition to hematology and medical oncology. His research interests include developing risk-adapted treatment strategies, investigating novel therapeutic agents, and improving outcomes for patients with various lymphoma subtypes. Dr. Friedberg's extensive publication record demonstrates his leadership in lymphoma research, with recent work focusing on immunotherapy combinations, predictive modeling, risk stratification, and novel treatment approaches for various lymphoma subtypes. His research has significantly contributed to the understanding and treatment of lymphomas, particularly in developing more personalized and effective treatment strategies. Scientific Awards: Faculty Academic Mentoring Award (2012) Scholar in Clinical Research (2008) America's Top Doctors Selection (2008) Jacob Gitelman Award (2007) Lawrence A. Kohn Senior Teaching Fellow (2004-2006) Clinical Investigator Career Development Award (2003) Clinical Oncology Research Fellowship "Immunotherapy of Hodgkin's Disease" (2001-2003) Rising stars program for innovative research (2001-2003) As Director of the Wilmot Cancer Institute, Dr. Friedberg leads numerous clinical trials and research initiatives focused on advancing lymphoma treatment. He is actively involved in SWOG and has served in leadership roles for multiple clinical trials investigating novel therapies for lymphoma patients. His practice team includes Anna Morrison, R.N., and Kerri Hugelmaier, N.P., providing comprehensive care for lymphoma patients. Dr. Friedberg has established the Lymphoma Epidemiology of Outcomes (LEO) Consortium, a large observational cohort study supporting broad research on NHL prognosis and survivorship. His leadership extends to national organizations where he contributes to developing clinical practice guidelines and consensus recommendations for lymphoma treatment.
Christopher Kanan is a tenured Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Rochester, leading the AI Initiative within the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences. He holds secondary appointments in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, the Goergen Institute for Data Science and AI (GIDS-AI), and the Center for Visual Science. His research focuses on deep learning systems for artificial general intelligence (AGI), including continual learning, medical computer vision, and visual question answering. Previously, he was an Associate Professor at RIT’s Carlson Center for Imaging Science and a leader at Paige.AI, contributing to the FDA-cleared Paige Prostate system. Kanan earned his PhD from UC San Diego, completed postdoctoral work at Caltech, and worked at NASA JPL. Education: PhD in Computer Science, UC San Diego MS in Computer Science, University of Southern California Bachelor’s in Philosophy and Computer Science, Oklahoma State University Research Interests: Kanan’s work spans foundational AI capabilities like continual learning, medical imaging (pathology and radiology), multi-modal reasoning, and cognitive science-inspired models. His lab develops bias-robust AI systems and applies deep learning to healthcare and fusion research. Articles Trends: His recent work emphasizes out-of-distribution generalization, foundation models in pathology, and stability in continual learning. Key themes include AI applications in healthcare, model robustness, and neuroscience-inspired algorithms. Awards: NSF CAREER Award Senior Member, AAAI and IEEE DoE and NSF grants totaling $5M+ DARPA/ARL awards Advising & Grants: Mentored over 10 PhD students, including Robik Shrestha and Usman Mahmood. Secured grants for AI in nuclear fusion and medical imaging. Led RIT’s Center for Human-aware AI (CHAI) as Associate Director. Labs & Teams: Heads the University of Rochester AI Initiative, collaborates with Paige.AI, and leads teams advancing AI in pathology and robotics. His lab’s KLab (klab.cis.rit.edu) focuses on vision and learning systems.
Sharat Chandran is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), where he has been actively engaged in teaching and research for several decades. His office is located in Room KR102 (also known as A202) in the Rekhi Building on the IIT Campus in Mumbai, India. His primary research interests span two major areas in computing: Computer Graphics and Computer Vision . He has extensively worked in these fields with his students and research staff, producing various publications, talks, and research projects over the years. His current teaching focus includes Math for Visual Computing (CS 740), a course designed for postgraduate students new to the IIT system who may have some apprehension about mathematics. Professor Chandran has supervised numerous PhD students whose work covers diverse topics including 3D modeling, efficient computing with tomographic measurements, vision for drones, cancer prognosis, hierarchical visibility, projector-camera systems, arterial pulse analysis, and optimization algorithms for motion factorization. His teaching portfolio is extensive, having offered courses such as Basic Freshman Programming, Software Systems, Parallel Programming Paradigms, Graphics I & II, Multimedia Systems, Computer Vision, Digital Image Processing, Algorithms, and Spatial Data Structures. He has held multiple administrative and service roles at departmental, institutional, and external levels. Departmental roles include PhD Faculty Advisor, Awards Committee Chair, Faculty Search Chair, and Web Team Chair. At the institutional level, he served as Founding PMRF Coordinator, Head of the Application Software Centre, and IIT Research Fellowship Initiative Coordinator. Externally, he has coordinated the DST India Digital Heritage Project and served as Program Co-Chair for conferences like Mysore Park Vision Conference and ICVGIP. Professor Chandran is actively involved in campus community activities including Sanskriti @ IITB, Taekwando @ IITB, and serves as Secretary for Kendriya Vidyalaya PTA. His office hours are from 12:30 PM to 1:00 PM on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, and he emphasizes using Piazza rather than email for student communications.
Dr. Ahmet Acar is an Associate Professor at the Department of Biological Sciences, Middle East Technical University (METU), Ankara, Turkey. He leads the Cancer Precision Medicine and Drug Resistance Laboratory, focusing on understanding mechanisms of drug resistance in cancer. His research integrates experimental models, next-generation sequencing, and deep learning to address clinical challenges in cancer therapy. Dr. Acar holds a B.Sc. from METU's Biological Sciences department and a Ph.D. from the Cancer Research UK Manchester Institute. He completed postdoctoral training at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and the University of Manchester. Research Interests: Drug resistance mechanisms, precision oncology, tumor microenvironment modeling, patient-derived organoids, computational pathology, and evolutionary cancer biology. His lab develops 2D/3D co-culture systems, PDO biobanks, and AI-driven histopathology tools to improve treatment strategies. Recent Work Trends: Recent publications emphasize tumor evolution modeling, matrix mechanics in drug resistance, and AI applications in histopathology. Collaborations with hospitals in Turkey and Europe support PDO biobank initiatives. His team explores evolutionary steering strategies to exploit collateral drug sensitivities. Labs/Teams: Precision Medicine and Drug Resistance Lab at METU focuses on interdisciplinary approaches combining wet-lab experiments with computational methods. Current projects include ex vivo tumor modeling and AI-driven diagnostic tools for oncology.
Professor Daniel Rueckert is a leading academic in Artificial Intelligence and Medical Imaging, holding dual positions at Imperial College London (as Professor of Visual Information Processing) and Technical University of Munich (Alexander von Humboldt Professor for AI in Medicine and Healthcare). He obtained his MSc from Technical University Berlin (1993) and PhD from Imperial College London (1997), followed by postdoctoral work at King’s College London. At Imperial, he led the Department of Computing (2016–2020) and founded the Biomedical Image Analysis group. His research focuses on AI-driven medical image analysis, including algorithms for image reconstruction, registration, and clinical decision support. His research interests span AI applications in healthcare, machine learning for medical imaging, and computational methods for clinical diagnostics. Notable contributions include over 500 publications and 60+ PhD graduates, with key works in federated learning, cardiac motion analysis, and biomarker development. Awards include the Leibniz Prize (2025), Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship (2015), and multiple ERC grants. He leads the BioMedIA research group and is an editorial board member of Medical Image Analysis . Recent publications highlight advancements in AI-driven medical imaging, such as secure federated learning frameworks and deep learning models for disease prediction. His work bridges academic and industrial sectors through initiatives like IXICO, an Imperial spin-out. Current affiliations include roles at both Imperial and TUM, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration in healthcare technology. Advising and grants: Supervised over 60 PhD students and 40 post-docs. Secured grants including ERC Synergy (2013) and ERC Advanced (2020). Active in labs focused on biomedical image computing and AI in healthcare systems. Collaborative efforts include the BioMedIA group and TUM’s AI initiatives. Labs/teams: Leads the Biomedical Image Analysis group at Imperial and the TUM AI in Medicine team. Collaborates extensively on projects like cardiac imaging analysis and federated learning for healthcare.
Richard J. Cook is a University Professor and Mathematics Faculty Research Chair in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at the University of Waterloo. He holds cross-appointments at the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo and the Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University. Previously, he held a Tier I Canada Research Chair in Statistical Methods for Health Research from 2005 to 2019. His educational background includes: BSc in Statistics from McMaster University MMath in Mathematics from University of Waterloo PhD in Statistics from University of Waterloo Professor Cook's research focuses on developing and applying statistical methods for public health research. His primary areas of interest include the analysis of life history data, longitudinal data analysis, methods for incomplete data, clinical trial design, and multivariate analysis. His work provides critical methodological frameworks for understanding disease progression and evaluating interventions in complex health settings. He has made significant contributions to the development of multistate models for disease processes and methods for handling interval-censored data. His extensive publication record demonstrates consistent focus on methodological innovations addressing real-world health research challenges. Recent work emphasizes estimand specification in clinical trials, transportability of research findings, and causal inference methods. His research bridges theoretical statistics with practical applications in autoimmune diseases, transfusion medicine, and public health. Professor Cook has received significant professional recognition: Tier I Canada Research Chair in Statistical Methods for Health Research (2005-2019) Mathematics Faculty Research Chair at University of Waterloo His students have earned prestigious awards including multiple Pierre-Robillard Awards, ISCB Student Conference Awards, and ENAR Distinguished Student Paper Awards, with notable achievements like Dr. Shu (Joy) Jiang being named in the Forbes Top 30 Under 30 North America (2023) for Healthcare. Professor Cook has advised numerous graduate students throughout his career, with many going on to successful academic and industry positions. His research has been supported by various grants, and he collaborates extensively with researchers in rheumatology, transfusion medicine, and public health through affiliations with the Centre for Prognosis Studies in Rheumatic Diseases, the International Psoriasis and Arthritis Research Team, and the McMaster Centre for Transfusion Research. He leads a vibrant research team that includes research associates, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students working on cutting-edge statistical methodology. His research group maintains strong connections with multiple institutions and research centers focused on health outcomes and disease progression.
Tim Q. Duong, Ph.D., is a Professor at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, affiliated with the Departments of Radiology, Biochemistry, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, and Neuroscience. His research focuses on medical imaging, MRI, image analysis, machine learning, and predictive modeling for studying diseases like COVID-19 , neurodegeneration (Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis), brain injuries , and breast cancer . Develops AI-driven MRI techniques for early disease detection Investigates neuroplasticity in glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy Leads grants from NIH and National Eye Institute Research Trends : Recent publications emphasize AI integration in medical imaging, long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2, and advanced MRI applications for ocular and neurological disorders. Grants include multiple R01 awards for diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma studies. Training Opportunities : Actively recruits postdocs, research coordinators, and faculty. Offers research positions for graduate, medical, and high school students, including Regeneron Scholar programs. Labs & Teams : Leads the Duong Lab at Montefiore Medical Center, focusing on translational research for clinical imaging solutions.
Magdy M. A. Salama is a Professor and University Research Chair at the University of Waterloo's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering. He holds a P.Eng. license and is a Fellow of the IEEE. His research spans Energy Systems (Power Quality, Smart Grids, Renewable Energy) and Biomedical Engineering (Medical Imaging, Sleep Analysis). He has authored/co-authored over 460 publications and supervised numerous graduate students. Education: PhD (University of Waterloo), M.Sc. and B.Sc. (Cairo University). Awards include the IEEE Fellow distinction, University Research Chair, and multiple teaching/research awards from the University of Waterloo. Research trends in his articles focus on Smart Grid resiliency, renewable integration, cyber-physical security, and biomedical applications of AI. Notable projects include voltage sag mitigation, EV fleet electrification, and blockchain-based energy trading platforms. Scientific Awards: IEEE Fellow, University Research Chair, Teaching Excellence Award (2000) Grants/Consultation: Extensive industry and institutional collaborations on power systems and biomedical tech. Labs/Teams: Active in High Voltage Lab, Smart Grids Research Group, and Medical Image Processing Lab.
Masoud Asgharian is a Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at McGill University. His research focuses on survival analysis, changepoint problems, nonparametric Bayesian methods, and data envelopment analysis. He has contributed to influential studies on dementia survival rates, censored data methodologies, and statistical efficiency measures. His work bridges biostatistics and operations research, with applications in public health and medical sciences. Key contributions include methodologies for prevalent cohort survival analysis, input relaxation efficiency measures in stochastic DEA, and causal inference techniques. Asgharian has collaborated extensively with researchers in epidemiology and biomedical engineering, as evidenced by his co-authored publications on topics ranging from tooth enamel properties to low-precision neural network quantization. His research has been published in high-impact journals such as New England Journal of Medicine , Journal of the American Statistical Association , and Biometrics . Current affiliations include leadership roles in statistical research at McGill, with ongoing projects in computational statistics and healthcare analytics.
Todd A. Alonzo is a Professor of Research in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Southern California . As Group Statistician for the Children's Oncology Group , he focuses on statistical methods for biomarker analysis, medical diagnostic testing, and clinical trial design in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Education: B.S. in Statistics, California State Polytechnic University (1994) MS and PhD in Biostatistics, University of Washington (1997, 2000) Research Interests include: Development of statistical frameworks for diagnostic accuracy Genomic and proteomic profiling in AML Pharmacogenomic score systems for chemotherapy response Non-inferiority trial design in low-event-rate settings Health disparities in pediatric oncology Scientific Awards : Fellow, American Statistical Association (2018) Outstanding Teacher Award, International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (2017) NIH Predoctoral Cardiovascular Biostatistics Training Grant (1995) ENAR Biometrics Society Distinguished Student Paper Award (1999) WNAR Biometrics Society Best Student Oral Presentation (1999) Leadership & Service includes editorial board memberships (Biometrics, Pediatric Blood & Cancer, Biometrical Journal), reviewer for 30+ scientific journals, and roles on multiple Data Safety and Monitoring Boards. He served as President of the International Biometric Society Western Northern America Region (WNAR) in 2009.
Dr. Alister Smith is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Geotechnics at Loughborough University, where he directs the £1M National Engineered Slope Simulator (NESS) – the world’s first climate-controlled facility testing clay slope deterioration. His £6.7M research portfolio addresses geotechnical infrastructure resilience under climate change. Innovations include acoustic emission (AE) landslide early warning systems deployed across five continents, with the Community Slope SAFE project recognized in REF2021. Current work includes the RAINDROP doctoral training cluster on infrastructure prognosis and the £4.9M EPSRC ACHILLES programme on climate impacts. Awards: Philip Leverhulme Prize, ICE Thomas Telford Premium (twice), and Hawley Award for Engineering Innovation. He serves on the Lilly Fellows Program Board and edits for the International Journal of Christianity and Education.
Mohammad Modarres is the Nicole J. Kim Eminent Professor at the University of Maryland within the A.J. Clark School of Engineering. He serves as Director of the Center for Risk and Reliability (CRR) and is a Professor of Nuclear Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Modarres co-founded the world's first degree-granting graduate curriculum in reliability engineering at the University of Maryland and has established himself as an international expert in reliability and risk analysis. Dr. Modarres received his educational credentials from prestigious institutions: B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Tehran Polytechnic M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from MIT M.S. and Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from MIT Dr. Modarres' research spans multiple critical areas in engineering risk and reliability. His primary interests include probabilistic risk assessment, uncertainty analysis, probabilistic physics of failure, and probabilistic fracture mechanics. His work encompasses both experimental investigations and sophisticated probabilistic model development. He has made significant contributions to materials degradation science, prognosis and health management systems, and nuclear safety analysis. His research bridges theoretical developments with practical applications in complex engineering systems, particularly in nuclear power and aerospace sectors. Analysis of Dr. Modarres' recent publications reveals a strong trend toward integrating advanced data science techniques with traditional reliability engineering. His work increasingly incorporates machine learning, deep learning, and entropy-based approaches to solve complex problems in prognostics and health management. There's a clear focus on multi-unit systems, particularly in nuclear power applications, and a growing emphasis on data-driven methodologies for remaining useful life estimation and failure prediction. His research maintains a strong foundation in probabilistic methods while embracing cutting-edge computational approaches. Dr. Modarres has received numerous prestigious honors and awards throughout his distinguished career: Nicole Y. Kim Eminent Professorship in Engineering Minta Martin Professorship in A.J. Clark School of Engineering University of Maryland Distinguished Scholar-Teacher (2019) Tommy Thompson Award for outstanding lifetime contributions to nuclear safety (American Nuclear Society) Fellow, American Nuclear Society Fellow, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Life Fellow of IEEE 1996 Maryland Inventor of the Year Award (in Information Sciences) FDA Commissioner Special Citation for Contributions to Risk Assessment Methods (2004) 2008 International Research Leadership Award (Society for Reliability Engineering, Quality and Operations Management) Honorary Doctorate from Universidad Da Vinci de Guatemala As the founding director of the Center for Risk and Reliability, Dr. Modarres has built a world-renowned program that has awarded over 500 Ph.D. and master's degrees. His research has been supported by significant grants from government agencies and industry partners, particularly in nuclear safety, aerospace reliability, and critical infrastructure protection. He has mentored numerous students who have gone on to become leaders in reliability engineering across various industries. His center collaborates extensively with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other international organizations on risk assessment methodologies. The Center for Risk and Reliability (CRR), which Dr. Modarres directs, serves as a hub for multidisciplinary research in risk and reliability engineering. The center has recently renovated its facilities to enhance collaboration among researchers from different engineering disciplines. CRR maintains strong partnerships with industry leaders including Amazon Lab126 (as evidenced by their collaboration on device durability research) and has been instrumental in advancing probabilistic risk assessment tools used in nuclear power plant safety analysis. The center hosts regular seminars, workshops, and international conferences, positioning itself at the forefront of risk and reliability research globally.
Yang Song is an ARC Future Fellow and Scientia Associate Professor at the School of Computer Science and Engineering , University of New South Wales (UNSW) . She serves as Associate Head of School (Research) and Co-Director of iCinema , focusing on AI and Computer Vision applications for social good. Education: BEng in Computer Engineering (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore), PhD in Computer Science (UNSW, 2013) Research Areas: Biomedical image analysis, human-centred AI, graph data modeling, neuro-symbolic learning, and AI trustworthiness. Her work develops domain-specific deep learning models for radiological segmentation, histopathology cancer analysis, and 3D reconstruction. Recent projects address explainability in LLMs, fairness in AI, and human-robot interaction frameworks. With over 200 peer-reviewed publications in top venues like CVPR , MICCAI , and NeurIPS , her research spans biomedical imaging, robotics, and general multimodal AI. Scientific Awards include: 2024: ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Human-Robot Teaming 2023: Google Inclusion Research Award 2022: NHMRC Ideas Grant for computational brain imaging 2021: UNSW Engineering Research Excellence Award 2020: Scientia Fellowship (UNSW) 2019: ARC Future Fellowship She supervises 24 current PhD/MPhil students and has graduated 15 advisees, including placements at Harvard University and Siemens Healthineers. Her grants include collaborations with Surf Life Saving Australia and industry partnerships for AI-driven solutions.
