I’m an MD/PhD Candidate at the University of Alberta, working at the intersection of ophthalmology, genetics, and AI.
My work has two through-lines: First, ocular disease with strong genetic architecture, where careful phenotyping and mechanism can actually change how we understand disease and support patients. Second, practical AI and education, building the literacy, evaluation mindset, and infrastructure that clinicians need to adopt medical AI safely and usefully.
Alongside research, I build programs and communities that make interdisciplinary collaboration easier (and more rigorous), most notably through AIMSS and related initiatives.
Education
MD/PhD (Ophthalmic Genetics)
University of Alberta
MSc (Neuroscience, Neuroimaging)
University of Alberta
Dual BSc (Biomedical Engineering & Electrical Engineering)
Amirkabir University of Technology
Research
I study ocular disease with strong genetic architecture, with emphasis on mechanism, phenotype precision, and translation.
Current work
- PIKFYVE and retinal pigment epithelium biology: endolysosomal pathways and inherited retinal degeneration.
- COL4A1 ocular/genetic vasculopathy: genotype–phenotype correlation and functional interpretation of clinically meaningful variants.
- Inherited retinal disease and ocular genetics: phenotype-driven reasoning and clinically interpretable genetic narratives.
Publications and abstracts are listed under Presentations and Publications.
AI and computational work
I focus on practical AI - tools and evaluation approaches that hold up under real clinical constraints.
Current directions
- Retinal vessel tortuosity tooling: a Python pipeline for quantifying tortuosity from retinal imaging (open-source planned).
- Medical AI education and evaluation: clinician-facing teaching and structured assessment of model performance, limitations, and deployment risk.
- Applied computation for genetics/genomics workflows: reducing analysis friction and improving interpretability for clinician and/or scientists.
Clinical interests
- Ophthalmology (retina and inherited retinal disease)
- Genetics-informed care and precision medicine
- Clinically safe evaluation of AI systems and decision support
- Evidence interpretation that actually changes practice
Leadership, teaching, and community-building
I’ve consistently worked at the boundary of research, education, and convening, with the goal of making high-quality collaboration easier and more rigorous.
Selected current and ongoing positions
- Co-Founder and Director of Research and Education, AI in Medical Systems Society (AIMSS) (2020–Present)
- Curriculum Development Lead, AI in Medicine Course, University of Alberta (2021–Present)
- Steering Committee Member, Physician Innovator (2023–Present)
- Co-Lead Education, AI+Health Hub, University of Alberta (2024–Present)
- International Representative, Vision Health Research Network (2025–Present)
- University of Alberta Representative, Canadian Ophthalmology Student Interest Group (2025–Present)
- Director of Partnerships, Clinician Investigator Trainee Association of Canada (2026-Present)
- Member, World Health Organization Knowledge Community on Responsible AI in Health (2025–Present)
- Member, International AI in Medical Education Working Group (2025–Present)
- Reviewer, Neuroradiology; NeuroImage: Clinical; and Clinical and Investigative Medicine (2015–Present)
- Delivery Quality Assurance Specialist, Statistics Without Borders (2018–Present)
Leadership, service, and education roles (chronological)
- 2015–Present: Treasurer and Executive Board Member, Azerbaijan Cultural Society of Edmonton
- 2015–2016: VP Communications, Neuroscience Graduate Student Association, University of Alberta
- 2015–Present: Judge, Festival of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities; Edmonton Regional Science Fair; Edmonton Regional Heritage Fair; Canada Wide Science Fair
- 2015–Present: Mentor for multiple undergraduate research and clinical students
- 2015–2018: Discovery Days Workshop Presenter, Canadian Medical Hall of Fame
- 2016–2018: Research Coordinator, University of British Columbia and University of Alberta
- 2016–2021: Organizing Committee Member, Inclusive Health Conference and Neuroscience Research Day
- 2018–2019: Lab Coordinator, Human Movement Lab, University of Alberta
- 2018–2023: Lead Proctor, Dean of Students Proctoring Services, University of Alberta
- 2019–2021: VP Finance, Edmonton Healthcare Improvement Network
- 2019–2022: Grant/Award Reviewer, University of Alberta Undergraduate Research Initiative; Data.org Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge; and Google AI Impact Challenge
- 2019–Present: Logistics Co-Lead, Medical School Admissions Interviews, University of Alberta
- 2020: Intern, University of California San Francisco Catalyst Program
- 2020: Enrichment Committee Member, GAME-TEI Medical AI Summer School
- 2020–2024: Delegate Chair, Women and Children’s Health Research Institute Trainee Advisory Committee
- 2020–2021: Committee Member, Information Management Steering Committee – Education, University of Alberta
- 2020–2021: VP Operations, Medical Students’ Association, University of Alberta
- 2020–2021: VP External, Sexuality and Gender Advocacy Committee, University of Alberta
- 2020–2021: Co-Founder, Managing Partner and Developer/Designer, Covtrace: COVID-19 Contact Tracing App
- 2020–2022: Co-Founder and Co-Director, Institute for Medical AI
- 2020–Present: Organizing Committee Chair, The Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Conference
- 2021–2023: President, Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Student Society
- 2021–2022: Teaching Assistant (Animal Developmental Biology, Molecular Genetics and Heredity), University of Alberta
- 2021–2022: COVID-19 Immunizer, Alberta Health Services
- 2024-Present: Discovery Learning Preceptor, University of Alberta
Innovation and entrepreneurship
I’m interested in translating clinically grounded work into tools and programs that meaningfully improve care.
Selected items
- Invention to Innovation (i2I) Skills Training (NSERC-funded; delivered by Simon Fraser University; 2025-2026)
- Covtrace: COVID-19 Contact Tracing App (Co-Founder, Managing Partner, Developer/Designer; 2020–2021)
- Institute for Medical AI (Co-Founder and Co-Director; 2020–2022)
- UCSF Catalyst Program (Intern; 2020)
Awards, scholarships, and recognitions
Recent awards and scholarships
- Dorothy J Killam Memorial Graduate Prize (2025)
- Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship (2025–2026)
- Alberta Odd Fellow Rebekah Vision Science Graduate Student Research Award (2025; 2023)
- Medical Sciences Graduate Scholarship (ranked first in the faculty) (2025)
- Best Poster Presentation, Women and Children’s Health Research Institute Research Day (2024)
- Best Poster Presentation, Vision Health Restoration Summer School (2024)
- Ron Spence Graduate Award in AI4Society (2024)
- Alberta Innovates Graduate Student Scholarship (2024)
- Precision Medicine Award in Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (2024)
- Fighting Blindness Canada Clinician-Scientist Emerging Leader Award (2023-2025)
- Best Basic Science Presentation, Ophthalmology Research Day (2023)
- Graduate Student Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching (2022; 2023)
- CIHR Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral (CGS-D) (2022–2025)
- President’s Doctoral Prize of Distinction (2022–2025)
- Alberta Vision Net Cook Family Endowment Studentship (2021)
Additional honours (chronological)
- 2012: Identified as an Exceptional Talent and accepted into the dual-major program, Amirkabir University of Technology
- 2016: University of Alberta Graduate Bursary and Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Bursary
- 2020: Harold and Opal Hess Award in Medicine; MD Entering and Continuing Educational Bursary; Mannen and V Staples Bursary in Medicine
- 2020: Winner, International Codevid-19 Global Hackathon (Covtrace)
- 2021: Jean McDiarmaid Scholarship
- 2022: Genetics Library Endowment; Graduate Student Association Travel Grants
- 2022: Teaching Assistant Commendation from the Faculty of Science
- 2023: Dieleman MD/PhD Award; Tani Bertha MD/PhD Award
Memberships and affiliations
- International Representative, Vision Health Research Network (2025–Present)
- University of Alberta Representative, Canadian Ophthalmology Student Interest Group (2025–Present)
- Member, World Health Organization Knowledge Community on Responsible AI in Health (2025–Present)
- Member, International AI in Medical Education Working Group (2025–Present)
- Delivery Quality Assurance Specialist, Statistics Without Borders (2018–Present)
- Steering Committee Member, Physician Innovator (2023–Present)
Hobbies
Outside of work, I like to keep moving and keep learning.
- Volleyball
- Squash
- Hiking and camping
- Travel
- Reading (mostly non-fiction; science, innovation, and systems)
- Coding, app development, developing this website