I’m an MD/PhD Candidate at the University of Alberta, working at the intersection of ophthalmology, genetics, and AI.
My work has two pillars:
- genetically driven ocular disease, where deep phenotyping and mechanism can change how we understand disease and support patients; and
- practical AI and education, building the literacy and evaluation infrastructure clinicians need to adopt medical AI safely.
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 & 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 clinicians 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 & 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 & 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