About

I am a Research Associate in the Robotics and Control Laboratory (RCL), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, at the University of British Columbia. I’m always happy to discuss new ideas and explore ways to put machine learning into practice. Feel free to get in touch.

Research

My research combines quantitative medical imaging (ultrasound and MRI), machine learning, and image analysis, with applications in liver and fetal brain imaging. My work spans elastography, image reconstruction, registration, and segmentation. I pursue AI research with an uncompromising focus on data quality and rigorous validation of new ideas. See my papers here.

Experience

University of British Columbia

Research Associate · Ph.D. in Electrical & Computer Engineering, 2016–2022.
Robotics and Control Laboratory (RCL) · Supervisor: Prof. Septimiu (Tim) Salcudean.

Boston Children’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School

Postdoc, 2024–2025 · Fetal brain imaging.
Computational Radiology Laboratory (CRL) · PI: Prof. Davood Karimi.

University of Alberta

M.Sc. in Electrical & Computer Engineering, 2014–2016.
Advanced Alarm Management and Design (AAMD) · Supervisor: Prof. Tongwen Chen.
B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, 2010–2014 · With Distinction.

Awards

IEEE UFFC Outstanding Paper Award 3-D Ultrafast Shear Wave Absolute Vibro-Elastography Using a Matrix Array Transducer
Hoda S. Hashemi, Shahed K. Mohammed, Qi Zeng, Reza Zahiri Azar, Robert N. Rohling, and Septimiu E. Salcudean. IEEE TUFFC, 2023.

MICCAI MedIA Best Paper Award Accurate and robust deep learning-based segmentation of the prostate clinical target volume in ultrasound images
Davood Karimi, Qi Zeng, Prateek Mathur, Apeksha Avinash, Sara Mahdavi, Ingrid Spadinger, Purang Abolmaesumi, and Septimiu E. Salcudean. Medical Image Analysis, 2019.

C.R. James Award for Best Master of Science Thesis — ECE, University of Alberta.

Ventures

Piko · Co-founder & CSO

Translating AI ideas into practical ML and data systems for pet owners and local communities.

Coact · AI & Ultrasound Lead

Developing AI tools for object tracking and 3D ultrasound reconstruction, and supporting data acquisition for clinical applications. Our team completed UBC Venture Founder and is preparing for HATCH.