Queen’s School of Computing would like to extend our congratulations to Dr. Farhana Zulkernine and Dr. Parvin Mousavi, who were awarded funding from the New Frontiers in Research Fund – Exploration Stream (NFRF-E)!
The NFRF Exploration stream is one of the three NFRF competitions announced by the Government of Canada in a news release on April 25, 2023. This investment aims to support research teams pushing the boundaries of innovation and cement Canada’s position as a leader in science and innovation.
Dr. Zulkernine and Dr. Mousavi’s successful applications were among nine Queen’s programs that were granted a total of $3 million through the NFRF in this round.
The NFRF Exploration stream supports projects that bring disciplines together to reach beyond traditional disciplinary or common interdisciplinary approaches by research teams. Interdisciplinary research is often risky, but worthwhile, given the potential for significant, groundbreaking impact.
Dr. Farhana Zulkernine is the PI behind the project titled Companion: A Cognitive Voice and Video Assistant Bot for Safe Aging. Her team includes co-applicants from the Department of Psychology and the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care. The project includes participation from industry Collaborator Markitech Canada.
The team will work with long-term care facilities to adapt voice assistant bots (e.g., Amazon Alexa) to the needs and preferences of senior citizens.
Dr. Parvin Mousavi is the PI of the project titled Towards Actionable AI in the ICU. The team behind the project includes Dr. Mousavi’s co-PI Dr. David Maslove from Queen’s Departments of Medicine and Critical Care Medicine, and four co-applicants, including QSC’s Dr. Gabor Fichtinger.
With this project, the team aims to improve the management of intensive care unit (ICU) patients across Canada using machine learning methods coupled with large-scale physiologic data.