About Us
Healthy City Lab / About Us
“The most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it.” (Weiser, 91)
The changing human-environment relationship reveals significant information about people's health and wellbeing. As mobile technology and digital information grow in our cities, new approaches to study the interconnectivity between the human-environment relationship and human health are emerging.
At the same time, the worldwide urbanization process and the ageing population are representing new challenges for cities and governments. The cities are looking for ways to provide services to their citizens in an effective and efficient manner.
The mission of the Healthy City Lab – a research team at the University of Calgary directed by Dr. Sayeh Bayat – is to study this interconnectivity and work toward a framework of ubiquitous health for intelligent and sustainable solutions that support older adults and individuals with chronic diseases within cities.
Lab News
May 2, 2022
The Healthy City Lab welcomes Maria Law, Undergraduate Summer Research Student
We are excited to welcome Maria Law to the team. Maria has been awarded an NSERC USRA scholarship to explore the role of geographical settings on driving behaviours using machine learning techniques. Read about Maria and her work here.
May 11, 2022
New Publication
Our recent article, "Driving, Social Distancing, Protective, and Coping Behaviors of Older Adults Before and During COVID-19," has been published in the Journal of Applied Gerontology.
May 2, 2022
The Healthy City Lab welcomes two new Master's students:
Reihaneh Derafshi & Kelly Long
We are happy to welcome Reihaneh Derafshi and Kelly Long to the team! Reihaneh and Kelly are both doing their MSc degree in Biomedical Engineering with a specialization in Wearable Technology. To find more about their work, visit their profiles here.
May 2, 2022
The Healthy City Lab welcomes Emily Dittmer, Undergraduate Summer Research Student
We welcome Emily to the Healthy City Lab. Emily has been awarded NSERC USRA to study the impact of COVID-19 on mobility patterns of older adults with and without dementia. Welcome to the team, Emily!
To find more about Emily's work, visit her profile here.
Apr 10, 2022
Invited Talk at the University of Zurich
Sayeh Bayat presented our work on "Toward Developing Everyday Mobility as a Digital Marker of Alzheimer Disease: The machine learning and wearable/mobile device opportunity" in an in-person seminar at the University of Zurich.
Mar 28, 2022
Sayeh Bayat joins CCNA as an Investigator Member
Sayeh Bayat joined The Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) as an Investigator Member and became a member of the CCNA Team 16: Driving & Dementia.
Read more about Team 16 activities here: https://ccna-ccnv.ca/theme-3-quality-of-life/
Mar 21, 2022
Special Issue "Ageing and Driving" in the Geriatrics Journal
We are excited to announce the Special Collection "Ageing and Driving" that will be published in the Geriatrics Journal, with guest editors Dr. Sayeh Bayat and Dr. Catherine Roe.
For further details, visit: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/geriatrics/special_issues/geriatrics_ageing_driving
Jan 8, 2022
The Healthy City Lab welcomes Rayeheh Hafezifar, MSc Student
We are happy to welcome Rayeheh Hafezifar, Geomatics Engineering MSc Student, to the Healthy City Lab. Rayeheh works on GIS mapping of driving behaviours using naturalistic driving data. Welcome, Rayeheh!
Nov 30, 2021
Sayeh Bayat's Interview on the Dementia Matters Podcast
On the Dementia Matters Podcast episode "Aging Behind the Wheel: How Driving Behavior Can Identify Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease", Sayeh Bayat joins Nathaniel Chin to discuss engineering, aging, driving & dementia.
Take a listen here: http://go.wisc.edu/ow1051
Our commitment
The UCalgary's Healthy City Lab is committed to the principles of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. We encourage applications from all under-represented groups. It is through diverse perspectives and abilities that we see all possible answers to a problem. Apply today and join us in our mission of making our cities and healthcare systems more diverse and inclusive.
Visit us
Department of Geomatics Engineering
University of Calgary
Schulich School of Engineering
Room 221, 2500 University Drive NW,
Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4
E: sayeh.bayat[at]ucalgary[dot]ca