Opportunities | Healthy City Lab | University of Calgary

Lab News

Healthy City Lab / Lab News

Jun 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 Alert

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

Mackenzie Wallich, MSc Student, presents her work at the ARIAL Workshop, IJCAI 2024

August 9, 2024

Mackenzie presented her paper titled "Towards Early Alzheimer’s Disease Detection: A Proof-of-Concept Study Using Life-Space Maps and CNNs" at the Workshop on AI for Aging, Rehabilitation, and Intelligent Assisted Living (ARIAL) during the 33rd International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI 2024).

Congratulations to Ranuki and Mackenzie for Receiving the Nationally Competitive EPIC-AT Fellowship!

July 30, 2024

We are thrilled to share that Ranuki and Mackenzie have been awarded the prestigious EPIC-AT Fellowship.

Ranuki attended the AGE-WELL Annual Summer Institute.

July 19, 2024

Ranuki attended the AGE-WELL 7th Annual Summer Institute, themed "Co-creating Possibilities: Autonomy and Independence," where she collaborated with older adults, caregivers, and other stakeholders to co-create innovative solutions aimed at empowering older adults to age with independence and dignity at home.

Ranuki Hettiarachchige and Ron Beleno Present Collaborative Research on Driving and Dementia at AGE-WELL EPIC 2024

June 20, 2024

Ranuki Hettiarachchige, in collaboration with lived experience partner Ron Beleno, presented their research on the intersection of driving and dementia during the "Mobility & Transportation" webinar at the AGE-WELL EPIC Conference 2024.

Dr. Javad Sarvestan, Postdoctoral Scholar, joins HCL.

March 25, 2024

We are excited to welcome Dr. Javad Sarvestan to our team in the role of Postdoctoral Scholar. With a rich background in Wearable Technology and Biomechanics, Dr. Sarvestan has received the Alberta Innovates Postdoctoral Fellowship to study the use of digital technology for the early detection of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Ranuki won the Audience Choice Award at the 2024 Women in Data Science Conference

March 8, 2024

Ranuki Hettiarachchige's poster titled "Examining the Daily Driving Behaviors of Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Dementia Using Digital Technology and Machine Learning" was awarded the Audience Choice Award at the 2024 Women in Data Science Conference.

Kelly Long has received 2023 Alberta Innovates Scholarship

February 8, 2024

Kelly Long, MSc student in Biomedical Engineering, has received the prestigious Alberta Innovates Technology Scholarship. Well done, Kelly!

We were featured on the CTV Morning News Calgary program.

February 7, 2024

Dr. Bayat highlighted our work dedicated to supporting individuals living with dementia. She discussed how our work is focused on helping individuals with dementia maintain their independence and drive safely for as long as possible.

We were featured on CBC's The Homestretch

January 22, 2024

Dr. Sayeh Bayat appeared on CBC's The Homestretch to discuss our newly launched research project on driving and dementia.

Dr. Shahab Alizadeh on Digital Health Innovations at HCL

January 18, 2024

In the Biomedical Engineering Industry Speaker Series, Dr. Shahab Alizadeh discussed the pioneering use of digital technology at the Healthy City Lab to enhance the health of individuals with mild cognitive impairment.

Dr. Shahab Alizadeh joins HCL as the Lab Manager

January 10, 2024

We are thrilled to announce the addition of Dr. Shahab Alizadeh to our team as the Lab Manager. With extensive expertise in Biomechanics and Sports Science, Dr. Alizadeh brings a rich background of knowledge and experience.

Behnaz Jafari joins HCL to study Alzheimer's using EEG and fMRI

January 1, 2024

Behnaz Jafari has joined the HCL as a PhD student in Biomedical Engineering, where she will focus on studying the Alzheimer's disease continuum through the use of EEG and fMRI technologies.