Technology Development Team

Fahmida Islam

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Research Analyst I

Fahmida Islam

Fahmida holds a BSc in Psychology and Neuroscience from U of T. In the past she has worked as a Community Organization Worker and volunteered in various roles to support improving the quality of life of older adults. Prior to joining Techna, Fahmida was a Research Assistant at Bridgepoint Research Collboratory and Trillium Health Partners Mississauga, supporting projects utilizing digital health technologies to support care transition of older adults with complex chronic conditions. Outside of work she enjoys, hiking, skating and painting.

Tirth Patel

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Senior Software Engineer

Tirth Patel

Tirth came to UHN as a summer student in the Radiation Medicine Program in 2015, while finishing his bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Computer Science at the University of Toronto. His summer project, a decision support system for adaptive radiotherapy, eventually ballooned into a much larger software platform for clinical automation and research, known as MIRA.

Tirth now leads a team of developers working on MIRA, which has since become a key clinical tool and has been instrumental in dozens of research publications. Tirth has presented his work on MIRA at conferences around the world and was recognized with the RMP Exceptional Contribution to Research award.

In his now limited spare time, owing to the birth of his newborn daughter, Tirth enjoys camping and softball.

Rita McCurdy

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Administrative Assistant

Rita McCurdy

Rita is an administrative assistant within CDI. She began her career in healthcare at the Belfast City Cancer Centre, where she developed a passion for supporting vulnerable patients. She then started working as a private practice’s coordinator within orthopedic surgery. She relocated back to Toronto and began working at the Hospital for Sick Children as the Chief of Psychiatry’s Executive Assistant.
Rita has worked as an administrative assistant to various radiation oncologists in the Radiation Medicine Program since she first joined The University Health Network more than ten years ago. During that time, she has been a crucial link between patients, physicians, and several clinics.

Rita joined the CDI team in January 2022 and contributes to several projects, including eImbrase and Digital Triage, using her expertise in clinical practice and patient experience. She handles payroll, organizes events and meetings, and facilitates the onboarding of new team members at CDI.

Steve Ansell

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Technical Specialist

Steve Ansell BSc.

Steve is a Technical Specialist at UHN. Over the years, he has participated in many projects coming out of the Radiation Physics department of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Currently, he is lead software developer for a commercialized multi-modal, pre-clinical irradiator. He also has a continuing support role at the STTARR transitional research facility.

Spencer Gable-Cook

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Research Associate

Spencer Gable-Cook, M.Sc.

Spencer joined the Surgility Team at the Techna Institute in January 2023 as a Research Associate. At Techna, he is passionate about collaborating with his colleagues on projects that revolve around machine learning, computer vision, and both augmented and virtual reality in the medical sector. The goal of these projects is to develop tools that aid health care professionals in improving patient outcomes. Furthermore, Spencer loves to learn and is fascinated by the recent advancements in deep learning in the medical field. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechatronic Systems Engineering from Western University and his master’s degree in Robotics from the University of Michigan. In his free time, Spencer is an avid sports enthusiast, with a keen interest in tennis, hockey, and pickleball.

Chao Bian

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Research Associate II

Chao Bian, Ph.D.

Dr. Chao Bian is a Research Associate II at Techna working for the Telemonitoring program. He has been working on the research and development of embedded hardware and software for the next generation Telemonitoring system.

Dr. Chao Bian received his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto. He conducted research in AI and Robotics team at KITE Institute in Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, UHN since 2016. His Ph.D. research focused on using IoT embedded sensors and machine learning to assess frailty in home settings for older adults. Besides his Ph.D. work, his other experiences have all have focused on the application of IoT embedded sensors and AI. He developed and optimized a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system for tracking patients and doctors in an Emergency Room in his master’s study. This experience earned him a visiting graduate student fellowship at the Auto-ID Lab of MIT where he continued the RFID tracking study. Chao was the lead developer for an award-winning IoT startup after his Masters. He also worked as an IoT and AI developer at IBM Canada in 2018. In 2019, he co-founded an award-winning mobile health startup that uses Computer Vision to automate physical function assessments for physiotherapists.

Chao was one of the inventors of two patents. He also won the Emerging Entrepreneur Award from AGE-WELL NCE and the RBC Graduate Fellowship for Entrepreneurship from the University of Toronto. Chao has published his work in top engineering and clinical journals.
In his spare time, Chao is a long-time swimmer. He also enjoys camping and travelling.

Stephanie Williams

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Technical Analyst

Stephanie Williams, BEng

Stephanie, a Biomedical Engineering graduate from the University of Guelph, has been dedicated to healthcare enhancement and innovation at Techna’s Surgility team since 2020. Her focus includes application development, 3D design and printing, and process optimization. Beyond her work, Stephanie finds joy in outdoor exploration, sports, and community choir singing.

Anuja Goyal

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Research Associate II (Intermediate Engineer)

Anuja Goyal, BEng, MHSc

In January 2019, Anuja joined Techna Institute as a Research Associate for the Agile Surgical Engineering Program. Prior to her role at Techna, she worked as a Clinical Engineer at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she was involved in managing medical equipment throughout its life cycle.

Anuja has a BEng. Electrical and Biomedical Engineering degree from McMaster University (2013) and an MHSc. Clinical Engineering degree from University of Toronto (2015).

Trinette Wright

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Research Associate II (Intermediate Engineer)

Trinette Wright, BEng, MASc

Trinette joined Techna Institute in March of 2018, as a Research Associate. She is involved with developing virtual and augmented reality applications. Previously, she worked at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre as a Research Engineer.

Trinette has a BEng Electrical and Biomedical Engineering degree from McMaster University (2013) and an MASc Biomedical Engineering degree from Western University (2017).

Goldie Clark

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Administrative Assistant

Goldie Clark

Goldie Clark is a career Admin Assistant, bringing more than 40 years of work experience to UHN. She currently provides administrative support to both Techna and the JDMI Research Office.

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