Category: Event

We are proud to celebrate Dr. Vivian Mushahwar on receiving the J. Gordin Kaplan Award for Excellence in Research, the most prestigious research award at the University of Alberta.

As Director of iSMART and ST Innovations, Dr. Mushahwar leads a large team of researchers, trainees, and collaborators working to develop innovative technologies that support mobility, recovery, and independence. Her research includes the development of advanced “smartwear” systems – integrated clothing technologies designed to assist with joint injury repair, posture, balance, arm movement, and even standing and walking.

The award caps an exceptional year of recognition for Dr. Mushahwar and her team. In 2025, she secured a $24-million federal grant to advance smartwear research and was named among the top 10 most productive authors in neuromodulation by the Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research. The same analysis also ranked the University of Alberta among the top 10 institutions globally in neuromodulation and spinal cord injury research.

The J. Gordin Kaplan Award for Excellence in Research recognizes faculty members whose work demonstrates significant academic and societal impact while embodying the University of Alberta’s values of access, community, and belonging. Two awards are presented annually across disciplines to honour outstanding researchers who set a standard of excellence for others.

Online & In-Person

Join us at 12:00 PM on February 13th online via Zoom or in-person at FAB 2-20 (Fine Arts Building) on the U of A campus. Registration is required for both virtual and in-person attendance. Zoom link available through registration.

For accessibility information, click here.

Free Lunch

If you are attending in-person and would like to enjoy our complimentary lunch, please fill out our lunch form. To keep our iSMART Talks green, we request that you please bring your own water bottle.

Please note that, unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate allergy-specific requests for this event. Selection and quantities are limited, and availability may vary throughout the event.

Meet your keynote speakers

Dr. Anastasia Elias
Dr. Anastasia Elias is a Professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering at the University of Alberta, where she also serves as Associate Dean of Research, Programs and Development. Since joining the Faculty of Engineering in 2008, her research has focused on engineering functional polymers, nanomaterials, and responsive composites, and on developing methods for patterning these materials on the micro- and nanoscale. She applies these materials and methods in applications ranging from wearable biosensors to food-safety monitoring. With a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta and a postdoctoral fellowship at Canada’s National Institute for Nanotechnology, Anastasia is the recipient of awards including the APEGA Early Accomplishment Award, a McCalla Professorship, and a Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers, which she held at the Institute for Polymer Processing in Dresden, Germany. Anastasia is a founding member of the iSMART and leads the Sensors Team on the NFRF-T Smartwear Revolution Project.

Amir Mohamadi
Amir Mohamadi is a materials engineer and researcher in wearable and flexible electronics. He earned his undergraduate degree in Materials Engineering from the University of Tehran, where he worked on NMC 532 cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. He spent two years as a research assistant at Iran’s Condensed Matter National Laboratory, where he led a project on fiber-based supercapacitors and the development of conductive polymer-based strain sensors. In 2023, he joined the University of Alberta for his Master’s studies under the supervision of Dr. Elias, focusing on nanocomposite ink formulation and 3D printing for wearable, flexible sensing applications. After defending his Master’s in Fall 2025, he joined the NFRF research team as a research assistant, working on integrating printed wearable sensors into fabrics for body-motion tracking.

Click Here to Register

HealthTech Forward 2026 is a technology showcase hosted by ST Innovations, featuring live demos, client success stories, and networking with industry, ecosystem partners, and government representatives.

Date: February 25, 2026, 10 AM – 12 PM
Location: Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Research Innovation at the University of Alberta

Join us to celebrate health technology innovation and connect with collaborators across Alberta’s innovation community.

For more information and to register, click HERE.

Online & In-Person

Join us at 12:00 PM on December 12th online via Zoom or in-person at HEB 302/305 (Human Ecology Building) on the U of A campus. Registration is required for both virtual and in-person attendance. Zoom link available through registration.

Free Special Holiday Lunch

If you are attending in person and would like to enjoy our complimentary lunch, please fill out our lunch form. To keep our iSMART Talks green, we request that you please bring your own water bottle. Please note that, unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate gluten-free or other allergy-specific requests for this event. Selection and quantities are limited, and availability may vary throughout the event.

Meet Our Keynote Speaker

Dr. Taymy J. Caso, PhD, (they/sehe) is an Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Alberta and Director of the Intersectional Research, Empowerment, Advocacy, and Community Health Promotion (IREACH) Lab. Dr. Caso is the Vice-Director of Inclusion and Accessibility for the Institute of Smart Augmentative and Restorative Technologies and Health Innovations (iSMART).

Prior to working at the UofA, Dr. Caso completed the Randi and Fred Ettner Postdoctoral Fellow in Transgender Health in the Eli Coleman Institute for Sexual and Gender Health and maintains a research affiliation at the National Center for Gender Health. Dr. Caso holds degrees in counseling and clinical psychology from New York University and Columbia University, Teachers College. Their research focuses on minority health disparities, intersectionally, identity-based marginalization with LGBTQ+ BIPOC communities, gender and sexual fluidity, social determinants of health and legislative and public policy advocacy.

They hold several leadership roles, including Chair for the American Psychological Association’s Division 17: Society for Counseling Psychology’s Section for the Advocacy of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (SASOGD) and Co-Chair of the APA Task Force on Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Diverse Adults. Their advocacy work utilizes anti-oppressive and decolonizing pedagogies to deconstruct structural and systemic barriers to health equity and develop community-based interventions for underserved communities. They have been the recipient of several grants and awards, including: the Steven J. Scjochet Endowment Course Development and Enhancement, Postdoctoral Award in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Samuel Eshborn Award, Outstanding Research Contribution Award, Research and Scholarship Showcase Award, César Chávez/Clara Hale Community Outreach Award, Ronald McNair/Arturo Alfonso Schomburg Academic Excellence Award, and the Arthur B. Zankel Urban Fellowship. These awards recognize scholarship, service, advocacy, and activism that support and empower marginalized and underrepresented communities.

Click Here to Register

Online & In-Person

Join us at 12:00 PM on November 14th online via Zoom or in-person at HEB 301/305 (Human Ecology Building) on the U of A campus. Registration is required for both virtual and in-person attendance. Zoom link available through registration.

Free Lunch

If you are attending in-person and would like to enjoy our complimentary lunch, please fill out our lunch form. To keep our iSMART Talks green, we request that you please bring your own water bottle.

About Dr. Keith Fenich

Dr. Keith Fenrich is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta. His research focuses on the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury in relation to the dynamic cellular interactions that occur after spinal cord injury; promoting functional recovery after spinal cord injury using pharmacological approaches in combination with rehabilitative training to enhance therapeutic neuroplasticity; and developing new methods and devices to better study and administer rehabilitative training after spinal cord injury. Dr. Fenrich has spun off 3 FT reach Inc.

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Join us at 12:00 PM on October 10th online via Zoom or in-person at HEB 301/305 (Human Ecology Building) on the U of A campus. Registration is required for both virtual and in-person attendance. Zoom link available through registration.

Dr. Brokoslaw Laschowski is a computational neuroscientist. He works as a Research Scientist and Principal Investigator at the University Health Network – the largest research hospital in Canada – and as an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, with appointments in Neuroscience and Mechanical Engineering. He also serves as the Director of the Computational Neuroscience Lab, a leading multidisciplinary research lab that explores the intersection of neuroscience and artificial intelligence. The long-term vision for his research is to build a computational understanding of the brain and human intelligence.

In this talk, Dr. Laschowski will present his research on developing new mathematical, computational, and machine learning models to reverse-engineer or decode the brain. Some examples include:

1. Deep learning models to reverse-engineer the visual information processing mechanisms in the visual cortex
2. Neural decoding algorithms to predict speech and motor behaviours from patterns of neural population activity
3. Reinforcement learning models to reverse-engineer how neural computations in the motor cortex control and optimize human movement

If you are attending in person and would like to enjoy our complimentary lunch, please fill out our lunch form. To keep our iSMART Talks green, we request that you please bring your own water bottle.

REGISTER HERE