Incorporating Social and Behavioural Determinants of Health into Outcome Research Using Machine Learning
This research leverages structured and free-text data in electronic health records to develop natural language processing and machine learning models that will help develop outcome prediction models and tailored interventions in our health system.
Lead: Zahra Shakeri
Dr. Zahra Shakeri is the NSERC Tier II Canada Research Chair in Precision Public Health and Health Informatics and an Assistant Professor of Health Informatics and Information Visualization at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto. She holds cross-appointments with the Faculty of Information and the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society, University of Toronto.
In 2022 Dr. Shakeri founded the Health Informatics, Visualization, and Equity (HIVE) Lab, which develops responsible artificial intelligence for public health, clinical decision support, and data-driven storytelling that advances health equity. Her research program integrates natural language processing, information visualization, AI safety, causal inference, and social media analytics to create patient-centred digital health solutions. Dr. Shakeri earned her PhD in Computer Science from the University of Calgary and completed postdoctoral training in the Gehlenborg Lab, Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School.
Imagine a university student experiencing severe anxiety before an exam. They fail—not for lack of effort, but because help took too long to arrive. Now imagine that same student accessing Care4Mind, completing a self-guided intake, and being matched within 24 […]
Kamyar Kazari
MSc Graduate Student
Thesis: Exploring AI-Powered Digital Decoding of Unhealthy Online Gaming and Gambling
Supervisors: Zahra Shakeri