Meet the Faculty

Dr. Ammar Aamer has over 22 years’ industry experience in project management, operations management, supply chain management, and strategic business consulting with various companies such as Volvo, TRW Automotive, Gap Inc., and Industrial and Business Services.

As an educator, he has served in various roles, including Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, and Dean of Engineering at Sana’a and Sampoerna Universities – in Yemen and Indonesia. His research is currently focused on the areas of Data Analytics and Supply Chain Management, Lean Six Sigma, Organizational Change, and IoT or the Internet of things.
Ammar holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial and Information Engineering and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Tennessee. He has also achieved Project Management Professional (PMP) designation from the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Click here to read more about Dr. Ammar Aamer.

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Dr. Oyeronke Ayansola earned a PhD in Bioinformatics and Experimental Evolution from Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom. She has worked as a senior bioinformatics analyst responsible for analyzing omics data, including single-cell and integrative multi-omics approaches of hospital patients. Her research has included microorganisms, genomics, genetics, evolution, cancer biology, and bioinformatics. She has taught at the undergraduate and graduate level, developed curriculum, and extensively mentored students. 

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Dr. Omar Badreldin received his PhD from University of Ottawa, Canada in 2012 under the supervision of Dr. Timothy Lethbridge. Before joining Northeastern, Dr. Badreldin has been a faculty member at University of Texas and Northern Arizona University. He conducts research in AI-Enabled Software Reengineering, Machine Learning, and Data-Intensive Systems. He has around 100 refereed publications in top journals and conferences in his field. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation in the U.S, as well as by several industry collaborators in both the U.S and Canada. He also conducts applied research in Healthcare Informatics and Smart Cities domains. At Northeastern, Dr. Badreldin teaches courses in the Computer Systems Engineering and the Masters of Information Systems programs, and serves as an Associate Director.

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Sanaz Ghazi earned a B.S. in Environmental and Energy Engineering, an M.S. and Ph.D. in Urban Planning and Sustainability Management from Tehran IAU, and held two post-doctoral positions at the University of Brighton in the UK and at the University of Malaya in Malaysia. She has certifications in Project Management (PMP), Scrum (Scrum Master), Six Sigma Black Belt (SSBB), Change Management (CCMP), and ROI Professional (CRP), and expertise in Simulation Modeling and Statistical Data Analysis.
Dr. Ghazi began teaching at IAU in 2004 and taught in the UK, Malaysia, and Canada. She is a member of the Program Advisory Council of Sheridan College and worked on revising the curriculum for the electromechanical engineering program. Additionally, she published a textbook on Applied Statistics and Energy and contributed to revising the textbook Efficiency in Large Buildings for Seneca Polytechnics.
For over 20 years, Dr. Ghazi managed many projects in healthcare, sustainable energy, technology, and the public sector, where she led digital transformation projects.
Dr. Ghazi volunteered as the Regional Director of the Change Management Institute in 2022, and served as the Vice Chair (2021) and the Communication Chair (2016–2021) of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) - Toronto Section.

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Dr. Carol Hannam is an Associate Teaching Professor and the Faculty Coordinator for the Master of Biotechnology Program at the Toronto campus. Dr. Hannam received a PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of Guelph and has over 15 years of experience in a variety of academic and industry roles. Dr. Hannam brings extensive research, teaching, and academic leadership experience, as well as proficiency in developing research collaborations with key industry partners for experiential learning.

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Yvonne joins Northeastern as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Master of Professional Studies in Analytics program. With over 15 years of experience in the healthcare industry and analytics, she is excited to share her passion for technology in healthcare and STEM education.

Yvonne holds a Ph.D. in Kinesiology and Health Science and a Doctoral Diploma in Health Psychology, from York University in Toronto. She was a Post-doctoral Fellow both at the Department of Supportive Care, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Ontario Cancer Institute, and the Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto. She worked for the Government of Ontario as a Program Evaluator and as an Education Investigator at the Michener Institute of Education at University Health Network, and as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Yvonne has taught research methods, introduction to statistics, and advanced statistics to undergraduate, graduate, medical students, nurses, and senior analysts. She has also published numerous papers on Public Health related issues, and successfully received funding for several high-profile research projects in machine learning based natural language processing. One of her recent projects, funded by Pfizer Global Education Grants, applies theories of the Stepped-care approach and Chronic Care Model to build a dynamic Patient Librarian to deliver online resources to metastatic breast cancer patients for self-care.

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Dr. Behnaz Merikhi is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Master of Professional Studies in Informatics program. Behnaz holds a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Concordia University, where she has made significant contributions as a Teaching and Research Assistant. Dr. Merikhi co-supervised and mentored graduate students and led innovative research in optimizing content delivery networks, 5G wireless networks, and information theory, leading to contributions in top-tier journals and conferences.
Behnaz's professional path beyond academia includes her expertise in computer networking, IoT networks and applications, and cloud computing across various technology-focused roles as a Network Engineer and Cloud & Communication Network Analyst. Her skills in AI, machine learning, and advanced statistical methods reflect her dedication to actively integrating emerging technological trends into her research and industry collaborations.

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Dr. Ekta J. Shah graduated from Wayne State University with a Doctorate in Neuropharmacology in 2020 with a focus on genetics, bioinformatics, and genome sequencing. She has a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree from Mumbai University and a Master of Pharmacology-Toxicology degree from Wright State University. With an emphasis on cellular and molecular biology, toxicology, and analytical testing, she has over 7 years of academic and industry research experience. Dr. Shah is enthusiastic about teaching and loves working with students. She is a voracious reader and spends her spare time reading fiction and medical thrillers.

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John Wilder is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the College of Professional Studies’ Analytics program. Previously, he was a part-time Lecturer in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences. Dr. Wilder has also worked as an independent contractor developing virtual-reality software. While he was a Research Associate at the University of Toronto, a Postdoc at York University, and a Postdoc at the University of Toronto, Dr. Wilder conducted research at the intersection of human visual perception, neuroscience, and computer vision. He earned a PhD in Cognitive Psychology and an MS in Computer Science from Rutgers University.

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Kerri-Ann Williams has 15 years of project management experience across various industries, including military operations, private security management, food processing, quality management systems, and most recently, healthcare technology.

Her most recent industry position was that of Director of Projects and Research at a digital health organization, where she focused on delivering medical software development and integration projects in large healthcare systems. She has since transitioned to academia specializing in both project management and health systems management.

Dr. Williams holds a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology, an Advanced Diploma in Biomedical Engineering Technology, a Master of Business Administration, specializing in Healthcare Management, and a Doctor of Business Administration with a focus on Project Management. She is a native of the beautiful island of Jamaica, a married mom of one, life-long learner, and summer lover.

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Dr. Adel A. Zadeh serves as the Campus Director for the College of Professional Studies (CPS) in Toronto and is also a Teaching Professor in the College of Professional Studies (CPS) and an affiliated faculty member at the College of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). With a Ph.D. in Engineering from Cambridge University, UK, and over a decade of combined industrial and academic experience, Dr. Zadeh is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and LEED BD+C accredited and has been actively engaged in professional organizations, such as PMI, CMAA, and AACE.

In his capacity as the CPS Campus Director, Dr. Zadeh oversees all CPS programs offered in Toronto, focusing on academic excellence and enhancing the overall student experience, and he is actively involved in teaching and providing support to both faculty and students in Toronto.

Dr. Zadeh’s teaching and research interests include organizational transformation, change leadership, AI in project management, agile project management, construction management, sustainable construction, and green buildings.

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Karen Zhou is the full-time Assistant Teaching Professor for the Regulatory Affairs program at Northeastern University in Toronto. Karen was trained in biochemistry and molecular biology before transitioning to law school. She has leveraged this diverse educational background in professional roles within government and the private sector in her capacity as an advisor and a business partner on regulatory and compliance matters. Karen frequently contributes to professional organizations through her work on articles and books. She is also a co-founder of the Ontario chapter of Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS). In her role, she focuses on helping students develop both technical fundamentals and soft skills as necessary ingredients for success in the regulatory field.

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Dr. Zheng Zheng is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the College of Engineering, who brings a wealth of experience in data management. Dr. Zheng served as the Technical Vice President and Head of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute at a NASDAQ-listed company where he successfully led the technical team through the development of the company's information infrastructure and its digital transformation. He has also worked in teaching and research as a sessional faculty member in the Department of Computing and Software at McMaster University.

Dr. Zheng earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from McMaster University and his Master of Engineering from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research includes data management and AI, focusing on data quality, data analytics, text mining, and machine learning. He is an active researcher, publishing numerous papers in top-tier conferences and journals related to data field such as SIGMOD, ICDE, EDBT and CIKM.

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Ahmed is an Associate Director, Global Regulatory Affairs with over 15 years of expertise across North America and Europe biopharmaceutical, and clinical research industries. Ahmed got his Master of Science in Pharmacology from the University of Westminster in the UK, and a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Cairo University.

During his career, Ahmed received the Award of Excellence from The Organisation for Professionals in Regulatory Affairs (TOPRA) in 2022, Award of Excellence in Regulatory Affairs from Humber College, and Regulatory Affairs Certification (RAC) from The Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) in both the Canadian and global scopes.

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Dr. Darlington Akaiso is a distinguished academic scholar with wide-ranging expertise.
His areas of specialization include business resilience, crisis management, cyber security,
ICT, project management, and operational risk management. His profound knowledge
and extensive experience in these fields have earned him high respect in the
academic and professional communities.
Dr. Akaiso has lectured on a diverse range of subjects, including Project Management,
Software Engineering, IT Governance/Policy, Business Intelligence, Management
Information Systems, Climate Change/Risk, Organizational Behavior, EMS
Planning/Communications, Data Analytics, Business Analysis, Informatics, Quality
Management, Online Marketing, Leadership Studies, African Studies, Big Data Sciences,
ICT, and Research Methods.
Dr. Akaiso earned his doctorate in Leadership from Franklin Pierce University, his Masters
in Management Information Systems from the University of Illinois-Springfield, and his
Bachelors in Information Technology from York University. He is also an esteemed
alumnus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Harvard Kennedy
School.

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Anthony Alsayed, MD, PhD in Clinical Research, Professional Diploma in Healthcare Leadership & Project Management, and Harvard-Higher Education Teaching Certification.
He is a multi-specialized professional with 25+ years of experience in: “Academia, Research, Medical, Management & Leadership”. Anthony acted as a director of clinical research and government affairs at CSI Research, and MegaMed Research Canada where he executed protocols across multiple therapeutic areas with major pharmaceutical companies (Pfizer, Sanofi, Roche, Merck).
In addition to his lecturing experience at Northeastern University, Anthony in his study fields has an extensive academic and teaching experience in different languages (French, English, Russian, and Lebanese) and countries (North America and Europe).

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Cawder Ravi Andrews is an industry professional with a background, across diverse sectors- Banking, Technology and Academia. A significant part of this experience has been in Corporate Performance Management, Enterprise Risk, Project Management and Business Development. The geographies Andrews has worked include the USA, UK, Nordics, and Asia.

Cawder teaches at various institutions in Canada and the courses include Strategy, Project Management, Project Risk Management, Project Decision Making, Intercultural Business Communication, Business Principles and Leadership.

Cawder is a firm believer in lifelong learning and besides completing his MBA acquired various professional certifications which include PMP, PMI-RMP, TOGAF, GRCA, GRCP, CBA and CBC and is also slated to complete his Ph.D. shortly.

Cawder is a voracious reader, passionate about music with a good collection of old vinyl records, enjoys going for long drives and has driven extensively across USA, UK, Europe, Nordics, and Canada.

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Dr. Nasim Bahari holds a Ph.D. in Management from Telecom Paris in France. She has developed a diverse skill set through years of professional and academic experience in different countries. She holds the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and is a Certified Scrum Master (CSM). Her academic background is enriched by extensive professional experience as a management consultant and project manager. As a Project Manager, she successfully managed several multinational projects in the automotive and transportation industries. As a Management Consultant, she has guided numerous companies, entrepreneurs, and startups in different sectors through the complex process of establishing and expanding their businesses. She is passionate about teaching and teaches students various business and management courses.

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Dr. Mo Bhamra is a Senior Project/Program Manager with over 25 years of senior management experience with success in delivering and leading major project initiatives within the financial sector. His assignments have included work in international trade, insurance, retail banking, commercial lending, wealth management, utilities, systems and technology. His functional skills include project management, business analysis, audit and reconciliation, information systems development, data conversion and regulatory reporting.
Dr. Bhamra graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and worked as a Post-Doc at Carnegie Mellon University.

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Douglas Bower is based at Northeastern's Toronto Campus, where he teaches a range of graduate courses in both project management and construction management. Previously, he was a lecturer at Ryerson University and the University of Toronto.

With the Ontario Government until 2015, Doug led a team that actively promoted the adoption of e-business techniques and strategies by small and medium enterprises and the availability of broadband Internet services in rural and remote areas of Ontario. Before joining the government, Doug managed complex multi-million-dollar projects at CIBC and also provided management consulting services to large IT and telecom firms, including IBM, CGI, Telus Mobility and Bell Canada. Previously, he was Director of Construction & Facilities for Famous Players Theatres (now Cineplex) and a project manager with a consulting firm now part of IBI Group.

Douglas Bower is a member of the Project Management Institute and gained its PMP designation in 1998. He is also a member of the College of Performance Management.

Douglas is a member of the Editorial Review Board of the International Journal of Risk and Contingency Management (IJRCM).

Dr. Bower has a B.Arch. from the University of Toronto, an MBA from York University, a MSc in Telecommunications and Network Management from Syracuse University, and a Doctor of Project Management (DPM) from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. Doug has been an invited speaker at many project management conferences in Canada, the US, Europe, and Australia. His research on project planning, phases and earned value has been published in professional journals.

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Jean-Francois (JF) Cecile is an Adjunct Lecturer in the MS in Project Management program.
He is a seasoned Project, Program and Portfolio Management professional with over 20 years of experience as a delivery practitioner, as well as in software development, risk management, and technology consulting. As a delivery executive for leading consulting firms, he has delivered complex enterprise solutions for large organizations in Canada, the US and the UK.
JF holds a number of professional certifications including PMP, CSM, PRINCE2 and MSP. He has extensive experience establishing, running and improving PMO functions for diverse organizations, both from a delivery and portfolio management perspective.
He is an experienced lecturer and continuing education instructor, and he has also worked as a lead delivery instructor for a Tier 1 consulting firm.
JF holds a PhD in Physics and an MBA in Finance.

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Dr. Pooya Daie is a part-time lecturer at Northeastern University's College of Professional Studies. He holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Concordia University and a master's degree in engineering management from Aston University in the UK. Certified in Project Management (PMP) and Scrum (CSM), Dr. Daie has extensive expertise in strategic systems thinking and change management. His professional career includes significant roles in major retail industries, where he has demonstrated excellence in enhancing operational efficiencies and optimizing supply chain processes across organizations. Dr. Daie has a distinguished record of published conference and journal papers in the fields of supply chain and manufacturing optimization. His research interests encompass supply chain management, product architecture, efficiency improvement, and value optimization within various organizational contexts.

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Dr. Nemanja Davidovic is a project management professional with over ten years of experience in designing, managing, monitoring and evaluating international development projects. He has a successful track record of writing winning project proposals and driving new business development with the European Commission, Council of Europe, United Nations Development Program, German Development Agency, national and provincial governments and corporate sector. He has developed and implemented socio-economic development projects in many European countries and worked with government organizations, educational institutions, civil society, non-profits, the private sector, and international development organizations.

Nemanja is a skilled trainer, researcher, and evaluator with expertise in the theory of change, results-based management and performance measurement. As an active member of the PMI Toronto Chapter, Nemanja continues to devote time and energy to the advancement of Project Management as a profession and lifelong career.

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Farnaz Derakhshan received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Liverpool in the UK and her MSc and BSc degree in Computer Engineering from IUST, Iran Universities. She is a lecturer, researcher and the author of books and academic papers.

Farnaz has worked in many different academic roles at international universities and colleges, in Canada, Iran and the UK. She is a lecturer at College of Engineering, Northeastern University at Toronto Campus. She is also a part-time faculty at Humber College, Sheridan College and Anderson College in Ontario, Canada. She has worked as a tenured faculty at the University of Tabriz, Iran from 2009 to 2020, which provided Farnaz with a wealth of experience in teaching and research. In addition, she was a teaching assistant at the University of Liverpool, the UK.

She has not only taught postgrad and undergrad courses also has published books, academic journal papers, and conference papers. Furthermore, she was the supervisor of 3 Ph.D. Candidates and 16 MSc students all of them successfully graduated. She had a research collaboration with the University of Guelph, Canada for two years. To see the selection of her publication, please visit her Google Scholar webpage.

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Jim Dimitroulakos has over 30 years’ experience in oncology drug development in both academic and industry settings. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a BSc in Molecular Biology (1989) and a PhD in Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (1996), followed by postdoctoral fellowships at the Princess Margaret Caner Centre (Toronto). For a short period, he was a Scientist and Project Lead at Lorus Therapeutics overseeing the laboratory correlative studies, QA/QC, Regulatory Submissions, Manufacturing and Clinical Implementation of lead Phase III anti-cancer compound. In 2002, he accepted positions at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the University of Ottawa where he rose to the level of Senior Scientist and Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine. In 2017, Jim returned to Toronto and is currently a Staff Scientist and the Research Program Manager at the Radiation Medicine Program at the Princess Margaret Hospital. With respect to his real-world experiences in Regulatory Affairs, he has been fortunate to have had four clinical trials initiated as a direct result of his laboratory’s work. These were Investigator initiated studies where jim was involved in formulating and submitting regulatory filings and reporting oversight. He understands the value of this program and the potential of its graduates to facilitate the process of developing new therapies.

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Dr. Farhad Eizakshiri is a teaching professor in the Project Management program at Northeastern University. He holds a PhD in Project Management from University of Manchester, and has nearly 10 years of experience in teaching, mentoring, consultancy, and working in public and private sectors. As a certified Project Management Professional, he taught many project management courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students such as Project Management, Business Operation, Supply Chain and Procurement Management, People and Organization, Project Planning and Control, Risk Management, International Marketing, Quality Management and Change Management, Communication and Leadership. Dr Eizakshiri’s recent research interest and focus is on managing IT projects and software development. He is a co-founder of a startup company in freight industry

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Hamid Faridani, obtained his PhD in Electrical Engineering from University of California in Irvine. He then spent over 10 years as a fulltime academic, in various Universities in the US, Iran and Canada, teaching and researching in the areas of systems engineering, estimation and control. His last academic position was Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at University of Windsor in Canada. He next joined IBM Canada and spent over 25 years directing and managing Information Technology projects, both domestic and international, across various industries, including banking, insurance, retail, communication and government. He also performed as a Risk and Quality Manager, assessing project risks and quality for a large number of IBM Canada projects.

In addition to teaching at Northeastern University, Hamid teaches Project Management related courses at the Project Management certificate programs at Ryerson University, University of Toronto and the Procept Associates. Hamid has also developed a number of in class and distance education courses for these institutions.

Hamid has published over thirty papers in international journals and refereed conferences, including PMI Chapter meetings on a variety of topics, including systems engineering, risk management, Software Development Methodologies and estimation and control processes.

Hamid is a member of the Project Management Institute and gained its PMP designation in year 2000. He is also a PMI Authorized PMP Trainer and a Certified Scrum Master.

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Dr. Amir Fateh brings over 15 years of experience in Project Engineering, Construction Management, and Structural Engineering. His work spans numerous public and private projects both in Canada and internationally. A passionate educator, Amir serves as an adjunct professor in project engineering and management. His dedication to scholarship is evident in his development of over ten patents, fourteen awards from international competitions, and more than thirty academic publications. His research interests include infrastructure asset management, construction project risk management, and IT for construction.

Academically, Amir holds a Ph.D. in Structural Engineering, MEng degrees in Structural and Civil Engineering, a BSc in Civil Engineering, and a Graduate Certificate in Construction Project Management. He is also pursuing an MBA at Carleton University. His credentials include Professional Engineer (Ontario and Nevada), Certified Engineering Technologist (CET), International Professional Engineer, APEC Engineer, PMP®, PMI-RMP®, and PMI-SP®. Outside of work, Amir enjoys reading, watching films, nature walks, and volunteering.

Outside his professional endeavours, Amir finds solace in the pages of books on human psychology, real-life narratives, and philosophical novels. He also enjoys indulging in cinematic experiences, embarking on serene walks amidst nature, and actively participating in volunteer initiative.

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Dr. Samaneh Gholami is the part-time Professor in the College of Science, Bioinformatics program at Northeastern University in Toronto.

She is a contract lecturer and course director in a variety of subjects, including data science and mathematics/statistics, at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), York University, and the University of Waterloo.

She has extensive experience in data-driven modeling and analysis of infectious diseases and vaccine development. Having worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the National Research Council of Canada's Fields Institute Collaboration Centre and TMU. She has expertise in developing and applying mathematical and statistical models to understand the dynamics of infectious diseases and biological systems.

She is passionate about using her expertise in data science to solve real-world problems, particularly in the field of bioinformatics.

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Naveen Gupta is an independent project management consultant, offering extensive expertise in driving complex, international projects, programs, and portfolios. He has delivered a large number of projects for global, industry-leading clients in the industrial processes, pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, petrochemical, and associated infrastructure sector on time, and within budget.

He has been successful in leveraging systematic project and risk management methodologies to transform project performance. He is a staunch advocate for cultivating lasting client relationships and fostering full transparency in managing projects. He articulately synergizes and galvanizes physical and virtual teams for high performance. His work experience includes working around the table as a client, an equipment manufacturer, and an engineering & construction project management professional.

Naveen holds an Executive PhD in Project and Programme Management from Skema Business School, France. Naveen Completed his Executive MBA in Project Management from Athabasca University, Canada. He is a mechanical engineer and is registered as a profession engineer in the province of Ontario in Canada.

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Steven Habbous completed a PhD in Epidemiology & Biostatistics at Western University. He has over 10 years’ experience designing, leading, and conducting epidemiologic investigations across a range of topics. During his time at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, by applying standard epidemiologic methods with multiple imputation to address the biases of our missing data, he and his team were able to estimate the prevalence of human papillomavirus as an etiologic agent in oropharyngeal cancers (the largest pan-Canadian investigation at the time).

During his time at Western University, Steven worked with many healthcare professionals and patients to understand and identify solutions to improve the efficiency of the living kidney donor evaluation process. Methodology included epidemiology, operations research, cost-effectiveness analysis, and scenario analysis.

Over the last 4 years (and counting), he has been working at Ontario Health as a Methodology Lead. During this time, Steven has advanced multiple analyses across a range of cancer types, including real-world effectiveness studies of cancer drugs, the use of natural language processing to identify non-melanoma skin cancers, and current state assessments of the burden of disease. Currently, he is working on understanding how hospital volumes were affected (and continue to be affected) as a result of COVID-19.
Steven is a proud father of a wily toddler, who will probably be an epidemiologist.

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Hootan Kamran is a Machine Learning Scientist at Scotiabank, where he has been the principal investigator in developing and delivering multiple ML products at different sections of the bank.

Since 2021, he has been a part-time Faculty of Analytics at Northeastern University, teaching core Analytics courses in the Master's in Analytics program at the College of Professional Studies. He has publications in scientific journals including the Journal of Physics in Medicine and Biology and the IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics.

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Dr. Mohamed Hefny is an accomplished computer scientist and engineer with a passion
for integrating technology into everyday life. His 25 years of experience in data science
and artificial intelligence, spanning both academic and industry settings.
Dr. Hefny received his BSc and MSc degrees in computer science, specializing in
artificial intelligence, from the American University in Cairo (AUC). He earned his PhD
in computer science from Queen's University, with a focus on high-dimensional data
science and its medical applications. During his doctoral and postdoctoral studies, he
was the recipient of more than 20 prestigious scholarships and fellowships, and he has
authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and conference presentations.
A licensed Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) in Ontario, Canada, Dr. Hefny also holds
certification as a Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project
Management Institute (PMI). His track record of leading innovative research and
development projects speaks to his expertise and leadership skills.

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Junwei is a leader in data science and machine learning with a proven record of delivering dependable insights to drive business effectively. Currently he works as a principal data scientist for Mastercard where he oversees technology development within the data science team as well as leading projects such as Named Entity Recognition and Anomaly Detection to enhance products. Prior to Mastercard, he was a senior data scientist at RBC, where he has built multiple deep learning-based recommendation models for finance and insurance products. He also explored contextual multi-armed bandit model (reinforcement learning) to replace classic recommendation models.

Before RBC, Junwei was a data scientist at Scotiabank, where he has built scalable ETL pipeline to enrich data for Anti-Money Laundry and financial crimes.

Early in his career, Junwei worked as a software developer and senior technical consultant for over 7 years, where he supervised a small team to deliver world-class software product to global users.
Junwei had a PhD in Geophysics and a MSc in Computer Science. When he is not crunching data, he likes to spend time with family and friends and play frisbee with his Labrador retriever.

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Rhea is accomplished in project management and IT service management with over 20 years of experience in the healthcare, financial, and retail industries. Her passions lie in entrepreneurship and innovation, and she currently leads the Operations group for Smile CDR, a Toronto-based health technology company. She has led several large-scale projects in healthcare data exchange, software development, voice, and network infrastructure, providing solid practical experience in business analysis, risk management and strategy execution.

Rhea holds a Master of Management Innovation & Entrepreneurship (MMIE) from Queen's University, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Wilfrid Laurier University and completed two undergraduate degrees from Ryerson University along with the following certifications: Project Management Professional PMP ©, PMI Agile Certified Practitioner, ITIL Foundations and Lean Six Sigma.

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Annissa Kwok completed a dual Juris Doctorate program in both Canada and the United States and is one of the legal counsels at SOPHiA GENETICS, a health-tech artificial intelligence company where she focuses on intellectual property, data privacy, litigation, and commercial law matters. Prior to transitioning into an in-house legal role, Annissa was practising at an intellectual property litigation boutique in Toronto, with a focus on proceedings under the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations. Annissa completed her undergraduate studies in human biology and pharmacology at the University of Toronto (St. George Campus). Annissa has experience appearing before the Federal Court of Canada and has successfully defended against a claim of infringement in the most recent decision, 2020 FC 1189. She is a lecturer at Northeastern University for the Master of Science in Regulatory Affairs Program, with a key focus on teaching law-based courses. Annissa is an active foodie on her spare time and loves a good adventure.

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Dr. Saeid Khosravani has over 12 years of experience in software development for embedded controls systems. Saeid is the founder & technology development manager for Sorsys Technologies Inc., and a senior engineer for General Motors (GM) of Canada. He holds a Ph.D. in Mechatronics and Mechanical Engineering from University of Waterloo and a M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering. He has been an academic instructor in engineering and technology field since 2018.

Saeid’s professional career has been spread across two main fields:
(a) Algorithm design and requirement development for Advanced Driver Assistant Systems (ADAS). This includes efficient data recording methods and applying robust controls algorithms for automotive applications.
(b) Leading the technical team for industrial automation/robotics in design, manufacturing and programming phases implementing agile framework. This includes custom build automation, vision-based inspection systems and integration of complex industrial systems.

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Dr. Gloria Lee has over 18 years as a Regulatory Affairs professional in the biotechnology IVD industry and has expertise in leading regulatory strategy and execution to obtain US FDA clearance for molecular diagnostic devices in the United States. Dr. Lee is currently Vice President, Head of Global Regulatory Affairs and Quality at a leading multinational molecular diagnostics company.

Dr. Lee holds a PhD in the field of neuropharmacology in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Toronto and a BSc in Biology-Pharmacology from McMaster University.

Dr. Lee is a part-time teaching professor at Northeastern University for the Master of Science in Regulatory Affairs program, with a key focus on US FDA medical device regulations.

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Stephen Li is currently the Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. (Newton, Massachusetts), where he has built the Regulatory function which is accountable for both Development and Commercial Regulatory Affairs of the company. Previous to Karyopharm, Stephen was at EMD Serono and its parent company, Merck KGaA, for over 15 years in the U.S., Canada, and Germany where he had assumed many roles including Head of U.S. and Canada Regulatory Affairs, Head of U.S. Regulatory and Scientific Policy, and Head of Global Regulatory Marketed Products with a portfolio of over 20 products in 6 therapeutic areas while also managing International Regulatory Affairs and Medical Devices. Before joining EMD Serono, Stephen worked at Baxter, ApoPharma, and IMS Health in Canada. Stephen has been teaching and developing curriculums in Regulatory Affairs at the postgraduate level for many years.

Stephen graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor of Science degree. He also holds an Executive MBA from the Ivey School of Business at Western University and a Master of Science degree from Northeastern University in Regulatory Affairs. Stephen also has postgraduate credential in Regulatory Affairs from Humber College.

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Syed Farhan Mazhar is an Adjunct Lecturer in the Project Management program at
Northeastern University.
He has been associated with the service provision industry and academia for over
12 years and have held leadership positions in both IT and academia. His expertise
are in the areas of team building, requirement analysis, teaching, mentoring,
consultancy, monitoring, coordination, motivation and relationship building, which
have resulted in increased revenues for several ventures.
He has a passion for teaching and have been a permanent and visiting faculty
member of several reputed higher education institutes locally and internationally,
where he taught a wide variety of subjects encompassing Project Management and
numerous Computer Science related courses.
He has Master’s in Software Engineering and Intelligent System from University
of Alberta, M.Sc. in Electronics from Karachi University, and currently a PhD
candidate in the field of Computer Science at McMaster University. He has done
several international certification and training’s, including PMP from PMI, Oracle
Certified Professional, ITIL Foundations, A + certified, Mini MBA Courses,
Teaching and Learning Certificates.
His recent research interest and focus is on managing IT projects, business process
design, effective data analytics, data cleaning, discrete event system, and database
systems.

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Patrick is passionate about solving pressing business and social problems using technology. He has deep expertise in driving business strategy, customer engagements, strategic partnerships, product management and services & support for technology companies.

He is a Principal at CybIQs, a company specializing in cyber security solutions for government agencies and businesses.

He is also an advisor at Loyal Venture Capital, a global venture fund with 200+ investments across 40+ countries, where he advises Loyal VC and its portfolio companies on digital transformation, risk management and information security.

He was Managing Director at DLT Labs, a provider of blockchain solutions that has deployed with Walmart Canada the largest full production blockchain solution in the world for any enterprise application. He was a Director at Infosys focusing on digital transformation for Fortune 500 and state owned corporations. He started his career in technology consulting serving clients across the globe.

He holds an MBA from INSEAD (France/Singapore), CISO and CIO Certificate from Carnegie Mellon University (USA) and a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Namibia.

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Dr. Okarynskyy holds a PhD in Education, MSc in Mathematics and Computer Science, postgraduate certificates in Project Management and Supply Chain Management, also Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute and Professional Scrum Master (PSM I) certification from Scrum Organization.

Over 20 years of experience in project management, operations management, publishing, supply chain, local government, and consulting. Experienced in Waterfall and Agile project management methodologies. As an educator, he served in various roles, including teacher of mathematics, instructor of management and leadership courses, business coach, professor of methods of education, professor of project management.

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Peivand holds a Ph.D. in Physiology and Biophysics from the School of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke and is accredited by the Canadian Council of Pharmaceutical Education. His experience includes medical and academic research and teaching since 1991 at University of Quebec in Montreal, University of Sherbrooke, Humber College, Seneca College, and Crown College of Canada. His industrial experience includes working with Wyeth Canada (Pfizer), generic pharma, and consultations for the management of clinical trials and site audits, regulatory activities, and writing companywide policies and SOPs based on Food and Drugs act, Cannabis act, local regulations, and international guidelines. His corporate training experience covers Pharmaceutical Sciences, Healthcare Management, Project Management, and Sales training at Wyeth Canada (Pfizer), Health Canada inspectorate in Pharmacovigilance, and training to more than 20 Pharmaceutical companies through Pharmaceutical Sciences Group (PSG) and Crown College of Canada.

Peivand has received a scientific recognition and Awards from His Very Honorable Bernard Landry, the Premier of Quebec, and a letter of commandment from the Dean, School of Health Sciences, Humber College, for teaching excellence. Peivand has governing experience as a member of the board of directors at Persica Management and Quality Association and as an elected governor at Seneca College, and acted as a career mentor for international healthcare graduates for the Durham and York regions in Canada.

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Valerii has over 14 years of experience leading and managing large-scale Programs and Projects of significant complexity and value directed towards strategic business objectives, in Waterfall and Agile environments.
Valerii’s experience covers multiple industries including Banking, IT technology, Electricity Transmission and Distribution.
He is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMI PMP ®) and Certified Professional Scrum Master™ (PSM I).
Valerii holds a PhD degree in technical sciences and Bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science/Computer Engineering and Finance.

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Dr. Rezvani has an extensive education, training, and research experience in some of the world’s most renowned universities and hospitals in USA and Canada, such as University of Toronto, Harvard Medical School, Duke University, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, University Health Network, and Sick Children’s Hospital. Through some of her training and career, she has been able to acquire numerous Merits, Awards, Fellowships, Scholarships, and Grants based on her excellent knowledge, communication skills, teaching ability, and research aptitude. Furthermore, she has had a long career as an educator complemented with a formal master’s degree in adolescence education. Mojgan has over 20 years of experience in healthcare and biomedical sciences industry.

Currently, Dr. Rezvani is serving as the Executive Dean of Faculty of Health Sciences at Durham College and previously she has held several academic and leadership positions as Associate Dean, Director and Program Coordinator.

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Lamiaa Ashraf Salem, is a Part-time Lecturer in Regulatory Affairs at the Northeastern University-Toronto campus. Originally, she was an eye doctor (Ophthalmologist) in Egypt, where she started her Ophthalmology career in 2007, at the Research Institute of Ophthalmology, Cairo. She is currently an Ophthalmology Consultant, specializing in Oculoplastic and Ocular Oncology. She has also worked as an assistant lecturer in the Ophthalmology Clinic of the Abul-Reech Children’s Hospital, in Cairo.

She received her Master's and PhD from the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University. She is also an Ophthalmology fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. She has worked at the Prism Eye Institute, Canada as a Research Assistant, and has held roles as an Ophthalmic Assistant. Lamiaa is also currently working remotely on research with the Thyroid Ophthalmopathy clinic in the Research Institute of Ophthalmology, Cairo.

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Dr. Manisha Santhana Gopala Krishnan is a Part-time Lecturer in College of Professional Studies in Informatics, at the Northeastern University Toronto Campus. She received her Ph.D. from Faculty of Information and Communication Engineering, Anna University, Chennai, in Computer Vision in February 2021. She has over 11 years of teaching experience including more than 6 years of research experience. She received her bachelor's in engineering and master's in engineering, in Computer Science and Engineering from Anna University Chennai in the year 2010 and 2012, respectively. She is a professor, researcher, and an author of several academic journals.

In Canada she is also as a part-time faculty in Algoma University, and Niagara College Toronto campus in Ontario. She has worked as a full-time tenured Assistant Professor at Shiv Nadar University Chennai, and Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering, Chennai from 2012 to 2023. She has extensive expertise supervising graduate and undergraduate students as well as working on funding projects related to virtual reality, computer vision, and machine learning. She has organized a handful of workshops and seminars and has delivered talks in student and faculty forums. She was one of the Convenors of the International Conference on Computational Intelligence and Data Science 2022 and acted as an editor for the proceedings published by IFIP – AICT Springer series. To see the selection of her publication, please visit her Google Scholar webpage.

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Shahram joined Northeastern as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Master of Professional Studies in Analytics program. He is a Geospatial Data Scientist with over ten-year experience in conducting advanced Geospatial Data Analysis, Mapping Science, Statistical Modeling, and Web-based GIS app development.

Shahram received his BSc. in Geomatics engineering from Isfahan University, Iran, and his MASc and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Major in GIS Data Analysis) from Toronto Metropolitan University (Formerly Ryerson University) and is currently a Postdoc fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) in Canada. Shahram’s areas of expertise and research are Geo-event detection, BIM/GIS integration, 3D Web-based GIS Dashboard Development, Network Analysis, AI and Machine Learning, Mobility Patterns, Predictive models, and Anomaly Detection using GIS technology and IoT sensor data. Before joining TMU, Shahram worked as a GIS data analyst in different engineering companies and participated in various industrial and municipal projects and helped the stakeholders to leverage using GIS data analysis for all their Location Intelligence projects including City of Vaughan and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA).

Recently, Shahram has collaborated with Cornell University to patent a novel approach for resource allocation using scalable non-myopic atomic games for smart parking and other applications, and, currently, he collaborated to research and develop a cloud-hosted Digital Twin (DT) for the TMU campus facility management.

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Pedro Serrador, PhD, P.Eng., PMP, ACP, ITIL, is a lecturer, researcher, and writer on project management topics. He is also senior project/program management consultant with more than 25 years of experience in a variety of major Canadian corporations.

He specializes in technically complex and high-risk projects, vendor management engagements and tailoring and implementing project management methodologies including Agile methodologies. He is an award-winning author of academic research papers.

He holds a Hons. BSc in Physics and Computer Science from the University of Waterloo, Canada and an MBA from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland. He is an accredited professional engineer in computer engineering and has been a PMP since 2000. He holds a PhD in Strategy, Programme & Project Management from SKEMA Business School (Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Lille).

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Dr. Ahmed Shaheen has over 25 years of industry experience in Project Management, Project Controls, Risk Management, Estimating and Contract Management in the fields of Oil and Gas, Construction and HV Transmission.

Ahmed holds a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Construction Engineering and Management from University of Alberta. He is a registered Professional Engineer with Professional Engineers Ontario. He has also achieved Project Management Professional (PMP) designation from the Project Management Institute (PMI) and a LEED Green Association designation from US Green Building Council.

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Dr. Harpreet Sharma has over eight years of experience in power system research and analytics. He has published more than 13 research articles as a first author in the World’s leading high-impact factor journals and conferences. He has worked as an engineer in the switchgear industry and State power utility. Various educational and research institutes awarded Harpreet for his research contribution to Smart Grid.
Harpreet holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, M. Tech in Electrical Engineering, and certification in Data Analytics and Machine Learning. He has a solid understanding of advanced analytics and energy system optimization. His research interests include power system optimization, renewable energy, and data analytics.

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Jeffrey works at TD Bank as an Agile Scrum Master in Agile @ Scale. He is an accomplished and dynamic Certified Project Manager, Six Sigma Green Belt, MS Project Trainer, SAP, and ITIL professional. He has over 30 years of experience and proven effectiveness with successful implementations in the financial, pharmaceutical, brewing, Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industries and government (Ontario Lottery and Gaming). He has been a PMI Toronto Chapter member since 2000 and president between 2020 and 2022.

Jeffrey has a BSc. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of the West Indies (UWI). He earned his MSc in Computer Information Systems from the University of Phoenix and has a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in General Business from Northcentral University (NCU), Arizona. He is married to Jannette and has two children, Shane and Zoë.

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Tarek holds a Doctorate Degree in Medical Biochemistry and Clinical Research and a Master’s Degree in Medical Biochemistry and Chemical Pathology from School of Medicine as well as Post-Graduate Diploma in Pharmaceutical Research and Development Technology. He completed his undergraduate studies in Biochemistry from Science School and received Award of Achievement from Dubai Government, UAE.
He has more than 20 years teaching experience, in a range of roles from Lecturer, Associate Professor to Professor in fields of Medicine, Science, and Pharmaceutical Industry. In addition to his experience teaching in the Master of Science in Regulatory Affairs program at Northeastern University, Tarek has developed and taught In-Person/Online/Hybrid courses in Clinical Laboratories, Medical Science, Pharmaceutical Research & Development, Drug Formulation, Pharmaceutical Quality Control & Quality Assurance, and Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Trials and Pharmacology for International Medical and Science schools, Toronto Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology, and Seneca College.

Tarek has practical experience in Analytical, Research, and Clinical Laboratories, Drug and Vaccine Formulation, Pharmaceutical Quality Control & Quality Assurance, Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Research. He previously oversaw clinical trial operations and held scientific positions at Contract Research Organizations. Tarek was serving a community as an Independent Ethics Committees Board Member for several years.

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