BioTEC Conference Research Feature

The Annual BioTEC Conference, on November 19, 2022, will welcome many honourable guests to the stage. Industry experts and top researchers will provide deep insight into the future of biotechnology. To understand the level of expertise that will be shared on BioTEC’s monumental day, the following feature highlights two of these prestigious speakers, Taufik Valiante for the Future of Neurotech event, and Frank Rudzicz for the ML/AI in Healthcare panel.

Taufik Valiate is the Co-Director of CRANIA and an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Toronto. His research is largely focused on the development of neurotechnology, with work in the biophysical properties of neurons, epilepsy, neuromodulation, and computational modelling.

He completed his Bachelor of Science in 1984 and his PhD in Neurophysiology in 1995 both at the University of Toronto. Additionally, he completed a Fellowship in Epilepsy Surgery at the University of Washington, and the Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) in 2002 also at the University of Toronto.

His most recent publication, ‘Music in epilepsy: Predicting the effects of the unpredictable’, looks at using the effects of auditory stimulation on brain function, and using computational modelling to generate a mechanism that replicates the positive effects of listening to Mozart K.448. This particular song has been shown to reduce seizure frequency in those with epilepsy, and the research findings imply unpredictable rhythmic structure encourages brain dynamics that is avoidant of seizures.

Learn more about his research here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?cmd=PureSearch&term=(Valiante+T%5Bau%5D)

Frank Rudzicz is a Scientist at the International Centre for Surgical Safety and an Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Toronto. His research is largely focused on the development of machine learning in healthcare, with work in natural language processing, speech recognition, and models of speech production.

He completed his Bachelor of Science in 2004 at the University of Toronto and Master of Engineering at McGill university. Additionally, he completed his PhD in Computer Science at the University of Toronto.

One of his recent publications, ‘A Delphi consensus statement for digital surgery’, defines digital surgery, and discusses the ethical issues surrounding the clinical application of it. As the ventures of digital technology in healthcare rapidly develop, standardisation must be implemented to mitigate risk and protect patients and surgeons alike. While introducing such technology into the operation room can improve the precision and efficiency of operations, failure in practice can cause severe potential harm.

Learn more about his research here:

http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~frank/about.html

BioTEC is very excited to welcome these esteemed guests to share their experiences and impart their wisdom that you, the future leaders of biotechnology, would love to hear.