TMU professors Natasha Rajah and Victor Yang elected Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences
Professor Natasha Rajah of the Department of Psychology and professor Victor Yang of the Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) have been elected Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS).
CAHS fellowship is considered one of the highest honours in Canada’s academic, health-care and research communities. Fellows are nominated by their peers for this prestigious honour.
“It is my privilege to congratulate these two outstanding professors on their election as Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences,” said Steven N. Liss, TMU’s vice-president, research and innovation. “Professor Rajah’s work on memory, aging, and dementia prevention has the potential for massive impact on Canada’s growing cohort of senior citizens. Professor Yang’s work designing techniques that help improve the outcomes of complex surgeries has had a significant impact on the health of countless patients.”
A Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Sex, Gender and Diversity in Brain Health, Memory and Aging and an internationally recognized neuroscientist, professor Rajah’s work has helped improve our understanding of cognitive and brain aging.
“I'm humbled to be joining such an illustrious group of health researchers,” professor Rajah said of her election as a CAHS Fellow. “I’m very proud to join them, and happy for the recognition this brings both to the work I do in my lab, and to the university.”
The director of TMU’s Brain Health Equity in Aging and Memory (BHEAM) Lab, professor Rajah also leads an international research group, the Brain Resilience and Diversity in Aging and Dementia Collaboratory.
“Canada is in a good place to lead this kind of research,” professor Rajah said, “and I’m happy to be part of the community that’s contributing to that.”
Also a neurosurgeon, professor Yang is known for his research in advanced fibre-optical probes for imaging tissue microstructure and microcirculation. He has helped to develop machine vision for spine surgery, which formed the basis for a successful Canadian medical device company, 7D Surgical, a TMU spin-off.
"As a surgeon-engineer, it is a privilege to be recognized by CAHS," says professor Yang. "I'm proud to continue serving the Canadian biomedical community and teaching the next generation of engineers."
Currently, professor Yang’s research on surgical robotics examines the morality firmware of artificial intelligence in the operating room.
Canadian Academy of Health Sciences announcement: Fifty-Nine New Fellows Elected to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (external link, opens in new window) and (PDF file) media release with complete list of new Fellows (external link, opens in new window) .