TMU Canada Research Chairs announced
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) is pleased to announce the successful nomination of professor Helen Stopps from the Department of Architectural Science as a new Canada Research Chair in Community-Centered Building Science.
Professor Atefeh Mashatan of the Department of Information Technology Management received a renewal of her Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity of Connected Healthcare.
“I’m delighted to congratulate professor Stopps on her new Canada Research Chair,” said Steven N. Liss, vice-president, research and innovation. “Her work will help lead to improved health and well-being for those Canadians who continue to live in substandard housing. I’m also pleased to recognize professor Mashatan on the renewal of her Canada Research Chair. Professor Mashatan’s continued work in cybersecurity will help protect the vital privacy of our personal health information.”
Helping communities create and deliver better, healthier housing
Professor Stopps will work to establish empirical links between housing conditions and health outcomes, and to democratize access to the advanced technologies that could deliver improved conditions for residents.
“We've seen substantial advancements across everything in building science,” professor Stopps said. “That includes connected technologies such as digital twins, the Internet of Things and advanced controls, as well as developments on the building envelope side. However, there’s a gap in that those advancements tend not to reach the communities and types of buildings that actually need them the most, or those with the least resources. We're missing a large component of potential adoption.”
Through her research, Professor Stopps will use community-led action to co-develop policies, governance models and training tools for community partners, strengthening local capacity for evidence-based decision-making and housing stewardship.
“Success would mean communities have access to, and control over, the sensing tools, diagnostic methods and data they need to make decisions about their housing,” professor Stopps said. “Success would also include a change in how building performance is assessed and judged, expanding from technical performance to include how it supports the health and well-being of the people who live there.”
Working to close gaps in health-care cybersecurity
Professor Mashatan will carry out cutting-edge research that seeks to close serious cybersecurity gaps in an increasingly decentralized and connected health-care ecosystem. Her work will examine the risks associated with patient-managed Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices and the sensitive data they collect, store and share. She will also develop the blueprint for a foundational security framework that integrates medical devices and data across all care settings.
Current security systems focus primarily on protecting hospital networks, leaving patient-managed Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices or the sensitive data they generate vulnerable — exposing patients and health-care providers to cyberattacks and data breaches.
These TMU researchers are among the 220 chairs at post-secondary institutions across Canada announced as new or renewed appointments by the federal government. This represents an investment of more than $187 million.
Learn more about TMU’s Canada Research Chairs by visiting Our Researchers page.