People

Chandan Saha

Postdoctoral Fellow

Bio: Chandan Saha joined as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Alberta in January 2025 under the supervision of Dr. Cao. He started his PhD in Fall 2019 under the supervision of Dr. Zahra Moussavi and completed his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Manitoba, Canada, in December 2024. He also received his M.Sc. Eng. and B.Sc. Eng. with a University Gold Medal from the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET), Bangladesh, in 2018 and 2015, respectively. He has multidisciplinary research experience in Alzheimer's disease, MRI and signal analysis, statistical analysis, and machine learning. 

Alan Dávalos

PhD Student

I am a psychiatrist with a master’s in medical sciences. My expertise includes analyzing clinical variables, applying TMS and evaluating its outcomes, and conducting fMRI studies in depression and substance use disorders. I am adept at programming, statistical analysis, and using computational tools to understand the biological basis of mental health. My goal is to apply these insights to improve diagnostic and treatment strategies. I am particularly interested in computational neuroscience, focusing on machine learning and computational psychiatry.

Jia Lin (Julie) Tian 

PhD Student

Julie Tian is a PhD student specializing in the field of Computational Psychiatry. Her educational background includes a BSc degree in Pharmacology and Computer Science from McGill University, which has equipped her with a diverse skill set to excel in her research endeavors. With a keen interest in leveraging machine learning techniques, Julie focuses on uncovering insightful patterns and predictive trends within administrative healthcare patient data and individual’s smartwatch health data. Through her research, Julie is dedicated to enhancing individualized healthcare delivery and ultimately improving patient outcomes.

Jian Shan Chen

PhD Student

I started my PhD in May of 2023. Focusing on investigating models for different types of biological age and their potential applications in psychiatric area.

Chunhui Gu

Masters Student

I began my Master in Fall 2024. I completed my Bachelor's degree in Finance in China and my Master's in Applied Economics in the U.S. Currently, I am working on a project examining the effects of opioid prescriptions on health outcomes. In the future, I hope to study suicide behaviors, prediction, treatment, and the validation of treatment methods.

Emily Ward

Masters Student

Emily completed a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of Calgary, where she gained research experience in developmental psychobiology. Emily recently began working towards a Master of Science degree in Psychiatry, aiming to explore the use of machine learning to recognize and prevent opioid-related adverse outcomes.

Rose Alavi Toussi

Research Assistant + Lab Manager

I've been with the lab since my second year of university, and completed my undergraduate thesis in neuroscience. My project investigated the mediative role of sleep quality on the relationship between depression and cognitive age in older adults. 

Currently, I have a role as lab manager and a research assistant focusing on projects that leverage machine learning techniques in health care data.