The Team

Director

Amin Madani, MD PhD FRCSC FACS

Staff Surgeon, Department of Surgery, University Health Network
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto
Faculty (Endocrine Oncology), Department of Surgical Oncology, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Dr. Madani is the director of the Surgical AI Research Academy (SARA) at the University Health Network (UHN). He is an endocrine and acute care surgeon at UHN and assistant professor of surgery at the University of Toronto, where he specializes in the surgical management of thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal disorders. He attended medical school at Western University and completed his general surgery residency training at McGill University. During his training he also obtained his PhD in surgical education and innovation. He subsequently completed a clinical fellowship in endocrine surgery at Columbia University-New York Presbyterian Hospital.

His research focus is in surgical expertise and the use of technology to optimize performance in the operating room. This includes platforms that incorporate machine learning, computer vision, advanced simulation and augmented/virtual/mixed reality. He also has a background in qualitative methodologies where he has spent over a decade investigating mental models, intra-operative decision-making and other constructs of expertise. This work has established the foundation for his lab to use a needs-based approach to design and develop new innovations to augment surgeon performance. Dr. Madani serves as the chair of the Surgical Data Science Task Force of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), as well as the co-founder and chair of the Global Surgical AI Collaborative, spearheading efforts to bring the surgical and AI community together to disseminate surgical expertise around the world in a sustainable manner.

Dr. Madani’s research is supported by:

  • A heartfelt thank you to all who provided a Philanthropic Contribution to support our mission. We are extremely grateful to Mrs. Helga Gertrud Schmidt (1935-2020), whose generous donation prior to her passing has enabled our laboratory to flourish.
  • J.P. Bickell Foundation
  • Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
  • Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons
  • University of Toronto Continuing Professional Development’s Research & Development
  • University of Toronto Department of Surgical Oncology/GTx Innovation Research
  • Soham & Shaila Ajmera Family Transplant Centre
  • Temerty Centre for AI Research and Education in Medicine
  • Association for Surgical Education

Project Manager

Cathy Masino, MA, CCRP

Cathy joined the team in 2021 as Project Manager. At SARA, Cathy works with a team of machine learning specialists, developers, researchers, to create and evaluate innovative surgical training tools and enable clinical research. With over 10 years of experience working to develop and implement applications in telemonitoring, telementoring and surgical coaching, simulation education, across a variety of medical and surgical settings, she brings a strong skill set to her role. Cathy’s interests lie in improving learner performance through technological innovations. She has made numerous research contributions the fields of simulation, virtual care, and surgical education. Cathy is a Certified Clinical Research Professional with an MA from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. Her master’s thesis was in curriculum, teaching and learning, focusing on survey measurement and evaluation.

Research Trainees & Students

Frank Chen

Zejia “Frank” Chen is a medical student at Queen’s University. He completed his Bachelor’s of Health Sciences at McMaster University in 2022. He is interested in the applications of AI in medicine and surgery research and hopes to pursue a clinician-investigator career.

Roberta Dolling-Boreham

Rob is a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at the Memorial University of Newfoundland with an interest in implementing AI solutions in clinical medicine. Rob enjoys painting and hanging out with her dog, Roger.

Giulia Di Nardo

Giulia is an undergraduate student at McMaster University in the Integrated Biomedical Engineering and Health Sciences program, specializing in Mechanical Engineering. Currently, she is developing a virtual surgical environment to assist in coaching and surgical training. Her research interests lie at the intersection of mechanical engineering, tissue simulation and surgical education.

Rogeh Habashi, MD

Rogeh is the 2022-23 AAES fellow at the University of Toronto. He has completed his general surgery residency at McMaster University and masters in public health in biostatistics at Yale University. He is interested in big data, surgical outcomes and artificial intelligence in surgery research.

M. Saif Hameed, MBBS, DNB

Saif is an ENT-Head & Neck Surgeon interested in bringing in the advantages of technology for better surgical outcomes. An Avid Tennis & Basketball player who loves to travel when he can.

Muhammad Uzair Khalid, MSc

Uzair is a first year general surgery resident at the University of British Columbia with an interest in artificial intelligence, and liver transplantation. A firm believer in translating research into practice, Uzair led the validation of a GoNoGo AI model within the setting of known bile duct injuries.

Mustafa Khanbhai, MD

Mustafa completed his training in Oncoplastic and Reconstructive Breast Surgery at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, UK in addition to a Fellowship in Minimal Access Breast Surgery in Taiwan. He holds a PhD from the Centre for Health Policy at Imperial College London where his doctoral research focused on the application of natural language processing and machine learning for real-time patient benefit. Notably, Mustafa’s work earned him the prestigious 2019 BMJ Award in Digital Innovation. Mustafa is currently working on the development of integrated 3D modelling for decision support in breast surgery.

Ziyad Khatab

Ziyad is a graduate student at the University of Toronto focused on developing AI-based models for real-time tool-tissue interaction detection in surgery. His work bridges machine learning and surgical coaching, aiming to enhance feedback and precision in the operating room.

Parmiss Kiani

Parmiss is a masters student in Biomedical Engineering at TMU, surgical education researcher and innovator, tech enthusiast, interested in Artificial Intelligence applications in medicine, exploring the application of telestration devices for surgical coaching.

Raphael Kwok

Raphael is an undergraduate neuroscience student in the Laboratory Medicine Program and a Pathobiology Specialist at the University of Toronto. His research interests include design and applied programming for healthcare. At SARA, Raphael’s project uses applied computer vision and AR techniques for the automatic measurement detection during minimally invasive surgery. In his spare time, he is an indie game developer, participating in hackathons and game jams.

Simon Laplante, MD, MSc, FRCSC, DABS

Dr. Laplante is a metabolic surgeon at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota) and a Principal Investigator at the Surgical Computer Vision Laboratory. He completed a general surgery residency and fellowship at the University of Toronto before joining their Department of Surgery and the University Health Network (UHN) as an Associate Surgeon. Dr. Laplante joined the SARA lab in the early years as its first research trainee working on the validation of the GoNoGoNet- a computer vision model for cholecystectomy, which has since then been deployed for real time intraoperative guidance. In the fall of 2024, Dr. Laplante joined the Mayo Clinic where he is responsible for leading surgical computer vision projects in the Department of Surgery. Dr. Laplante holds a Master’s degree in system leadership and innovation from the University of Toronto. His research focus is on surgical artificial intelligence and computer vision for quality improvement, decision support and video-based assessments and education.

Hillary Lia

Hillary is an MD/PhD student at the University of Toronto. In 2019 she completed an Honours Bachelor of Computing (Biomedical Computing Specialization) at Queen’s University. Hillary’s research interest lies at the intersection of computer science, surgery and education where she explores how computational methods can enhance surgical training and performance.

Ke Xin Lin

Ke XIn Lin is a MD student at the University of Toronto. She completed her undergraduate studies at Western University in 2022. Her research interest lies in the application of artificial intelligence to bridge global surgical gaps.

Lorenz Liu, Graduate Intern

Zhaoxun “Lorenz” Liu (https://lorenz.fun/) is currently pursuing his Master of Science in Applied Computing at the Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto. His work focuses on the broad area of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), with specific interests in Human-AI Interaction and Human-Centered AI. He is also proficient in full-stack and game development. Additionally, Lorenz is a semi-professional cellist and enjoys playing guitar, billiards, and basketball. 

Dan Moldoveanu, MDCM, PhD Candidate

Dan graduated from medical school at McGill University in Montreal. He then remained at McGill to pursue training in General Surgery, during which time he spent 3 years in the lab working on melanoma translational research. Upon completion of his residency, he was accepted in the breast surgical oncology fellowship program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He is currently completing a clinical fellowship in Endocrine Surgery in Toronto and will be working on the use of computer vision and machine learning for retroperitoneoscopic adrenalectomy.

Mann Parikh

Mann is a fourth-year Bachelor of Health Sciences student at McMaster University studying Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization. He is currently working to develop a method to visualize nerves intraoperatively during open surgery to improve surgical outcomes and patient safety. Mann’s research interests lie at the intersection of innovation, surgery, and most recently, artificial intelligence.

Anannya Popat, Graduate Intern

Anannya is a second-year graduate student pursuing a Master’s in Applied Computing, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence, at the University of Toronto. She specializes in Computer Vision and is currently engaged in developing realistic 3D models of tissues from CT scans of patients undergoing adrenalectomy. This project aims to enhance surgeons’ preoperative planning capabilities. Anannya is dedicated to applying her research in deep learning, computer vision, and computer graphics to drive advancements in healthcare and consumer-based industries.

Michal Roztocki

Michal is a Master of Computer Science student at Georgia Tech, specializing in Computational Perception and Robotics. He holds a B.Eng in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering, and his research interests include the application of AI in healthcare, robotics, and self-driving.

Hoseok Seo, MD, PhD

Hoseok is a gastrointestinal surgeon from Seoul and is joining the SARA lab as a research fellow this year. Hoseok graduated from the College of Medicine, the Catholic University of Korea. He completed his surgical residency at St. Mary’s Hospital (Seoul) and is an associate professor in the Division of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Department of Surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital (Seoul). His interests are in clinical research, computer vision applications in gastrointestinal surgery, robotic surgery, and artificial intelligence.

Golsa Shafa

Golsa is a neurology resident at the University of Toronto. She has an interest in medical education research and obtained a graduate diploma in research during her medical training. Golsa hopes to pursue the clinician-investigator program to continue her involvement in research during residency.

Ace St. John, MD

Ace is a general surgery resident at the University of Maryland Medical Center, keenly interested in clinical research, surgical education, and innovation. His ultimate career goal is to balance a busy clinical practice dedicated to treating surgical oncologic disease with an active investigative career focused on surgical education through quantitative studies, the development of curriculums, and innovative multidisciplinary approaches. Ace looks forward to participating in the next frontier of modern surgery, which is the application of technological innovation to surgical practice and education.

Ariana Walji

Ariana is a graduate student at the University of Toronto with a diverse background in applying AI to healthcare, with projects spanning from radiation oncology to cardiology. She is eager to leverage this experience to drive surgical innovation at SARA, where her research focuses on optimizing AI integration into the operating room and evaluating its impact on surgical workflows and patient outcomes.

Takuto Yoshida, MD, MPH

Takuto is a Japanese MIS surgeon in surgical oncology. He completed his medical studies at Hokkaido University and his surgical residency at St Luke’s International Hospital (Tokyo) and Hokkaido University (Hokkaido). In 2023, he completed a MPH from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His interests focus on the application of computer vision to colorectal surgery with the goal of reducing complications and enhancing surgical education.

Keyi Zhang, Graduate Intern

Keyi is a second-year Master of Science in Applied Computing student at the University of Toronto. Her interests lie in Computer Vision and Graphics. At the SARA Lab, Keyi is involved in different surgical tasks focusing on segmentation and classification. She is working on developing a foundation model that aims to advance surgical AI.

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