Biography
Alex Mihailidis
Ph.D., P.Eng., is the Barbara G. Stymiest Research Chair in Rehabilitation Technology at the University of Toronto and Toronto Rehab Institute. He is also the Scientific Director and CEO of the AGE-WELL Network of Centres of Excellence, which focuses on the development of new technologies and services for older adults. He is a Full Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy (U of T) and in the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (U of T), with a cross appointment in the Department of Computer Science (U of T). He has been conducting research in the field of pervasive computing and intelligent systems in health for the past 15 years, having published over 150 journal papers, conference papers, and abstracts in this field. He has specifically focused on the development of intelligent home systems for elder care and wellness, technology for children with autism, and adaptive tools for nurses and clinical applications.
Mihailidis, A.
Workshop
Pathways to Innovation – How can Canada bridge the gap between policy and solutions in the aging and technology space?
Paul Stolee is an Associate Professor in the School of Public Health and Health Systems at the University of Waterloo (UW). His research focuses on strategies to improve the integration and effectiveness of geriatric health services. This research focus includes investigating the health information needs of rehabilitation patients and clinicians, and creation of data mining techniques and other advanced statistical methods to support better decision-making in rehabilitation practice and policy-making.
Stolee, P.
Dorina Simeonov is the Knowledge Mobilization Manager at AGE-WELL, Canada’s Technology and Aging Network. She is responsible for the development and implementation of a network-wide knowledge mobilization strategy. Dorina also works to establish strong partnerships with policy and government partners in order to provide evidence-based input into decision-making related to technology and aging. Prior to joining AGE-WELL, Dorina worked as a policy analyst and knowledge broker at the Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario Division and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, respectively. Dorina is interested in engaging with diverse stakeholders to make a positive impact on the Canadian health system and beyond. She has a Master’s of Science degree from McMaster University with a focus on health policy and health services research. Dorina is also a Board Member of Art City St. James Town, a not-for-profit organization in Toronto that multidisciplinary art programs, free of charge, to the children and youth.
Simeonov, D.
Rosalie Wang
Received her BSc.(OT) from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and worked as an Occupational Therapist in Canada and England. Her work experiences span the continuum of care for older adults, including long-term institutional, sub-acute/rehab, acute and community care settings. She has also worked in a seating and wheeled mobility specialist unit and a stroke rehabilitation unit.
Rosalie completed her PhD in the Graduate Department of Rehabilitation Science in collaboration with the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. Her Doctoral thesis examined the use of collision-avoidance technology to enable power wheelchair mobility with long-term care home residents with cognitive impairments. Her research included some of the first clinical studies to explore the use of collision-avoidance technology and multimodal user interfaces to assist navigation in this population. Rosalie completed a CIHR-funded Postdoctoral Fellowship with the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Team at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute where she worked on developing and clinically evaluating robots for upper limb stroke rehabilitation and assistive robots to help older adults with dementia to complete daily activities.
Rosalie’s research interests include assistive technologies to enhance function and quality of life of older adults, strategies to improve quality of life for long-term care home residents with dementia, the application of robotics and artificial intelligence in rehabilitation for people with neurological conditions, knowledge translation (clinical implementation and commercialization) of rehabilitation technologies, mixed methods (combined qualitative and quantitative) research approaches and user-centred design.
Wang, R.
Dr. Donald Juzwishin is the Director of Health Technology Assessment and Innovation at Alberta Health Services(AHS). He is a member of the Alberta Advisory Committee on Health Technologies assisting government in the review of health technologies and services. He also served as a consultant to the WHO section on Health technology assessment (HTA)of medical devices.
Juzwishin, D.
Josephine McMurray is an Assistant Professor in the Business Technology Management program, Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, at Wilfrid Laurier’s Brantford Campus. Her doctoral thesis examined the classification of inter-organizational electronic information exchange and interoperability as a measure of system integration. Her general research interests include healthcare system integration, quality and patient experience improvement, and system performance measurement. She has investigated information exchange in care transitions related to the frail elderly and mental health care, and measurement of electronic health information systems adoption and primary care outcomes for at risk populations. Future research projects and areas of interest include examination of values-based care models, stakeholder perceptions of technology and information exchange within organizations, technology-enabled measurement and management of patient experience, technology-enhanced human resource models, and regional health innovation ecosystems. Josephine’s industry experience includes 13 years in health administration for a not-for-profit, and seven years in the for-profit sector working as a marketing manager for a multi-national and running a strategic planning and marketing consultancy.
McMurray, J.
The IFA and AGE-WELL, Canada’s Technology and Aging Network, invite decision makers and policy staff to network with AGE-WELL experts in technology, aging, and knowledge mobilization. You will hear how AGE-WELL is leveraging emerging and advanced technologies to promote technological, social, and policy innovation – with the overarching goal of improving the lives of older adults and caregivers. Researchers and innovators will share how they, along with key stakeholders, are collaborating to design and implement innovative solutions to specific policy, program, and service challenges in Canada.
The session will begin by highlighting AGE-WELL’s efforts to support successful innovation, adoption of, and access to, aging-related technologies by:
- Identifying key challenges through a scoping review, a multiple case study, and over 50 stakeholder interviews looking at policy and regulatory issues. These findings informed the creation of resources for innovators including a policy primer and an interactive website where innovators can answer questions about their technology to receive tailored information about relevant stages of innovation.
- Researching equitable access to assistive technologies through a jurisdictional scan, interviews, citizen and stakeholder dialogues. Findings suggest high fragmentation and complexity in funding and service programs resulting in system navigation issues and inequity of access.
- Launching a national innovation hub focused on designing innovative solutions to specific policy, program, and service challenges, through the development of best practices for rapid adoption of evidence-based technologies.
- Investigating the partnerships and linkages among researchers, policymakers, practitioners, industry, and citizens, and the ecosystem elements that support health-technology and age-technology research, development, evaluation, commercialization and implementation.
This will be followed by a facilitated discussion using the guiding questions below:
- What are the top three policy priorities in the aging and technology space?
- How can we support innovators to navigate the regulatory landscape in Canada?
- How can we promote a shift in policy to ensure equitable access to technologies that help older adults and their caregivers?
- What can regions do to create an ecosystem that supports the development of innovative age-related technologies from research through to commercialization?