2025 Conference Speakers

Eric Brown, PhD

Eric Brown is a Distinguished University Professor at McMaster University in the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and member of the M.G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research.

Dr. Brown received his Ph.D. (1992) in Biochemistry studying proline utilization in bacteria at the University of Guelph in Professor Janet Wood’s laboratory.  Subsequently, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Professor Christopher Walsh’s research group at Harvard Medical School researching bacterial cell wall biosynthesis.  Following his academic training, Dr. Brown worked in the Boston biotech sector with Myco Pharmaceuticals and Astra Research Center Boston (now AstraZeneca) before joining the Department of Biochemistry at McMaster in 1998.

Dr. Brown is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and has received a number of other awards including the Canadian Society of Microbiologists Murray Award for career achievement and the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences Merck Frosst Prize for new investigators.  He currently holds a Killam Research Fellowship from the Canada Council for the Arts and Canada Research Chair in Microbial Chemical Biology.

Dr. Brown is a former department Chair and Director of a leading-edge educational program at the nexus of science and commerce, the Biomedical Discovery and Commercialization program. He has served on advisory boards for a variety of companies as well as national and international associations, including a term as President of the Canadian Society of Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology, member of the Medical Review Panel of the Gairdner Foundation, member of the Advisory Board of the Institute of Infection and Immunity of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and College Chair advising the Canadian Institutes of Health Research on peer review. Currently, he is a member of the editorial board of ACS Infectious Diseases, the Series Editor of the annual Antimicrobial Therapeutics Review of the Annals of the New York Academy of Science, a member of the Advisory Board of the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Research.

Brown Lab researchers are searching for the Achilles heels of drug-resistant superbugs. To this end they are using tools of chemical biology and molecular genetics to probe the complex biology that underlies bacterial survival strategies. The goal of these studies is to contribute to fresh directions for new antibacterial therapeutics.

If you are interested in a position at Brown Lab please visit our contact page for more information on how to get in touch with Dr. Brown.

Rashaad Bhyat, MB, BCh BAO, BSc, CCFP, MPLc

Dr. Rashaad Bhyat is an award-winning family physician with special expertise in Health Informatics and Digital Health, and an accomplished medical communicator. He is Senior Clinical Leader in the Centre for Clinical Innovation in Digital Health (CIDH) within the Connected Care team, at Canada Health Infoway. In 2024, he joined the new Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Medicine as Digital Health Thread Lead and Assistant Clinical Professor.

Over the past decade, he has advised Infoway on numerous strategic initiatives across Canada, including AI in health care, interoperability, virtual care, EMR/EHR adoption, electronic prescribing (PrescribeIT), increasing patient access to health records, clinician-focused digital transformation, and the successful Connected Care Clinician Innovation Grant initiative.

In addition to his medical training, Dr. Bhyat completed a Masters Certificate in Physician Leadership from York University’s Schulich School of Executive Management, a Certificate in Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare from McMaster University, and executive education in Leading Digital Transformation at Harvard Medical School. 

Recently, he co-chaired the Digital Health Interoperability Task Force, a joint initiative of the CMA, CFPC, Royal College, and Infoway, that released its report and recommendations in the fall of 2024. He also co-chaired the CanMEDS 2025 Data Informed Medicine Working Group, for the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Currently he practices in an EMR-enabled family medicine clinic in Brampton, Ontario.

Teresa Chan, MD
Founding Dean (School of Medicine)
Vice-President (Medical Affairs) at Toronto Metropolitan University

Elvis Chen

Title of his talk:

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), and Computer Assisted Surgeries (CAS)

Dr. Elvis C.S. Chen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering with cross-appointments in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medical Biophysics, and Department of Medical Imaging at Western University.

He is also an Associate Scientist at the Robarts Research Institute and London Health Sciences Centre. Dr. Chen received his Ph.D. from the School of Computing at Queen's University. 

Prior to joining Western Engineering, he was an Assistant Professor in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University. His research focuses on applying computer science techniques, such as machine learning, mixed reality, and computer vision, to assist surgeons performing minimally invasive surgeries.

Emre Karatas, PhD

Title of his talk:

"Flying Clean: The Future of Sustainable Propulsion."

Dr. Emre Karataş is an Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Toronto Metropolitan University. His research focuses on sustainable propulsion, emissions reduction, and advanced diagnostics for combustion systems. He leads experimental investigations into soot formation, alternative fuels, and electrified aviation technologies, collaborating with international partners to advance sustainability in energy and transportation. Dr. Karataş also serves as an Affiliate Scientist at St. Michael’s Hospital and holds an adjunct appointment at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies.