Meet the Secretariat

Prof. Jude Kong is a professor in the Mathematics & Statistics Department at York University and the founding Director of the Africa-Canada Artificial Intelligence and Data Innovation Consortium (ACADIC). Additionally, he is the Executive Director of the Global South Artificial Intelligence for Pandemic and Epidermic Preparedness and Response Network and the Regional Node Liaison to the steering committee of the Canadian Black Scientist Network (CBSN).

He obtained his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Alberta, his MSc. in Engineering mathematics from the University of Hamburg-Germany and the University of L’Aquila-Italy. His B.Sc. in Computer Science and Mathematics was acquired at the University of Buea-Cameroon and his Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree in Mathematics was earned at the University of Yaounde-Cameroon. Before joining York University, he completed a postdoc at Princeton University.

Dr. Kong is an expert in artificial intelligence, data science, mathematical modelling, infectious disease modelling and mathematics education. His principal research program focuses on the use of artificial intelligence, data science, mathematical models and other quantitative methods to improve decision-making for clinical public health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been leading an interdisciplinary team of more than 52 researchers from key academic and government institutions in nine African countries that have been using Artificial intelligence to help government and local communities to contain and manage the spread of COVID-19.

In 2020, he won a York Research Leader Award. In 2021 he was spotlighted among Canadian Innovation Research Leaders 2021 for his work with ACADIC. In 2022, he was spotlighted as a Change Maker by People of YU for his work in helping others learn mathematical concepts and encouraging them to find their passion and achieve more than they thought was possible. He is an Area Editor of the Data & Policy Journal where he focuses on Data Technologies and Analytics for Policy and Governance.

Mahak is currently pursuing her Master of Science at Queen’s University, focusing on the comprehensive study of society and normal healthy aging. During her undergraduate studies at York University, she developed her background in investigating health system preparedness and government pandemic responses. She is particularly passionate about the applications of AI in advancing public health and medicine, aspiring to integrate these aspects into her future role as a clinician. Beyond academics, Mahak is passionate about mobilizing an international network of students through the AI4PEP Student Collective and undertaking community projects to enhance care practices for aging populations.

Victor is a passionate , thoughtful and driven individual with a bachelors in B.tech Applied Microbiology who has been particularly enthusiastic about everything Digital Technology and this, he developed himself in. Of all that Victor does, he found special love for Web design and developing Data-driven growth strategies for organizations.

He has served as a Digital Skills Trainer through the Google Digital Skills for Africa project that saw over 6 million people trained across Africa over a period of 5 years. He has trained individuals on how to optimize their use of the web, master digital tools, establish their online presence, and sustain a stable virtual life in the four-screen world.

Through his experience as a community manager at OmicsLogic Africa and MindtheGap Nigeria, Victor has honed skills in community engagement, community penetration for action, and cultivating and sustaining partnerships with collaborating organizations.

In his most recent role as Head of Content and Marketing at Tevuna Limited, he has developed skills in marketing, SEO, and analytics to assist the company to increase visibility and enhance business decision-making.

Dr. Zahra Movahedi Nia is a research associate at York University and a data scientist at AI4PEP Global South, specializing in machine learning, data analytics, and Natural Language Processing (NLP). Holding a Ph.D in computer engineering, Zahra has spent three years as a postdoctoral researcher at York University, where they have developed a novel early warning system for respiratory infections through web-based data sources. Zahra’s primary research program is centered on the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data science to enhance decision-making processes in clinical public health. Through the development of advanced machine learning models and data mining methods, she aims to address complex health challenges by providing data-driven insights and predictive tools that inform healthcare policies and interventions. Outside of academia, Zahra is invested in the development of Large Language Models (LLMs) with the potential to offer anonymous medical consultation support to individuals, broadening access to reliable health information while maintaining privacy. She is deeply devoted to bridging the gap between cutting-edge AI technologies and practical healthcare solutions, aiming to create tools that empower both individuals and healthcare providers.

Dr. Qing Han received her PhD in Applied Mathematics from Purdue University (West Lafayette, USA) in 2018 under the supervision of Prof. Zhilan Feng. She is now an IDRC-sponsored postdoctoral fellow working on COVID-19 transmission modeling in Africa. Her research interests lie in mathematical epidemiology and dynamical systems.

Dr. Yang Xu holds a Ph.D. in Mining Engineering from the University of British Columbia, complemented by a cross-disciplinary background in Machine Learning, Minerals Processing, and Mechanical Engineering. He has seven years of research experience in ore sorting integrated with Machine Learning and Data Analysis.

Dr. Gelan Ayana is Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow of the Artificial Intelligence and Mathematical Modeling Lab (AIMM Lab) at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health in the department of Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, working on developing AI tools for community-based disease surveillance in low-resource settings. Prior to that, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher in the department of Medical IT Convergence Engineering at Kumoh National Institute of Technology, a position he assumed shortly after completing his doctoral studies in Medical IT Convergence Engineering from the same institution in the Republic of Korea in 2023. Dr. Ayana earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering with high honors from Jimma University in 2015 and 2018, respectively. Dr. Ayana’s research interests encompass AI for health, health informatics, community health, disease modeling, disease surveillance, public health data governance and policy, digital health, global health, and health disparity research. He utilizes mathematical and computational tools for an in-depth analysis of public health data and the development of innovative solutions for healthcare challenges to informing policy. He holds memberships in several prestigious organizations, including the IEEE, EMBS, AACR, EACR, ASLM, Black in AI, AIGH, AI4PEP, ACADIC, and others. Gelan also contributes as a guest editor and session chair for major conferences and as an expert reviewer for Grand Challenges Africa. With a strong academic background, including postdoctoral research, he actively participates in mentoring graduate students and international fellows.

Dr. Abbas Yazdinejad is a Postdoctoral Scholar at Artificial Intelligence and Mathematical Modeling lab (AIMMlab) at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, ON, Canada. His research primarily focuses on Artificial Intelligence and  Machine learning for critical applications. He hold a Ph.D. in Computational Sciences from the University of Guelph, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Computer Engineering, with specializations in Autonomous Cybersecurity, Applied AI and ML in cybersecurity,  Privacy-Preserving ML, Federated Learning (FL), Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial IoT (IIoT), Data Security and information management, and software-defined networks (SDN).