My work in medical education and neurosurgical technology is rooted in a fundamental belief in equity, with the ultimate goal of breaking down social barriers to ensure patients have access to high-quality, timely healthcare. During my rural clinical electives in medical school, I witnessed firsthand how the quality and availability of care often depended on economic status or geographic location. These disparities were especially disheartening in our currentan era of rapid innovation, where such inequities should be addressable. Overcoming these challenges requires more than just acknowledgment—it demands actionable solutions to dismantle these barriers and promote fairness in healthcare access.

To tackle this issue, I’ve focused on creating tangible solutions. Take, for instance, the challenges faced by surgeons performing awake brain surgery. In these procedures, it is vital to avoid damaging the important areas of the brain, such as areas responsible for speech. Hospitals with ample resources have specialized technology and teams to map these areas precisely intraoperatively, but many hospitals around the world lack these resources. Recognizing this gap, I created Eloquent Aid (eloquentaid.com), an online application that harnesses language recognition models to act as a real-time guide for surgeons. It serves as a digital assistant in the operating room, helping the surgeon pinpoint vital speech centers to preserve during surgery. I was recently very happy to learn that Eloquent Aid was used by a neurosurgical team in the Philippines in a tumour resection case. Thanks to this technology, the team was able to successfully complete the surgery, ensuring the patient retained their ability to speak.

Beyond creating solutions for specific surgical challenges, I am also passionate about empowering future healthcare professionals. It’s clear that simply having advanced technology isn’t enough; we need skilled individuals to use it effectively. With this in mind, I have also worked to make high-quality medical education more accessible. This led me to develop OSCEai (osceai.ca), a generative artificial intelligence platform that allows medical students anywhere in the world to practice critical clinical skills. This platform is now being used by 10,000+ students across the globe, helping to equip them with the skills they need to provide the best possible care. 

Taken together, my motivation to innovate and initiate stems from a commitment to leveraging the potential of technology to drive innovation and change in healthcare for improved patient care and medical education.