Bhavana Akilan (She/Her)

Laidlaw Undergraduate Leadership & Research Scholar 2023-24, University of Toronto

About Bhavana Akilan

I am a college sophomore at the prestigious University of Toronto, Scarborough double majoring in Neuroscience and Human Biology. I am a proud recipient of the Laidlaw Foundation Undergraduate Leadership and Research Scholarship 2023. My research project aims to explore the feasibility of a Deep Learning model to diagnose Alzheimer's disease at an early stage with the help of open-source EEG datasets. Having been part of the winning team at the Ontario Shores x UTSC The Hub's Hackathon, my team won a prize money of $5000 and the opportunity to work closely with Ontario Shores in the future to implement our AI-powered solution to help them navigate their database of internal and external resources more effectively.

I work as a Research Assistant at the Therapeutic Interventions for Psychosis Lab at UTSC under Dr Michael Best. I have contributed to monthly article summaries, literature reviews and systematic reviews, in addition to assessing participants for clinical trials. I am familiar with administering a battery of tests, including MCCB, RR, WRAT-5, PANSS6, PSYRATS, BNSS, EEG tasks as well as computer-based tests. I have conducted in-person clinical interviews as well, which helped me understand the level of skill and ethic required while interacting with participants as well as fellow researchers.

Some of my other research experiences include my role as a Transcriber for The Scoliosis Success Project at the University of British Columbia, as well as my role as a research student at COBWEB UTSC under Dr Brad Bass. My research interests include Alzheimer's disease, AI in Healthcare, Schizophrenia, fear expression in cases of sociopathy and caregiver stress.

I possess extensive volunteer experience as a Youth Ambassador for EKAM foundation. Some causes that I am passionate about include Women and Children's healthcare, Organ Donation as well as Women in STEM.

I truly believe that it is important to know who you are before making a decision about what you want to be. Instead of prematurely focusing on one area, I wish to learn, adapt and dive into the future with the determination to grow.

I am a/an:

Undergraduate Leadership & Research Scholar

University

University of Toronto

Laidlaw Cohort Year

2023

Research Topic

Machine Learning Neuroscience

Area of Expertise

Biomedical Sciences Entrepreneurship

I am from:

India

I speak:

English Hindi Tamil

My hobbies/interests are:

Badminton Chess Dance Gym Photography

I am open to participating in mentoring/buddy programmes

Yes

Influencer Of

Topics

Channels contributed to:

Leadership Scholars' Stories

Rooms participated in:

University of Toronto