Dr. Azadeh Yadollahi

Dr. Yadollahi holds a Canada Research Chair-Tier 2 in Cardio-Respiratory Engineering, is a Senior
Scientist at the University Health Network’s KITE research institute (UHN-KITE), an Associate
Professor at the University of Toronto’s Institute of Biomedical Engineering, and an adjunct
faculty at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Yadollahi is Director of FabrIc-Based REsearch (FIBRE;
www.kite-uhn.com/fibre ) platform, with the vision to deliver revolutionary textile-based
wearables for providing equitable access to healthcare, wherever users are. Dr. Yadollahi is a
strong advocate for inclusive research and practices, and has chaired the UHN-Research
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee (2020-2025). Globally, she is the
2025 IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society’s Distinguished Lecturer. She is also a
member of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s inaugural Disability Health Equity Network.
Dr. Yadollahi’s research is focused on developing digital technologies to provide equitable
access to healthcare for people with cardio-respiratory disorders. At UHN-KITE, Dr. Yadollahi
leads the SleepdB laboratory, which includes state-of-the-art technologies to examine the
intricate interplay between body fluid and cardio-respiratory disorders. SleepdB has gold
standard clinical equipment to assess sleep and cardio-respiratory function. Moreover, through
special infrastructure that enables full control of lighting and acoustics, SleepdB can realistically
simulate home or in-hospital environments for technology development and validation. Dr.
Yadollahi leads and co-leads several national initiatives to train the next generation of
researchers and innovators to design digital technologies to promote access to care for older
adults.
To date, Dr. Yadollahi has authored and co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed
manuscripts, presented over 200 times in scientific conferences, filed 3 patents, and been
invited to give >90 talks on her research at prominent national and international academic
institutions.