Dr. Laleh Seyyed-Kalantari is an Assistant Professor at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering and a faculty affiliate at the Vector Institute. She earned her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from McMaster University and completed her NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship (2019–2022) at the Vector Institute and the University of Toronto. Her research centers on AI safety, risk, bias, and interpretability, aiming to mitigate bias and prevent digital exclusion across cultural, social, and healthcare domains. At her ResponsibleAI Lab, she leverages generative AI and foundation models with adaptive design strategies to improve model performance for underrepresented groups and promote equitable access, representation, and cultural inclusion in AI systems. While her work often applies to health and societal contexts, her broader goal is to develop AI systems that embed cultural and ethical awareness, ensuring technology serves diverse communities responsibly.
Dr. Seyyed-Kalantari also contributes to policy efforts through the AI Insights for Policymakers Program, initiated by CIFAR and Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute (2024–2025). Her accolades include the Google Research Scholar Award (2024), two York University Research Award (2025) for Outstanding Early Career and Significant Knowledge Mobilization & Impact, NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship (2018) and the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship (2022, declined). Her pioneering work on fairness in medical imaging has been featured in several prominent technology news outlets.
