Meet the 2025-2026 AMS-Fitzgerald Fellows
We are proud to present the incoming cohort of the AMS-Fitzgerald Fellowship in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Human-Centred Leadership for 2025-2026.
In our rapidly evolving AI landscape, the AMS-Fitzgerald Fellowship creates an inquiry-oriented learning environment that reimagines a human-centred approach to health leadership. This two-year professional development program fellowship, sponsored by AMS Healthcare, provides an opportunity for early and mid-career health systems leaders to develop knowledge, skills and capacity to meet the opportunities and challenges of AI in health care, public health and health systems.
The AMS-Fitzgerald Fellowship was created in partnership by the Joint Centre for Bioethics in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and AMS Healthcare.
Congratulations to the 2025-26 AMS-Fitzgerald Fellows!
Akorede Adekoya
Project Manager, Black Health Strategy, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Akorede Adekoya is an excellence-driven Digital Health Leader with several years of experience in managing medium-large scale innovative healthcare projects. Akorede has been a healthcare leader with different distinguished organizations. With a career that has spanned pharmacy and healthcare leadership roles in Canada, Nigeria and the U.S. Akorede holds a Master of Science in Global Health from McMaster University, and a Bachelor of Pharmacy. Akorede is passionate about mental health, substance use disorder management and using digital health interventions to improve healthcare outcomes for everyone, especially marginalized and underserved populations. Akorede enjoys writing fiction novels, reading, mentoring, and playing football in his free time.
Tabitha Chiu
Senior Manager, Human Factors and Systems Design, Sinai Health System
Tabitha Chiu is a healthcare human factors leader, systems thinker, and practical innovator. With a passion for improving health care systems, Tabitha blends engineering expertise with real-world insight. She is a strategic problem solver who drives operational excellence by translating complex challenges into practical, effective solutions. She currently leads a team of senior specialists at Sinai Health System in Canada, embedding human factors engineering principles into patient safety reviews, operational improvements, environmental design, and health technology implementation. She has previously consulted for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Michael Garron Hospital, and global medical device companies through Healthcare Human Factors at University Health Network.
Anne Dabrowski
Director, Information Services, Centre for Effective Practice (CEP)
Anne Dabrowski is Director of Information Services at the Centre for Effective Practice, where she leads strategy at the intersection of clinical evidence, digital infrastructure, and systems change. Trained as a medical librarian, she brings a critical lens to how knowledge is produced, accessed, understood, and applied in healthcare. Her work examines the assumptions and incentives embedded in health information systems, with particular interest in how dehumanizing abstractions and feedback loops reinforce bias or distort care. Anne is a frequent educator on AI literacy and is always happy to talk about one of her pet projects, unearthing the hidden but often highly significant flaws of AI-powered medical search engines. She holds a Master of Information from the University of Toronto.
Nihal Haque
Physician Lead, Geriatric Consultation Team, North York General Hospital (NYGH)
Dr. Nihal Haque is a geriatrician at North York General Hospital in Toronto and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. He is a physician representative of his hospital's AI working group and is part of an interdisciplinary team that recently obtained federal funding through Canada Health Infoway to develop AI solutions to reduce healthcare worker burnout. Dr. Haque also leads AI-driven research in other areas such as improving delirium care and enhancing medical education with AI chatbots. He is also actively involved with the Temerty Centre for AI Research and Education in Medicine (TCAIREM) education committee as a faculty advisor.
Tanya Horsley
Director, Research and Evaluation, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
Dr. Tanya Horsley is the Director of Research and Evaluation at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, where she leads the development and execution of research strategies aligned with the organization’s goals, including recent Task Forces on Research and Artificial Intelligence. She oversees the national research grants and awards portfolio, supporting evidence-driven initiatives that advance medical education and continuing professional development. A recognized expert in evidence syntheses and reporting guidelines, Dr. Horsley has played a pivotal role in driving international efforts to enhance the quality and transparency of research, ensuring findings are communicated clearly and effectively applied to improve medical education practices. Dr. Horsley holds degrees from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Ottawa.
Atena Keshavarzian
Director, Strategy & Digital Transformation, Healthtech Consultants
Atena Keshavarzian is an impact-driven leader with over 10 years of experience at the intersection of technology, strategy, system thinking and innovation. She has extensive experience advising health care executives in Canada. Currently, she is a Director at Healthtech Consultants, where she partners with jurisdictions and health care organizations to advance the Canadian health care system toward becoming more patient-centric, connected and outcomes-driven. Prior to Healthtech, Atena advised public sector clients at PwC Canada and held various roles at AI, data, and medical device start-ups and scale-ups. She is an engineer by training and a University of Toronto alumna.
Amy Lang
Executive Director, Patient Oriented Research, Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Amy Lang is the Executive Director of Patient Oriented Research at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canada’s federal health research funding agency. In this role, Amy provides leadership and expertise for Canada’s Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR) and other patient-oriented research initiatives across CIHR. Amy’s career has spanned all three levels of government, with a focus on strengthening engagement of people and communities in the development of public policies, services and research. Amy has a BA and MA in Sociology from McGill University and a Ph.D. in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Briana Layard
Clinical Lead for Research and AI, Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, University Health Network (UHN)
Briana Layard is a healthcare leader and Registered Nurse currently serving as Clinical Lead for Research and AI at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre at UHN. She champions ethical, patient-centred AI integration in cardiac care, supporting co-design initiatives and education programs to enhance clinical adoption. Briana recently earned her Master of Health Science in Health Administration from the University of Toronto, deepening her expertise in health systems leadership and innovation. With a strong foundation in patient care delivery, clinical research and interdisciplinary collaboration, she is passionate about advocacy for, and the advancing of equitable, evidence-based solutions that transform patient care through responsible technology and compassionate practice.
Ryan MacNeil
Project Executive and Director, Digital Strategy and Governance, Department of Health & Wellness, Government of Nova Scotia
Ryan MacNeil is a health leader based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with a background in engineering and health system transformation. He serves as a Project Executive and Director of Digital Strategy & Governance at the Nova Scotia Department of Health and Wellness and was previously with the Nova Scotia Health Innovation Hub. In addition to his role in the Department of Health and Wellness, Ryan contributes to digital health in Canada through roles with Health Canada (National Chair, Artificial Intelligence) and Canada Health Infoway (Chair, Atlantic Digital Health Collaborative). Ryan is leading the AI Scribe Program for Nova Scotia in Primary Care where we are reimaging the way providers digitally approach their delivery to medicine and partnering to advance an AI first delivery approach to care.
Laila Nasser
Emergency Physician and Director of Quality Improvement, Innovation and Human Factors, Emergency Department, Sunnybrook Health Sciences
Dr. Laila Nasser is an Emergency Physician and Director of Quality Improvement, Innovation, and Human Factors at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. She holds an academic appointment as Assistant Professor (Clinician in Quality & Innovation) at the University of Toronto. Dr. Nasser completed her residency in Emergency Medicine (FRCPC) at McMaster University, serving as Chief Resident and founding the Resident Wellness Committee. She earned her MSc in Surgical Science and Practice at the University of Oxford, where her research evaluated AI-driven triage solutions in emergency medicine. Her work focuses on using innovative technologies to improve operational efficiency in the emergency department.
Louise Pichette
Director, Health Sciences, MaRS Discovery District
Louise leads Health Sciences at MaRS Discovery District, a non-profit organization supporting over 1,200 Canadian science and technology companies. Located in Toronto’s Discovery District, MaRS provides state-of-the-art lab space, industry connections, and vital access to Canada’s healthcare research ecosystem. Louise also oversees flagship programs at MaRS that address complex societal challenges, including the Mobility Unlimited Hub - a global innovation initiative in partnership with the Toyota Mobility Foundation - and the MaRS Innovation Challenges portfolio. Together, these programs source breakthrough solutions to pressing issues and have awarded over $6 million in funding to early-stage innovators. Louise holds an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Life Sciences from Queen’s University and a Master’s Degree in Management of Innovation, where she was valedictorian of her graduating class at the University of Toronto.
Paul Sharma
Director, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Peel Public Health, Region of Peel
Paul Sharma is Director of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention at Peel Public Health, Region of Peel. He previously managed Oral Health programs at Middlesex-London and Hastings & Prince Edward Counties Health Units. Paul is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry and currently serves as President of the Ontario Association of Public Health Dentistry (OAPHD), also representing OAPHD on the Association of Local Public Health Agencies Board of Directors. He began his career as a registered dental hygienist in Toronto, working with individuals living with HIV, and has contributed to dental hygiene education in both teaching and leadership roles.
Andrea Waddell
Medical Director, Clinical Informatics and Quality, Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care
Andrea Waddell is a psychiatrist and the Medical Director of Clinical Informatics and Quality Standards at Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care. She is a certified specialist physician with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. She has completed a postgraduate certificate from Harvard University in Safety, Quality, Informatics & Leadership. Dr. Waddell is the Associate Director of Adult Psychiatry & Health Systems at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She is the regional clinical lead for Mental Health and Addictions for Ontario Health – Central Region. Dr. Waddell is committed to improving the use of technology to improve patient care including optimizing the electronic medical record for mental health presentations and the use of Machine Learning to predict patients at risk in mental health settings.
The AMS-Fitzgerald Fellowship in AI and Human-Centred Leadership is delivered by the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and powered by OISE Continuing Professional Learning.