Dr. Ipek Oruç

Biography

İpek Oruç is a prominent researcher at the University of British Columbia, where she leads the NOVA Lab in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on integrating computational techniques, data science, and psychophysics to advance visual health. The lab aims to democratize access to data-scientific techniques and create AI-based systems that analyze health data on both individual and population levels, enhancing the understanding of the brain mechanisms involved in visual recognition. Oruç's team has pioneered innovative data-scientific methods for extracting valuable insights from medical, neuroimaging, and behavioral data. The long-term objectives of her research include the development of low-cost AI models for automated diagnoses using non-invasive retinal imaging, as well as rehabilitation strategies to improve visual function in patients with eye and brain disorders. Her work emphasizes increasing equity in healthcare access, particularly for rural, remote, and Indigenous communities in Canada. Oruç has been awarded grants for her research projects, including a CIHR Grant to explore sex and gender differences in diabetic retinopathy. She recently welcomed a new member to her lab, Athavan Gananathan, who is pursuing a Master's thesis on automated retinal image segmentation using deep learning, and her latest publication in Current Biology investigates the daily visual experiences of adults with autism spectrum disorder.

Research Interests