Professor Dr. Laleh Seyyed Kalantari

Biography

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 the NSERC Postdoctoral Fellowship (2019–2022) at the Vector Institute, University of Toronto. Her research focuses on AI safety, risk, bias, and interpretability, aiming to mitigate bias and prevent digital exclusion in cultural, social, and healthcare domains. Dr. Seyyed-Kalantari leads the ResponsibleAI Lab, which leverages generative AI foundation models and adaptive design strategies to improve model performance for underrepresented groups and promote equitable access and representation in AI systems. Her work is often applied to health and societal contexts, with a broader goal of developing AI systems that embed cultural and ethical awareness, ensuring technology serves diverse communities responsibly. She also contributes to policy efforts through the AI Insights Policymakers Program, initiated by CIFAR Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute (2024–2025). Her accolades include the Google Research Scholar Award (2024) and the York University Research Award (2025) for Outstanding Early Career Significant Knowledge Mobilization & Impact, among others. Her pioneering work on fairness in medical imaging has been featured in prominent technology news outlets.

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Awards