The Vector Institute has strengthened Ontario’s AI research ecosystem by elevating 13 exceptional researchers to Faculty Member status. These former Faculty Affiliates will now take on expanded roles, driving impactful AI research across Ontario. This brings Vector’s robust faculty community up to 55 Faculty Members and 106 Faculty Affiliates, reinforcing the province’s position as Canada’s premier destination for collaborative research and innovation.

This enhanced faculty structure reflects Vector’s continued appeal to world-class research talent and our comprehensive approach to fostering AI research excellence across Ontario’s ecosystem.

New Faculty Members: research leadership in action

Thirteen researchers are transitioning to Vector Faculty Members this year, deepening their engagement and expanding their leadership roles within our community. These accomplished researchers, formerly Faculty Affiliates, will drive research impact that leverages their proven alignment with Vector’s mission and research innovation.

Hassan Ashtiani

Faculty Member

Marcus Brubaker

Faculty Member

Igor Gilitschenski

Faculty Member

Alec Jacobson

Faculty Member

Anne Martel

Faculty Member

Seyed Mohamad Moosavi

Faculty Member

Vardan Papyan

Faculty Member

Sushant Sachdeva

Faculty Member

Florian Shkurti

Faculty Member

Ruth Urner

Faculty Member

Nandita Vijaykumar

Faculty Member

Hongyang Zhang

Faculty Member

Xiaodan Zhu

Faculty Member

As Faculty Members, these researchers gain priority access to a high performance computing environment, full-time access to Vector’s programming, and desk space for both themselves and their labs. They benefit from expanded opportunities to lead transformative research initiatives, dedicated research support, direct industry partner connections, and the ability to supervise postdoctoral researchers within Vector’s ecosystem. Their enhanced engagement will enable them to drive Vector’s core research priorities while contributing their specialized expertise to Ontario’s AI leadership.

This transition reflects the natural evolution of exceptional researchers who have demonstrated both outstanding contributions and deep commitment to advancing AI research across institutional boundaries.

Faculty Affiliates: Vital contributors to Ontario’s AI ecosystem

Complementing our Faculty Members, our 106 Faculty Affiliates include 90 researchers continuing from our recent renewal process, serving as vital contributors to Ontario’s AI research landscape. These researchers, holding primary appointments at institutions throughout the province, form an essential part of our research community alongside our core faculty.

Ajay Agrawal

Faculty Affiliate

Ayesha Ali

Faculty Affiliate

Ashton Anderson

Faculty Affiliate

Shahab Asoodeh

Faculty Affiliate

Vaughn Betz

Faculty Affiliate

Mamatha Bhat

Faculty Affiliate

Neil Bruce

Faculty Affiliate

Kieran Campbell

Faculty Affiliate

Timothy Chan

Faculty Affiliate

Fanny Chevalier

Faculty Affiliate

Radu Craiu

Faculty Affiliate

Elliot Creager

Faculty Affiliate

William Cunningham

Faculty Affiliate

Mark Daley

Faculty Affiliate

Konstantinos Derpanis

Faculty Affiliate

Sven Dickinson

Faculty Affiliate

Elham Dolatabadi

Faculty Affiliate

James Elder

Faculty Affiliate

Melike Erol-Kantarci

Faculty Affiliate

Benjamin Fine

Faculty Affiliate

Federico Gaiti

Faculty Affiliate

Saeed Ghadimi

Faculty Affiliate

Ali Ghodsi

Faculty Affiliate

Avi Goldfarb

Faculty Affiliate

Katarina Grolinger

Faculty Affiliate

Jessica Gronsbell

Faculty Affiliate

Maura Grossman

Faculty Affiliate

Yuhong Guo

Faculty Affiliate

Benjamin Haibe-Kains

Faculty Affiliate

Jason Hattrick-Simpers

Faculty Affiliate

Jesse Hoey

Faculty Affiliate

Ting Hu

Faculty Affiliate

Tracy Jenkin

Faculty Affiliate

Amir-Hossein Karimi

Faculty Affiliate

Jonathan Kelly

Faculty Affiliate

April Khademi

Faculty Affiliate

Farzad Khalvati

Faculty Affiliate

Ashish Khisti

Faculty Affiliate

Anastasis Kratsios

Faculty Affiliate

Kyros Kutulakos

Faculty Affiliate

Kate Larson

Faculty Affiliate

Vianey Leos Barajas

Faculty Affiliate

David Lie

Faculty Affiliate

Jimmy Lin

Faculty Affiliate

David Lindell

Faculty Affiliate

Dan Lizotte

Faculty Affiliate

Amin Madani

Faculty Affiliate

Muhammad Mamdani

Faculty Affiliate

Chris McIntosh

Faculty Affiliate

Paul David McNicholas

Faculty Affiliate

Kuldeep Meel

Faculty Affiliate

Roger G. Melko

Faculty Affiliate

Alex Mihailidis

Faculty Affiliate

Quaid Morris

Faculty Affiliate

Andreas Moshovos

Faculty Affiliate

Wenlong Mou

Faculty Affiliate

Christian Muise

Faculty Affiliate

Jeffrey Negrea

Faculty Affiliate

Mihai Nica

Faculty Affiliate

Aleksandar Nikolov

Faculty Affiliate

Fahad Razak

Faculty Affiliate

David Rokeby

Faculty Affiliate

Jeffrey S. Rosenthal

Faculty Affiliate

Reza Samavi

Faculty Affiliate

Scott Sanner

Faculty Affiliate

Gregory Schwartz

Faculty Affiliate

Luis Seco

Faculty Affiliate

Laleh Seyyed-Kalantari

Faculty Affiliate

Nisarg Shah

Faculty Affiliate

Xujie Si

Faculty Affiliate

Amber Simpson

Faculty Affiliate

Karan Singh

Faculty Affiliate

Stephen L. Smith

Faculty Affiliate

Ranil Sonnadara

Faculty Affiliate

Lincoln Stein

Faculty Affiliate

Suzanne Stevenson

Faculty Affiliate

Lisa Strug

Faculty Affiliate

Babak Taati

Faculty Affiliate

Isaac Tamblyn

Faculty Affiliate

Rick Valenzano

Faculty Affiliate

Olga Veksler

Faculty Affiliate

Amol Verma

Faculty Affiliate

Boyu Wang

Faculty Affiliate

Linbo Wang

Faculty Affiliate

Steven Waslander

Faculty Affiliate

Joseph Jay Williams

Faculty Affiliate

Yang Xu

Faculty Affiliate

Yimin Yang

Faculty Affiliate

Grace Yi

Faculty Affiliate

Fattane Zarrinkalam

Faculty Affiliate

Vector Faculty Affiliates participate in our extensive programming, from networking events and workshops to specialized training sessions, while collaborating with industry sponsors and health partners where research interests align. With access to Vector’s facilities and computing resources, they contribute diverse perspectives and expertise that enrich our entire research ecosystem.

Collective impact across Ontario’s AI landscape

Together, our 55 Faculty Members and 106 Faculty Affiliates represent the breadth and depth of AI research in Ontario and beyond. From foundational machine learning algorithms to breakthrough applications in healthcare, robotics, and natural language processing, this network drives innovation across multiple critical domains.

“Our faculty community is the bedrock of our research ecosystem and supports Vector’s direct impact on innovation. The strength of our faculty and affiliates affirms Vector’s status as one of the world’s leading AI institutes,” says Vector’s Research Director, Daniel Roy. “These researchers are advancing critical frontiers, from AI applications in robotics and physical systems to breakthrough approaches in disease detection and diagnosis. This is the level of research excellence that drives real-world solutions.”

Vector’s community embodies the scientific rigour that distinguishes Canada’s AI ecosystem, actively pursuing novel discoveries and applications that accelerate breakthrough innovations. Rather than working in isolation, these faculty participate in Vector’s dynamic research environment where interdisciplinary approaches tackle complex AI challenges that require diverse perspectives and expertise.

The full listing of our Faculty Members and Faculty Affiliate Affiliate community can be found here. 

Looking ahead to 2026

Vector’s commitment to growing our community of esteemed faculty continues with the upcoming Faculty Affiliate application cycle opening in January 2026. This represents an opportunity for leading researchers across the province to join our collaborative community. Together, we’re defining the future of artificial intelligence through groundbreaking research and innovation.

The application process will seek researchers whose work demonstrates excellence and strong alignment with Vector’s mission to advance responsible AI research and deployment.

Vector’s enhanced faculty structure reinforces Ontario’s leadership in artificial intelligence, building on the province’s foundational role in modern machine learning to continue driving breakthrough research. By supporting our remarkable talent, Vector is ensuring the next wave of AI breakthroughs will originate here in Ontario.

The best research happens through collaboration. Vector’s network of Faculty Members and Faculty Affiliates positions us perfectly for the innovations ahead as we continue fostering the outstanding AI research leaders who will shape our future.