IHPME new faculty spotlight: A Q&A with Dr. Zahra Shakeri
June 6/2022
Dr. Zahra Shakeri is an assistant professor in the Clinical Epidemiology and Health Services Research programs at IHPME.
Growing up in Tehran, Iran, Dr. Zahra Shakeri was fascinated with two things: art and math. “My first desire was to become an artist. At the same time, I loved math. When I was in fifth and sixth grade, I could spend hours and hours solving math problems,” says Shakeri, over a Zoom call on a sunny May afternoon.
Shakeri, who has worked in computer science for 15 years, can now say she thinks the discipline blends those two interests in that it requires both problem-solving and creativity. She completed her PhD in computer science at the University of Calgary, where she also did a postdoctoral fellowship in health informatics. She moved to Boston, Massachusetts to complete a second postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School in health informatics and information visualization. In June 2022, she joined the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation as an assistant professor in the Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research, and Health Services Research programs. She specializes in data science methods for population health and health systems.
Here, she speaks to Alisa Kim about her research, what drew her to IHPME and what she looks forward to living in Toronto.