Our Team
SED Lab Director
Myrtede Alfred is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto. Prior to joining University of Toronto, she served as a research assistant professor at the Medical University of South Carolina where she spent the past three years applying her expertise as a human factors engineer to improve the delivery of care through both research and practice. She obtained her PhD in industrial engineering from Clemson University (2017). During her tenure at Clemson, she held the SREB Dissertation Fellowship and Janine Bowen Graduate Fellowship and earned multiple awards for teaching and outreach including the College of Engineering, Computing, and Applied Science’s Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant and MLK Jr. Excellence in Service Award. She is also the executive director of Marie's Kids STEAM education nonprofit.
Professor Alfred’s research examines the role of sociotechnical systems factors in supporting or hindering safety in clinical systems, with specific interests in surgical instrument reprocessing, robotic-assisted surgery, anesthesia medication delivery, and retained foreign objects. Complementing the social determinants of health framework, her research also leverage human factors and systems engineering to examine clinical systems contributions to healthcare disparities.
Matthew Chambers
Research Assistant
Matthew completed his undergraduate degree in International Development Studies from the University of Toronto Scarborough. Recognizing the emerging importance of sustainability-related Canadian commercial real estate solutions, he pursued a Master's degree in Sustainability Management at the University of Toronto Mississauga. During this time, he received the Alectra Graduate Fellowship Award for his academic performance and commitment to sustainability. Matthew also worked as a Sustainability Consultant at BOMA Canada and established Chambers Consulting Group to support underrepresented BIPOC groups within the Canadian commercial real estate industry. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. within the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto. Matthew’s research focuses on enhancing the flexibility and sustainability of intensive care units for future pandemic-like scenarios.
Hongchen Liu
Research Assistant
Hongchen Liu has completed her bachelor's degree in the Specialist in Statistical Science: Method and Practice from the University of Toronto St. George campus. Currently, she is in her first year of the MEng program in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, specializing in Analytics. Her ongoing research project focuses on enhancing patient safety by investigating the root causes of underuse in transfer safety checklists. This involves conducting a comprehensive review, developing an interview guide, and analyzing findings to recommend solutions for improving checklist usability and integration in healthcare workflows.
Research Assistant
Tosin Akintunde is a PhD student in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. She had her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Tosin is interested in applying human factor's engineering tools in improving maternal patient safety and equity in the healthcare system.
Research Assistant
Kejah was born and raised in the nation’s capital, Ottawa, Ontario, and is currently pursuing her PhD studies at the University of Toronto in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.
She completed her undergraduate degree in Cognitive Psychology at Carleton University in Ottawa and went on to complete her master’s degree in Neuroscience. Additionally, she worked as a research assistant for The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and continues to do so to this day.
After completing her undergraduate degree, she spent 3 months in medical school abroad before deciding to pursue graduate studies and follow her dreams of becoming a neurosurgeon-scientist .
In her free time, Kejah enjoys reading literature, listening to music, working out at the gym, and cooking and baking.
Victoria Yeung
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Victoria is a 3rd year industrial engineering student at the University of Toronto. She is conducting usability testing on an interface that reports patient safety events (PSEs) using a machine learning algorithm and AI explainability feature. She will also be assisting with the data analysis and descriptive statistics associated with the results of usability testing.
Research Assistant
Deenar is currently pursuing her MASc in Industrial Engineering student at the University of Toronto. She investigates macro-ergonomic methods used to analyze healthcare systems and patient safety.