Dr. Amber Simpson is the 2020 recipient of the Mihran and Mary Basmajian Award for Excellence in Health Research. The award was established by Dr. J.V. Basmajian, in memory of his parents. It is awarded annually to a member of the Faculty of Health Sciences who has made an outstanding contribution to health research over the past several years.
Dr. Simpson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences and the School of Computing. She is also the Canada Research Chair in Biomedical Computing and Informatics and was recently appointed as Director of the Human Mobility Research Centre, Queen’s University & Kingston Health Sciences Centre.
Dr. Simpson specializes in biomedical data science and computer-aided surgery. She has contributed to over 85 publications in machine learning, biomedical data science and medical image analysis. Currently, Dr. Simpson is involved in biomarker development. Through imaging biomarkers, she is able to extract information that can help create predictive models, inform cancer treatment and improve patient care. Her work has been recognized by the American Association of Cancer Research and Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and she has recently received substantial funding from several institutions including the Canadian Institute of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the National Institutes of Health. As a mentor and educator, Dr. Simpson continues to supervise undergraduate and graduate students as well as clinical trainees in a variety of research projects toward improving health care.