McCAIS - People

Samira A. Rahimi

Dr. Samira A. Rahimi, B.Eng, PhD, is a Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in AI and Advanced Digital Primary Health Care. She is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences at McGill University, and an Associate Academic Member of Mila – Quebec AI Institute. She also serves as Research Co-Director of the General Practice Residency (GPR) program in dentistry at the Jewish General Hospital.

With an interdisciplinary background, her research, supported by national and international funding, focuses on developing and implementing advanced digital health technologies—including AI-enabled tools—to improve primary health care. She is particularly committed to improving care for vulnerable and underserved populations, ensuring that innovation benefits everyone.

Elsa Vasseur

Dr. Elsa Vasseur is an Associate Professor in the Department of Animal Science at McGill University, a William Dawson Scholar, and Co-Chairholder of the Research and Innovation Chair in Animal Welfare and Artificial Intelligence (WELL-E). A recognized leader in responsible and inclusive innovation, she advances the development, governance, and deployment of artificial intelligence to address complex societal and environmental challenges.

Inclusive innovation is guided by the principle that substantial system transformation must be co-developed with stakeholders while delivering tangible societal and environmental benefits. Dr. Vasseur leads interdisciplinary research and inclusive innovation initiatives that bring together industry leaders, producers, policymakers, and community organizations as end users that shape the future of responsible AI. She develops scalable solutions that advance sustainable food systems and food security, enhance the wellbeing of people and animals, foster resilient communities, and drive sustainable systems transformation.

By leveraging the inclusive innovation approach, her leadership has generated actionable recommendations and has advanced the responsible deployment of AI technologies in real-world settings. While her current research focus is related to agricultural contexts, Dr. Vasseur looks to extend the reach of the inclusive innovation approach into other disciplines through her McCAIS co-directorship.