School of Computing Science
Ghassan Hamarneh and Keval Vora honoured with Computing Science Research Award
SFU Computing Science professors Ghassan Hamarneh and Keval Vora have been named the inaugural recipients of SFU's School of Computing Science’s Established Career Research Award and Early Career Research Award, respectively.
The awards recognize researchers who have demonstrated noteworthy achievements at different stages of their careers and who show strong potential for continued impact in the field of computer science.
For the inaugural awards, applications were considered holistically, with attention to research quality, originality and impact; contributions to the research environment through mentorship and collaboration; and demonstrated leadership and service. The selection process also took career stage and disciplinary norms into account.
The inaugural competition attracted a strong pool of applications, reflecting the depth, quality and breadth of research being conducted across the School. The selection committee was particularly impressed by the international stature and visibility of Computing Science research, as well as the significant contributions faculty members are making in their respective fields.
Ghassan Hamarneh recognized for established research leadership
Professor Ghassan Hamarneh has built a sustained and internationally recognized research program at the intersection of artificial intelligence, computer vision and biomedical image analysis. His research develops computational methods that advance biomedical discovery and healthcare, with a growing focus on trustworthy, data-efficient and clinically integrated AI for biomedicine.
Hamarneh has more than 300 peer-reviewed publications in leading international conferences, including MICCAI, ISBI, CVPR, ICCV and IPMI, as well as journals such as Medical Image Analysis, NeuroImage, IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering and Bioinformatics.
He is the Director of SFU’s Medical Image Analysis Lab, where he develops and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in medical image analysis and biomedical computing. He also mentors postdoctoral fellows and PhD and MSc students, many of whom have received prestigious awards and recognition.
Hamarneh joined SFU in 2003 following postdoctoral appointments at the Hospital for Sick Children’s Mouse Imaging Centre and the University of Toronto’s Department of Medical Biophysics. He previously served as Associate Director for Graduate Studies in Computing Science from 2016 to 2020 and was a visiting professor at INRIA and École Centrale Paris from 2010 to 2011.
Keval Vora recognized for early-career impact in computer systems
Associate Professor Keval Vora has been teaching and conducting research at SFU Computing Science since 2017. He has established a strong early-career research program in computer systems, with impactful work published in leading systems venues and open-source software that has gained both academic visibility and industry adoption.
Vora’s research focuses on building scalable solutions for modern data analytics systems, particularly in graph data processing and management. His work sits at the intersection of algorithmic semantics and systems, encompassing the design of both generalized and specialized solutions across different layers of the technology stack.
As a member of SFU’s Systems research group, Vora is also contributing to the growth of modern systems research at SFU, including connections with emerging areas such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
The inaugural Established Career and Early Career Research Awards highlight the strength and diversity of research across SFU Computing Science and recognize the contributions of faculty members advancing knowledge and innovation in their fields