Computing Science PhD student Maryam Sadeghi is taking home one of 10 Gold e-Poster awards at the World Congress of Dermatology in Seoul, Korea, for creating a computer program that uses images to detect signs of skin cancer.

There were more than 2,400 submissions to the e-Poster competition and awards were selected by a scientific committee based on criteria such as excellence in research, novelty, results and presentation.

Maryam’s research topic resulted in computer programs for (1) detecting and segmenting a skin lesion from normal skin in dermoscopic images, and (2) locating and analyzing dermoscopic structures and features that may suggest malignancy.

“When I started my Masters program in the Medical Image Analysis lab under Dr. Stella Atkins’ supervision, I knew that I was going to be involved in one of the most touchable health-related problems of our modern life which is cancer detection and prevention,” said Maryam. “I was so enthusiastic to do whatever I can to serve people who are fighting against cancer.”

During Maryam’s undergrad studies, she worked on Computer Vision applications in Intelligent Traffic Control. She grew interested in image processing applications in artificial intelligence and in health-related problems, so she decided to apply for a program in Medical Image Analysis. During this project, she had a chance to work with a team of expert dermatologists and was able to base her research on real clinical problems.

Click here to download Maryam Sadeghi’s presentation or visit her research website.

For more information on the World Congress of Dermatology, visit http://www.wcd2011.org/.

For more information, contact fascomms@sfu.ca.