About Me

Hello! I am an Lead Applied Machine Learning Scientist at Ellipsis Health, based in Toronto, ON, Canada, with a rich background of 10 years of ML model development and 15 years in leading diverse outreach projects and global teams of up to 1000 people. My research focuses on deep learning for healthcare, bioinformatics, and NLP (text and speech) with a special interest in multimodality, generative AI, transfer learning, domain adaptation, debiasing, and skewed datasets. So far, I've explored 38 countries across three continents, along with 23 US states, and 3 Canadian provinces, and lived in four countries.

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ML for Cognitive and Mental Health

ML for Cognitive and Mental Health

I am leading ML team at Ellipsis Health, which is woking on improving mental healthcare through AI and speech. The company is also developing conversational AI care manager assistant using LLMs and RAG. In addition, I am working with scientists from CAMH on AI-based CBT therapy app using RAG and LLMs. Previously, at Cambridge Cognition, I was committed to enhancing global research, accelerating treatment development and improving patient outcomes in conditions affecting brain health. My personal focus was on developing and implementing predictive and generative deep learning models in multimodal and multilingual settings for understanding and early prediction of cognitive and mental health diseases. I was also a General Chair of the Machine Learning for Cognitive and Mental Health Workshop @ AAAI 2024. My interest in ML for mental health starts in 2019 with NIH funded (2020-2022) collaboration on ML for anxiety of adolescents.

Temple University

Temple University

During my journey as a Teaching and Research Assistant at Temple University, while pursuing my PhD in machine learning, I thrived in a vibrant multicultural environment. Collaborating on research projects funded by NSF, NIH, CDC, and IQVIA, I worked alongside experts in medicine, psychology, and biology. I was a virtual chair of ICLR 2021 and 2022 and ICML 2021. I taught courses in Data Mining, C/Assembler, and Data Structures, as well as developed an NLP course in 2020 approved by the department chair. Actively involved in community outreach, I led the organization of MASC-SSL 2022, Research Mixers, STARS Computing Corps workshops, and taught through STARS Computing Corps and TechGirlz projects. In addition, I mentored four PhD and five undergraduate students.

Meta

Meta

During my PhD, I completed four internships, including positions at Alliance Data, Meta, and LinkedIn, with my time at Meta standing out as particularly transformative. At Meta, I had the unique opportunity to propose, implement, and evaluate my deep learning solutions on large datasets, offering a hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology. This experience not only allowed me to hone my technical skills but also provided me with a glimpse into the dynamic environment of a leading global tech company in Silicon Valley.

University of Belgrade

University of Belgrade

I earned my undergraduate and master's degrees from the University of Belgrade. Following my second year, I took a two-year hiatus to participate in a study exchange program at the University of Maribor. There, I developed a fascination with machine learning and gained hands-on computer science experience. Upon my return to Belgrade, I balanced my roles as a Software Engineer (Arbor Education) with completing my bachelor's and master's degrees. I was actively involved in Board of European Students of Technology, serving in local groups, European teams, and as a grants coordinator on the European management team. In this role, I collaborated closely with the European Commission - Youth, and led Erasmus grant applications. I published two papers on Higher Education, led and partook in numerous seminars, courses, and engineering competitions, and traveled extensively across Europe. Additionally, I leveraged my expertise to become a technical tutor and soft-skill trainer, delivering over 200 hours of training throughout Europe.

High School

Early Years

Born amidst the onset of the civil war that led to Yugoslavia's dissolution, and raised in a village, my science journey began in high school. I attended high-school for gifted mathematicians, where math, science, and CS were taught by professors from the University of Nis. From the age of 12, I've secured awards in mathematics, physics, and chemistry at national and federal competitions. My efforts were recognized with numerous national and city awards, as well as scholarships for young talents that allowed me to pursue my dreams. However, three pivotal experiences shaped my future. First, the ISSYP program at the Perimeter Institute charted my course to Canada and ignited my passion for travel. Second, the research and publications at the Petnica Science Center cemented my path in the scientific community. Lastly, founding the Science Festival commenced my commitment to education, defining me as a teacher and advocate for science.

Contact me

Feel free to contact me via email or follow me on social media using the link-icons below. Reach out to me with teaching and speaking opportunities, or book a meeting to discuss possible collaboration projects.