Harnessing data research:

From Cumming School of Medicine Dean

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Healing the body with your own cells, microbes and genes

Treatment-resistant cancers can leave patients and families feeling hopeless.

Harnessing data research: AI in the emergency department

Busy emergency departments can be challenging for patients and physicians.

Prioritizing women’s health

Through innovation, research, and compassionate care to empower healthier lives at every stage.

Shaping the future of health care

The future of health care is defined by innovation: a new tool allows researchers to rapidly sequence a patient’s microbiome.

Meet the donors

These CSM donors are advancing health, championing innovation and accelerating breakthroughs.

Investing in AI and data research in medicine

Visionary philanthropist Susan Nelson, BA’70, made a $12-million gift to create the new Nelson PULSE Centre for Precision Medicine and Learning Health Systems at the Cumming School of Medicine. This transformational investment will scale expertise in AI research and data management to better connect Alberta’s health data and uncover life-saving insights. Click here to learn more.

It’s 2 a.m. You are experiencing a medical emergency and head to the closest hospital. The sliding doors open to a brightly lit waiting room. Every chair is full. Some patients are seen right away, while others have been there for hours. The situations are complex and the stakes and emotions are high.

Busy waiting rooms and long wait times are challenging for patients when they are at their most vulnerable. Emergency department clinicians feel those challenges every day.     

UCalgary medical data science researcher Dr. Jessalyn Kathryn Holodinsky, BKin’12, MSc’15, PhD’19, and engineering researcher Dr. Steve Drew, PhD, are addressing these pressures through artificial intelligence (AI). 

In this unique collaboration, Holodinsky, Drew and their teams have developed a platform dubbed ED Sim — an AI simulation of a real emergency department.   

“Almost all of us have been to an emergency department,” says Holodinsky. “Many of us have had difficult experiences. This is an opportunity to improve a system that touches everyone.”  

Emergency physician Dr. Braden Teitge, MD, PGME’18, knows about those difficult experiences better than most.   

“Patient volumes are very high, and we struggle at times to meet demand,” says Teitge, who consults regularly with the ED Sim team. “Staffing is limited, space is limited, and we’re constantly asking: How do we get patients assessed and treated as efficiently as possible?” 

Agentic AI at work

The answer may lie in the ED Sim, which uses a full digital floor plan an emergency department, layered with autonomous AI “agents” that represent patients, nurses, physicians and other staff.   

Each agent has its own goals, behaviours and realistic randomness, and uses real historical data. Patients might be modelled as someone with chest pain seeking immediate care, or someone with minor injuries, or someone with complex chronic illness. Provider agents then evaluate, move or treat them throughout the department.  

The result is a vivid, real‑time simulation where researchers can both see the issues and test solutions.   

“From a bird’s‑eye view, you can see where things get stuck,” says Holodinsky. “Maybe it’s diagnostic imaging. Maybe it’s a patient waiting eight hours for a hospital bed. These patterns are hard to see when you’re living the rush of the ED floor. But the agents let us view them in a brand-new way.”  

Adds Drew: “Our goal is to give our partners informed advice so they can make better decisions. Not by guessing, but by simulating.”  

Testing innovations safely  

Now that the simulation is built, the team can test potential solutions. What if they added one more bed? What if night shifts had one extra diagnostic imaging technologist? What happens when flu season hits and daily patient volumes spike? 

“We finally have a way to try bold ideas without impacting day-to-day operations in the ED,” Holodinsky says.   

Teitge is excited about the possibilities: “In the ED, being able to test solutions ahead of time is invaluable. Simulation could also help us understand why some days the wait times are so much worse than others.”  

In Memoriam  

Dr. Hude Quan
Sept. 26, 1962 –Feb. 2, 2026

The Cumming School of Medicine honours Dr. Hude Quan, PhD’98, a globally recognized leader and innovator in health data science, who passed away this year. His work transformed how medical data are used to improve patient care, inform policy and advance research worldwide. He was instrumental in the founding of major data and informatics initiatives at UCalgary. His family is establishing a student award in his memory at the university to support future scholars working at the intersection of health and data.

Far-reaching impact   

While the technology itself is relatively new, Drew emphasizes that the impact goes far beyond research outputs. The project has become a training ground, inspiring students at every level.  

“In just under two years, this project has involved a high school student, undergraduates, master’s students and PhD students,” says Drew. “We’ve had students who never thought about graduate school suddenly want to pursue research. They see that their skills can help address real problems and make a difference.”  

The team is now seeking additional funding for expansion across Alberta, including simulations for all Calgary EDs and eventually rural Alberta hospitals.   

The future of emergency care   

Despite the complex challenges of the ED, Teitge, Drew and Holodinsky all express hope for the future of emergency care.    

“I think there’s real opportunity for technology to help us improve health care going forward,” says Teitge.  

Drew agrees, highlighting the importance of collaboration across disciplines and institutions.  

“Medical challenges affect all of us,” he says. “They’re not just for doctors to solve. Engineers, students, researchers — we all have a role to play.”  

Click here to watch the Emergency Departments simulation in action (for illustrative purposes only).