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UNB strengthens its global leadership in biomedical engineering with Dr. Ahmed Shehata’s appointment as Canada Research Chair in Rehabilitation Engineering. His work will drive innovation in prosthetic control and mobility research while training the next generation of experts.

The Government of Canada has announced its latest cycle of Canada Research Chairs (CRC). Among those is Dr. Ahmed Shehata, the new CRC in Rehabilitation Engineering at the University of New Brunswick (UNB).

“For six decades, UNB has continued to build its research excellence in biomedical engineering, rehabilitation engineering and mobility,” said Dr. David MaGee, UNB vice president research. “I’m very pleased to welcome Dr. Shehata to our research community, and look forward to seeing the impact of his expertise and research work, within our university, in our region, and beyond.”

Shehata is a UNB alum, having completed his PhD in electrical engineering in 2018. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Alberta and has continued his academic work there as an adjunct professor and research associate. In that time, Shehata has received research funding for his work in prosthetic control systems from the U.S. Department of Defense and the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research – War Amps Canada Research Initiative.

Shehata will primarily work with the research team at UNB’s Institute for Biomedical Engineering (IBME), a hub of interdisciplinary research activity in mobility and rehabilitation engineering.

The IBME has been a global leader in myoelectric prosthesis control for 60 years and continues to lead groundbreaking advances in the field. The institute also operates the Atlantic Clinic for Upper Limb Prosthetics, which designs, fabricates and customizes upper limb prosthetics for Canadians in need, and the Centre for Adaptive Rehabilitation Engineering, a facility with world-class infrastructure for research and clinical care in mobility rehabilitation.

Shehata’s CRC appointment reflects UNB’s emphasis on research that has a demonstrable, positive impact on our world, including improving human life.

In addition to working closely with the IBME, Shehata’s research will span across disciplines and faculties including engineering, kinesiology and computer science, and across other major research centres and initiatives at UNB, including the Research Institute in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, the NB Institute for Research Data and Training, the Centre for Research in Integrated Care and the Integrated Health Initiative.

Sheheta’s appointment also reflects UNB’s goal of educating students to be tomorrow’s research leaders and changemakers. As CRC, he will supervise and work with undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows, helping them develop their own skills and knowledge.

Shehata’s term as CRC will continue through mid-2030.