Sara Ross-Howe

Sara Ross-Howe has worked in the field of data science and product management for over 20 years. From 1999-2002, they were the Manager of the Data Mining Team at International Neural Machines, where they managed a three-member team that developed clinical diagnostic tools and financial fraud detection systems based on machine learning algorithms. Sara was also the lead manager on a feasibility study with the Ottawa Heart Institute and GE Medical Systems regarding the detection of Coronary Artery Disease in SPECT images.

From 2002-2014, they were employed at VIQ Solutions, where they were the Director of Technical Development and a Senior Software Developer. As Director of Technical Development, they worked with integrators and clients to architect solutions using designated hardware, and managed a team of developers that were responsible for all research and development of new technologies and their integration into the VIQ product suite. As a Senior Software Developer, they designed and developed an ASIO interface library in C++ for the capture and monitoring of audio from compliant devices, and was responsible for the design and development of all audio signal processing algorithms. Sara also developed Blackberry and iPhone applications for the capture of evidence for court cases.

Since 2014, they have been employed at Cloud DX, where they are the Head of Research and Development. In this role, they are the lead data scientist responsible for machine learning initiatives and business intelligence support, and is responsible for product management for hardware projects and advanced medical devices. Sara also supports clinical and academic research partnerships and grant applications.

In 2017, they began a PhD Candidate position at the University of Waterloo in Systems Design Engineering, where they are researching deep learning for biomedical signal analysis and image processing. Sara is also taking courses in Deep Learning and its applications, Reinforcement Learning, Machine Intelligence, and Medical Imaging.

Additionally, they were a Cloud DX Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE Team Member from 2014-2016, where they were the technical lead for the final competition testing phase responsible for end-to-end system design, implementation, and quality assurance. Sara was also the project coordinator for all sub-teams, and a technical contributor for algorithm development (ECG and PPG signal analysis and image processing).

Sara Ross-Howe began their educational journey at Ancaster High School. Sara then attended the University of Waterloo, where they earned a BASc in Systems Design in 1995, followed by an MASc in Systems Design in 1999. Currently, they are a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Candidate in Systems Design Engineering - Machine Learning at the University of Waterloo. In 2018, they obtained a certification from the Vector Institute for the 2018 Deep Learning and Reinforcement Learning Summer Schools.