PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Alex Mihailidis

Alex Mihailidis is a University of Toronto professor and AI researcher whose assistive systems support older adults and people with dementia; he began in assistive technology with a 1995 thesis project and later earned engineering degrees at U of T and a PhD at the University of Strathclyde. At Toronto Rehab, he directed HomeLab research on Coach, which adapted prompts to a resident's habits; from 2015 to 2025, he served as AGE-WELL's Scientific Director and CEO. U of T appointed him Associate Vice-President for International Partnerships in 2019, and in February 2026 he signed an agreement with Hong Kong Polytechnic University to explore a joint research centre on healthy ageing and AgeTech. He coauthored PersonaDrift and Remindful, was named a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, became a Knight of the Ordre des Palmes académiques, and was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. As of October 2026, he is Chief Strategy Officer and Associate Director, International, at Talent Innovation Canada, Vice-Chair, Research, of AGE-WELL's board, Associate Vice-President for International Partnerships, and a professor at U of T.

Now at
University of Toronto and Talent Innovation Canada
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Timeline

  1. 1995

    An assistive technology thesis

    In September 1995, as a fourth-year mechanical-engineering student, he takes a thesis project on assistive technology for older travellers from Dr. Geoff Fernie. He earns undergraduate and master's degrees in engineering at U of T and a PhD from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.

  2. 2011

    Coach at HomeLab

    In 2011, he directs HomeLab, a one-bedroom smart-home testing site at Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Its Coach system uses artificial intelligence to learn a user's habits and tailor prompts for personal hygiene tasks.

  3. 2015–2025

    AGE-WELL and partnerships

    From 2015 to 2025, he serves as Scientific Director and CEO of AGE-WELL. In 2019, U of T appoints him Associate Vice-President for International Partnerships, a role that develops global academic and industry alliances and funding opportunities for international graduate students and post-doctoral researchers.

  4. September 2021–July 2025

    Fellows and a French honour

    In 2021, he is named a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. In July 2025, France names him a Knight (Chevalier) of the Ordre des Palmes académiques for his contributions to education, science, and international academic collaboration.

  5. November 2025

    The PersonaDrift benchmark

    In November 2025, he coauthors PersonaDrift, a synthetic benchmark for machine-learning and statistical methods that detect progressive changes in daily communication, including flattened sentiment and off-topic replies.

  6. February 2026–April 2026

    PolyU partnership and Remindful

    In February 2026, as U of T's Associate Vice-President for International Partnerships, he signs a memorandum of understanding with Hong Kong Polytechnic University to explore a joint research centre on healthy ageing and AgeTech. In April 2026, he coauthors Remindful, a caregiver-informed reminder platform for home-based dementia care. The platform extends task prompts with caregiver-facing alerts, summaries, and review features, and uses artificial intelligence to assist with daily routines and detect behavioural changes.

  7. 2026

    Canadian Academy fellowship

    In 2026, he is elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor and strategy officer

    As of October 2026, he is Chief Strategy Officer and Associate Director, International, at Talent Innovation Canada. At U of T, he is Associate Vice-President for International Partnerships and a professor whose research covers pervasive computing and intelligent systems in health. He is also Vice-Chair, Research, of AGE-WELL's board.

Career

  1. Since 2019University of TorontoAssociate Vice-President for International Partnerships
  2. NowTalent Innovation CanadaChief Strategy Officer and Associate Director, International
  3. 2015–2025KITE Research InstituteScientific Director and CEO
  4. From 2011University Health NetworkDirector

Education

  1. University of TorontoUndergraduate degree in engineering
  2. University of StrathclydePhD

From the biography.

  1. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes University of Toronto. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  2. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University of Toronto. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  3. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes University of Toronto. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Toronto. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Alex Mihailidis yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Hall of Fellows - Alex Mihailidis, PhD, PEng web.stanford.edu. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Alex Mihailidis to become U of T's new associate vice-president of international partnerships utoronto.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. This House Knows When You Need Help utoronto.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Alex Mihailidis | AGE-WELL agewell-nce.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. 15 U of T researchers named Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences utoronto.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. U of T Professor Alex Mihailidis appointed Knight of the Ordre des Palmes académiques bme.utoronto.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. PersonaDrift: A Benchmark for Temporal Anomaly Detection in Language-Based Dementia Monitoring arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. PolyU collaborates with University of Toronto to explore establishment of joint research centre, driving gerontechnology innovation in response to ageing population polyu.edu.hk. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. Remindful: Designing Reminder Systems for Caregiver Interpretation in Dementia Care arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  10. Four U of T Engineering Biomedical Engineering Students Awarded 2026 CIHR Doctoral Scholarships bme.utoronto.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  11. U of T faculty members, alumni elected Canadian Academy of Engineering fellows utoronto.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  12. About Us - Talent Innovation Canada talentinnovationcanada.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  13. Alex Mihailidis - University of Toronto Biomedical Engineering bme.utoronto.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.