Alaa Taha

About

I am a PhD candidate in Biomedical Engineering at Western University and an incoming MD student at Stanford. My research integrates machine learning, image analysis, and anatomical coordinate systems for brain mapping and deep brain stimulation. I'm also passionate about global health equity, open-source medical software, and advancing stereotactic neurosurgery through interpretable and reproducible methods.

Leadership & Service

• Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director – WebStraw
  Led development of a national student-run education platform reaching over 10,000 users.
• Co-Founder & Managing Director – RefuHope
  Founded a volunteer-led nonprofit supporting refugee access to health and educational services.
• Editor & Producer – Stimulating Brains Podcast
  Produced neuromodulation podcast content reaching 20,000 plays worldwide.
• Facilitator – Deep Brain Stimulation Patient Support Group (Western University)
  Facilitated monthly support group sessions for DBS patients and families to share experiences and resources.
• Chair – Biomedical Engineering Graduate Student Committee (Western University)
  Advocated for graduate student needs and organized academic and wellness initiatives.
• Committee Representative – Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and SOGS
  Served as student voice in faculty-level and university-wide graduate policy discussions.
• Teaching Assistant – Undergraduate Engineering (Years 1 & 2)
  Led tutorials and graded assignments for engineering undergraduate students.

Publications

• Abbass, M., Taha, A., Gilmore, G., Chalil, A., Santyr, B., et al. (2025). Localization and registration accuracy impact on DBS electrode estimates. Imaging Neuroscience.
• Haast, R.M., Kai, J., Taha, A., et al. (2024). Mapping the topographic organization of the human zona incerta using diffusion MRI. eLife.
• Ogunsanya, F., Taha, A., et al. (2023). MRI-degad: Towards accurate conversion of gadolinium enhanced MRI to non-contrast scans via CNNs. Int J CARS.
• Taha, A., et al. (2023). MRI datasets with anatomical fiducials for QC and registration. Scientific Data.
• Taha, A., Gilmore, G., Khan, A., & Lau, J.C. (2022). Indirect DBS targeting using anatomical fiducials. Neuromodulation.
• Abbass, M., Gilmore, G., Taha, A., et al. (2022). Applying anatomical fiducials to a Parkinson’s dataset. Brain Structure and Function.
• Elias, G.J.B., Germann, J., Loh, A., Boutet, A., Taha, A., et al. (2022). Normative connectomes and their use in DBS. Connectomic DBS, Academic Press.
• Germann, J., Mameli, M., Elias, G.J.B., Loh, A., Taha, A., et al. (2021). DBS of the habenula: systematic review and registry analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry.
• Boutet, A., Loh, A., Chow, C., Taha, A., et al. (2021). Advances in MRI sequences for functional neurosurgery targets. Journal of Neurosurgery.

Full list: Google Scholar

Awards

• NSERC CGS-D – Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral ($120,000, National)
• Parkinson Canada Graduate Student Award ($40,000, National)
• Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2× $15,000, Provincial)
• Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship ($25,000, National)
• Merit Abstract Award – Organization for Human Brain Mapping (2024, International)
• Best Abstract – Canadian Neuromodulation Conference (2022, National)
• Best Platform Talk – Clinical Neurological Research Day (2023, Provincial)
• Rising Youth Community Service Award ($5,000, National)
• Dean’s List – Western University (2017–2021)

Contact

Email: tahaa@stanford.edu

GitHub: @ataha24