Purang Abolmaesumi was recognized as a Fellow of the MICCAI Society in 2020 for contributions to ultrasound segmentation, ultrasound time-series analysis and multimodal image registration. His internationally recognized research program investigates advanced topics in medical imaging, machine learning on data at scale, and image-guided diagnosis and interventions.

Purang is a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, with Associate Memberships to the Department of Urologic Sciences and School of Biomedical Engineering. He is a Distinguished University Scholar, and the recipient of the Killam Faculty Research Prize, the Killam Award for Excellence in Mentoring and the Killam Faculty Research Fellowship at UBC. He also serves as an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Medical Imaging.

 Purang served as the Workshop and Tutorial Chair of MICCAI 2011 and 2015, Program Chair for MICCAI 2020, and local Chair for MICCAI 2023. He was also General Chair of IPCAI 2014 and 2015, as well as Program Chair of IPCAI 2012.

 In addition to being a Fellow of the MICCAI Society, Purang is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

 We are proud to call Purang a Fellow of the MICCAI Society and thankful for his work to support and advance our community. Here’s what he had to say about his research and experiences with the MICCAI Society.

Q. When did you first get involved with the MICCAI Society?

A. My first publication at the conference was in 1999, when I was a PhD student. However, my first time attending the conference was at MICCAI 2003 in Montreal, Canada. At the time, I was a faculty member at Queen’s University in Canada. Several conference organizers were from my institution, and it was enlightening to observe how they handled the SARS pandemic, which was impacting Ontario. They successfully moved the conference from Toronto to Montreal under superb leadership, all within a short time frame. That experience made a lasting impression on me, teaching me the importance of staying calm and positive when faced with unpredictability. 

Surprisingly, this lesson proved invaluable when we organized MICCAI 2020. Originally planned to be held in Lima, Peru, the event had to be switched to a virtual meeting almost at the last minute due to the global pandemic. It was the first time anyone in the community had to figure out the right virtual platform and procedures for organizing, planning the program, and running the conference, while accommodating constraints across different time zones. I am happy to say that it was a major success and learning experience for the community.
 

Q. At the RISE-MICCAI Lunch event at MICCAI 2023 in Vancouver, you spoke about "Towards Sustainable Development of Machine Learning Technologies for Point of Care Ultrasound Imaging." Can you describe what this research is focused on?

A. Thank you for bringing this up. That talk highlighted our efforts to develop technologies accessible to remote areas and improve healthcare where access to high-tech, expensive medical equipment and expertise is limited. The goal was to explore how advancements in AI and point-of-care imaging—many pioneered by students trained within the MICCAI community—could empower a broad range of frontline healthcare workers to deliver care across vast geographic regions, like British Columbia, my home province in Canada. All of this is supported by a secure network of imaging devices and clinical experts in major urban centers. This was a landmark development globally, as it became the first and largest publicly funded program we established to support rural areas and First Nations communities during the pandemic.
 

Q. What impact has this research had on your research?

A. I was truly inspired by this initiative. It gave me a sense of responsibility as a technology developer, pushing me to rethink how we train our students to see their papers at conferences like MICCAI as launching points for making a global impact. Many students do not think that far ahead, often leaving the translation of their MICCAI papers to larger companies. However, we demonstrated that during a global crisis, with goodwill from a cohesive community, technologies developed by students can reach the wider world in a short time span. It also emphasized the need for direct collaboration with industry and community partners to ensure rigor and proper validation of the work before deployment. The lessons the community has learned in recent years are now reflected in the proposed Future-AI guidelines (https://future-ai.eu/), co-authored by over 80 colleagues from the MICCAI community. I highly encourage all students to read them.

Q. What part of your work do you enjoy the most?

A. I always tell my colleagues that the best part of my job is working with students. It keeps me feeling young, as their passion, enthusiasm, and drive to tackle major research challenges are contagious. It’s also gratifying to see them grow within the MICCAI community. Many of them now come to the meetings with their own students and even their children. MICCAI has become a second family to me, and I look forward to the conference every year.