Advancing AI & Aging - Workshop

In the evolving landscape of statistical, econometric, and data science advancements, a significant number of innovative methodologies remain untapped by applied research. There is a disconnect between cutting-edge econometric tools and relevant economic questions addressing societies’ most pressing concerns. This in-person Workshop seeks to address this gap and establish research collaboration between data scientists, experts in the causal inference literature, and applied researchers who better understand the empirical contexts, objectives, and challenges faced by policymakers. In the spirit of working across multiple disciplines and employing a variety of methodologies, the DSI Causal Inference Emerging Data Science Program is in collaboration with the Forward Society (FOS) Lab. 

This Workshop is part of the Causal Inference Emerging Data Science Program that aims to facilitate cross-disciplinary exchange, where applied researchers from different disciplines can present their research questions and methodological issues. In turn, data science and causality researchers explore new and existing methods while promoting their research agendas.  

Join us in-person at the Workshop to foster collaborative exploration, amplifying the impact of causal inference and data science research on real-world policy challenges. 

Program

May 29, 2025
9:00 – 9:30 am
Registration and Breakfast
9:30 – 9:40 am
Opening Remarks

Prof. Linbo Wang, Department of Statistical Sciences, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto
Prof. Gustavo Bobonis, Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto
9:40 – 10:20 am
Causal Inference with Deep Generative Model

Prof. Rahul G. Krishnan, Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Arts & Science, and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
10:20 – 11:00 am
How Can Novel Data Science Approaches Improve Causal Inference for Population Health?

Prof. Laura Rosella, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Associate Director, Education and Training, Data Sciences Institute, University of Toronto
11:00 – 11:20 am
Break
11:20 – 12:00 pm
Deconstructing Risk in Predictive Risk Models for Human-Centred Causal Inferences

Prof. Shion Guha, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto
12:00 – 1:30 pm
Lunch
1:30 – 2:10 pm
The Unclaimed Property Puzzle: Billion Dollar Bills Lying on the Sidewalk

Prof. Eva Vivalt, Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto
2:10 – 2:50 pm
Methods for Counterfactual Data Augmentation in Reinforcement Learning

Prof. Elliot Creager, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo
2:50 – 3:10 pm
Break

3:10 – 4:10 pm
Estimating the Value of Evidence-Based Decision Making - Keynote

Prof. Alberto Abadie, Department of Economics, MIT
4:10 – 4:20 pm
Concluding Remarks

Prof. Ismael Mourifié, Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Toronto
4:20 – 5:30 pm
Refreshments and Social Hour

Keynote

Prof. Alberto Abadie
Department of Economics, MIT

Alberto Abadie is an econometrician and empirical microeconomist with broad disciplinary interests. Professor Abadie received his Ph.D. in Economics from MIT in 1999. Upon graduating, he joined the faculty at the Harvard Kennedy School, where he was promoted to a full professor in 2005. He returned to MIT in 2016, where he is Professor of Economics and Associate Director of the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS).

Prof. Elizabeth Halloran  
Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington

Elizabeth “Betz” Halloran is a world leader in using mathematical and statistical methods to study infectious diseases and a pioneer in the design and analysis of vaccine studies. She is director of the Center for Inference and Dynamics of Infectious Diseases. Headquartered at Fred Hutch, this center helps the federal government understand and prepare for infectious-disease outbreaks. She is also head of the Program in Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Epidemiology in Fred Hutch’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division. Her work is used to develop strategies to stop outbreaks of serious global threats such as Zika virus disease, Ebola virus disease, influenza, COVID-19, cholera, and dengue fever.

Speakers

Bradley Buchsbaum
Senior Scientist and Associate Professor

Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Academy for Research and Education,
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto

Bradley Buchsbaum 

April Khademi

Canada Research Chair in AI for Medical Imaging,
Associate Professor

Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering Toronto Metropolitan University

April Khademi

Tristan Glatard

Scientific Director and Professor

Krembil Centre for Neuroinformatics at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH),
Departments of Psychiatry and Computer Science, University of Toronto

Tristan Glatard

November 10 – 11, 2023
In-person only

10th floor seminar room 
700 University Avenue,
Toronto, ON