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Shada AlSalamah, PhD

An academic, public speaker, entrepreneur, humanitarian, digital health advocate, and former Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Ibn Khaldun Fellow. Dr. Alsalamah is a contributor to the healthcare sector modernization movement, digital health transformation, and policymaking for better disease detection, prevention, and treatment. She has 14 years of experience in building secure, mobile, and intelligent solutions using emerging digital technologies that solve local problems with the potential to have a global impact.

 

Currently, Dr. Alsalamah is an Associate Professor of Global Digital Health, Information Systems Department, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; a Technical Officer (Digital Health and AI), Strategy and Governance, Department of Digital Health and Innovation, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland; and a Principle Investigator, Artificial Intelligence Center, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In addition, Dr. Alsalamah serves on a number of national and international boards and working groups including, but not limited to, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Blockchain Expert Policy Advisory Board, Paris, France; The International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications, Brussels, Belgium; ITU/WHO FG-Artificial Intelligence for Health (AI4H) Regulatory Considerations Working Group (WG-RC), Geneva, Switzerland; ITU/WHO FG-AI4H Dental Diagnostics and Digital Dentistry Topic Group (TG-Dental), Geneva, Switzerland; IEEE Computer Society Technical Committee on Security and Privacy; The Saudi Association for Information Security, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and The International Network for Forensic Odontology.

 

Prior to this, Dr. Alsalamah served as a policy-maker at the National Health Information Center, Saudi Health Council, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She also consulted for the Saudi National Command Center, Saudi Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 2020 to support with COVID-19 response. Dr. Alsalamah served as a Vice President of the mHealth Solutions Division at Anmar Tech, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Between 2020-2022 she was a Research Affiliate, Department of Mechanical Engineering (MechE), MIT, Cambridge, USA after spending two years between 2017-2019 at the Media Lab, MIT, Cambridge, USA as a Visiting Assistant Professor working Prof. Alex “Sandy” Pentland's Human Dynamics research group on the applications of the blockchain and open algorithms in the digital healthcare arena.

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Dr. Alsalamah has been one of the information security expert leaders in Saudi Arabia. In 2016 she co-founded CIAG and co-organized with its members the first information security summer school in Saudi Arabia that was well-received. In the same year, she established the Female Chapter of the Centre of Excellence in Information Assurance (CoEIA), KSU, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, which serves as the first information security entity in the region that involves women. Dr. Alsalamah holds a Ph.D. degree in Computer Science since 2015, as well as, an MSc degree in Strategic Information Systems with Information Assurance since 2010 both from Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.

 

Finally, Dr. Alsalamah serves as a member of the Scientific Committee, General Department for Research and Studies, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and the editorial review board of a number of international journals. She has also been an invited speaker and a panelist at a number of regional and international events organized by Misk Talk, MIT, World Bank, United Nations, OECD, University of Oxford, ASPEN, HIMSS, and the British Science Collaboration Symposium on Cyber Security.

WHO Guidance on Regulations, Ethics, and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health (2022) at the GLobal AI Summit, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Health, Law, and Technology Symposium 2023, PANEL 2: The European Health Data Space (EHDS) and Interoperability of Health Data, Brussels, Belgium.
The Global Agenda for Digital Health and AI virtual speech (2022) at the High Performance Healthcare Organizations, eHealth Webinar Series.
The Modern Saudi speech (2018) in Los Angeles, USA at Misk Talk USA, as part of HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s US Tour.

National & Global Normative Guidance Contribution 

Talks, Interviews, & Panels Invivations

  • The Next of Health: AI & Robotics in Medicine— Speaker (Croatia, 12 May 2023) entitled: "WHO AI for Health: Key Regulatory Concepts for Consideration"

  • Health, Law, and Technology Symposium 2023: Health Data Sharing in an Interconnected Society— Panel Moderator (Brussels, 26 April 2023) Panel entitled: "The European Health Data Space and Interoperability of Health Data" 

  • Focus Group on AI for Health, Meeting R— Speaker (Boston, 22 March 2023) entitled: "WG-Regulatory-Considerations:: DEL2: AI4H regulatory best practices"

  • WHO Consultation on Digital Technologies for Tuberculosis— Participant  (Geneva, 14-16 November 2022).

  • AI Global Summit— Innovation and Workshop Session, Speaker  (Riyadh, 13 September 2022) entitled: "WHO Guidance on Regulations, Ethics, and Governance of Artificial Intelligence for Health"

  • 31st INTERPOL DVI Conference— Speaker (Lyon, 21 June 2022) entitled: "Harnessing Emerging Technologies For The Next-Generation Digital Tools Utilised For DVI" "تسخیر التقنیات الناشئة للجیل القادم من الأدوات الرقمیة المستخدمة في استعراف ضحایا الكوارث"

  • Department of Information Systems, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University —  Webinar (Digital, 23 May 2022) entitled: "Blockchain 101"

  • The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2022— Panelist (Geneva, 03 June 2022) entitled: "WSIS ALFM C7: E-Health: How can digital be the enabler for health care of today and tomorrow."

  • College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University— Speaker (Digital, 23 May 2022) entitled: "Blockchain 101"

  • Riyadh Global Summit for AI in Healthcare & Biotech— Panelist (Digital, 06 March 2022) Round table entitled: "Round Table Discussion: Increasing data utilization and effectiveness through Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare"

  • High Performance Healthcare Organizations (eHealth Webinar Series)— Keynote Speaker (Digital, 04 February 2022) entitled: "The Global Agenda for Digital Health and AI"

  • College of Engineering, Alfaisal University- Artificial Intelligence Seminar— Guest Speaker (Riyadh, 07 December 2021) entitled: "Digital Health and AI: The Global Agenda 2020-2025"

  • IDC Women Transforming Technology Summit (Middle East)— Keynote Speaker (Digital, 07 October 2021) entitled: "Digital Health: The 2020-2025 Global Agenda.”

  • Future of Healthcare- Five Forces That Will Transform Healthcare— Keynote Speaker (Digital, 09 September 2021) entitled: "Artificial Intelligence for Health: The 2020-2025 Global Agenda.”

  • Women in Data Science— Panellist (Riyadh, 1 March, 2021) entitled: “Obstacles and Opportunities in Health Data and Economics."

  • MIT Ibn Khaldun (IBK) Fellows Webinar Series— Panellist (Digital, 16 September, 2020) entitled: "Translational Medicine Approach to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia."

  • GCC eHealth Workforce Development Conference 2020— Roundtable Participant (Digital, 15 November 2020) entitled: “Role of Higher Education in the eHealth Capacity Building” 

  • HIMSS & Health 2.0 Middle East Digital Health Conference & Exhibition— Panel and Use Cases Discussion Moderator (Digital, 30 November 2020) entitled: “Masterclass: Blockchain”

  • International Organization for Trusted Blockchain Applications (INATBA)— Roundtable Participant (Fully Remote Due to Coronavirus Epidemics, Originally Hosted in Germany, 26 March 2020). Roundtables entitled: ”Climate Action and Energy”

  • G20-Saudi Arabia— Digital Health Framework for Innovation and Transformation— Panel Moderator (Jeddah, 29 February 2020) entitled: ”Health Data Opportunities and Challenges.”

  • IEEE Global Blockchain Summit on Healthcare 2019-(Postponed until further notice)— Keynote Speaker (Digital, 29 January 2020) entitled: ”Global Real-World Blockchain Use Cases to Facilitate Diabetes Caregiving, Disaster Victim Identification, and UN Nagoya Protocol Implementation”

  • SoftNet 2019- Panelist (Valencia, Spain 25 November 2019) Panel on "Citizen-Centric Systems,” Theme "Designing by Considering User Feedback and Personalization."

  • HEALTHINFO 2019- Tutorial II Speaker (Valencia, Spain 24 November 2019) entitled: "The Ingredients to Trusted Collaborate Healthcare Ecosystems for Informed-Decision Making Using Emerging Technologies."

  • National Health Lab for Emerging Technology (NHIC), Ideathon 2019- Keynote Speaker (Riyadh, 28 September 2019) entitled: ”A Call for Emerging Digital Technologies for Trusted Collaborative Health Ecosystems” 

  • OECD Blockchain Policy Forum- Panelist (Paris, France, 12-13 September 2019) entitled: ”A Wealth of Health Data: Unlocking information in modern health systems.”

  • iTech Program, FM Channel 24- Live Blockchain Expert Interview (Riyadh, 09 September 2019)  entitled: ”Blockchain: a technology or Cryptocurrency?”

  • The Saudi Federation for Cyber Security and Programming- Interview by Muteb Alqany, CEO (Riyadh, 10 April 2019) entitled: ”Tuwaiq Cyber Security Camp”

  • Australian Davos Connection (ADC) Forum- ADC Global Blockchain Summit- Interviewee by Lucy Lin (Adelaide, 20 March 2019) entitled: ”Advanced Technologies for Beginners”

  • ADC Global Blockchain Summit- Panelist (Adelaide, 20 March 2019) entitled: ”Session 15c: Blockchain in Healthcare - My Records”

  • ADC Forum- ADC Global Blockchain Summit- Guest of Honor Reception- Speaker (Adelaide, 19 March 2019) entitled: ”How Blockchain Can Benefit Global Citizens”

  • ADC Forum- ADC Global Blockchain Summit- Panelist (Adelaide, 19 March 2019) entitled: ”Session 8b: Risk & Security with Blockchain & DLT’s”

  • ADC Forum- ADC Global Blockchain Summit- Panelist (Adelaide, 19 March 2019) entitled: ”Session 7b: Future of Regulation and Enforcement”

  • The World’s First ‘ScholarsinBlockchain” International Scientific Conference (#ISC2019)- Panelist (London, 12 March 2019) entitled: ”Scientific Publishing & the importance of Evidence-Based Blockchain”

  • Al Yamamah University Engineering Forum- Panelist (Riyadh, 10 March 2019) entitled: ”The impact of Massive Engineering Projects on the economy and quality of life in Saudi Arabia Beyond 2030”

  • United Nations Development Programme- Webinar entitled: “Blockchain as an innovative tool to improve the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol and ABS”- Speaker (Webinar, 15 February 2019) entitled: ”Blockchain in a nutshell: What non-experts need to know.”

  • World Government Summit, Global Governance of A.I. Roundtable- Expert Group Speaker (Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 9-12 February 2019) Working Group entitled: “Mapping the rise of AI and its governance.” Expert Group entitled: ”Agile Governance: Decentralized & distributed approaches.”

  • World Government Summit, Global Governance of A.I. Roundtable- Expert Group Speaker (Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 9-12 February 2019) Working Group entitled: ”Governing AI in different global contexts.” Expert Group entitled: ”Governance of the Development of AGI: Direct and Indirect Policy Recommendations.”

  • World Government Summit, Global Governance of A.I. Roundtable- Expert Group Speaker (Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 9-12 February 2019) Working Group entitled: ”International Panel on AI & AI for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).” Expert Group entitled: ”AI for SDGs: Use-cases and framework for Healthcare.”

  • World Government Summit, Global Governance of A.I. Roundtable- Expert Group Speaker (Dubai, United Arabs Emirates, 9-12 February 2019) Working Group entitled: ”Making the AI revolution work for everyone.” Expert Group entitled: ”AI and Cybersecurity: Evaluating Policymakers’ Options.”

  • Engineering Day- Speaker (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 3-5 February 2019) entitled: "Building a Smart  and Trusted Saudi Healthcare Systems Using Open Algorithms and Blockchain"

  • MIT Hacking Medicine-Saudi Hack- Speaker (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 30 November 2018) entitled: "The Modern Saudi: Building a Trusted Model of Care Using Open Algorithms and Blockchain" 

  • GCC eHealth Workforce Development Conference (eHWDC)- Speaker (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, 27-29 November 2018) entitled:"Saudi Arabia’s eHealth Blockchain Use Cases: Transitioning From Traditional Approaches" 

  • HIMSS Saudi Arabia Conference and Exhibition: Reimagining Healthcare in Saudi Arabia 2018: 2030 Visionary Innovation in Healthcare Transformation- Speaker (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 7-11 October 2018) entitled: "The Modern Saudi: Blockchain Vow to a New Trusted Model of Care" 

  • المبادرة السعودية للمطورين- Arabic Live interview (Riyadh, 24 September 2018) Interview entitled: "Blockchain Application in Healthcare delivery Interview 2018- تطبيقات تقنية البلوكتشين في تطوير خدمات الرعاية الصحية للمواطنين" 

  • OECD Blockchain Policy Forum- Panelist (Paris, France, 4-6 September 2018) entitled: "Blockchain for Inclusiveness- Health Track" [Webcast]

  • MEDPAGE TODAY- Practice Management, Information Technology column- English article interview (Washington D.C., 22 August 2018) article entitled: "Electronic Medical Records: Holy Grail for Blockchain" 

  • Blockchain Health Summit + Trade Show- Panel Moderator (Washington D.C., 14-16 August 2018) panel titled: ”USE CASE: Patient & Provider Data”

  • Cyber Security Oxford, University of Oxford- Guest Speaker (Oxford, UK, 13 July 2018) entitled: “The Blockchain Vow to an Intelligent Trustworthy Patient-Centered Healthcare“ 

  • Aspen Ideas Festival-Spotlight Health, Big Idea during Opening Session- Speaker (Aspen, CO, USA, 21 June 2018) entitled: "Open Algorithms (OPAL)"

  • Aspen Ideas Festival-Spotlight Health, Disrupting Health Systems Track- Presenter (Aspen, CO, USA, 23 June 2018) entitled: “Unlocking the Power of Blockchain in Health Care”

  • Martha’s Vineyard Crypto Symposium- Speaker (Martha’s Vineyard, MA, USA, 12 June 2018) entitled: “Towards Healthcare Systems' Resilience Using Blockchain“

  • The World Bank’s Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, Latin America and the Caribbean region- Harnessing Developed, Emerging, and Frontier Technologies for Our Clients- Speaker (Washington DC, USA, 4 June 2018) entitled: “Transforming the Healthcare Digital Sector Using Blockchain”

  • International Telecommunication Union, United Nations, and Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Saudi Arabia- 2nd Edition AI for Good Global Summit 2018- Saudi Arabia’s delegate to participate at the AI for Good + Health Track (Geneva, Switzerland, 15-17 May 2018) entitled: “Building an Intelligent Healthcare Digital Sector Using Open Algorithm“ [Featured on Saudi Arabia TV news] [Featured on Chinese TV news]

  • Alwatan Newspaper-Arabic article interview (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1 May 2018) article entitled: "360 مليار ريال النفقات العالمية للأمن السيبراني" 

  • Harvard Chinese Students and Scholars Association (HCSSA), the 1st HCSSA Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Summit- Health Track Panelist (Boston, MA, USA, 29 April 2018) [link]

  • Misk Talk USA, HRH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s US Tour- Speaker (Los Angeles, USA, 3 April 2018) entitled: "The Modern Saudi"

  • Blockchain in Healthcare West Coast- Panelist (San Fransisco CA, USA, 2018) entitled: “The Future of Blockchain in Healthcare“ 

  • Blockchain in Healthcare West Coast- Speaker (San Fransisco CA, USA, 2018) entitled: “Building Fine-Grained Blockchains for Patient-Centered Healthcare Delivery Model” 

  • Hemaya Group- Interviewee (Riyadh, KSA, 2018) Interview entitled: “Introduction to Blockchain Technology and Current Trends” (Arabic)

  • 2018 Winter Youth Assembly at the United Nations- Panelist (New York, USA, 16 Feb 2018) entitled: “Blockchain Technologies and Healthcare”

  • Blockchain in Healthcare West Coast - Speaker (San Fransisco CA, USA, 2018) entitled: “Building Fine-Grained Blockchains for Patient-Centered Healthcare Delivery Model”

  • MGMT E-5408 Breakthrough Innovation with Blockchain Technology- Harvard Extension School Course (Cambridge, USA, 2017) Interview entitled: “Building Healthy Blockchains”

  • Blockchain in Healthcare (Boston MA, USA, 2017) entitled: “Building a Healthy Blockchain for Legacy Systems in Modern Healthcare”

  • Science Collaboration Symposium on Cyber Security- Speaker (Manchester, UK, 2017) entitled: “Towards a Secure Modern Healthcare: Projects, Challenges, and Promises”

  • The Mawhiba-KACST Research Program for Youth in STEM- Guest Speaker (Riyadh, KSA, 2017) entitled: “الحياة جميلة - Life is beautiful” (My Research Journey). 

  • CIAG Information Security Summer School- Speaker (Riyadh, KSA, 2017) Workshop entitled: “Painting the Full Picture by Bridging Between Information Assurance & Security”

  • The National Center For Cybersecurity Technologies (C4C) - Guest speaker (Riyadh, KSA, 2017) entitled: “Conducting Pragmatic Research in the Field of Information Security: How FUN it Can Be?!”

  • Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University (PNU) students information security awareness- Speaker (Riyadh, KSA, 2017) entitled: “Information Security Design: Painting The Full Picture” 

  • The Workshop on Cybersecurity Capacity and Capability Building: Research, Innovation and Education Perspective- Speaker (Riyadh, KSA, 2017) entitled: “Breaking the Mould: Preparing the Next Generation of First Line of Cyber Defence Using Education”

  • KSU, CCIS, Software and Knowledge Engineering Research Group (SKERG)- Speaker (Riyadh, 2017) entitled: “Information Classification Scheme for Next Generation Access Control Models in Mobile Patient-Centered Care Systems” 

  • CoEIA, Biweekly web-casted lectures- Speaker (Riyadh, 2017) entitled: “Information Classification Scheme for Next Generation Access Control Models in Mobile Patient- Centered Care Systems”

  • KSU, College of Medicine, King Saud University Medical Centre (KSUMC)- an invited keynote speaker at the i10X10 “Essentials of Health Informatics” Symposium (Riyadh, 2016) entitled: “mHealth Security: Adoption Enabler or Hinderer?”

  • KSU, CCIS, IT Department, IT 531 Advanced Networks Security MSc. and IT 342 Fundamentals of Multimedia BSc courses- Speaker (Riyadh, 2016) entitled: “Information Security Requirements in Patient-Centred Healthcare Support Systems”

  • CCIS, IT Department, IT 496 Graduation Project 1 BSc. Capstone course- Expert (Riyadh, 2016) Workshop entitled: “Student Guide to System Analysis & Design” 

  • Prince Sultan University (PSU), an invited keynote speaker at the Computer Science for High School (CS4HS) Google Initiative Training Workshops Program hosted by PSU- Guest Speaker (Riyadh, 2016). Talk entitled: “Technology, Not a Substitute for Teachers but an Enabler for Learning- التقنية شريكة المعلمة في التعليم وليست بديلة عنها!”

  • KSU, CCIS, SKERG- Guest Speaker (Riyadh, 2015) entitled: “Information Security Requirements in Patient-Centred Healthcare Support Systems”

  • Cardiff University, School of Computer Science & Informatics (COMSC), MSc Project Talk- Speaker (Cardiff, 2010-2015). Talk entitled: “MSc Project, My Story back in 2009”

  • COMSC, Master’s Information, Network and Cyber Security module- Guest Speaker (Cardiff, 2012), entitled: “Information security issues in healthcare collaborative environments”

  • Cardiff University, Medical School, Decision Lab- Guest Speaker (Cardiff, 2012), entitled: “Information Security Requirements for Patient-centric Healthcare Information Systems”

  • Al-Yamamah University, “Let’s Think” Seminar talk (Riyadh, 2007). The seminar targets senior high school students from all over Riyadh City to assist and advise them in planning for their future. I was an IT field representative.

Publication

Selected Publications

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 © 2024 Shada AlSalamah

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