UCLA CASIT Researchers Shine at Prestigious International Conferences

Researchers from the UCLA Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology (CASIT) were recently recognized for their outstanding contributions at two major international conferences, underscoring the center’s leadership in advancing digital health and medical innovation. All awardees are trainees under the mentorship of Dr. Bijan Najafi, Professor of Surgery and Research Director at CASIT.

Dr. Aminreza Khandan, Postdoctoral Fellow at UCLA CASIT, received the Young Investigator Award—the most prestigious honor of the meeting—at the 25th Interdisciplinary Conference on the Diabetic Foot (DFCon) and the Annual Conference of the American Limb Preservation Society (ALPS), held October 23–25, 2025, in Anaheim, California. His award-winning abstract, “Predictors of Dropout in Wound Care Studies: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial of an Offloading Study,” offers novel insights into improving adherence and engagement in clinical wound care research.

At the IEEE-EMBS International Conference on Body Sensor Networks (BSN 2025), CASIT researchers also achieved top honors in the clinical poster category. Mr. Mohammad Dehghan Rouzi, Research Staff at CASIT, and Mr. Alireza Rahimi, UCLA undergraduate volunteer at CASIT, received the 1st and 2nd Place Audience Choice Awards, respectively. Their presentations—“Speech Biomarkers from a Motor-Cognitive Dual-Task Detect Early Cognitive Decline in Older Adults” and “Interactive, Self-Administered Home-Based Exercise Program for Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Mild Dementia: Initial Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial”—reflect CASIT’s cutting-edge research in digital therapeutics and AI-driven cognitive assessment.

In addition, Dr. Bijan Najafi received an Appreciation Award from the Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (KARM) for his special invited lecture, “Enhancing Resilience in Aging: Digital Health Approaches to Geriatric Rehabilitation,” delivered at the 53rd Annual Meeting and International Conference of the Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine, held October 24–25, 2025, in Seoul, Korea.

These accomplishments collectively highlight UCLA CASIT’s ongoing commitment to pioneering interdisciplinary research and fostering global partnerships that bridge engineering, medicine, and technology—advancing patient care, promoting healthy aging, and shaping the future of decentralized healthcare.