The AIRE Lab is pleased to share that Dr. Mirella Veras and an interdisciplinary team of researchers, decision-makers, community partners, and knowledge users have received funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Team Grants: Strengthening Resilient and Equitable Public Health Systems initiative.

This Government of Canada investment supports research teams across Canada working to generate actionable evidence and practical solutions to strengthen public health systems. The STEPS initiative focuses on building more resilient and equitable public health systems by supporting interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral research that addresses real-world public health challenges.

Our funded project focuses on AI-enabled stroke prevention with First Nation and Métis community health workers in rural and remote communities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The project will bring together rehabilitation science, public health, digital health, responsible AI, community engagement, and implementation science to co-develop approaches that support stroke risk screening, referral pathways, and community-based prevention.

This work reflects the mission of the AIRE Lab: to advance responsible artificial intelligence, digital health, and telerehabilitation in ways that are clinically meaningful, ethically responsible, and responsive to the needs of communities and health systems.

Stroke prevention and rehabilitation require more than technology. They require trust, partnership, cultural relevance, health system readiness, and sustained collaboration. Through this project, the AIRE Lab and its partners aim to contribute to more equitable access to prevention and rehabilitation-related support, particularly for communities facing geographic and systemic barriers to care.

We are grateful to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Government of Canada, and all project partners, collaborators, community representatives, decision-makers, and trainees involved in this work.

More information about the national STEPS funding announcement is available on the Government of Canada website:

https://www.canada.ca/en/institutes-health-research/news/2026/06/team-grants-strengthening-resilient-and-equitable-public-health-systems-steps.html