Patrick M. Pilarski

Patrick M. Pilarski

Ph.D., ICD.D, Canada CIFAR AI Chair & Professor of Medicine

University of Alberta

Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii)

Biography

Dr. Patrick M. Pilarski is a Canada CIFAR Artificial Intelligence Chair (Amii), past Canada Research Chair in Machine Intelligence for Rehabilitation, and a Professor in the Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta. He is a Fellow and Board Member of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), co-leads the Bionic Limbs for Improved Natural Control (BLINC) Laboratory, and is a principal investigator with the Reinforcement Learning and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (RLAI) and iSMART at the University of Alberta. Dr. Pilarski received the B.ASc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of British Columbia in 2004, the Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Alberta in 2009, and completed his postdoctoral training in the Computing Science with Dr. Richard S. Sutton at the University of Alberta in 2014. He graduated from the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program (DEP) in 2024, and is a holder of the Institute of Corporate Directors Director designation.

Dr. Pilarski’s research interests include reinforcement learning and decision making, artificial intelligence, real-time machine learning, human-machine interaction, intelligence amplification, rehabilitation technology, and assistive robotics. He leads the Amii Adaptive Prosthetics Program—an interdisciplinary initiative focused on creating intelligent artificial limbs to restore and extend abilities for people with amputations. As part of this research, Dr. Pilarski has developed and made prominent machine learning techniques for continual sensorimotor control and prediction learning on prosthetic devices. These include some of the first published approaches to ongoing user training of upper-limb prosthesis control systems via reinforcement learning, and he pioneered the use of general value functions in prediction learning to continually adapt myoelectric control interfaces in real time. Dr. Pilarski’s research programme continues to explore human-device interaction and communication, long-term co-adaptation and joint action between agents, patient-specific device optimization, and constructivism in tightly coupled human-machine interfaces. He has also created techniques for rapid cancer and pathogen screening through work on biomedical pattern recognition, robotic micro-manipulation of medical samples, and hand-held diagnostic devices. Dr. Pilarski is the award-winning author or co-author of more than 120 peer-reviewed articles, a Senior Member of the IEEE, and has been supported by provincial, national, and international research grants.

In 2017, Dr. Pilarski co-founded the first international research office of Alphabet Inc’s United-Kingdom-based subsidiary DeepMind, establishing and growing this high-profile research and development office in his home town of Edmonton, Alberta. He served as the office’s co-lead and a Senior Staff Research Scientist until 2023. Dr. Pilarski currently serves as a director on the board of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii; 2017-present) one of three national not-for-profit institutes established as part of the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy. Prior to its incorporation, he served on Amii’s management advisory board within the University of Alberta (2014-2016). He also serves as a director on the board of Silvacom Holdings Corp. Dr. Pilarski regularly delivers invited keynotes to boards, business organizations, policy makers, and the general public on the growing impact of artificial intelligence on medicine, industry, and society. He previously founded a startup company, actively engages in consulting, has created multiple arts organizations, and has further governance experience in the arts sector on steering councils and advisory boards of regional and national creative arts organizations.

Interests
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Upper-limb Prostheses
  • Rehabilitation Technology
  • Reinforcement Learning
  • Continual Machine Learning
  • Human-Machine Interaction
  • Intelligence Amplification
  • Assistive Robotics
  • Internet of Body Things (IoBT)
Education
  • ICD.D, Directors Education Program, 2024

    Institute of Corporate Directors & University of Toronto Rotman School of Management

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship, Computing Science, 2014

    University of Alberta

  • Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2009

    University of Alberta

  • B.ASc., Electrical Engineering, 2004

    University of British Columbia

Academic Appointments

 
 
 
 
 
Dept. of Medicine University of Alberta
Professor (Primary Appointment)
Dept. of Medicine University of Alberta
April 2014 – Present Edmonton, AB, Canada
 
 
 
 
 
Dept. of Computing Science, University of Alberta
Adjunct Professor
Dept. of Computing Science, University of Alberta
April 2014 – Present Edmonton, AB, Canada
 
 
 
 
 
Faculty of Rehabiliation Medicine, University of Alberta
Adjunct Professor
Faculty of Rehabiliation Medicine, University of Alberta
April 2014 – Present Edmonton, AB, Canada
 
 
 
 
 
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta
Adjunct Professor
Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta
May 2024 – Present Edmonton, AB, Canada
 
 
 
 
 
Research Affiliate
Glenrose Rehabiliation Hospital
January 2015 – Present Edmonton, AB, Canada

Trainees & Visitors

This section focuses on my personal students and visitors. To learn more about our whole team of amazing BLINC Lab staff, students, and collaborators, please visit our lab website.
Current Graduate Students
Laura C. Petrich

PhD Student, Dept. Computing Science

Annette Lau

MScRS Student, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine

Visiting Scholars
Kazuhiro Tsuchiyama, R.P.T.

Visiting Professor, 2019-2020, from Fujita Health University, Nagoya, Japan

Dr. Hiroki Tanikawa

Visiting Professor, 2018-2019, from Fujita Health University, Nagoya, Japan

Dr. Kei Ohtsuka

Visiting Professor, 2017-2018, from Fujita Health University, Nagoya, Japan

Dr. Kenichi Ozaki

Visiting Professor, 2017-2018, from the National Center for Geriatrics Gerontology, Nagoya, Japan

Graduated Students & Postdocs
Dr. Adam S. R. Parker

PhD, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2024

Dr. Heather E. Williams

PhD, Dept. Biomedical Engineering, 2024

Dr. Nadia M. Ady

PhD, Dept. Computing Science, 2023

Dr. Alex Kearney

PhD, Dept. Computing Science, 2023

Dr. Craig Sherstan

PhD, Dept. Computing Science, 2020

Dr. Kory W. Mathewson

PhD, Dept. Computing Science, 2019

Dr. Johannes Günther

Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. Computing Science, 2018-2020

Dylan J. Brenneis

MSc, Dept. Mechanical Engineering, 2019

Jaden Travnik

MSc, Dept. Computing Science, 2018

Gautham Vasan

MSc, Dept. Computing Science, 2017

Vivek Veeriah

MSc, Dept. Computing Science, 2017

Ann L. Edwards

MScRS, Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2016

Craig Sherstan

MSc, Dept. Computing Science, 2015

Undergraduate & High School Researchers
Stevie Desmarais

Undergraduate Researcher

Jasper Eng

Undergraduate Researcher

Annette Lau

Undergraduate Researcher

Helen Zhao

Undergraduate Researcher

Liam Jack

Undergraduate Researcher

Ben Hallworth

Undergraduate Researcher

Justine Ventura

High School Researcher

Adam S. R. Parker

Undergraduate Researcher

Devin Bradburn

Undergraduate Researcher

Dylan Brenneis

Undergraduate Researcher

Alex Kearney

Undergraduate Researcher

Jaden Travnik

Undergraduate Researcher

Ann L. Edwards

Undergraduate Researcher

Photo Gallery

The BLINC Lab in Action

Research Snapshots

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AI Applied to Transforming the Science and Art of Prosthetic Restoration
A unique combination of deep learning, reinforcement learning, device development, and clinical innovation combined to improve lives for those with upper-limb amputations.
New Ideas and Algorithms for Real-time, Real-world Machine Learning
Algorithms from reinforcement learning deployed to continually learn during human-machine interaction.
Re-thinking How Humans Collaborate with Intelligent Machines
Prostheses as partners—Frameworks for understanding how tightly-coupled human-machine interfaces can be constructed over time from experience, and leverage the models, control singals, and feedback flowing between a user and their assitive device.
Open Source Innovation
An open source community (BLINCdev) centered around robotic technologies originally developed in the BLINC Lab at the University of Alberta and supported by the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii).

Selected Videos

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Non-Research Interests

Patrick M. Pilarski served as the co-editor of DailyHaiku, an international journal of contemporary English-language haiku, and poetry editor for its sister publication DailyHaiga. He is author of the poetry collection Huge Blue (Leaf Press, 2009), and the chapbooks Contemplating Vows (with Nicole Pakan; Katabatic Books, 2011) and Five Weeks (2007). Patrick’s creative writing has appeared in journals and anthologies across North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan, and on CBC Radio One as part of the CBC Poetry Face-off. A long-time member of the literary community, he has served as an organizer for the Edmonton Poetry Festival and as the Vice President of the League of Canadian Poets.

Other Non-Technical Pursuits:

  • Blacksmithing;
  • Scuba diving and martial arts;
  • Acting and musical theatre;
  • Hiking, backpacking, and travel;
  • Gardening and tropical fish keeping;
  • Graphic design, brush painting, and visual art.

Student Dissertations

(2024). Position-Aware Control of Myoelectric Prostheses. PhD Thesis, Dept. Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta.

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(2023). Specific Machine Curiosity. PhD Thesis, Dept. Computing Science, University of Alberta.

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(2023). Letting the Agent Take the Wheel: Principles for Constructive and Predictive Knowledge. PhD Thesis, Dept. Computing Science, University of Alberta.

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(2020). Representation and General Value Functions. PhD Thesis, Dept. Computing Science, University of Alberta.

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Peer-Reviewed Publications, Abstracts, & Preprints

Quickly search for article types (e.g., conference papers, journal papers), year, author, or keyword in the full paper list here.
(2024). Joint Action is a Framework for Understanding Partnerships Between Humans and Upper Limb Prostheses. IEEE EMBS 10th International Conference on Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob 2024), 1–4 September, Heidelberg, Germany, pp. 1–7.

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(2024). A Preliminary Investigation Into Bio-Inspired Data Collection for Transhumeral Targeted Muscle Reinnervation Prosthetic Control. Myoelectric Controls Symposium (MEC24), 12–15 August, Fredericton, NB, Canada, pp. 1–4.

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(2024). A Virtual Reality Training Environment for Myoelectric Prosthesis Grasp Control with Sensory Feedback. Myoelectric Controls Symposium (MEC24), 12–15 August, Fredericton, NB, Canada, pp. 1–4.

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(2024). Evidence that a deep learning regression-based controller mitigates the limb position effect for an individual with transradial amputation. Myoelectric Controls Symposium (MEC24), 12–15 August, Fredericton, NB, Canada, pp. 1–4.

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(2024). A multifaceted suite of metrics for comparative myoelectric prosthesis controller research. PLoS ONE, 19(5): e0291279.

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Selected Talks

Selected Course Websites:

Recent Media Coverage

Contact

For Dr. Pilarski’s interview details and biographical notes only,

please download here .

For Dr. Pilarski’s full media kit (~32MB) including photos and biographical notes,

please download here .

Please note that I am not currently accepting any new students, trainees, or bringing on new research staff. Due to the volume of queries, I apologize that I am not able to respond to requests for information about future supervision or employment opportunities.