Sahar Zandi Nia

Sahar Zandi Nia is a UBC MSc student, MITACS Accelerate Fellow, and Research Assistant at the Institute for Global Health at BC Children’s & Women's Hospital. Her work with the Smart Discharges project is aimed at improving the prediction model for post-discharge mortality of children with sepsis in Uganda. She previously supported the Evaluation of Technologies for Neonates in Africa, which focuses on assessing the accuracy and feasibility of novel vitals monitoring devices in Kenya. She is conducting her Master's research under the supervision of Dr. Matthew Wiens.

In many resource-limited settings, child deaths often occur shortly after hospital arrival due to severe infections. While simple treatments exist, identifying which children are most at risk of dying can be challenging. To address this, risk prediction models are crucial for frontline health workers in making timely treatment decisions, potentially saving lives, and enhancing care efficiency. However, despite numerous models developed, their validation remains limited, hindering their adoption in diverse settings. Sahar's research focuses on utilizing data from Uganda, where child mortality rates are high, to validate and enhance existing prediction models. By testing these models on Ugandan datasets and collaborating with local partners, she aims to evaluate and improve the applicability of these prediction models in clinical practice. Future efforts will involve establishing appropriate risk thresholds, promoting deployment in local contexts, and ultimately contributing to better care for vulnerable children worldwide.​

Sahar is also a trainee member of our cluster's Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Subcommittee.