Dr Bechara Saab
CEO & Chief Scientist
"Digital therapeutics, within the next two decades, will eclipse pharmacotherapy in both market size and clinical impact."
As CEO of MI, I am committed to supporting my team in building digital tools that empower better living and faster healing. We blend science and design with internally developed technology that remotely and objectively measures mind and body data (typically via computer vision enabled psychobiometrics). By partnering with medical and academic institutions around the world, we rigorously interrogate the efficacy of our products through multi-centre randomised controlled trials. Our commitment of using science to ensure our tools work and are tailored to suit each individual means you can trust a MI product is the most effective product for you, no matter where you live or who you are.
Until 2017, I was a Principal Investigator of the Zurich Neuroscience Centre where my laboratory at the Psychiatry Hospital focused on understanding molecules and neural circuits that give rise to the motivation to explore. This work was a continuation of a discovery I made in 2009 while completing my PhD at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto in the lab of Prof. John Roder. We discovered a molecular link between environmental exploration and spatial learning, and in doing so observed an active role for the hippocampus in motivational behaviour. These results were recently extended by my lab and the labs of others to reveal roles of cortical and subcortical inputs to the hippocampus in novelty-driven exploration, research made possible by recent advancements in optogenetics in the freely behaving animal in combination with wireless electrophysiology, PET and fMRI. Together, this avenue of research has shed light on the mechanisms underscoring the intimate relationships between exploration, efficient learning and cognitive disease. At the circuit level, the importance of curiosity for healthy living may parallel the beneficial effects of mindfulness that MI delivers to its customers through the product AmDTx.
Throughout my career, I have been dedicated to science outreach and mentorship. I firmly believe that face-to-face interaction between researchers and students stands to benefit society on many levels. I was instrumental in establishing the Mount Sinai Hospital Outreach Program SciHigh, was Editor-in-Chief of Hypothesis, received the inaugural CIHR Award for Mentorship, represented Switzerland at Famelab 2012 and have been an invited as an speaker seven times to the world's longest-running Science Documentary Film Festival, AFO in the Czech Republic. I am an Overseas Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, a member of the Swiss Stress Network, Canadian nominee to the World Economic Forum as a "Future World Leader", Associate Editor at Frontiers in Psychology, and a member of the Society for Digital Mental Health.
As part of my work with MI, I thoroughly enjoy speaking at appropriate events of all sizes anywhere on Earth.
Other Appearances and Popular Works
Fuel Series - Healthcare Solutions
Ancil Lea, Ancil IV, and Dr. Saab discuss the story of Mobio Interactive, what the company does, the science behind it, who benefits, as well as why Dr. Saab is in Bentonville, Arkansas with the Fuel Acccelerator.
HALO Talks Podcast
Pete Moore and Dr. Saab discuss how to solve mental illness through technology. Dr. Saab explains how MI uses smartphone cameras and technology to diagnose stress, mental illness, and other underlying conditions, and treat those conditions by delivering clinically validated psychotherapy programmes on the same platform.
Creating Wellness Moments Podcast
In this deep-dive podcast, Dr. Saab speaks with podcast host, Calvin Wong, on how how MI is changing the way the world approaches mental health treatment and management and the incredible potential for change through MI's technology. Dr. Saab also delves into the exciting future of digital mental health and what it might look like in the coming years.
XNode Podcast
Accessing China's Healthcare Market with Dr. Bechara Saab
In a podcast interview with Diana Lim, Dr. Saab discusses Mobio Interactive's work in providing mental healthcare worldwide using technology, China's healthcare market, and cultural differences that impact access to China's market.
BioTEC Podcast
The future of digital healthcare, Mobio, and the only mindfulness app proven to outperform placebo
Dr. Saab is interviewed by Malak Ali and Judy Xia from BioTEC—Canada's premier student-run conference. He discusses what led him into digital healthcare and explains AmDTx in detail, from its features and computer vision to biometrics and neural networks.
Ruthless Compassion Podcast
How can we Boost Our Curiosity to Improve our Memory and Lift our Mood
Dr. Marcia Sirota interviews Dr. Saab about his background at the Zurich Psychiatric Hospital researching curiosity, which ultimately led to him founding Mobio Interactive to provide effective and accessible healthcare to every human.
The Cao & Chao Show
In this biographical podcast, Dr. Saab speaks to Milo Chao about his background as Principal Investigator of Neuroscience at the Psychiatric Hospital in Zurich and how after fifteen years in academia, he went off to study the effects of mindfulness meditation, resulting in the commercialisation of two mindfulness meditation apps.
Project Archivist
Part 1: Brain Hacking and Going to Mars
Dr. Saab discusses his research in curiosity and motivation to explore. He then dives into going to Mars, starting civilisation on a new planet, and applying his knowledge and scientific contributions to life on Mars.
Project Archivist
Part 2: Neuroscience, Consciousness and Near Death Experience
On the one year anniversary of Lobo's near death, Dr. Saab speaks about what is going on in the brain during a near death experience, what happens when we dream, and what is consciousness.
Scientific American
Our Ears Can Detect Cancer and Space Weather
Dr. Saab provides insight into sound vs visual neural connections and notes that that the ear can pick out subtle patterns because a mammal's auditory system is faster at transmitting neural signals than most other parts of the brain.
Cracking The Curiosity Code by Dr. Diane Hamilton
Dr. Saab's findings that the molecules and brain regions that control learning and memory also control curiosity, and the implications of those findings are discussed in Dr. Hamilton's book, Cracking The Curiosity Code.
Quirk by Hannah Holmes
Brain Science Makes Sense of Your Peculiar Personality
Hannah Holmes writes about Dr. Saab's research on curiosity and exploration in mice in her book, Quirk, which explores different personality quirks and why they exist.
