BlueDot protects people around the world from infectious diseases with human and artificial intelligence.
We help governments protect their citizens, hospitals protect their staff and patients, and businesses protect their employees and customers.
Our team understands the complexity of the challenge in front of us – and that the urgency to solve the problem has never been greater. We’ve combined our public health and medical expertise with advanced data analytics to build solutions that track, contextualize, and anticipate infectious disease risks.
SARS spreads from Hong Kong to Toronto, causing an outbreak that cripples the city with 44 deaths and $2 billion in losses.
After completing his training as a physician specializing in infectious diseases and public health in New York City, Dr. Kamran Khan returns to Toronto just before the city’s SARS outbreak begins.
To understand how infectious diseases can spread worldwide, Dr. Khan launches BioDiaspora – a scientific research program at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto studying how the world’s population is connected through commercial air travel.
The BioDiaspora program is used to predict the global wavefront of the first influenza pandemic of the 21st century, with findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
BioDiaspora partners with Public Health England to evaluate local risks from global infectious diseases as the world converges in London for the summer Olympics. The approach is published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases.
With a vision of using business as a vehicle to address an important social problem, BioDiaspora is incorporated as a Certified B Corporation with support from MaRS Innovation and St. Michael’s Hospital.
To support growth prospects, BioDiaspora completes a seed round with Horizons Ventures, a private investment of Sir Li Ka-shing, and renames the company to BlueDot – a metaphor for our small world.
Ebola spreads throughout West Africa, with over 11,000 deaths. Using risk models that leverage billions of passenger itineraries, BlueDot predicts the migration of Ebola out of West Africa, publishing its results in The Lancet.
Zika lands in and spreads from Brazil, causing up to $18B in economic damages. This outbreak is also linked to a new symptom: microcephaly in newborns of women infected with Zika virus.
Using our risk assessment models, we predict an outbreak of Zika in Florida, six months before it actually occurred.
BlueDot launches George into the Google Play and Apple App Store, empowering travellers and the public with personalized insights about how to protect themselves against dangerous infectious diseases anywhere in the world.
BlueDot launches Insights, delivering timely global surveillance of infectious disease threats around the world for healthcare organizations and businesses. Insights provides actionable intelligence for healthcare workers and employees on the front lines.
Purpose Driven Award
Kamran Khan, CEO
Innovation Award
Health & Wellness Category
Top 25 Best Workplaces
First Recipient
Tackling a complex problem like infectious disease requires a diverse team.We're a talented team of leading experts in clinical medicine, epidemiology, data science, public health, spatial analytics, software development, and designers.
Kamran is a practicing infectious disease physician and a Professor of Medicine with the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Toronto. After completing his training in infectious diseases, preventive medicine, and public health at Cornell, Columbia, and Harvard, he returned to Toronto just before SARS crippled the city during the 2003 outbreak. Deeply motivated by this event, Kamran has dedicated his career to finding solutions that help the world better prepare for and respond to tomorrow’s infectious disease threats.
Lindsay is passionate about growing companies that have a positive social impact on their customers, and has a broad range of experience working across both the private and public sectors. Prior to joining BlueDot, Lindsay led business development and marketing efforts for a leading Microsoft partner in the UK, managed the Clinton Health Access Initiative’s (CHAI) malaria programs across East and West Africa, and led customer experience for Fenix International’s (pay-a-you-go solar company) in Uganda. Lindsay holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts (Honours) in Political Science & International Development from Queen’s University, and completed a certificate in Marketing from the London School of Marketing. As the COO of BlueDot, Lindsay is focused on the company’s day-to-day operations as well as its commercial strategy.
Mike served as Senior Director at Fio Corporation focusing on diagnosing and managing infectious diseases using machine learning and cloud computing technologies.
Earlier at Merge, now a part of IBM, Mike worked on advanced PACS systems – medical software used by radiologists around the world.
Mike’s passion is leading talented software professionals to their personal best and to team excellence while working on a socially sustainable projects.
Mike holds a bachelor degree in Electrical Engineering from AGH University of Science and Technology. He has authored and coauthored several patents.
Frank has been instrumental in the growth of several companies, including UXP Systems, Matrixx, Openet, Telefonica, and Redknee, many of which led to successful IPO or acquisition. Frank is passionate about building motivated teams, steering product toward a clear vision, and streamlined product development. Frank holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University Zwickau (FH) in Germany. He is also named inventor on several patents.
Matthew has a diverse background in molecular and epidemiological infectious disease research with on the ground experience in the Canadian Arctic and abroad. He holds a Master's degree in Molecular Immunology and Virology from McGill University and a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology.
Alexander Watts is an infectious disease ecologist specializing in landscape ecology and spatial epidemiology. This quantitative background is applied to BlueDot’s zoonotic and vector-borne disease research strategies, environmental modeling efforts, disease mapping, and surveillance. Alexander holds a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto Department of Ecology and Evolution and an Master’s degree in Science from the University of Calgary in the departments of Geography and Veterinary Medicine.
Isaac is an infectious disease physician with training in tropical medicine and global health. Dr. Bogoch completed his training in infectious diseases at the Harvard Medical School, holds a Master's degree in clinical epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health, and trained in tropical medicine at the Gorgas Memorial Institute and Instituto de Medicina Tropical in Lima, Peru. His clinical practice is based at the Toronto General Hospital and he is an Assistant Professor of Medicine with the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Toronto.
Alun is currently the Deputy Chief of Emergency Medicine and the Co-Medical Director of Information and Technology at St. Michael’s Hospital. Alun has developed an interest in protecting frontline healthcare workers with knowledge translation technology initiatives and has an interest in pre-hospital medicine, working as a transport physician at Ornge, Ontario’s air ambulance service. He completed his MD and MSc at the University of Toronto and continues as an Assistant Professor for the Department of Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine.
James leads the product and data visualization design team in setting the design strategy and architecting user-centric solutions. Prior to BlueDot, he led design teams in public and private sectors, and lectured sessionally at OCAD University. He holds a Master’s degree in Knowledge Media Design from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Combinatorics & Optimization from the University of Waterloo.
Jennifer holds a Master's degree in epidemiology and manages BlueDot’s international clients and partners, including the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Prior to BlueDot, she worked on the BioDiaspora academic research program at St. Michael's Hospital for six years coordinating research activities for government and academic stakeholders and before that spent 10 years in the private sector specializing in technology and license management.
Robb leads BlueDot’s culture, people, and talent initiatives. He is a seasoned professional and brings over 12 years of HR experience to BlueDot. Robb has held multiple leadership positions while working at a number of leading and fast-paced organizations such as Klick, Randstad, and Ernst & Young. Additionally, Robb brings significant entrepreneurial experience to BlueDot. He has started and operated multiple profitable small businesses. While leading the People team at Klick, the organization grew from 375 employees to almost 700 while being recognized as the 8th Best Place to Work in the country. He is a member of MaRS’ Tech Talent Advisory Council which is focused on alleviating the talent challenges facing Toronto's fast-growing tech ecosystem.
Ali is a firm believer in the value of creating unique customer experiences by using design thinking and a humanistic approach to sales. At BlueDot he is tasked with leading sales and business development activities in the public and private sector.
Ali has worked in enterprise sales for over 12 years with companies like the Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal and Thomson Reuters. Prior to joining BlueDot, Ali was the founder of Hanali, a boutique consulting firm focussed on scaling up sales teams.
John is interested in the process of business building and delivering outsized results. He is passionate about sustainable business, early stage growth, and data-driven decision making. He has experience both as a founder and as an M&A banker. Before joining BlueDot, John co-founded a social impact consumer technology company in New York. Prior to that, John was an investment banker in New York where he advised companies on M&A transactions and capital raising. John graduated from the University of Western Ontario where he studied finance.
Shawn has spent his career helping governments innovate through technology. Before joining BlueDot, he developed government partnerships for a public health and engagement platform, worked as a consultant for a network of cardiology diagnostic clinics, and acted as Chief Partnership Officer for a not-for-profit organization. Shawn holds a Bachelor of Commerce with a major in Marketing Management from the University of Guelph.
As the Financial Controller at BlueDot, Greg oversees all day-to-day accounting functions. This includes being responsible for the accounting systems and procedures, tax and regulatory filings, payroll, and operations. Greg is a CPA, CA and attained his Diploma in Accounting at McGill University. His professional background includes working as an auditor at a mid-sized firm in Toronto and as a Financial Accountant for a condominium developer servicing the GTA.
Lameece is a Business Development Representative responsible for outreach to public health agencies around the world. She recently graduated with a Biomedical Science degree from York University, has worked in sales during her undergraduate degree, and completed a research internship at St. Michael’s Hospital.
Dr. Andrea Thomas is a veterinary epidemiologist with experience in quantitative and spatial epidemiology. She has previously worked on projects involving evaluation of West Nile virus surveillance in Ontario and enhanced surveillance for livestock disease detection. Andrea’s expertise in the domains of zoonoses and animal population health, and her quantitative and spatial analytic skills support the BlueDot Analytics, Data Engineering and Development teams. Andrea holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and a Masters in Epidemiology from the Ontario Veterinary College at the University of Guelph, and is currently a PhD Candidate in Epidemiology within the department of Population Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College.
Carmen is a Spatial Analyst with experience in health geography, spatial decision support, and spatial statistics. At BlueDot, she leverages GIS to provide insights to decision makers on topics such as resource allocation and emergency response to infectious disease. Carmen holds a Master’s degree in Spatial Analysis from Ryerson University.
Kieran is a geospatial data analyst specializing in ecological determinants of health, environmental data, and urban systems. At BlueDot, he works on modelling and mapping data relevant to zoonotic and vector-borne infectious diseases. Kieran holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environment and Geographic Information Systems from McGill University.
Ashleigh is an epidemiologist with extensive experience modeling infectious diseases of public health importance. In her role at BlueDot, she supports the development of models for infectious disease risk assessment, prediction, and surveillance. She holds an MSc from McGill University, an MPH and PhD from the University of Toronto, and recently completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard University.
Basam is a software architect and developer with over 15 years of experience in programming and GIS technologies. He architected, developed, supported and maintained successful applications in many sectors including finance, medicine, and academia. Basam holds a Master’s degree in Information Technology from Abertay University and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science.
Vivian holds a Master's degree in Spatial Analysis from Ryerson and a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science from York. She curates, manages and analyzes BlueDot’s many large datasets.
Norman is QA analyst with much experience in software testing. Prior to BlueDot, he worked as Sr. QA at Deloitte and Scotiabank. Norman has a Bachelor’s degree in industrial automation.
Anna is a software engineer who loves innovating software solutions with user satisfaction and code quality in mind. Not new to the healthcare space, she previously developed software for medical devices, including an extensible machine-learning-based framework to diagnose infectious diseases. Anna holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from the University of the Philippines-Diliman.
Kevin is a developer with a passion for full-stack web development. He has experience developing web application platforms and Android applications, having previously worked at a healthcare technology and research company. Kevin holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from the University of Toronto.
Gru is a software engineer who specializes in web development. He is experienced in building rich front-end applications, test automation, and leading development teams. He has worked in education, government, and e-health, and holds a Master's degree in Network Centered Computing (Distinction) from the University of Reading.
Sonya is a data engineer with strong GIS expertise. She specializes in geoprocessing workflows for visualization, analysis and data warehousing. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geographic Analysis and is pursuing a certification in Data Analytics, Big Data, and Predictive Analytics, both at Ryerson University.
Jennifer is a visual and interaction designer with an interest in empathizing with users’ emotions and behaviours. Coming from a traditional graphic design background, she has had previous experience working on a range of branding, print, campaign, and product material at various agencies. She holds a Bachelor of Design (Honours) from the York/Sheridan Joint Program in Design.
Adriano has deep expertise in geodatabase design, web-GIS development, and the consumption, analysis of and visualization of data services through satellite data. He holds a Master's degree in Spatial Analysis from Ryerson University.
Jaimie is a GIS Analyst with experience in health geography, advanced GIS techniques, and spatial decision analysis. At BlueDot, she provides daily geoprocessing support and database maintenance. She holds a Bachelor’s degree with honours in Geographic Analysis from Ryerson University.
Greg is a data scientist at BlueDot. He works on using machine learning to help predict epidemic outbreaks and to improve surveillance of existing outbreaks. He previously worked as a data scientist at RBC and the University of Oxford. His dream job is one which helps makes the world a better place, with challenging problems and a diverse group of interesting coworkers. So basically, BlueDot. He has PhD in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo.
Jack is a data engineer with a strong understanding of spatial data. He applies his interests in GIS and programming at BlueDot by developing custom processes to add meaning to complex data sets and automate the flow of data into the company's products. Jack holds a Bachelor's degree in Geography and Environmental Management from the University of Waterloo, specializing in geomatics.
Yuriy is a data engineer with experience in data modeling, full stack software development, and open source GIS. At BlueDot, he works on automated data workflows and database maintenance. Yuriy holds a Bachelor's degree in Urban Studies from the University of Toronto along with a certificate as a GIS Applications Specialist from Fleming College.
Jasmine is a data engineer with a strong background in GIS and remote sensing data analysis. She specializes in satellite image processing and classification using machine learning algorithms. At BlueDot, she automates processing chains, maintains databases, and grows data capabilities. Jasmine holds both a Bachelor of Science in Geomatics and a Master's degree in Remote Sensing in Northern Hydrology from the University of Waterloo.
Hernan is a physician specialized in Internal Medicine. He brings clinical and public health expertise to a wide range of BlueDot activities, including building up the organization's knowledge foundations and consulting on various research and development projects. Hernan finished his training in Internal Medicine at the Hospital Universitario de Maracaibo and La Universidad Del Zulia in Venezuela.
Mariana is a physician with Pediatric specialization and Masters Degrees on Clinical and Research in Infectious Diseases. She brings her clinical and research expertise in Surveillance activities at BlueDot. She recently finished an Infectious Diseases Fellowship at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada.
Judy is a physician with a background in family practice, specifically in women’s health and chronic disease management. She has clinical research experience from UHN and St. Michael’s Hospital in pathology and gynecology oncology, respectively. Along with her research skills, Judy brings a wide range of clinical and teaching experience to BlueDot, where she performs surveillance activities and helps improve clinical data, endemic disease maps, and communications.
Rahim is a senior biostatistician and Associate Professor at the University of Toronto with deep expertise in spatiotemporal statistical modelling and predictive analytics. Rahim holds a Ph.D. in Statistics and a Master's degree in Biostatistics from the University of Toronto.
Michael has 15 years of experience in a leadership role in GIS, IT Systems and Computer Networking at Ryerson University. He enhances the workflow and capabilities of the BlueDot team by providing GIS and IT infrastructure and exploring new technologies. He holds a Master’s degree in Spatial Analysis from the University of Toronto and Ryerson University.
Beatrice provides administrative coordination for day-to-day operations to the team. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Human Resources and Economics from the University of Toronto.
Healthcare Advisory Board
Nancy has established herself as a trusted strategic advisor based on her intricate understanding of Canada’s complex healthcare system. She has worked with senior levels of government and health leaders across the system, and understands how health policy and purchasing decisions are made. By leveraging her expertise in strategic planning, medical technology commercialization, public policy, and government affairs, clients are able to develop the right plan and engage the right stakeholders at the right time to ensure measurable, lasting results. Nancy holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours, Marketing) from Queen’s University and is a Certified Coach Practitioner.
Janet M. Davidson has more than 40 years of experience in healthcare in government, voluntary, and hospital and community sectors in a number of Canadian jurisdictions. She was Deputy Minister of Alberta Health and the Official Administrator of Alberta Health Services. She currently holds the position of Chair of the Board of the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Janet received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Windsor and a Master in Health Services Administration from the University of Alberta. She is a graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors education program at Rotman School of Management, the UC Berkeley School of Public Health’s Global Health Leadership Forum, and has an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Windsor.
Debbie Fischer is an experienced board director and has held senior leadership positions in professional consulting services for healthcare and government. She is currently an Executive Associate with KPMG, where she consults on organizational change and large-scale system transformation in healthcare and public sectors. Debbie was previously the Executive Vice President, Strategy and Organizational Development at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and an Assistant Deputy Minister in Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Debbie has a Bachelor of Science (Neurobiology and Comparative Physiology) from McGill University and Master of Health Administration from the University of Ottawa. She also holds CHRL and ICD.D designations.
Michael is currently the Chief of Medical Staff at Humber River Hospital, one of Canada’s largest regional acute care hospitals. As former Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control at the University Health Network, Director of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control at Public Health Ontario, and a former Director at Infection Prevention and Control Canada, Michael has worked for many years to prevent the spread of infectious diseases in healthcare settings and the community. Michael holds Master’s degrees from McGill University and the University of Toronto, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in infectious diseases.
John has more than 40 years of healthcare experience, having arrived in Ontario in 1999 after leading several hospitals in western Canada (Foothills Medical Centre, Calgary Regional Health Authority, and Alberta Hospital Association) to become the Assistant Deputy Minister of Programs in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. John subsequently joined St. Michael’s Hospital as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. A certified health executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders, he was appointed Chair of the college board in June 2010 after serving as Provincial Director for several provinces. John has a Master of Health Administration from the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor in Economics and Math from the University of Western Ontario.