Tarun Katapally

Professor Tarun Katapally, PhD, is a physician, patient-oriented research leader, and Canada Research Chair in Digital Health for Equity, who established the Digital Epidemiology and Precision Health Laboratory (DEPtH Lab) in 2017 to develop a sustainable program of digital health research by scaling up the Smart Platform. Smart is a citizen science and digital epidemiological platform, which uses big data for one integrated outcome: health equity by addressing existing and emerging population health crises. In essence, Smart Platform enables the engineering of digital health solutions by harnessing the power of big data, with an emphasis on ethical citizen engagement, data sovereignty, and internet equity. Dr. Katapally and his team conceptualize, develop, and implement digital health platforms by intersecting citizen science and social innovation. He works with interdisciplinary researchers, intersectoral decision-makers and disadvantaged communities to engineer digital health solutions that harness the power of big data. They are applying social innovation in their work to advance internet equity and ensure the appropriate and ethical use of data.

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