Dr. Jamie Forrest PhD, MPH

My research examines how digital technologies can be deliberately designed, adapted, and governed to minimize health disparities and promote health equity. Leveraging strengths in global health partnerships for interdisciplinary inquiry, I investigate interconnected challenges that emerge when digital innovation disrupts conventional health research, methods, and practice norms.

My research is grounded in a commitment to equity and local agency, evolving from community-driven biomedical and socio-behavioural studies among gay and bisexual men to the pragmatic analysis of global health innovation and information systems. With foundational training in quantitative public health methods, I have consistently sought to center research questions around the lived realities and priorities of marginalized communities, ensuring that evidence not only meets scientific standards, but also meaningfully serves those it is intended to benefit. Years spent embedded with Rwanda's Ministry of Health, co-developing and scaling digital health information systems, provided deeper insights into the intersection of technology, data sovereignty, and sustainable innovation in resource-limited settings.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I led global clinical research operations across 22 sites on three continents, generating actionable evidence for repurposed therapies at unprecedented speed. While these experiences brought into sharp focus the well-established tension between speed and methodological rigor, I also saw how the pressure for rapid results can, if unchecked, exacerbate inequities in research capacity and governance—especially in low- and middle-income contexts. My response has been to advance adaptive and pragmatic research methods that safeguard scientific integrity while intentionally promoting equity and amplifying local voices.

Currently, as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of British Columbia, my work examines how the adoption of artificial intelligence, the spread of digital misinformation, and shifting models of governance are reshaping public health emergency response on a global scale. Looking ahead, my aim is to unite ecosystem-level analyses with practical implementation tools for policymakers and practitioners—helping to operationalize resilient, equitable, and locally driven health systems in the face of accelerating digital transformation.