Dr. Finlay Maguire

My research aim is to develop and collaboratively apply data-driven methods to try and mitigate health and social crises. This is focused on two main areas: genomic epidemiology of infectious diseases and interdisciplinary health data science collaborations with experts in medicine and the social sciences.  My genomic epidemiology work involves creating novel microbial bioinformatics and machine learning approaches to better understand the diagnosis, evolution, and dynamics of infectious diseases.  This largely involves work with national and international public health consortia on problems related to antimicrobial resistance and, recently, the viral dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The broader health data science area of my work is more varied and tries to identify and solve the data-related problems of socially/health-focused academics, non-governmental organisations, and public health groups. This includes working with local shelters to identify gaps in provision, physicians to improve healthcare access among refugees, and sociologists exploring online radicalisation. I also actively support and contribute towards the MicroResearch initiative, a multinational community-based program focused on building research capacity in the Global South and under-served Canadian communities.