Skip to main content Skip to local navigation
Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research

Syed Imran Ali

Posted on November 11, 2020

Research Fellow, Global Health and Humanitarianism

Research Fellow

Visit personal website

Click here to send email

Dr. Imran Ali is an aid worker and academic focused on humanitarian challenges at the intersection of environment and public health. He has worked in emergency responses and led operational research with Médecins Sans Frontières and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in South Sudan, Pakistan, Jordan, Rwanda, and Uganda. Dr. Ali has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, where he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Development Impact Lab and the Blum Center for Developing Economies. Dr. Ali received his doctorate in environmental engineering from the University of Guelph and his bachelors in engineering from Queen’s University.

Themes

Global Health & Humanitarianism

Status

Active

Events

Humanitarian Water Engineering Course - Fall 2026

The Limits and Responsibilities of Global Health & Humanitarianism: What the Genocide in Gaza Reveals

Humanitarian Water Engineering Course - Fall 2025

Humanitarian Water Engineering: Priorities for Health in Humanitarian Emergencies, with Syed Imran Ali

Humanitarian Water Engineering Course - Fall 2024

Planetary Health for a Planetary Emergency Symposium

Humanitarian Responses to Emerging Water Crises as a Result of Extreme Climatic Events

Humanitarian Water Engineering Course - Fall 2023

Humanitarian Water Engineering Course - Winter 2023

Global Health Design: Safe Water Optimization Tools: Ensuring Water Safety & Protecting Public Health in Humanitarian Emergencies

Safe Water Optimization Tool V2 Launch

Humanitarian Water Engineering Course - Fall 2022

Related Work

Updates
Progress Update: Humanitarian Water Engineering Lab Project in Uganda | November 6, 2026
Applications Open! Humanitarian Water Engineering Online Intensive Course, Fall 2026 | July 2, 2026
HWE Lab at EEHF 2026: Three Studies on Water and Health in Emergencies | June 18, 2026
Israel Uses Water as a Weapon Against the People of Gaza: New MSF Report | May 6, 2026
2025 Year in Review | December 18, 2025
Made in Canada: Showcasing York Global Health Innovation on Parliament Hill | October 10, 2025
Dahdaleh Institute’s Safe Water Optimization Tool Helps Address Gaza’s Water Crisis | September 9, 2025
York-led safe water tool nearly three times more effective than standard practice, new study finds | August 28, 2025
Hot Off The Press — How to Teach AI: Multi-Objective Water Quality Modelling for Emergencies | August 12, 2025
York U researchers launch new health partnerships in Uganda | July 7, 2025
Applications Open! Humanitarian Water Engineering Online Intensive Course, Fall 2025 | July 3, 2025
Humanitarian Water Engineering Lab Kicks Off New Projects in Uganda | June 27, 2025
Hot off the Press – Protecting the Safe Water Chain in Refugee Camps: An Exploratory Study of Water Handling Practices, Chlorine Decay, and Household Water Safety in South Sudan, Jordan, and Rwanda | January 9, 2025
2024 Year in Review | December 19, 2024
Hot off the Press – New Opinion Article Publication: DATA: A Key for Unlocking Quality in WASH Programming | November 21, 2024
Dahdaleh Researchers Awarded Connected Minds Grant to Co-Design Novel Machine Learning-Enabled Public Health Risk Assessment Tools in Uganda | November 20, 2024
Recap — Humanitarian Water Engineering: Priorities for Health in Humanitarian Emergencies, with Syed Imran Ali | October 17, 2024
Hot off the Press — Evaluation of the Safe Water Optimization Tool to Provide Evidence-Based Chlorination Targets in Surface Waters: Lessons from a Refugee Setting in Uganda | October 15, 2024
Recap — Investigating Global Health: A Critical Social Science Perspective | July 12, 2024
Student Opportunity SU24 - Humanitarian Sector Water Safety Assurance Best Practices Research Assistant | March 27, 2024
Call for Presentations – 2024 Critical Social Science Perspectives in Global Health Workshop | February 1, 2024
Safe Water Innovation Earns International Praise | January 24, 2024
Recap – Highlights from the Planetary Health Council Launch | January 19, 2024
DIGHR awarded major grant from Creating Hope in Conflict: A Humanitarian Grand Challenge to help improve safe water and public health in humanitarian crises | January 16, 2024
SWOT Team Brings Data into Action at University of North Carolina Water and Health Conference | November 9, 2023
Dahdaleh Research Fellow Discusses the Humanitarian Consequences of Water Being Cut Off to Gaza in the Washington Post | November 6, 2023
Student Opportunity FW23-24 - Community-Based Participatory Water Quality Monitoring for Safe Water Optimization in the Canadian North | October 13, 2023
York University Leads Water Sustainability Event Featuring Panel of Renowned Experts | July 12, 2023
Applications Open! Humanitarian Water Engineering Online Intensive Course, Fall 2023 | June 28, 2023
Announcing the Winners of the 2023 Seed Grants in Critical Perspectives in Global Health Research | May 8, 2023
Applications Open! Humanitarian Water Engineering Online Intensive Course, Winter 2023 | January 10, 2023
York U researchers’ revamped AI tool makes water dramatically safer in refugee camps | November 4, 2022
DI Researchers Contribute to New Report on Scaling Humanitarian Innovations | November 3, 2022
Check out the SWOT at the UNC Water and Health Conference | October 19, 2022
Hot Off the Press – Modelling residual chlorine in humanitarian response in PLOS WATER | September 6, 2022
Research Fellow Syed Imran Ali Presented the Safe Water Optimization Tool at York’s Academia to Industry (A2I) Event | June 15, 2022
Join us in Fall 2022 for the popular Humanitarian Water Engineering Online Intensive Course at the Dahdaleh Institute | June 8, 2022
World Water Day: A Solutions-Driven Workshop on Climate Impacts on Freshwater | April 27, 2022
Highlighting the SWOT’s Risk-Based Approach at the 2022 Emergency Environmental Health Forum | April 25, 2022
Opportunity: Back-end Developer, Safe Water Optimization Tool Project | May 12, 2021
Safe Water Optimization Tool (SWOT) featured in Compendium of Water Supply Technologies in Emergencies | May 6, 2021
Safe Water Optimization Tool featured as Bold Innovations Helping People in Conflict | April 21, 2021
Opportunity: P/T Junior Developer, Safe Water Optimization Tool Project | January 26, 2021
Opportunity: Technical Advisor - SWOT and Humanitarian Water Engineering | December 15, 2020
New Research Grant: Safe Water Optimization Tool awarded WASH Evidence Challenge Grant from the Humanitarian Innovation Fund/Elrha | December 10, 2020
Virtual Launch of Safe Water Optimization Tool | December 7, 2020
New Publication: Dahdaleh Institute researchers publish groundbreaking study on safe water and public health in refugee camps | November 30, 2020
Dahdaleh Institute Fellow Syed Imran Ali featured on the Globe and Mail as part of their "Stepping Up" series | November 30, 2020
Safe Water Optimization Tool featured in two national magazines | November 16, 2020
Innovative new data analytics technology to help improve access to safe water in refugee camps | November 5, 2020
SWOT at MSF Scientific Days Conference (virtual) | May 11, 2020
Dahdaleh Institute Members Contribute to Doctors Without Borders Internal Newsletter | April 2, 2020
SWOT Second All-Team Meeting Moves Project Forward | February 25, 2020
Opportunity: Junior Developer, Safe Water Optimization Tool | January 15, 2020
Syed Imran Ali Tells Story and Science Behind Child Malnutrition Project | October 29, 2019
Presentation at Health Congress is Latest Dissemination Initiative from CWQ+SAM | September 16, 2019
Project Update: Emergency Data Science | September 4, 2019
Vote for Your Favourite Scientific Days Poster | May 2, 2019
Researchers Publish First-Of-Its-Kind Study in "Water" | April 1, 2019
WASH Project Showcased in London at Humanitarian Innovation Fund Meeting | February 27, 2019
Design is not just a pretty interface - and other lessons from Emergency Data Science | February 20, 2019
Researchers Facilitate Humanitarian Problem-Solving | November 28, 2018
Significant Progress at The Dahdaleh Institute | May 17, 2018
Dr. Imran Ali Presents in Berlin | April 12, 2018
New Grant Awarded by the Humanitarian Innovation Fund | February 22, 2018
New Grant Awarded by the CIHR-IPPH | January 31, 2018

You may also be interested in...