Jennifer Gardy


Jennifer Gardy is a Canadian scientist, educator and broadcaster, with expertise in the fields of molecular biology, biochemistry, and bioinformatics. Since February 2019 she has been the Deputy Director, Surveillance, Data, and Epidemiology on the Global Health: Malaria team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She was previously an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health, a Canada Research Chair in Public Health Genomics, and a Senior Scientist at the BC Centre for Disease Control. She is an occasional host of CBC's The Nature of Things, a science communicator, and a children's book author.

Education

Gardy received her PhD in molecular biology and biochemistry from Simon Fraser University in 2006. Previously, she earned a BSc in Cell Biology and Genetics from the University of British Columbia and a Graduate Certificate in Biotechnology from McGill University in 2001.

BC Centre for Disease Control

Dr. Gardy began working for the BC Centre for Disease Control in 2009. During Dr. Gardy's time at the BCCDC, she began work on genome epidemiology, a new scientific field of inquiry. In 2014, she was made the Canada Research Chair in Public Health Genomics.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

In her current role at the Gates Foundation, Dr. Gardy manages the collection and surveillance the genetic/genomic profiles for viruses and bacteria. This data is used to understand, track, and manage disease outbreaks and can be studied to prevent future outbreaks. Through this role, she is often consulted for epidemics such as the Cuban Zika outbreak and development of malaria vaccines to target region-specific outbreaks.

Media

Jennifer Gardy has made regular appearances on CBC's documentary series The Nature of Things. She has hosted the episodes:
She has also appeared on Discovery Channel Canada's Daily Planet.

Selected publications