Abbas Zavar

Abbas Zavar, MD, MPH, MHI, is a physician-scientist and clinical AI and digital health leader with more than 25 years of experience spanning frontline medicine, executive health-system leadership, applied research, health informatics, implementation, consulting, and education. His work focuses on translating clinical and operational needs into safe, measurable and practical uses of digital health and artificial intelligence in real-world care.

At IHPME, Abbas teaches graduate courses in quantitative skills, knowledge management and practicum-based learning within the Master of Health Informatics program. He mentors interdisciplinary students in applying research methods, health data and emerging technologies to real healthcare challenges. He also serves as Co-Chair and Executive Director of the Future of Health Leadership, Informatics and Policy (FHLIP) Conference.

Abbas leads PERSOVENTA, a long-term, multidisciplinary initiative developing multidimensional assessment methods and a structured knowledge base to support personalized preventive care and future AI-enabled applications. His broader research interests include clinical AI evaluation and implementation, primary-care transformation, clinical decision support, health data analytics, implementation science, personalized prevention, patient safety, and knowledge mobilization.

As Digital Health Research Lead at OntarioMD, Abbas leads and contributes to applied research on clinician burden, AI-enabled solutions, workflow automation and digital transformation in community primary care. His work encompasses research and evaluation design, clinical and technical measurement, stakeholder engagement, knowledge mobilization and implementation planning, with particular attention to responsible AI adoption, patient safety and clinical workflow.

Earlier in his career, Abbas worked in family and emergency medicine and held executive healthcare leadership roles across hospital, regional health network, public health, mental health, and addiction settings. He is also the founder of AZ Digital Health Consulting Inc., where his work focuses on responsible AI, digital health evaluation, workflow integration, personalized prevention and education.

Abbas holds an MD, an MPH and an MHI from the University of Toronto. He recently completed the AMS-Fitzgerald Fellowship in AI and Human-Centred Leadership.