Ken Simiyu

Ken Simiyu is a Program Officer at Grand Challenges Canada. He leads the Stars in Global Health program that is designed to enable innovators in low- and lower-middle-income countries and Canada to develop their bold ideas with big impact to improve global health conditions. Dr. Simiyu also co-leads the Point-of-Care Diagnostics portfolio, which is a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation designed to create a new class of point-of-care diagnostics that will be easy to use, low-cost, multiplexed and able to assess disease stage and provide information on prognosis. In addition, he supports the development and implementation of other Grand Challenges Canada initiatives.

Before joining Grand Challenges Canada, Dr. Simiyu provided marketing research and business development expertise to the Kenyan government, the Kenyan Trypanosomiasis Research Institute and international pharmaceutical companies based in Nairobi, Kenya. In Washington, DC, Dr. Simiyu worked with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as a health policy consultant.

Dr. Simiyu completed his PhD at the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, and received a Bachelors degree in Veterinary Medicine and Master’s degrees in Veterinary Public Health and Business Administration from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and completed a Masters in Public Health degree at George Washington University, Washington, DC