Dr. M. Ehsan Karim is an Associate Professor in Health Data Science in the School of Population and Public Health at The University of British Columbia, a Scientist at the Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes (St. Paul’s Hospital), and an Associate Member of UBC Statistics. He was a Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar (2018–2023).

He obtained his Ph.D. in Statistics from UBC, supported by a studentship from MS Canada. He completed his postgraduate training at McGill University with a fellowship from the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES).

His research program focuses on developing and applying causal inference and data science methods to answer real-world comparative effectiveness questions using nonrandomized data. A central theme is the analysis of large health administrative databases, advancing state-of-the-art biostatistical and epidemiological methods to generate reliable real-world evidence. Multiple sclerosis is a key application area for his work. His research is supported by grants from CIHR, NSERC, MS Canada, and the BC SUPPORT Unit.

A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Karim supervises students in both SPPH and Statistics. He developed and teaches the PhD capstone course SPPH 604, and authored the open-access Advanced Epidemiological Methods textbook. He was named a UBC Open Educational Resources (OER) Champion for 2024–2025.

Dr. Karim serves as an Associate Editor for Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety and is a regular grant reviewer for national funding bodies. His contributions have been recognized with the Author Service Award (BMC Medical Research Methodology, 2025), Exemplary Reviewer (Epidemiology, 2020), and Best Reviewer (Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, 2015 & 2017).

Dr. M. Ehsan Karim

• Associate Professor, Health Data Science
  School of Population and Public Health, The University of British Columbia
• Scientist, Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes (St. Paul’s Hospital)
• Associate Member, UBC Statistics
• Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar (2018–2023)

Education

• Ph.D. in Statistics, University of British Columbia
  Supported by a studentship from MS Canada.
• Postgraduate Fellowship, McGill University
  Supported by the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES).

Research

Dr. Karim’s research focuses on developing and applying causal inference and data science methods to address real-world comparative effectiveness questions using nonrandomized data.
His program emphasizes:

• Advanced biostatistical and epidemiological methods for large health administrative databases
• Improving reliability of real-world evidence generation
• Applications to multiple sclerosis

His research is funded by CIHR, NSERC, MS Canada, and BC SUPPORT Unit.

Teaching

A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Karim supervises students in both SPPH and Statistics.

• Developer and instructor of SPPH 604 (PhD Capstone Course)
• Author of the open-access textbook Advanced Epidemiological Methods
• Recognized as a UBC Open Educational Resources (OER) Champion for 2024–2025

Service

Dr. Karim contributes actively to academic service:

• Associate Editor, Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety
• Grant Reviewer, national funding agencies
• Awards and Recognition:
  • Author Service Award, BMC Medical Research Methodology (2025)
  • Exemplary Reviewer, Epidemiology (2020)
  • Best Reviewer, Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety (2015, 2017)