About
Dr. Ahmednur Ali (he/him) is the Scientific Lead for Equity-driven Evidence Support and Editor of Health Systems Evidence at the McMaster Health Forum (a leading hub for improving health- and social-systems and supporting evidence-informed policymaking in Canada and globally). In this role, he focuses on strengthening evidence-support systems and improving the accessibility and use of high-quality research on health- and social-systems arrangements (e.g., governance, financing, and service delivery). He also contributes to advancing equity-informed decision-making by overseeing how equity considerations are embedded into the Forum’s core evidence products and processes (e.g., rapid syntheses, stakeholder dialogue summaries, and guidance documents).
As Editor of Health Systems Evidence, Ahmed leads the curation of the world’s most comprehensive, free-access repository of evidence syntheses focused on strengthening and reforming health systems (e.g., systematic reviews, economic evaluations, and evidence briefs). He also leads efforts to embed equity in how the Forum curates, synthesizes, and supports the use of research evidence, with the goal of making health- and social-systems more fair and responsive to the needs of structurally disadvantaged populations.
Ahmed holds a PhD in Health Policy with a specialization in Political Studies from McMaster University, where he examined policy support for clinical practice guideline implementation (e.g., how political institutions and actor dynamics shape implementation uptake). He also holds a Master’s degree in Health Policy and Equity from York University, where he focused on obesity and health outcomes (e.g., how social determinants of health contribute to disparities in obesity-related illness).
“We can’t talk about strengthening health systems while ignoring the structural forces that keep people out. Equity is not a feature or a footnote. It is the measure of whether policy works.”