About Us
The Kaplan Global Epidemiology Lab is an internationally collaborative research group based at the University of Calgary. Our mission is to improve the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and long-term outcomes of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other digestive diseases through high-quality epidemiologic research.
Led by Dr. Gilaad Kaplan, our multi-disciplinary team brings together expertise in epidemiology, biostatistics, health administrative data, evidence synthesis, data science (incl. machine learning), and knowledge translation. By integrating these disciplines, we generate evidence that advances scientific understanding, informs clinical practice, and supports evidence-based health policy.
Working alongside clinicians, researchers, patient partners, healthcare organizations, and collaborators around the world, we conduct research that spans the full continuum of digestive health, from understanding disease burden and identifying risk factors to evaluating treatments, improving healthcare delivery, and translating research into real-world impact.
What We Do
Our research addresses important questions in digestive health by combining epidemiology, health data, evidence synthesis, and data science to generate evidence that improves understanding of disease and informs healthcare decision-making.
Our work focuses on a range of interconnected areas that together advance understanding of digestive health and improve healthcare:
- Population-based Epidemiology: Understanding the burden, distribution, and determinants of digestive diseases across populations.
- Health Services Research: Using population-based health data to evaluate healthcare delivery, access, quality, and outcomes, with the goal of improving patient care and health system performance.
- Pharmacoepidemiology: Evaluating the safety, effectiveness, and utilization of medications using real-world health data.
- Evidence Synthesis: Producing systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Synthesizing and critically evaluating research evidence to advance scientific understanding, identify knowledge gaps, and support evidence-informed decision-making.
- Machine Learning & Data Science: Applying advanced analytical methods and machine learning to improve disease surveillance, prediction, and healthcare decision-making.
- Global Collaborative Research: Partnering with researchers and organizations worldwide to address shared challenges and generate evidence that improves digestive health globally.
- Knowledge Translation: Enhancing the impact of research by communicating evidence, engaging stakeholders, and supporting the integration of research into healthcare, policy, and practice.
We work with clinicians, researchers, health systems, patient partners, and international collaborators to answer questions that improve care for people living with digestive diseases.
Our Approach
We believe that impactful research is collaborative, rigorous, and clinically relevant. Our projects combine diverse data sources, advanced analytical methods, and strong partnerships to generate evidence that can be translated into meaningful improvements in patient care and health policy.
Our Impact
Our research is designed to generate evidence that improves understanding of digestive diseases and supports better healthcare for patients and populations.
Our Values
We believe impactful research is collaborative, rigorous, transparent, and patient-centered. By working across disciplines and partnering with patients, clinicians, researchers, and decision-makers, we strive to produce evidence that improves health and informs better decisions.
Meet Our Team
Behind every project is a multidisciplinary team of researchers, clinicians, data scientists, trainees, and knowledge translation specialists committed to advancing digestive health research. Learn more about the people who make our work possible.
