Dr. Abdallah Daar was born in Tanzania and educated at Oxford University. He taught and worked as a transplant surgeon at Oxford before moving to the Middle East, where he helped to build two new medical schools. He is currently a professor of clinical public health, global health, and surgery at the University of Toronto. He has worked extensively with the U.N., and his numerous international awards include the UNESCO Avicenna Prize for Ethics of Science. In 2017, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for his many contributions to global health and for his role in the creation of Grand Challenges Canada.