Diego Bassani

Diego Bassani is a Senior Scientist at SickKids Research Institute and an Associate Professor at the Department of Pediatrics and with the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Dr. Bassani received an M.Sc. and a PhD in epidemiology from the Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil.

Dr. Bassani is the director of the International Program Evaluation Unit at the Centre for Global Child Health, and currently leads the evaluation of the international programs of large Canadian NGOs in the area of maternal and child health in multiple countries. In collaboration with the Centre for Epidemiological Research in Pelotas, Brazil, Dr. Bassani is a co-PI in the most recent birth cohort that is following over 4,000 children born in the city in 2015. He also works closely with Dr. Daniel Roth on several projects related to linear growth in populations, in addition to being a co-investigator in a large study platform to study neonatal sepsis in Bangladesh. He leads a collaborative program funded by CanWaCH to study the measurement of SRHR during crisis and is currently working on the development of simplified approaches to the measurement of health indicators in LMIC populations.  

Research

Dr. Bassani is currently working on several projects related to linear growth in populations using secondary data from national surveys. He is one of the core investigators in a large study platform to study neonatal sepsis and the role of microbiome on preventing infections among newborns in Bangladesh. He leads a collaborative program funded by CanWaCH to study the measurement of SRHR during crisis and is currently working on the development of simplified approaches to the measurement of health indicators in LMIC populations.  

Education

• 2006–2007: Post-Doctorate, University of Toronto,  
• 2001–2005: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Epidemiology, Pelotas Federal University, Brazil  
• 2001–2002: Master of Science (M.Sc.), Epidemiology (ABD-transfer to Ph.D.), Pelotas Federal University, Brazil 
• 2000–2001: Master of Science (M.Sc.) Periodontics 
• 1996–1999: DDS (UFRGS, Brazil)

Experience

• 2019–Present: Senior Scientist, Child Health Evaluative Sciences, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children 
• 2012–2018: Chair, Technical Advisor, Measuring Results Working Group, Canadian Network for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health                          
• 2012–2016: Visiting Professor – Centre for Epidemiological Research, UFPel - Universidade Federal de Pelotas (Brazil) 
• 2011–2019: Scientist - Child Health and Evaluative Sciences, Hospital for Sick Children 
• 2011–Present: Epidemiologist, Department of Pediatrics/Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto 
• 2008–2011: Adjunct Scientist - Child Health and Evaluative Sciences, Hospital for Sick Children 
• 2007–2011: Staff Scientist/Epidemiologist – Maternal and Child Health Unit, Centre for Global Health Research, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto 

U of T Positions

Associate Professor – Paediatrics/Epidemiology  
Department of Paediatrics, Division of Paediatric Medicine  
 
Associate Professor – Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health (Graduate Unit) 

Achievements

2011: Canadian Rising Stars in Global Health 

1. Anthropometric data quality assessment in multisurvey studies of child growth. Perumal N, Namaste S, Qamar H, Aimone A, Bassani DG, Roth DE. Am J Clin Nutr. 2020 Jul 16:nqaa162. PMID: 32672330 
2. Feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of group antenatal care in Senegalese health posts: a pilot implementation trial. McKinnon B, Sall M, Vandermorris A, Traoré M, Lamesse-Diedhiou F, McLaughlin K, Bassani D. Health Policy Plan. 2020 Jun 1;35(5):587-599. PMID: 32155254 
3. Effect of Parental Counseling on Infants' Healthy Sleep Habits in Brazil: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Santos IS, Del-Ponte B, Tovo-Rodrigues L, Halal CS, Matijasevich A, Cruz S, Anselmi L, Silveira MF, Hallal PRC, Bassani DG. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Dec 2;2(12):e1918062. PMID: 31860110 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial. 
4. National, regional, and state-level all-cause and cause-specific under-5 mortality in India in 2000-15: a systematic analysis with implications for the Sustainable Development Goals. Liu L, Chu Y, Oza S, Hogan D, Perin J, Bassani DG, Ram U, Fadel SA, Pandey A, Dhingra N, Sahu D, Kumar P, Cibulskis R, Wahl B, Shet A, Mathers C, Lawn J, Jha P, Kumar R, Black RE, Cousens S. Lancet Glob Health. 2019 Jun;7(6):e721-e734. PMID: 31097276 Free PMC article. 
5. Effect of correcting for gestational age at birth on population prevalence of early childhood undernutrition. Perumal N, Roth DE, Perdrizet J, Barros AJD, Santos IS, Matijasevich A, Bassani DG. Emerg Themes Epidemiol. 2018 Feb 6;15:3. PMID: 29441118 Free PMC article.

See all of Diego Bassani's publications on PubMed.