Digital Square Welcomes New Executive Director
Digital Square announced today that Dr. Bilal Mateen has been appointed new Executive Director, effective July 31, 2023.
Dr. Mateen is an energetic and innovative leader with extensive experience in digital health, both as a clinician and practitioner of philanthropy. Prior to joining the Digital Square team, he has served as the Clinical Technology Lead and Senior Manager for Digital Technology at the Wellcome Trust – one of the world’s largest charitable foundations.
Under Dr. Mateen’s leadership at Wellcome, his team provided funding for digital public goods to address three key health challenges: mental health, the impacts of climate change on human health, and emerging and escalating infectious diseases. Dr. Mateen is not only focused on advancing health and technology, but he is invested in and deeply passionate about ethical and inclusive innovation to improve human lives.
At Digital Square, Dr. Mateen will continue his work driving innovation and applying data and technology to help address the monumental challenges that face humanity, including the global health equity gap.
Co-lead of PATH’s Center of Digital and Data Excellence (CoDE), Laurie Werner, led the recruitment process and said this of Dr. Mateen’s appointment: “I am thrilled to welcome Dr. Mateen to PATH. His clinical background, complemented by his deep understanding of digital health and his wealth of experience building connections and partnerships makes him supremely qualified to shepherd Digital Square into this next phase of our strategy and work.”
A physician by training, Dr. Mateen has an academic background in health-related applications of data science and machine learning - he holds an honorary (associate) professorial appointment at University College London and a fellowship at the Alan Turing Institute (the UK’s national institute for data science and AI). Dr. Mateen completed his Bachelor of Science in Medical Sciences and Neuroscience, as well as his medical training in the UK at University College London. Until recently, he practiced clinically at King’s College Hospital, and is undertaking his doctoral research at King’s College London in mucosal biology and inflammation. He also holds a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Edinburgh, and is a Fellow of both the Faculty of Clinical Informatics (FFCI) & the UK’s Higher Education Academy (FHEA).