Director of Implementation

Dr. Sobia Khan is an award-winning global expert on how to practically implement complex interventions in complex systems. For over 12 years, her passion for integrating multiple fields such as implementation science, systems thinking, and social network theory to achieve large-scale change has been illustrated through her work on multiple implementation projects in Canada, the U.S., Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, Myanmar, and Kosovo. Dr. Khan emphasizes pragmatic and equity-driven approaches, with a particular focus on the need for relationship building, advocacy, and collective action to create change at all levels of the system.

Dr. Khan has worked on over 100 implementation research and practice projects in multiple fields and various levels of the system. Recent highlights of Dr. Khan’s work include being the Scientific Review Lead for Implementation Research for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and working on the Design, Analyze and Communicate team as a Subject Matter Expert in Implementation Science; leading implementation support activities for the statewide implementation of social and emotional learning (SEL) in California Schools through the CalHOPE SEL Support initiative; supporting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in their opioid response by embedding implementation science and systems thinking into their tools and approaches; and being an implementation science collaborator with the WHO to support healthcare organizations by building a toolkit on infection prevention and control best practices for COVID-19.

In addition, Dr. Khan is internationally recognized for transforming the landscape of implementation training by distilling science into practice. She has developed world-renowned courses on how to practically implement in organizations, communities, and systems — the only training of its kind. Throughout her career, she has trained 1000+ professionals across 5 continents on the science and practice of implementation. She is also a faculty member of Healthcare Excellence Canada’s EXTRA™: Executive Training Program.

She holds an MPH from the University of Waterloo and a PhD from the Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation at the University of Toronto.