Ziad Obermeyer
Associate professor at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health
A physician and researcher whose study exposed racial bias in a widely used health-care algorithm.
Biography
Ziad Obermeyer is a Lebanese American physician and researcher working on machine learning, health policy and clinical decision-making. Born in Beirut and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he earned a BA from Harvard College, an MPhil in history and science from the University of Cambridge and an MD from Harvard Medical School in 2008, after working as a consultant at McKinsey. He is the Blue Cross of California Distinguished Associate Professor at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub investigator and Associate Dean for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
He is known for research on racial bias in health care algorithms; after his 2019 study, New York regulators opened an investigation into UnitedHealth Group's algorithm and US senators asked federal agencies to examine discrimination in such systems. In 2021 he co-founded Nightingale Open Science, a non-profit that creates new medical imaging datasets for research, and Dandelion Health, a health data analytics company that audits algorithms for bias. He testified before a US Senate committee in February 2024 and a House committee in December 2025 on AI in health care. TIME named him to its 2023 list of the 100 most influential people in AI.
Notable contributions
Exposed racial bias in a health-care algorithm
His 2019 study found racial bias in an algorithm used to manage the health of populations, prompting a New York investigation into UnitedHealth Group's algorithm.
Co-founded Nightingale Open Science and Dandelion Health
In 2021 co-founded Nightingale Open Science, a non-profit creating medical imaging datasets for research, and Dandelion Health, which audits algorithms for bias.
Testified to Congress on AI in health care
Testified before the US Senate Finance Committee in February 2024 and a House committee in December 2025 on AI in health care.