Head, Division of Infectious Diseases
Hospital Sick Children, Canada
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Dr. Upton D. Allen is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto. He is Head, Division of Infectious Diseases, and also a Professor with the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto.
Dr. Allen is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. He is a past director of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and Fellow of the Society. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (UK). In 2018, he was awarded the Order of Ontario, which is the highest honor awarded by the province of Ontario, Canada.
In addition to being a general infectious diseases specialist, he is actively involved in clinical and research activities relating to immunocompromised patients, notably those who have undergone organ and stem cell transplantation as well as cancer therapies. Dr. Allen has had many academic and professional accomplishments. He has had numerous invited lectures internationally, visiting professorships, greater than 300 scientific publications, several book chapters, more than 190 scientific abstracts and several peer-reviewed research grants.
He is involved in several COVID-19-related initiatives. He is leading a research study conducting largescale SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing and data collection of Black Canadians in Ontario. The goals of the research team are to better understand the prevalence of COVID-19 infection in Black Canadian communities, the level of immunity to COVID-19 within these communities, sustainability of immune responses and the risk factors associated with infection. He is co-chair of the Health Committee of the BlackNorth Initiative and a member of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Table.