Dr. Nicolas Ray

Biography

Nicolas Ray is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Global Health at the University of Geneva, where he leads the GeoHealth group and directs the Hub for Digital Sciences and Environment Health from 2017 to 2024. He earned a PhD in Biology from the University of Geneva after completing a Master's in Environmental Sciences at the University of Lausanne. His post-doctoral studies took place at respected institutions, including the University of Southampton, University of Melbourne, and University of Bern. He has an extensive interdisciplinary research background that encompasses spatial ecology, population genetics, and GIS, with a particular focus on the intersection of global health and environmental sciences. He has spent nine years working with the UN Environment/GRID-Geneva office, leading the Environment Modeling & Geoprocessing Unit. Currently, he is focusing on geospatial modeling interfaces that connect global health with environmental sciences, especially in low- and middle-income countries. He co-leads the SNF project SNAKE-BYTE, an extensive epidemiological study on snakebite epidemiology and access to antivenom in Cameroon and Nepal. He is also involved in the development of ACCESSMOD, an open-source tool that models geographic health services using realistic patient movement, working on projects with organizations like UNFPA, UNICEF, and the World Bank.

Research Interests

Experience