Dr. Sema Sgaier, Ph.D

Co-founder and CEO, Surgo Health

Sema Sgaier, Ph.D., is the CEO and Co-Founder of Surgo Health, a behavioral AI company dedicated to improving health outcomes by deeply understanding human behavior. By integrating behavioral science and AI, Surgo’s proprietary real-world data (RWD) platforms, BehavioralPulse™ and Mosaic™, reveal individual beliefs, desires, and barriers to health engagement.

Dr. Sgaier has close to 20 years of experience in healthcare. Prior to Surgo Health, she co-founded and led Surgo Foundation and Surgo Ventures, developing analytic products solving health problems with precision. Dr. Sgaier held several roles at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, bringing innovations in data, consumer insights, and product introduction into large-scale health programs globally. She has over 60 publications and is a frequent Op-Ed contributor to the New York Times and prestigious media outlets.

She was an Assistant Adjunct Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and an Affiliate Assistant Professor, Global Health at the University of Washington. Sema completed her fellowship in Genomics at Harvard University, Ph.D. in Neuroscience from New York University, and M.A. in Neuroscience from Brown University. She is a Board Member of the United States of Care and a Women's Forum for Economy and Society Rising Talent.