PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Dan Lizotte

Also known as Daniel James Lizotte

Dan Lizotte is a computer scientist who applies machine learning and reinforcement learning to health research and decision support. He earned a computer science degree at the University of New Brunswick, worked on robot gait research, completed graduate degrees at Alberta, and held a postdoctoral fellowship at Michigan. After a faculty post at Waterloo, he joined Western in 2014 and coauthored a 2016 paper with Eric Laber on multi-objective decision support; Vector named him a Faculty Affiliate in 2019. With Greta Bauer, he coauthored a 2021 paper on AI, intersectionality and public health. As of October 2026, he is an associate professor in Computer Science and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Western and director of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy.

Timeline

  1. 2001

    Computer science at UNB

    A computer scientist, he earns a Bachelor of Computer Science at the University of New Brunswick in 2001 and wins its computer science prize for best undergraduate honours thesis.

  2. 2006

    Robot dogs at Smithsonian

    In 2006, he takes his robot dog research to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC. The project tests a method to improve how fast a robot can walk.

  3. 2008–2011

    A Michigan postdoc

    He completes an MSc and PhD in Computing Science at the University of Alberta and receives the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Scholarship. From 2008 to 2011, he completes a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan's Department of Statistics and Institute for Social Research.

  4. 2012

    An alumnus award and fitted-Q paper

    Science Atlantic names him an Outstanding Alumnus in 2012 and inducts him into its Hall of Fame. With Michael Bowling and Susan Murphy, he coauthors “Linear fitted-Q iteration with multiple reward functions” in 2012.

  5. 2014–2016

    Western and sequential decision support

    After an assistant professorship at the University of Waterloo's David R. Cheriton School of Computer Science, he joins Western in 2014 as an assistant professor in Computer Science and Epidemiology and Biostatistics. In 2016, he and Eric Laber publish “Multi-Objective Markov Decision Processes for Data-Driven Decision Support.”

  6. 2019

    Vector Institute affiliation

    The 2019 cohort includes him among 29 Vector Faculty Affiliates with primary appointments at universities and research institutions across Ontario.

  7. 2021

    AI and public health

    With Greta Bauer, he publishes “Artificial intelligence, intersectionality, and the future of public health” in 2021.

  8. As of October 2026

    Associate professor and Rotman director

    He is an associate professor in Western's Department of Computer Science and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and director of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy. The Φ Lab he leads applies machine learning and biostatistical methods, including reinforcement learning, to health research and decision support.

Career

  1. NowWestern UniversityAssistant Professor
  2. From 2019Vector InstituteFaculty Affiliate
  3. Until 2014University of WaterlooAssistant Professor
  4. 2008–2011University of MichiganPostdoctoral Fellow

Education

  1. 2001University of New BrunswickBachelor of Computer Science
  2. University of AlbertaMSc; PhD

From the biography.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Western University. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Western University. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Western University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  4. Of 943 people shaping AI who worked at Google, 446 work there nowIncludes Vector Institute. Our estimates of where the 943 people shaping AI who worked at Google and Google DeepMind work now: 446 at Google and 452 across 278 other organizations.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Dan Lizotte yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Dan Lizotte - Science Atlantic scienceatlantic.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Dan Lizotte - Computer Science - Western University csd.uwo.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Vector Institute Names 29 New Faculty Affiliates vectorinstitute.ai. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Lunch & Learn Series | JF Wood Centre | Ivey Business School ivey.uwo.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Φ Lab – Predictive Health Informatics at the University of Western Ontario philab.uwo.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.