Andrew Serazin, D.Phil

As President of the Templeton World Charity Foundation from 2015 - 2023, Andrew Serazin was responsible for all aspects of the Foundation’s philanthropic activities as well as effective stewardship of its financial resources. As a researcher, entrepreneur, and executive, Dr. Serazin has worked to bring science, technology, and the humanities to address some of humanity’s greatest challenges. He is also a Trustee and past Chair of the Development Committee of the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA, one of the world’s largest organizations providing education and socio-emotional support for refugees.  

From 2006 to 2012, Dr. Serazin served as Program Lead in Global Health Discovery & Translational Science at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. At the Gates Foundation, he was responsible for bringing new products, scientific approaches, and technologies to health and human development. He founded and led Grand Challenges Explorations, an early-stage medical research fund that has been recognized as one of the most successful programs in Gates Foundation history. 

As a complement to his philanthropic endeavors, Dr. Serazin is an entrepreneur. He is Founder and Chairman of Matatu, Inc., a venture-backed biotechnology company dedicated to applying insights about microbiome and nutrition to health. He has also worked as a key scientific advisor to Mars, Inc., one of the world’s largest food companies, in the development of nutritious food choices for consumers in Africa and Asia.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Serazin was Departmental Lecturer (Assistant Professor equivalent) in the Zoology Department at the University of Oxford, where he conducted infectious disease research and taught courses on the biology of disease. As a Rhodes Scholar, he received his doctorate from the University of Oxford for his work on developing new drugs and vaccines against malaria. Dr. Serazin has also been a member of the College of Science Advisory Council of the University of Notre Dame, where he received his undergraduate degree. His original research has been presented at many international meetings and in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Science, PLOS Medicine, Nature Immunology, and Lancet.

In 2019, he was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.