Crawford has three decades of research experience in the area of epi-informatics, “the use of informatics techniques – such as machine learning, data-driven modelling and semantic technologies – to better understand and manage disease”, including 10 years spent as a Canada Research Chair at the Atlantic Veterinary College. He is currently Chair of Data Analytics at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland, where he continues research on approaches to change the way that epidemiologists collect, organise and reason with data, from genomic to environmental scales, as they seek to improve health in human and animal populations, through more effective surveillance, modelling and control of pathogens and the diseases they cause. He also spends a significant portion of his time providing advice to the UN FAO in his role as a Senior Expert on Early Warning Information Systems.