About the PharmacoEpidemiology Group (PEG)
Appropriate use of drugs is a central aspect of health care. The research program at the PharmacoEpidemiology Group (PEG) provides a setting for a wide range of activities related to the use and outcomes of prescription drugs.
PEG uses epidemiological methods to analyze linked administrative data in British Columbia from PharmaNet, Medical Service Plan, and hospitals to answer important questions unaddressed in clinical trials. Our work includes evaluation of policies and educational interventions, monitoring of drug utilization, innovations in research methodology, and analysis of prescription drug safety and effectiveness. We also maintain the CNODES Analyst Training Program at https://learning.cnodes.ca/
Members
Dr. Anshula Ambasta, MD, MPH, FRCPC
Dr. Ambasta is a general internist with a research focus on healthcare quality and patient safety. Having completed a medical degree and post-graduate training in general internal medicine at the University of Calgary, Dr. Ambasta pursued a Masters in Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health with a focus on Clinical Effectiveness. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of British Columbia. Her overall research program focuses on reduction of low-value services in health systems. She is a member of the Choosing Wisely Canada national expert group dedicated to reducing unnecessary laboratory testing. Her research work in low-value laboratory testing has been funded by Alberta Health Services, Choosing Wisely Alberta, Canadian Society of Internal Medicine, Alberta Health Services, and Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Her ongoing research projects include implementation of a multi-modal intervention bundle to reduce low-value laboratory testing across hospitals in Alberta and British Columbia, collaboration with a patient and family advisory council to engage patients with reduction of low-value use of health care resources and describing linkages between low value use of diagnostic testing and therapeutic use in healthcare systems.
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Dr. Wade Thompson, PharmD, MSc, PhD
Wade is a pharmacist and researcher working to ensure older persons are taking medications that are necessary, effective, safe, and consistent with their healthcare goals and treatment preferences. This primarily involves developing and evaluating strategies to stop medications when they are no longer a good fit (“deprescribing”). Wade approaches deprescribing and polypharmacy management research with a multi-methods approach, incorporating qualitative methods, pharmacoepidemiological methods, knowledge translation, and implementation science. He is also an investigator with the deprescribing.org initiative. Wade has worked clinically as a pharmacist in long-term care, geriatric outpatient clinics, and primary care clinics.
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Dr. Siyana Kurteva, PhD
Dr. Siyana Kurteva is an epidemiologist focused on generating observational research that uses best scientific practices to improve prescribing and medication-related safety issues. She received her Ph.D. in Epidemiology, specializing in applied pharmacoepidemiology and epidemiologic methods, from the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health at the School of Population and Global Health at McGill University. Previously, she completed her undergraduate training in Pharmacology in the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at McGill University. Her research portfolio consists of observational studies focused on preventive strategies examining the causal effects of high-risk medication use on the risk of adverse events, evaluating postoperative outcomes and healthcare services utilization in a high prevalence and high social impact settings. She developed expertise in observational studies using comprehensive linked data from multiple data sources such as health care administrative databases, electronic health records, and patient-reported post-discharge health outcomes. Some of the methods that she has used in her research include the application of marginal structural models, survival and regression models, competing risk analyses, inverse-probability treatment weights, informative censoring, propensity-score matched analyses and cumulative effect of exposures via novel weighted approaches. Her research interests are in developing policies and prevention strategies targeted at minimizing the harm linked to high-risk psychoactive medication use and its related morbidity and mortality.
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Dr. Greg Carney, BSc, PhD
Greg Carney completed his doctorate in Pharmacology and Therapeutics, with a focus on pharmacoepidemiology at the University of British Columbia. His PhD thesis examined the comparative safety and effectiveness of medications commonly used to aid smoking cessation. Greg has worked for the Therapeutics Initiative since 2003, and is currently Co-Chair of the PharmacoEpidemiology Group (PEG). Greg has 20 years of experience in analysing health care databases to evaluate pharmaceutical policy and program changes, and in conducting drug safety and effectiveness studies. His current research focus is on the implementation and evaluation of physician audit and feedback programs using randomized designed delay trials.
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Dr. Aaron M Tejani, BSc (Pharm), PharmD
Dr. Aaron M Tejani, is a researcher/educator with the Therapeutics Initiative (co-chair of the Education Working Group, member of the Drug Assessment Working Group), clinical assistant professor with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences (University of British Columbia), and Medication use evaluation pharmacist with Lower Mainland Pharmacy Services (Vancouver, BC). He completed his BSc(Pharm) at UBC (Vancouver) and Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Creighton University (Omaha, Nebraska).
Aaron is particularly interested in teaching healthcare professionals how to critically appraise evidence for medical interventions and how to use evidence in clinical practice/policy development. He is an author of a number of Therapeutics Letters.
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Dr. Guillaume Grenet, MD, PhD
Dr. Grenet completed his MD specializing in endocrinology and his PhD in clinical pharmacology at the University of Lyon 1. He is a hospital doctor at the pharmaco-toxicology department of the University Hospital of Lyon, and a member of the Evaluation and Modeling with the Therapeutic Effects Group at the Laboratory of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology, CNRS UMR 5558 Lyon 1. His research focuses on treatment evaluation, especially of drugs used in diabetes, metabolic diseases and cardiovascular risk factors, mostly using meta-analytical approaches.
As a one-year Visiting Scientist, Dr. Grenet has joined the Therapeutics Initiative team to collaborate notably with the Drug Assessment Working Group and the Cochrane Hypertension Group. He will pursue the INDANA project of individual participants data meta-analysis in high blood pressure, initiated by Prof. Francois Gueyffier. In the context of the growing overweight and obesity pandemic, he will assess the impact of the body mass index on the cardiovascular benefits of antihypertensive drugs. The results are expected to help personalizing evidence-based treatment of people affected by overweight or obesity and high blood pressure.
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Dr. Scott Garrison, MD, PhD
Scott Garrison has degrees in engineering physics and medicine, as well as a PhD in experimental medicine from the University of British Columbia. He has worked in Richmond, BC as a full-time office and hospital-based family physician since 1992 and has been a member of GPAC working groups producing the current BC provincial guidelines for the management of hypertension, stroke and cardiovascular risk reduction. He sat on the Primary Care Advisory Council for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and was the President of the Medical Staff for Richmond Hospital. He is also a clinical assistant professor with the UBC Dept of Family Practice and the principle investigator of a clinical trial exploring the role of magnesium in muscle cramping.
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Dr. Barbara Mintzes, BSc, PhD
Barbara Mintzes is an Associate Professor at the School of Pharmacy and Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney. She has a PhD in epidemiology from the University of British Columbia (UBC; 2003) and was at the School of Population and Public Health at UBC before moving to Sydney in 2015. Her research is on pharmaceutical policy, including systematic reviews, observational research on regulatory policies, and drug utilization/ pharmacoepidemiology. She has studied the effects of direct-to-consumer advertising of medicines in the U.S. and Canada, and of the quality of information provided by sales representatives to family doctors in Canada, the U.S. and France. Barbara Mintzes and Colin Dormuth are jointly leading a research project that compares regulatory safety advisories on medicines over a 10-year period in Australia, Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Barbara has also worked for many years with consumer and women’s health organizations in Canada and internationally and is a member of the European network of Health Action International (HAI-Europe).
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Dr. Malcolm Maclure, PhD
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Ms. Elise Macdougall, BSc
Elise is a graduate student supervised by Dr. Siyana Kurteva and Dr. Anshula Ambasta. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacology from McGill University’s Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics. Elise has gained research experience from her work at the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, where she completed an undergraduate research project investigating the effect of an epigenetic modifying drug on triple-negative breast cancer metabolism. Additionally, Elise spent time in the Integrative Oncology Department of BC Cancer, where she contributed to a project investigating lung adenocarcinoma.
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Mr. Peter Malik, BHSc, MSc
Peter is a health-services researcher at the Therapeutics Initiative with interests in physician education, knowledge translation and the generation of knowledge syntheses. He completed his undergraduate studies in Health Sciences, specializing in Global Health, and a Master of Science degree in Health Research Methodology at McMaster University, where his thesis focused on surgical learning curves of minimally invasive procedures. Peter is passionate about informing evidence-based practice and access to healthcare and medicines through rigorous study designs. At the Therapeutics Initiative, Peter is working on a Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the impact of post-market risk communications to healthcare providers on patient outcomes and prescribing patterns. He also assists with the production of educational modules for the management, evaluation, and analysis of Canadian administrative health data through the Canadian Network for Drug Effectiveness Studies.
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Ms. Dana Stanley, BA, MET
Dana is a Research Manager at the Therapeutics Initiative. She holds a Master of Educational Technology (MET) from the University of BC and a BA (Honours) in Psychology from Trent University. She first joined the group in 2008, working with Dr. Malcolm Maclure on the Education for Quality Improvement in Patient Care (EQIP) project. She is now the coordinator of the CNODES Training Team and the manager of the Therapeutic Initiative’s Portrait program. She is interested in developing educational resources that build capacity for drug safety and effectiveness research and evidence-based health care.
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Mr. Andrew Li, BA
Andrew Li is a graduate student under the guidance of Dr. Colin Dormuth. His research mainly focuses on using administrative healthcare databases to conduct studies related to drug safety and effectiveness. Previously, he studied psychology at the UBC where his research and education was generously supported by a SSHRC Canada Graduate Scholarship. Later, he worked as a Senior Economist with the BC Ministry of Health focusing on the evaluation and monitoring of alternative payment models for family physicians. During his down time, Andrew enjoys a variety of hobbies, such as running marathons, watching the Lakers, and working out.
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Dr. Juliana Vanessa Rincón, MD, MSc
Juliana Vanessa Rincón López is a medical doctor with a Master’s degree in Clinical Epidemiology. She has extensive experience in clinical data analysis and public health research. Her passion for evidence-based healthcare has led her to explore various topics, including patient safety outcomes and health system efficiency. Juliana has contributed to studies on the cost and quality of care, particularly in intensive care units and healthcare systems in Colombia. Currently, she is involved in projects that aim to integrate clinical decision-making with the best available evidence. She is also dedicated to teaching and mentoring young professionals, with a commitment to improving healthcare systems through rigorous research. In her spare time, Juliana enjoys watching movies of all genres, playing chess, traveling, and spending time with her family and her dog.
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Mr. Patrick Salamé, MSc
Originally from Montreal, Patrick studied pharmacology and obtained both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from McGill University. He took on several business development and management roles in the corporate world before dedicating his career to non-profit health research for advancement of medical sciences and the greater good. Prior to joining the Therapeutics Initiative, he was managing the extensive research portfolio of the cancer centre at Purdue University ranging from fundamental research to clinical trials. As the TI general manager, Patrick oversees daily operations, safeguards financial health, and provides strategic support to the working groups. What he appreciates the most working with the TI is its non-biased policy, openness to the world, and relentless pursuit of clinical evidence for drug therapy.
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Ms. Ellen Reynolds, BA, MPA
Ellen is a Research Project Manager at the Therapeutics Initiative. Originally from the East Coast, she has a BA in French Literature from Dalhousie University and a Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing from UVic. She received her Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Victoria in 2015. The focus of her master’s research was physicians’ experiences and attitudes toward interactions with pharmaceutical sales representatives. She began working as a research coordinator at UBC in 2008, and previously worked extensively with women’s health organizations, including the Canadian Women’s Health Network and DES (diethylstilbestrol) Action Canada. She is currently the Project Manager for a grant looking at the impact of international safety advisories on prescribing, and also works on various TI and CNODES projects.
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Ms. Mrinmayi Thorat, BA(Econ)
Mrinmayi graduated from the University of Victoria with a BA in Economics. As a part of the Economics Honours Program, she conducted original research under the guidance of economics professors and authored a thesis paper on studying the effects of pay transparency and pay equity laws on the gender pay gap in Canada. After graduating, she worked as an Analyst at Statistics Canada focusing on economic research and data analysis related to science, technology, and innovation in Canadian industries.
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Dr. Zishan (Michelle) Cui, PhD
Michelle has extensive experience working with diverse methodologies using various types of databases, including administrative linked data, survey-based cohort data, and clinical trial data. Her previous research primarily focused on marginalized populations, such as people using drugs and individuals living with HIV. Her doctoral research focused on unregulated drug use and the effectiveness of its treatment. She applies machine learning techniques to uncover underlying drug use patterns and to understand their relationship with drug treatment engagement within a causal inference framework. Michelle holds a PhD in Public Health and an MSc in Statistics from the University of British Columbia.
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Dr. Fiona Chan, BPharm, MPH, PhD
Fiona is a community pharmacist and health services researcher passionate about improving access to and promoting safe use of prescription medications. She obtained her PhD in Epidemiology from McGill University, following her pharmacy degree and a master’s in Population and Public Health from the University of British Columbia. Her doctoral research focused on how physician-related factors influence the use of potentially inappropriate medications and how, after using these medications, the patient’s health outcomes varied depending on the physician they saw. With pharmacists’ scope of practice being expanded rapidly across Canada, her postdoctoral work (under the supervision of Dr. Colin Dormuth) aims to evaluate the impact of these changes on patients’ health, as well as on the health system at large.
Her work draws on methods from epidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology, health services research, and policy evaluation. She has substantial experience analyzing large, population-based administrative datasets from across Canada and the United States. She has also worked as a community pharmacist, specializing in care of older adults in assisted living and residential care settings.
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Dr. Colin Dormuth, ScD
Colin Dormuth has extensive experience using administrative health care databases to evaluate pharmaceutical policy changes and physician prescribing behaviour. He has been a member of the Therapeutics Initiative since 1995. His research focuses on drug safety and effectiveness, as well as the design and evaluation of reimbursement policies for prescription drugs. He has training in economic theory, applied econometrics, epidemiology, health services outcome research and biostatistics. Dr. Dormuth holds a Sc.D. and S.M. in epidemiology from Harvard University, an M.A. in economics from the University of Victoria, and a B.A. in economics from the University of Manitoba.
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Dr. Ken Bassett, MD, PhD
Ken Bassett conducts systematic reviews of the efficacy and safety of new and established drugs, as well as pharmaco-epidemiologic studies of serious adverse events associated with prescription drug therapy in British Columbia. His ongoing research interests are in the systematic review of drug therapy and drug funding policy.
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Dr. James M. Wright, MD, PhD, FRCP(C)
James (Jim) Wright obtained his MD from the University of Alberta in 1968, his FRCP(C) in Internal Medicine in 1975 and his PhD in Pharmacology from McGill University in 1976. He worked as a specialist in Internal Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology from 1997-2021. He served as the Co-Managing Director of the Therapeutics Initiative and Editor-in-Chief of the Therapeutics Letter from 1994-2020. He currently sits on the Editorial Boards of PLoSOne and the Cochrane Library.
Dr. Wright’s research focuses on issues related to appropriate use of prescription drugs (particularly antihypertensive and lipid lowering drugs), Clinical Pharmacology, clinical trials, systematic review, meta-analysis and knowledge translation.
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