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Evidence to Improve Care

Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee Members Biographies


President and CEO, Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital

Biography

Pat Campbell is a health-care leader with broad leadership experience in government and rural, community and academic hospital environments. She was recently appointed as President and CEO at Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital. She was the President and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association until June 2013. Prior to joining the OHA, she served as the first CEO of Echo: Improving Women’s Health in Ontario. Previous leadership roles also include serving as President and CEO of Grey Bruce Health Services, a network of six hospitals in a rural region of Southern Ontario, and as President and CEO of Women’s College Hospital in Toronto. Pat has an undergraduate degree in Nursing from the UWO, an MBA from York University and has earned her Executive Training for Research Application Fellowship from the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation.

Vascular Surgeon, St. Michael’s Hospital

Biography

Charles de Mestral is a vascular surgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital and a surgeon-scientist in the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. He is certified by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in general surgery and vascular surgery. He pursues a research program in health services research and economic evaluation as a scientist at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital and as an adjunct scientist at ICES.

Ex-Officio (MOH Representatives)

Senior Program Consultant, Health Services Branch, Ministry of Health

Biography

Poju Adewale is a Senior Program Consultant at the Ministry of Health. He has more than ten years of experience in health care management and research, finance, and public administration. Before joining the Health Services Branch of the Ministry of Health, he worked with the Primary Health Care Branch and the Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario. Poju is an international medical graduate and holds an MBA from the University of Tampa.

Ex-Officio (OH Representatives)

Vice President, Prevention and Cancer Control, at Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario)

Biography

Dr. Linda Rabeneck—a physician, clinician scientist, and health care executive—is Vice President, Prevention and Cancer Control, at Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario). Dr. Rabeneck is a Professor of Medicine and Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, and she is a Senior Scientist at IC/ES (formerly the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences) in Toronto.

Dr. Rabeneck, whose scholarly work focuses on the evaluation of health care and health system performance, is best known for her research on colorectal cancer screening. She is the author of over 250 peer-reviewed publications and has developed critical research findings that have shaped our understanding of the quality and effectiveness of cancer screening. She currently serves as Associate Editor of Gastroenterology. From 2013 to 2020, she served as Chair of the Colorectal Cancer Screening Committee with the World Endoscopy Organization. Since 2014, she has served on the Scientific Planning Committee of the International Cancer Screening Network. From 2017 to 2019, she served as President of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Director of Health Technology Assessment, Health Quality Ontario

Biography

Nancy Sikich is the director of Health Technology Assessment at Health Quality Ontario, in Toronto. She has been involved in health technology assessment for more than 10 years, with a focus on evaluating clinical effectiveness, the quality of evidence, and the process for making recommendations. Nancy holds a master's degree in health research methodology and a bachelor of science in nursing, both from McMaster University.

Members

Critical Care Specialist

Biography

Kali Barrett earned her medical degree in 2009 from the University of Western Ontario. She subsequently completed a residency program in Internal Medicine and Adult Critical Care at the University of Toronto. Dr. Barrett also holds a Master’s degree in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from London School of Economics, where her thesis was an economic evaluation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for severe adult respiratory distress syndrome. She has also completed additional methodological training in advanced methods for cost-effectiveness analysis at the England York University. Dr. Barrett is a Clinical Associate at Toronto Western Hospital with the Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine. She has published several peer-reviewed articles and presented at a number national conferences.

Biography

Sally Bean is an ethicist and policy advisor at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and the University of Toronto’s Joint Centre for Bioethics. Sally earned a B.A. in philosophy and English, an M.A. in bioethics and public policy, and a law degree, juris doctorate (J.D.). After law school, she completed a two-year fellowship in clinical and organizational ethics through the University of Toronto's Joint Centre for Bioethics. Sally has presented at national and international conferences, serves as a peer reviewer on numerous journals, and has published several peer-reviewed articles. Her academic and research interests include the intersection of health law and bioethics, health policy development, and patient engagement in health technology assessment.

Biography

Paul Bradley is a health care industry executive with over 30 years’ experience in the Canadian medical device and pharmaceutical markets. He has held leadership roles in a wide range of functional areas at Johnson & Johnson, including sales, marketing, strategic account management, human resources, and operations. As vice-president of Strategic Affairs, Paul had leadership responsibility for health economics and market access, professional education, clinical and regulatory affairs, quality, and health care compliance and was a member of the management board of the Canadian medical device division. Paul was a board member of MEDEC, Canada's medical technology industry association, from 2009 to 2016, holding various leadership roles over that time, including treasurer, and executive team member, and then board chair for the final two years. Paul is currently a board member and treasurer at ventureLAB, York Region’s Regional Innovation Centre, and is president of MedTech Consulting.

Otolaryngologist, The Ottawa Hospital

Biography

Lisa Caulley is an otolaryngologist (a head and neck surgeon) with a master’s degree in public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Lisa completed her otolaryngology/head-and-neck surgery training at the University of Ottawa in 2017. She subsequently completed an editorial fellowship with the New England Journal of Medicine. Lisa completed a fellowship in advanced sinus and skull-base surgery at the Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London, England, and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical epidemiology from Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Her research focuses on establishing cost-effective approaches to medical and surgical interventions for the head and neck, predictors of outcomes in malignancies of the head and neck, and novel treatment strategies for diseases of the nose, paranasal sinuses, and skull base.

Biography

Mark Freeman is an author, patient advocate, peer support specialist, and human-centred design workshop facilitator. After recovering from several mental illnesses, he became involved in online patient communities to help support others on similar recovery journeys and to advocate for effective, accessible care for people with mental illness. His first book, You Are Not a Rock: A Step-by-Step Guide to Better Mental Health (for Humans), published by Penguin in 2018, has already been translated into more than eight languages. Mark was previously the executive director of the peer support blog, the Self-Help Resource Centre, and was a member of the Health Quality Ontario Anxiety Disorders and Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder Quality Standards Advisory Committee. He is also a Stanford Medicine X ePatient scholar. Mark has a master’s degree in digital media and is passionate about how the insights and expertise of patients can transform health care.

Biography

Brian Huskins is an established community leader in patient engagement in the voluntary health care sector. With over 30 years of experience working with community-based health and social organizations, he has served on many advisory committees as a patient representative at the local, provincial, national and international level. A snapshot of his involvement would include patient representative on the Consumer Advisory Committee with the Canadian Blood Services; civil society representative with the Canadian delegation to the United National General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS; the 3x5 Evaluation Steering Committee with the World Health Organization; and, multiple patient consultations on best practices and access to services with various levels of health administration, government and organizations focused on the social determinants of health.

As an Ontarian living with HIV, asthma and COPD; Brian is familiar with the challenges of the healthcare system; engages with a wide variety of health care professionals on a regular basis in the management of these chronic conditions; and, maintains a broad network of patient organization contacts who function on the patient first principle of “nothing for us without us”.

Brian has written about HIV/AIDS, health and social issues for various publications and has published “Sexual Identity: The Journey Begins” and “Breaking the Skin: Tattooing and Body Piercing-Know the Risks”.

Director, the Ontario Medical Association
Assistant Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Ottawa

Biography

Atul Kapur is an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Ottawa and a clinical investigator at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. His research interests include the interface between public health and emergency medicine. Dr. Kapur earned his medical degree from the University of Western Ontario and a specialization in emergency medicine from the University of Manitoba. He also holds a master’s degree in epidemiology from the University of Ottawa. Dr. Kapur has served on the boards of the Canadian Medical Association, the Ontario Medical Association, and the Ottawa Board of Health. He was a leading member of the task force that revised the Canadian Medical Association’s Code of Ethics and Professionalism in 2018. Dr. Kapur is also a highly respected advocate for tobacco control and the president of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada.

President and CEO, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance

Biography

Lori Marshall is the president and chief executive officer of Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. Lori has more than 20 years of leadership experience in Ontario’s acute and community care sectors. She has a reputation as a patient-centred strategist and a track record of addressing complex issues through a shared vision and knowledge of the community and region. Lori was previously the CEO of the Erie St. Clair Community Care Access Centre and Nipigon District Memorial Hospital. She has also served as vice-president at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and the Oshawa General Hospital. Lori is a registered pharmacist with the Ontario College of Pharmacists and a certified health executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders. She holds a certificate from the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management’s Advanced Health Leadership program and a Master of Health Administration from the University of Ottawa. Lori has a rich history of community service and has been active on many boards and committees at the provincial and local levels.

Executive Vice-President, Clinical Support and Performance, University Health Network

Biography

Rebecca Repa is the Executive Vice-President of Clinical Support and Performance at the University Health Network. Her portfolio includes responsibility for Commercial Development (including Altum Health) Facilities, the Joint Department of Medical Imaging, the Laboratory Medicine Program, Performance, Pharmacy, and the Redevelopment and Sustainability Team.

Rebecca has an honours degree in Psychology, and a master of business administration from the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. She also holds a part-time appointment as associate professor in the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, at McMaster University. Her academic interests include strategy development in complex systems and executive coaching for high performance. Rebecca is a board member with the International Outreach Program at St. Joseph’s Health System. She is past chair of the YMCA of Hamilton, Burlington and Brantford and a former board member for Albright Long Term Care.

Respirologist, University Health Network and Women’s College Hospital
Assistant Professor and Clinician in Quality and Innovation, University of Toronto

Biography

Aman Sidhu is a respirologist at the University Health Network and Women’s College Hospital and an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. She completed medical school at the University of Ottawa, followed by residencies in internal medicine at the University of British Columbia and respirology at the University of Alberta. She also completed a master’s of science degree in epidemiology at the University of London in London, England. After additional fellowship training in lung transplantation at the Toronto General Hospital, she joined the Toronto Lung Transplant program as a staff respirologist. Aman runs an outpatient general respirology practice at Women’s College Hospital and is an innovation fellow within the Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care. Her research interests include the implementation and evaluation of health technologies such as telemedicine/virtual health platforms to improve access to and quality of care for patients with lung disease.

Biography

Maureen Smith is an Ontarian living with a very rare endocrine disease since childhood. Her condition requires close monitoring by healthcare professionals and she has been a frequent user of the healthcare services in Ontario. Maureen is a patient member on Ontario's Committee to Evaluate Drugs (CED) since April 2014, where she is involved in reviewing patient submissions and deliberating with other CED members in developing evidence-based recommendations. She is also a member of numerous other provincial, national and international health care advisory groups and organizations where she provides her perspective as a patient in areas such as health technology assessment, rare diseases, and patient engagement in research. Maureen is a firm believer that meaningful patient engagement in all areas of health care and active listening to all stakeholder perspectives will result in a better health care system for all Canadians.

Family Physician-in-Chief, Mount Sinai Hospital
Past President, Ontario College of Family Physicians

Biography

David Tannenbaum is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, and the Family Physician-in-Chief in the Ray D. Wolfe Department of Family Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Tannenbaum received his medical degree from McGill University in 1977, and completed residency training in Family Medicine at McGill and at the Medical University of South Carolina. He has an active clinical practice that includes obstetrical care and he teaches residents and medical students in the Granovsky Gluskin Family Medicine Centre where he also leads the Mount Sinai Academic Family Health Team. His academic interests include curriculum design and implementation and he is the recent chair of the College of Family Physicians of Canada’s Working Group on Curriculum Review of postgraduate training in Family Medicine and is a current member of the Triple C Curriculum Task Force. Dr. Tannenbaum served as president of the Ontario College of Family Physicians in 2012.

Senior Scientist, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute
Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto

Biography

Wendy Ungar is a Senior Scientist in Child Health Evaluative Sciences at The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Professor in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and Adjunct Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. Dr. Ungar has a Masters degree in Pharmacology and Therapeutics from McGill University and a PhD in Health Policy, Management and Evaluation from the University of Toronto. Dr. Ungar leads a program of research in the application of health economic methods to the pediatric population with a current focus on genomics and developmental disorders. In 2007 Dr. Ungar started TASK (Technology Assessment at Sick Kids), a research unit focusing on technology assessment in child health.

Biography

William Wong is an assistant professor at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on infectious diseases modeling and health services and outcomes research, particularly in hepatitis B and C. William’s health services and outcomes research interests include quality of life, costing, and return on investment. His methodology research interests include advanced decision-analytic modeling techniques (such as discrete event simulation models and agent-based models) for health technology assessment, cost-effectiveness analysis, and pharmacoeconomics evaluation studies. William received his Ph.D. in computer science (pharmacoinformatics) from the University of Waterloo and completed his postdoctoral fellowship in medical decision-making and health economics at the University of Toronto.

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