Scientific Information and Education Committee

Overview

The Scientific Information and Education Committee (SIEC) is the main decision making committee of the Therapeutics Initiative. SIEC includes members nominated by the professional organizations, as well as academics nominated from appropriate areas:

  • Physician and Pharmacist members nominated by:
    • British Columbia Medical Association
    • BC College of Family Physicians
    • College of Pharmacists of British Columbia
  • Academic members nominated by:
    • Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics
    • Faculty of Medicine
    • Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science
    • Department of Health Care and Epidemiology
    • Department of Family Practice
    • Faculty of Nursing
    • Other Medical Specialties and Surgical Specialties
    • Faculty of Law

Terms of Reference for the Scientific Information and Education Committee

  1. The SIEC consists of a Chair (the Managing Director or designate) and up to twenty members.
  2. Appointment to the SIEC is based upon technical or practical expertise and is for a 3-year term with the opportunity for reappointment at the end of that term.
  3. In the absence of a consensus, decisions will be based on a simple majority vote of the members present.
  4. The SIEC meets at least 10 times per year.
  5. The SIEC establishes Working Groups to perform the various functions of the TI. These Working Groups report their activities to the parent committee.
  6. The SIEC liaises with government bodies assessing evidence.
  7. Continuing Education activities of the TI include: annual
    • Presenting an annual two-day drug therapy course covering both common and new drug therapy issues from an evidence-based perspective. Similar 1-2 day courses are conducted at the other teaching centers: Victoria, Kelowna and Prince George.
    • Assisting the Dept. of Family Practice in completing an Optimal Prescribing Course which must be completed by all Family Practice Residents before being approved for prescription writing.
    • Offering a number of community educational sessions around B.C. to provide an introduction to evidence-based therapeutics. There is also an attempt to disseminate and discuss research findings and to relate these findings to patient specific drug therapy decision-making.
    • Publishing the Therapeutics Letter bi-monthly on topics relevant to pharmaceutical therapy concerns and distributing them to practicing physicians and pharmacists throughout B.C. and out of province subscribers.
    • Maintaining electronic on-line versions of the Therapeutics Letters and links to other international sources of evidence-based drug information at www.ti.ubc.ca
  8. Upon request, the TI will carry out evaluations of specific drugs for PharmaCare with the understanding that these reports will be used as one of the information resourses when PharmaCare makes their coverage decisions. The TI is not involved in funding decisions, and does not consider drug costs as part of these evaluations.
    Note: all members of the SIEC and Working Groups are asked to declare any conflicts of interest.
    The TI uses a standardized systemic review methodology. This includes a replicable search of computerized bibliographic databases (Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Web of Science) as well as the drug reviews that are posted on the U.S. FDAs website and the manufacturers submission to PharmaCare. The goal is to ensure that these reviews are based on all available randomized trials. A multidisciplinary working group including pharmacologists, physicians, pharmacists, epidemiologists and a biostatistician assists with each review.
    A condition-specific list of outcomes of importance to patients is developed for each review. These include mortality and serious morbidity, hospitalization rates, rates of disease complications, symptom severity, quality of life, et cetera. The TI will rank outcomes within a standard hierarchy and attribute the most weight to those with the greatest clinical importance. Surrogate outcomes, such as biochemical, radiological, or blood pressure measurements are usually ranked lower in the hierarchy than outcomes with a discernable effect on patient lives.
    The SIEC can request additional information, challenge content or conclusions, and recommend changes before approving or rejecting a drug assessment. Final conclusions are concerned with the observed beneficial and harmful effects of a drug in randomized controlled trials, and specifically address whether evidence exists of a clinical advantage as compared with alternatives available in Canada.
  9. The TI also carries out original research in the following areas through analysis of administrative data from B.C. and/or from other provincial health services:
    • Evaluating the effectiveness of educational initiatives and guidelines.
    • Evaluating patient outcomes following specific pharmaceutical therapies.
    • Comparing patient outcomes following different approved therapies for a given indication.
    • Analysis of the health care utilization consequences of pharmaceutical therapies and policies.
    • Development of methods for the analysis of administrative claims data.

 

Membership of the Scientific Information and Education Committee

 

Dr Jim WrightDr. James M. Wright, M.D., Ph.D., FRCP(C)

Managing Director and Chair, Therapeutics Initiative
Professor, Departments of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Medicine, UBC
Clinical Pharmacologist, Vancouver Hospital
James (Jim) Wright is a Professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Medicine at the University of BC, Vancouver, Canada. He obtained his MD from the University of Alberta in 1968, his FRCP(C) in Internal Medicine in 1975 and his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from McGill University in 1976. He is a practicing specialist in Internal Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology. He is also Managing Director of the Therapeutics Initiative, Editor-in-Chief of the Therapeutics Letter and Coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Hypertension Review Group. He sits on the Editorial Boards of the following journals: Open Medicine, PLoS One and the Cochrane Library. Dr. Wright's research focuses on issues related to appropriate use of prescription drugs, Clinical Pharmacology, clinical trials, systematic review, meta-analysis and knowledge translation.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

 

Dr Ken BassettDr. Ken Bassett, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor, Departments of Family Practice and Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, UBC
Faculty Member, Centre for Health Services & Policy Research, UBC
Associate Member, Departments of Ophthalmology, UBC and Health Care and Epidemiology, UBC
Chair, Drug Assessment Working Group, Therapeutics Initiative
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.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr. Stephanie L. Borgland, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.

Dr Stephanie Borland

Assistant Professor, Departments of Family Practice and Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, UBC
Stephanie Borgland's research interfaces cellular physiology, pharmacology, and behavior, with the goal of understanding and treating disorders of appetitive motivation such as obesity and addiction. Neuropeptides play acritical role in a number of homeostatic processes, including satiety,sleep/wake cycles, mood regulation, and response to stress. However, chronic drug taking can usurp these normal regulatory processes and profoundly alter motivational behavior. The main goal of her research is to understand synaptic plasticity induced by these peptides in brain regions relevant to addiction, and to understand the behavioral consequences of neuropeptide signaling in both naïve and drug exposed animals. She uses slice electrophysiology to elucidate the synaptic and cellular events involved in plasticity of excitatory synapses in ventral tegmental area dopamine neuronsfrom acute animals or animals that have undergone a behavioural paradigm. She also employs immunohistochemistry techniques such as using retrograde labels to answer questions related to neural circuitry underlying the physiological effects. She believe the use of these techniques together build a powerful arsenal for answering questions related to obesity and adaptations to drugs of abuse. Her research aims to understand the neurobiological mechanisms responsible for the homeostatic regulation of brain reward circuits and how drugs of abuse can hijack normal appetitive behaviour.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr Peter ChoiDr. Peter T Choi, B.Sc., M.D., M.Sc., FRCPC

Associate Professor/Clinical Research Director (Anesthesiology), Dept of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, UBC
Peter Choi is a staff anesthesiologist at Vancouver Acute (Vancouver General and UBC Hospitals), the clinical research director for the Anesthesiology Section of the UBC Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and an associate professor in the UBC Faculty of Medicine. He was the associate editor (2001 to 2004) and consultant epidemiologist (2005 to 2007) of the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia and the Canadian editor (2000 to 2007) and a founding member of the Cochrane Anesthesia Review Group. His research focuses on the prevention of perioperative complications and randomized controlled trials / systematic review methods.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr Colin DormuthDr. Colin Dormuth, M.Sc., Sc.D.

Assistant Professor, Dept of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, UBC
Chair, Pharmaco-Epidemiology Working Group, Therapeutics Initiative
Colin Dormuth has 13 years of 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.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr Jane GarlandDr. Jane Garland, M.D., Ph.D.

Clinical Associate Professor, Dept of Psychiatry, UBC
Jane Garland is a child psychiatrist, clinical professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and head of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Clinic at BC Children’s Hospital.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

 

 

Dr Scott GarrisonDr. Scott Garrison, M.D.

BCMA Board Representative on the SIEC, Therapeutics Initiative
General Practice, Vancouver, BC
Scott Garrison has degrees in engineering physics and medicine, and is currently a PhD candidate at the University of British Columbia in the department of experimental medicine. 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 sits on the Primary Care Advisory Council for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and is 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.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr Barbara MintzesDr. Barbara Mintzes, B.Sc., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Dept of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, UBC
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar
Barbara Mintzes holds a BA in geography from Simon Fraser University and a PhD in health care and epidemiology from the University of British Columbia. She carries out evaluations of drug safety and effectiveness that provide background information for provincial drug financing decisions. She also works as a clinical reviewer with the Common Drug Review.
The focus of her research is pharmaceutical policy, and her main area of expertise is on the effects of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs on prescribing and medicine use. She is also involved in research on the influence of regulatory standards for drug promotion on the quality of information provided. She coordinates a global research project on rational use of medicines with Health Action International, a network of consumer, health and development organizations representing public interests in pharmaceutical policy, and is involved in a collaborative World Health Organization project to develop curriculum for pharmacy and medical students on drug promotion and interactions with the industry. She also works with the Pharmaceutical Policy Unit at UBC’s Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, and is a member of the Steering Group of Women and Health Protection.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr Barbara MintzesDr. Tracy Monk, M.D.

BCMA Board Representative on the SIEC, Therapeutics Initiative
General Practice, Vancouver, BC
Tracy Monk obtained her BA magna cum laude from Bryn Mawr in 1983, and her MD from McGill in 1987. She has been a family doctor in community practice since 1988 and is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at UBC, as well as the Head of the Department of General Practice at Royal Columbian Hospital. She has an interest in Primary Care public policy and sits on the Board of the Society of General Practitioners and serves on its Future of General Practice Committee. She is also interested in evidence-based medicine within the framework of relationship-based care.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr. Vijaya Musini, M.D., M.Sc., M.Sc.

Assistant Professor, Dept of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, UBC
Manager, Drug Assessment Working Group, Therapeutics Initiative
Vijaya Musini has conducted and supervised over 200 systematic reviews and meta-analyses on prescription drug therapy. She is an Editor of the Cochrane Hypertension Review Group and has been actively involved in teaching Cochrane Collaboration systematic review methodology and critical appraisal skills on evidence based drug therapy to undergraduate, graduate, medical students and residents. Dr. Musinigraduated from Mumbai University Medical School in 1982. After completing her rotating internship she joined the Department of Community Medicine in 1984 and graduated with a Diploma in Public Health from Mumbai University Medical School in 1985. She has worked as a Family Practitioner and as a Medical Officer in primary health care centres in Mumbai, India for several years. She also worked as a research assistant in the Departments of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, and Health Care and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University. She immigrated to Canada in 1996 and graduated with a Masters Degree in Pharmacology and Therapeutics from the University of British Columbia in 2000.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr Tom PerryDr. Thomas Perry jr, M.D., FRCP

Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, UBC
Clinical Pharmacologist, General Internist, Vancouver Hospital
Chair, Education Working Group, Therapeutics Initiative
Thomas L. Perry graduated from McGill University Medical School in 1978. After a rotating internship at Dalhousie University, he started a residency in general internal medicine at UBC, broken by 2 years of locum tenens general practice in isolated communities in B.C., Yukon, and Ontario. After completing his specialty residency and achieving Fellowship in the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, he spent one year on a Medical Research Council fellowship studying metabolism of tricyclic antidepressants with Dr. Leif Bertilsson at the Karolinska Institute Department of Clinical Pharmacology in Stockholm, and a further 2 years at UBC's Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics. Dr. Perry was then elected to the Legislative Assembly of B.C. where he served as Opposition Health Critic from 1989-1991, as Minister for Advanced Education, Training & Technology from 1991-93, and as a government MLA from 1993-96.
Dr. Perry returned to clinical medicine in 1996 and now practices general internal medicine at UBC Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital. He teaches internal medicine in the Department of Medicine Clinical Teaching Unit program at VGH and clinical pharmacology through seminars, lectures and elective student clinical training at UBCH. His outpatient practice focuses on pharmacological treatment of chronic pain and high blood pressure. He has a special interest in the use of videography to teach students and doctors about drugs. He is the Chair of the Education Working Group, member of the Drug Assessment Working Group, member of the SIEC and participates frequently in the development of TI Letters.
Dr. Perry's other interests include wilderness canoeing and hiking, environmental conservation, peace and social justice, music, reading, and his family.

Conflict of Interest: Dr. Perry has consulted on a paid basis for Greene & Hoffman (attorneys) of Boston, MA, USA as an expert consultant in clinical pharmacology for a proposed class-action lawsuit against Pfizer Inc. with respect to Neurontin (gabapentin), paid on an hourly rate not contingent upon his opinion. Dr. Perry is a frequent clinical pharmacologic medical legal consultant to the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) and to the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC), and occasionally to other defence or plaintiff laywers in medical legal litigation, paid on an hourly rate, where the rate and payment are not contingent upon his opinion.
See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr. Aaron Tejani, B.Sc(Pharm), Pharm.D, ACPR

Coordinator, Clinical Research and Drug Information Fraser Health Pharmacy Services Researcher, Drug Assessment Working Group, Therapeutics Initiative
Aaron Tejani completed his BSc in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of British Columbia and his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Creighton University (Omaha, Nebraska). Aaron’s interests include criticall appraisal of the biomedical literature, knowledge translation activities and research, and conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of health care interventions. He is also involved in teaching critical appraisal skills to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as health care professionals. He is currently: a member of the Fraser Health Research Ethics Board and the British Columbia Medical Association’s Guidelines and Protocols Advisory Committee, an editor for the Cochrane Hypertension Review Group, a peer reviewer for the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, and a clinical instructor for the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences (University of British Columbia). Within the Therapeutics Initiative, he is a member of the Drug Assessment Working Group, the Education Working Group, and the Scientific Information and Education Committee.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr Casey van BreemenDr. Casey van Breemen, D.V.M., M.Sc., Ph.D.

Emeritus Professor, Dept of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, UBC
Cornelis (Casey) van Breemen received his DVM at the Ontario Veterinary College in 1960, pursued clinical veterinary medicine for one year before enrolling as a graduate student at the University of Alberta where he earned an MSc in Physiology in 1962 and a PhD in Pharmacology in 1965. He subsequently did post-doctorate studies in the Department of Polymer Scienes at the Weizman Institute, Israel and the Department of Physiology at the University of Leicester, UK. In 1967 he was appointed Assistant Professor in Pharmacology at the University of Florida and in 1969 moved to the University of Miami where he was promoted to Professor of Pharmacology in 1977. In 1993 he was recruited by UBC as Head of the Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics from where he officially retired in 2002, but continued on his productive research career (over 250 publications) in the area of vascular physiology and pharmacology. From the early sixties to the present Dr. van Breemen has investigated the signaling systems within blood vessels, both of the endothelium and smooth muscle. At present his laboratory focuses on the critical role of nanodomains resulting from complex membrane ultra-structure in vascular control in health and diseases such as Marfan Syndrome and Diabetes. He has trained many successful graduate students and post-doctorate fellows. He has received several distinctions and awards:
• Established Investigator for the American Heart Association, 1972
• Invited visiting Professor at the University of Louvain, 1972
• Sigma-Xi, University of Miami, Professor of the Year, 1991
• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Senior, US Scientist Award, 1992
• Distinguished Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, 1995
• Ciba-Geigy Canada Ltd., Prestigious Award for Outstanding Contributions to Pharmacology in Canada, Pharmacological Society in Canada, Bath, UK, July 1996
• UBC Killam Research Prize for 1997
• Invited distinguished professor at Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr Adil ViraniDr. Adil Virani, B.Sc.(Pharm.), Pharm.D., FCSHP

Director, Pharmacy Services 
Professional Practice, Education & Burnaby Hospital 
Fraser Health | Providence Health Care | Provincial Health Services| Vancouver Coastal Health
Adil Virani graduated with his Bachelor of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from University of British Columbia in 1992 and 1997 respectively. He also holds a certificate in Leadership Development from St. Mary’s University in Halifax, NS and is a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists.
Dr. Virani has worked in many settings and facilities, including several universities, psychiatric and forensic institutions as well as general and pediatric hospitals in British Columbia and Nova Scotia. He has spent the majority of his clinical practice in the area of child and adolescent psychiatry. As a Director with Pharmacy Services at Fraser Health, Vancouver Costal Health, Providence Health Care and Provincial Health Services Authority, he is responsible for the Professional Practice portfolio, Residency and Student Education, Academic Detailling and pharmacy operations at Burnaby Hospital.
Dr. Virani is an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Here, Adil co-coordinates a therapeutics course to third year pharmacy students and lectures on various psychiatric and evidence based practice topics to undergraduate students and psychiatry residents in the Faculty of Medicine. He has over 30 publications and has delivered over 100 presentations. He is the lead editor of a 372 page book entitled the Clinical Handbook of Psychotropic Drugs, which is now in its 18th edition and is the 2009 American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year.  He also co-wrote a similar handbook for children and adolescents.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

 

Dr Barbara MintzesDr. Michael Walker, B.Sc.(Pharm), Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus, Dept of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, UBC
Michael JA Walker received his education in Pharmacology at the undergraduate and graduate level at King’s College, University of London. Subsequently his teaching and research career has been spent in medical colleges at various Universities around the World but most particularly over the last 36 years at the University of British Columbia. He has taught and continues to teach at various levels from the undergraduate science level to post graduate medicine and has experiences teaching pharmacology to such levels at various places around the World. Michael's scientific studies have encompassed many areas of pharmacology from a study of marine toxins, to beta receptors, to cardiovascular pharmacology, antiarrhythmics and currently drugs for the treatment of asthma and rhinitis. His research activities has encouraged a natural tendency to globe trotting and speaking at locations around the World. Research activities have resulted in 100 plus journal publications, and related materials, as well as textbooks. Michael maintains a keen overall interest in the effect of drugs in general on the health and welfare of the public.

Conflict of Interest: Dr. Walker owns shares and share options in Verona Pharma plc (London, UK) and and shares in private companies. He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of British COlumbia (unpaid) and CEO of Verona Pharma plc (paid). He has received grants from Verona Pharma plc for research activities conducted at UBC. He has received honoraria as a speaker at European Respiratory Society and other meetings, and expenses paid for attendance at other meetings funded by Verona Pharma plc. No funding from any pharmaceutical companies other than Verona Pharma plc, a micropharma drug discovery comapny dedicated to discovering potential drugs arising from academic work at King's College London and elsewhere.
See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr Barbara MintzesDr. Robert Woollard, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor, Royal Canadian Legion Chair & Former Head, Dept of Family Practice, UBC
A Fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada, Robert Woollard received his MD from the University of Alberta in 1973. After 16 years of rural family practice and teaching undergraduate medicine, he moved to the University of British Columbia in 1989 where he served as Royal Canadian Legion Professor and Head of the Department of Family Practice from 1998-2008. Dr Woollard has extensive national and international experience in the field of medical education, ecosystem health and development. He is Chair of the Committee on the Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools. He is heavily involved in the issue of the social accountability of medical schools, has chaired a major AFMC initiative on this topic and is currently actively involved in the development of a new national medical school founded on these principles in Nepal. He is also working in East Africa on social accountability, primary care and accreditation systems. He is Chair of the Board of the Canadian Hunger Foundation and has completed a five-year, five-university project on localized poverty reduction in Vietnam. He chaired the initial development of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) Ethical Guidelines on relationships with industry and the Task Force developing the response to Health Canada's major statement on Health Promotion, "Achieving Health for All".
He currently works in a number of venues at the local, national and international level on issues relevant to social responsibility of the medical profession. His primary research focus is the study of complex adaptive systems as they apply to the intersection between human and environmental health. His book, "Fatal Consumption: Rethinking Sustainable Development" details some of his work in this regard.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

 

Dr. Blake Wright, M.D.

General Practice, Vancouver, BC
Blake Wright completed a B.Sc with an interest in Microbiology and Immunology at UBC and went on to obtain a MD degree there. He was a member of the Active Staff of the Vancouver General Hospital for 35 years in the Department of Family Practice and is currently an Honorary staff member. He received a Fellowship in the College of Family Physicians of Canada. He has been involved in multicenter drug trials and research into instructing patients in the optimal technique for using inhaled medications. He joined the Seymour Medical Clinic and served on the Executive as well as Medical Director for several years. He practiced in this group of Family Physicians and Specialists for 41 years focusing on family care as well as providing medical services to federal and provincial agencies, private industries and the arts and entertainment field. In recent years he has provided medical services to the members of the Canadian Armed Forces returning from Bosnia and Afghanistan.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy