Our Team

Nominated Principal Investigator

Andrea Tricco

Andrea C. Tricco is a Scientist and Director of the Knowledge Synthesis Team in the Knowledge Translation Program, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto. She is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health & Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation. She is Co-Director & Adjunct Associate Professor for the Queen’s Collaboration for Health Care Quality JBI (formerly Joanna Briggs Institute) Centre of Excellence at Queen’s University.

She holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Synthesis and has >290 peer-reviewed publications. She has conducted knowledge synthesis at the international (e.g. World Health Organization), national (e.g. Health Canada), provincial (e.g. Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care), and local (e.g. Toronto Central Local Health Integrated Network) levels. Her online systematic review course, offered through the University of Toronto, has been completed by >570 trainees/staff.

Principal Investigator

Brian Hutton

Brian Hutton is a Senior Scientist with the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute’s (OHRI) Clinical Epidemiology Program, Director of the OHRI Knowledge Synthesis Unit, an Assistant Professor within the University of Ottawa’s School of Epidemiology and Public Health, and Adjunct Scientist with the Royal Ottawa Institute for Mental Health Research. His primary research interests currently lie in the realm of network meta-analysis, systematic reviews and other forms of evidence synthesis. He is a co-primary investigator of the DSEN MAGIC team, a CIHR-funded knowledge synthesis group which conducts network meta-analysis research projects and other forms of knowledge synthesis for the Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network. Dr. Hutton was awarded a 5-year CIHR New Investigator Award and led the development of the extension of the PRISMA statement for reporting of network meta-analyses. He has published more than 200 peer reviewed articles, and has taught graduate courses and workshops related to knowledge synthesis since 2010. Dr. Hutton also contributes time to the Ottawa Regional Cancer Center in the role of methodologist. His past and current research includes works in the realms of oncology, transfusion medicine, infectious diseases, mental health, addiction medicine and several other clinical fields. Most recently Dr. Hutton has undertaken research related the evaluation of interventions for opioid use disorder, the health effects of cannabis consumption and artificial intelligence applications in knowledge synthesis.

Principal Investigator

Sharon Straus

Sharon E. Straus is a geriatrician and clinical epidemiologist who trained at the University of Toronto and the University of Oxford.  She is the Director of the Knowledge Translation Program and Physician-in-Chief, St. Michael’s Hospital and Professor in Department of Medicine, University of Toronto.  She holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Translation and Quality of Care and has authored more than 450 peer-reviewed publications and 3 textbooks in evidence-based medicine, knowledge translation and mentorship.  Since 2015, she has consistently been in the top 1% of highly cited clinical researchers as per Web of Science and has an H-index of 91. She holds more than $57 million in peer-reviewed research grants as a principal investigator.  She has received national awards for mentorship, research and education.

Principal Investigator

David Moher

David Moher is a Senior Scientist in the Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, where he directs the Centre for Journalology (publication science). He is also an Associate Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa. He holds an MSc in epidemiology and PhD in clinical epidemiology and biostatistics.

Dr. Moher has been involved in developing the science of how to optimally conduct and report systematic reviews for most of his professional career. Another part of his research has focused on how best to develop reporting guidelines. He spearheaded the development of the CONSORT statement and the PRISMA statement. He also leads an active program investigating predatory journals and publishers. More recently he led a program to develop core competencies for scientific journal editors. He is actively developing a program to investigate alternatives to current incentives and rewards in academic medicine.

Principal Investigator

George Wells

George Wells is a Professor in the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa and Principal Investigator of the Cardiovascular Research Methods Centre at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute.  He is also a Professor in the Department of Medicine and a Senior Investigator at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute at the Ottawa Hospital.

His research interests are in the design and analysis of clinical trials, health technology assessment, statistical methodology related to health care delivery, systematic reviews and meta-analysis, economic evaluations and the development and assessment of decision support technologies for patients and practitioners.  Dr. Wells is the author or co-author of over 900 published articles and over 1050 scientific abstracts. He has been the principal investigator or co-investigator on over 270 research projects.  His H-index score in Google Scholar is 174 and Scopus 134 and Web of Science 152.  He has taught at the University graduate and undergraduate level for 40 years and has supervised over 100 graduate students.

Dr. Wells has worked extensively with national and international government and non-government research organizations, as well as private pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.  He has been on the executive and steering committees of national and international research programs, external safety and efficacy monitoring committees, scientific grant review committees, editorial committees and, scientific advisory committees. He is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology and on the Editorial Committee of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Co-investigator

Shannon Kelly

Shannon Kelly has been actively involved with MAGIC and the CIHR Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network since 2011. She currently manages and works as a senior research methodologist in the Heath Technology Assessment Unit of the Cardiovascular Research Methods Centre (CRMC) at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute where she focusses her work on advancing the science of evidence synthesis, research design and methodology, and her team conducts evidence syntheses to inform health care practice and policy. In this capacity, she has worked with a number of organizations nationally and internationally, including the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH), the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network, the World Health Organization, and the Cochrane Collaboration.

Shannon is currently a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Medicine, School of Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Ottawa and a trainee with the Cardiac Arrhythmia Network of Canada (CANet) National Centre of Excellence. In her capacity with CANet, she sits on the Board of Directors and Research Management Committee and co-leads the Trainee Executive Committee. In addition to here involvement in drug safety and effectiveness research, Shannon is has research underway to explore virtual or remote follow-up care for patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (e.g., defibrillators, pacemakers) and among other topics, is exploring the related impact of contextual or geographic factors on use, uptake and practice in Canada.