COMPUS Expert Review Committee (CERC)

CERC is an advisory body that makes recommendations related to the identification, evaluation, and promotion of optimal drug prescribing and use in Canada. The approach is evidence-based and the advice reflects current medical and scientific knowledge, as well as clinical practice in the Canadian health care system.

CERC is appointed by, and reports to, the Board of Directors for the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH). In October 2006, CADTH Board of Directors approved the constitution of CERC, which includes Core Members appointed to serve for all Topics under consideration during their term of office, and Specialist Experts appointed to provide their expertise in recommending optimal prescribing and use of drugs for specific Topics. Core Members include individuals with qualifications as physicians, pharmacists, health economists or other relevant qualifications and two Public Members. Public Members on the Committee represent the broad public interest and have some experience or demonstrated interest in issues related to health care at the community, regional or national level, and ideally have some experience working with committees. They serve in the capacity as members of the general public and not as representatives of any specific interest, group, or organization. Public Members are full members of CERC with the same responsibilities and expectations, and subject to the same terms and conditions as all members of the committee.

Members of CERC must abide by CADTH’s Conflict of Interest Guidelines and Code of Conduct. An honorarium is paid to members for their preparation and meeting time.

Related information

CERC Terms of Reference
Conflict of Interest Guidelines

COMPUS Expert Review Committee Members

Lisa Dolovich, BScPhm, PharmD, MSc, Chair, CERC
Dr. Lisa Dolovich is an academic pharmacist with a primary appointment as an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University. She holds cross-appointments to the Departments of Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McMaster and maintains a clinical practice in the Medication Assessment Clinic at St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton. Dr. Dolovich is a scientist at the Centre for Evaluation of Medicines (CEM), a multidisciplinary research group, whose aim is to promote the best use of drug and therapeutic interventions in the delivery of health care through research and educational activities. She leads a research program called the Team for Individualizing Pharmacotherapy in Primary Care for Seniors (TIPPS; www.tippsnetwork.ca) that aims to find better solutions to the problems seniors face when choosing or using medications in the primary care setting. TIPPS is one of the main research groups at CEM and in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster. Dr. Dolovich has expertise in both qualitative and quantitative research methods, systematic overviews and meta-analyses as well as various areas related to health services interventions, educational interventions, drug use evaluation and pharmacy practice.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Michael Evans , MD, CCFP, Vice-Chair, CERC
Dr. Evans is an Associate Professor at the University of Toronto in the Department of Family and Community Medicine as well as a family physician. His academic work has focused on innovative solutions for making evidence-based decisions easier for both patients and primary care clinicians. Dr. Evans launched the Mini-Med School in 2004 and won the 2007 “Healthy U of T” award for its impact on the Toronto community. He is a founding member of the Centre for Effective Practice and was chair of the provincial guideline service (OPOT). He was also a Scientific Officer for Knowledge Translation and Exchange at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and was a member of Ontario's Drug Quality and Therapeutics Committee (DQTC). Dr. Evans’ is the health columnist for the Life section of the Globe & Mail, a regular commentator on the CBC Newsworld, and the Chief Editor of HealthyOntario.com. He is founder of Health Knowledge Central, a multimedia resource for busy clinicians, and the Chief Editor for the Family Practice Sourcebook, the top selling primary care textbook in Canada. Dr. Evans is currently launching The Health Media & Innovation Lab at the new Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Michael Allen , MD
Dr. Allen is Director, Special Projects and Associate Professor at Dalhousie University’s Continuing Medical Education program. Previous to beginning his current position in 1994, he worked as a family physician in rural and urban areas of Nova Scotia for 17 years. Dr. Allen has developed many educational interventions for rural and urban health professionals in Nova Scotia, including physicians, pharmacists and dentists. He helped start the Dalhousie Academic Detailing Service and was also instrumental in the formation of the Canadian Academic Detailing Collaboration. Dr. Allen has chaired and is a member of the Drug Evaluation Alliance of Nova Scotia. He is currently enrolled in a Masters Program in Community Health and Epidemiology to further develop his critical appraisal skills.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Scott Klarenbach , MD, MSc, FRCPC
Dr. Scott Klarenbach is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton; a Fellow at the Institute of Health Economics, and the Medical Director of Home Hemodialysis, Northern Alberta Renal Program. Dr. Klarenbach is a nephrologist and has an MSc in Health Economics from the University of York, in the United Kingdom. He has performed several economic evaluations, has been involved in several randomized trials, and collaborated on several systematic reviews. Dr. Klarenbach was involved in two full health technology assessments for CADTH, including the supervision of the economic evaluation, comparing continuous renal replacement therapy and intermittent hemodialysis as treatments for patients with acute renal failure in the ICU. Dr. Klarenbach was also undertaken pharmacoeconomic reviews for CADTH’s Common Drug Review.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Cathy MacNutt ,BA, PMP
Mrs. MacNutt is a project manager involved in geriatric medicine research. She is a former Deputy Minister of Health for the province of Nova Scotia; Deputy National Director of Operations for Blood Services; and former Deputy Minister of Consumer Affairs in Nova Scotia. She has worked in public and private sector operations, including health services delivery, project management, corporate governance, strategic planning and organizational development. Mrs. MacNutt is serving on CERC as a public member, bringing a lay perspective to the proceedings.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Panos Petrides, BSc, BA, MPA
Mr. Petrides is the founder and principal of a Toronto-based private consulting company engaged in conflict resolution, government relations, and public policy. He was a Special Advisor to the Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and an Executive Assistant to the Ontario Assistant Deputy Minister of the Environment. Mr. Petrides is currently a member of the Consent and Capacity Board of the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-term Care. He is serving on CERC as a public member, representing the broader public interest in the proceedings of this committee.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Adil Virani, BSc Pharm, PharmD, FCSHP
Dr. Virani is a Director of Pharmacy Services with the Fraser Health Authority, Vancouver Coastal Health, Providence Health Care, and Provincial Health Services Authority, where he is responsible for the Professional Practice portfolio, Residency and Student Education, Academic Detailing, and pharmacy operations at Burnaby Hospital. He is an Associate Professor with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He coordinates a therapeutics course for third-year pharmacy students and psychiatry residents in the Faculty of Medicine. He has published over 30 articles, has delivered over 100 presentations, and is the lead editor of 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 was also co-author of the Clinical Handbook of Psychotropic Drugs for Children and Adolescents (2nd edition). Dr. Virani is a member of the Education Working Group of the Therapeutics Initiative in BC, a member of the Human Drug Advisory Panel (HDAP) of the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB), and a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

William G. Honer, BSc (Hon), MSc, MD, FRCPC
Dr. William Honer trained in medicine at Queen’s University and received his MD in 1984. Following a year of internal medicine training at the Vancouver General Hospital, he was a resident in psychiatry at Columbia University’s New York State Psychiatric Institute for three years. During the final year of his residency program, and for the next three years, Dr. Honer was a research fellow at Columbia University and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he was a member of Dr. Peter Davies’ neuropathology research group.

Dr. Honer moved to Vancouver in 1991 and is now the Jack Bell Chair in Schizophrenia and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia. He is the Scientific Director of the BC Mental Health & Addiction Research Institute, directs the Centre for Complex Disorders, and is a consultant psychiatrist for the Vancouver General Hospital and for the Provincial Health Services Authority Mental Health & Addiction Services at the Riverview Hospital.

In addition to his extensive contributions on the etiology and pathophysiology of schizophrenia, he has studied brain structure and treatment response in first-episode and treatment-refractory patients. Additional interests include brain aging and substance abuse related to psychosis.

Dr. Honer received a Scientist Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and has received both the Young Investigator Award (1997) and the Heinz Lehmann Award (2008) from the Canadian College of Neuropsychopharmacology. He is the author of 199 peer-reviewed publications and has authored the assessment section of the Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines for Schizophrenia.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Richard Williams, MBBS, FRCPC
Dr. Richard Williams is Director of Schizophrenia Services at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, British Columbia. He is also Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia and Adjunct Professor of the Department of Psychology at the University of Victoria. He has been the academic leader of the Department of Psychiatry for the University of British Columbia’s Island Medical Program since the inception of the program in Victoria. 

After qualifying in medicine in 1974, in London, England, Dr. Williams became Clinical Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. Between 1982 and 1996, he took up academic positions at the University of Calgary, where he became Professor. In addition, between 1994 and 1997, Dr. Williams was Research Director of the Rehabilitation Division of the Calgary World Health Organization collaboration centre for research and training in mental health. He organized the first break psychosis program in British Columbia, and conducts both a clinical and research program in Victoria. 

Dr. Williams has received the Canadian Psychiatric Association’s C.A. Roberts Award for Clinical Leadership in 2004. Dr Williams has approximately 40 publications in schizophrenia research on cost-effectiveness, epidemiology, pharmacology, and movement disorders.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Ann Colbourne, MD, FRCPC, FACP
Dr. Colbourne is a Professor of Medicine as well as the Divisional Director of General Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, and Vice-Chair (Clinical) for the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of Alberta. She is also Site Service Chief for Medicine at the University of Alberta Hospital site within Alberta Health Services. Her ambulatory clinical practice emphasizes diabetes care with an emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention. Dr. Colbourne currently leads a Telehealth initiative for insulin pump patients in Newfoundland, and she was the Newfoundland and Labrador physician lead for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management until summer 2008. Dr. Colbourne has had education and research roles with schools of pharmacy and nursing practitioners, and she also has extensive experience on committees, including pharmacy and therapeutics, ethics, and quality of care committees.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Marshall Dahl, BSc, MD, PhD, FRCPC, cert Endo
Dr. Dahl is a consultant endocrinologist for the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Centre and for the Burnaby Hospital whose work predominantly involves diabetic care. He is a Clinical Associate Professor of Endocrinology at the University of British Columbia. Amongst his many activities, Dr. Dahl serves (or has served) as Chair of the Councils on Health Policy and Economics for the BC Medical Association and Canadian Medical Association. He has chaired the Diabetes Working Group for guideline production in BC and co-chaired the Ministry of Health/BCMA Diabetes Collaborative; and he was a reviewer for the Canadian Council for Health Technology Assessment for two diabetes projects.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Robyn Houlden, MD, FRCPC
Dr. Robyn Houlden is a Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen's University in Kingston, a consultant in adult endocrinology at the Kingston General Hospital, and a medical advisor for the Diabetes Education and Management Centre at the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston. She is actively involved in medical education at all levels and has been the recipient of numerous teaching awards. She is an investigator in a number of clinical trials of new therapies for diabetes and also has a research interest in innovative models of diabetes health care delivery. She played a steering role in the 2003 and 2008 Canadian Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Guidelines for the management of diabetes. In 2002, she was the recipient of the Charles Best Award from the Canadian Diabetes Association for her work in improving the quality of life for individuals with diabetes across Canada.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Jim Silvius, BA (Oxon), MD, FRCPC
Dr. Jim Silvius is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, at the University of Calgary. He obtained his BA in Physiology and Psychology from Oxford University, UK; his MD and Specialty in Internal Medicine from the University of Alberta; and his Specialty in Geriatric Medicine from Dalhousie University. He is currently the Senior Medical Director, Seniors' Health, Alberta Health Services, based in Calgary. He maintains a clinical practice in geriatrics at the Rockyview General Hospital. His primary research interests are in dementia care, though he also has an active interest in care delivery and led the development of the telehealth outreach program for the Department of Medicine at the University of Calgary until 2007. He is the current chair of the Alberta Medical Association’s Health Issues Council and is the Alberta representative to the Canadian Medical Association Committee on Health Care and Promotion. He has been a member of the Alberta Health and Wellness Expert Committee on Drug Evaluation and Therapeutics since 1999 and chair since 2004. He has also been a member of the Alberta Advisory Council on Health Technologies since May 2007.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Ehud Ur, MD, FRCP
Dr. Ur is a Professor of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Head of the UBC Division of Endocrinology at Vancouver Hospital and St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC. A graduate of the University of London and trained in medicine and endocrinology, Dr. Ur came to Canada in 1992. Until 1997, he was Assistant Professor of Medicine at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Dr. Ur is Chair of the Canadian Diabetes Association (Clinical and Scientific Section) and was involved in the development of their national guidelines. He is also on the board of directors of Obesity Canada. Dr. Ur is actively engaged in both laboratory and clinical research in neuroendocrine disorders, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and obesity and was an investigator in clinical trials of a number of new agents.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Gary Remington, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Dr. Gary Remington is Professor of Psychiatry and Head of the Schizophrenia Program at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, as well as Director of the Medication Assessment Clinic and Deputy Director of Research and Education for the Schizophrenia Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

He carried out his undergraduate degree at Waterloo Lutheran University (now Wilfred Laurier University), followed by graduate work at Carleton University in Ottawa where his PhD focused on neurotransmitter modulation of activity using animal models. Upon completion of his PhD, he completed an MD at McMaster University, followed by a year in internal medicine at the University of Western Ontario. He completed a residency in Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and, upon graduation, joined the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine as a clinician/researcher at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry.

His work has focused on the treatment of schizophrenia as it applies to the pharmacology of antipsychotics and clinical decision-making. He maintains collaborations with a number of disciplines including neuroimaging (positron emission tomography), genetics, physiology, and behavioural medicine. Dr. Remington presently combines teaching with basic and clinical research. His work has most recently been funded by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression, the Stanley Medical Research Institute, the Canadian Diabetes Association, and the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario. He has co-edited a text on brain mechanisms of psychotropic drugs, and published 21 book chapters and over 175 refereed papers.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure