Category: Health

Ever get the impression that there is way too much group think in “public health” in Ontario? That could be because so many of them have ties to one institution: the University of Toronto.

About the Science Table
The Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table is a group of scientific experts and health system leaders who evaluate and report on emerging evidence relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic, to inform Ontario’s response.
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The Science Table’s mandate is to provide weekly summaries of relevant scientific evidence for the COVID-19 Health Coordination Table of the Province of Ontario, integrating information from existing scientific tables, Ontario’s universities and agencies, and the best global evidence. The Science Table summarizes its findings for the Health Coordination Table and for the public in Science Briefs.
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The Science Table is an independent group, hosted by the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. There is no compensation for serving on the Science Table. However, the Scientific Director and the Secretariat are funded by the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Public Health Ontario.

Interesting, the Ontario Science Table claims to be “independent”, yet it also has a mandate to provide health information for the Province of Ontario. How independent can they really be? And even if there isn’t direct compensation, are they expecting favours later? Political favours?

https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/about/
https://www.ontariosunshinelist.com/positions/twbpm

• Adalsteinn Brown, Co-Chair, Dean, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto Senior Fellow, Massey College
• Brian Schwartz, Co-Chair, Vice-President, Public Health Ontario, Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
• Peter Jüni, Scientific Director, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Department of Medicine and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Director, Applied Health Research Centre, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael’s Hospital
• Upton Allen, Professor of Paediatrics, University of Toronto
• Vanessa Allen, Assistant Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Chief, Microbiology and Laboratory Science, Public Health Ontario, Medical Director, Provincial COVID-19 Diagnostic Network, Ontario Health, Clinical Consultant, Infectious Diseases, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
• Laura Desveaux, Scientific Lead, Institute for Better Health; Learning Health System Program Lead, Trillium Health Partners; Innovation Fellow, Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care, Women’s College Hospital; Assistant Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto; Executive Director, Women Who Lead
• David Fisman, Professor of Epidemiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
• Jennifer Gibson, Director, Joint Centre for Bioethics, University of Toronto, Sun Life Financial Chair in Bioethics, Associate Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health University of Toronto
• Anna Greenberg, Vice President, Health System Performance, Health Quality Ontario Adjunct Lecturer, Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
• Michael Hillmer, Assistant Deputy Minister, Capacity Planning and Analytics Division, Ministries of Health and Long-Term Care, Assistant Professor, Institute for Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, University of Toronto
• Jessica Hopkins, Deputy Chief, Health Protection, Public Health Ontario, Assistant Professor (part-time), Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Adjunct Lecturer, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
• Audrey Laporte, Professor and Director, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Director, Canadian Centre for Health Economics
• Linda Mah, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Associate Member, Institute of Medical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
• Allison McGeer, Microbiologist and Infectious Disease Consultant, Mount Sinai Hospital, Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
• David McKeown, Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health, Ontario Ministry of Health, Adjunct Professor, Clinical Public Health Division, University of Toronto
• Andrew Morris, Professor, Infectious Diseases, University of Toronto; Director, Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, Sinai Health and University Health Network
• Laveena Munshi, Assistant Professor, Clinician Investigator, Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine, Sinai Health System/University Health Network, University of Toronto
• Kumar Murty, Director, Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences, Professor of Mathematics, University of Toronto
• Samir Patel, Deputy Chief, Microbiology, Public Health Ontario, Clinical Microbiologist, Public Health Ontario
  Associate Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto
• Fahad Razak, Internist and Assistant Professor, St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto, Assistant Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Research Scientist, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, Provincial Lead, Quality Improvement in General Internal Medicine, Ontario Health
• Robert Reid, Chief Scientist, Trillium Health Partners, Professor (status), Institute for Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto, Professor (part-time), Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Affiliate Associate Professor, Health Services, University of Washington
• Paula Rochon, Senior Scientist and Geriatrician Women’s College Hospital; Professor, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto; RTOERO Chair in Geriatric Medicine, University of Toronto.
• Beate Sander, Canada Research Chair in Economics of Infectious Diseases, Scientist and Director, Population Health Economics Research, University Health Network, Director, Health Modeling and Health Economics, Toronto Health Economics and Technology Assessment collaborative, Associate Professor and Faculty Co-Lead Health Technology Assessment program, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
• Michael Schull, CEO and Senior Core Scientist, ICES Professor and Clinician-Scientist, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Senior Scientist, Evaluative Clinical Sciences, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
• Arjumand Siddiqi, Associate Professor and Division Head of Epidemiology, University of Toronto Canada Research Chair in Population Health Equity
• Arthur Slutsky, Scientist, St. Michael’s Hospital, Unity Health Toronto, Professor of Medicine, Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto
• Janet Smylie, Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
• Tania Watts, Professor of Immunology, University of Toronto
• Nathan Stall, Eliot Phillipson Clinician-Scientist Training Program and the Division of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto
• Robert Steiner, Management and Evaluation Director, Dalla Lana Fellowship in Global Journalism, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
• Antonina Maltsev, MPH Epidemiology Student, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
• Karen Born, Senior Research Associate, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
• Gerald Lebovic, Assistant Professor, Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
• Justin Morgenstern, Senior Research Associate, Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto
• Ayodele Odutayo, Senior Research Associate, Resident Physician, University of Toronto
• Pavlos Bobos, Pavlos Bobos is a professionally trained clinician (physiotherapy) and a clinical epidemiologist.
  His graduate studies were conducted at the Bone and Joint Institute at Western University and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at University of Toronto.
• Yoojin Choi, Research Associate, PhD Candidate, Department of Immunology, University of Toronto Course Instructor, Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto
• Roisin McElroy, Research Associate, Emergency Medicine Physician, St. Joseph’s Health Centre, Unity Health Toronto, Lecturer, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto
• Ashini Weerasinghe, an epidemiologist within the Health Promotion, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Program at Public Health Ontario. She holds a master’s degree in epidemiology from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto
• Diana Yan, Research Associate, HBSc Data Science & Pharmacology Student, University of Toronto

That is the “Science Table” Covid-19 Advisory For Ontario. The above list isn’t everyone, but a lot of them. They all have ties to the same institution. But what about these “medical experts” demanding lockdowns? Surely, they have some more variety to them.

Barbara Yaffe – Ontario Deputy Medical Officer
Eileen De Villa – Toronto Chief Medical Officer
Vinita Dubey – Toronto Associate Medical Officer of Health
Lisa Berger – Toronto Associate Medical Officer of Health
Christine Navarro – Toronto Associate Medical Officer of Health
Avis Lynn Noseworthy – Medical Officer of Health for the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge
Vera Etches – Ottawa Deputy Medical Officer of Health
Brent Moloughney – Ottawa Associate Medical Officer
Lawrence C. Loh – Peel Medical Officer of Health
Hamidah Meghani – Halton Region Medical Health Officer
Nicola Mercer – Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Medical Officer (UofT Medical School)
Mustafa Hirji – Niagara Acting Medical Officer of Health (U of T graduate)
Elizabeth Richardson – Hamilton Medical Officer of Health (U of T graduate)

Seeing any pattern here? A lot of them have connections to the same place. It can’t all be a giant coincidence. For more background information on Barbara Yaffe, check this earlier piece.