Michael G. DeGroote Cochrane Canada Centre

In 2016, the Michael G. DeGroote Cochrane Canada Centre formalized a move from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) to its original home of McMaster University – widely acknowledged as the home of evidence-based medicine.

The Centre supports Cochrane initiatives across the country by conducting education activities, functioning as the communications and knowledge brokering lead for Cochrane Canada, and advocating for the use of evidence in decision-making within Canada. Its activities are linked to the McMaster GRADE Centre, the McMaster WHO Collaborating Center for Infectious Diseases, Research Methods and Recommendations and the GIN-McMaster Guideline Certification and Credentialing Program INGUIDE (INGUIDE.org).

Michael G. DeGroote Cochrane Canada Centre Team

Dr. Nieuwlaat is an Associate Professor and Director of the clinical epidemiology program in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact at McMaster University. He is a researcher in the MacGRADE and Michael G. DeGroote Cochrane Canada centres, a member of the GRADE Working Group, a member of the Red Hat Group to promote broader uptake of core outcome sets, and Program Director of the International Guideline Development Credentialing & Certification Program.

His research interests and expertise include health guideline development and systematic review methodology innovations, quality of care assessment, best practice implementation, and medication adherence. He has served as a systematic review and guideline development methodology lead for multiple guidelines for the American Society of Hematology, the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, and the Canadian Rheumatology Association. Dr. Nieuwlaat has been an advisor and co-author for the eCOVID recommendation mapping work to date. He provides a unique combination of skills and insights regarding COVID-19 recommendation development methodology, training, mapping, and implementation, including living methods and following transparent reporting practices.

Dr. Nancy Santesso has been involved with and a strong supporter of the Cochrane Collaboration since 2002. In addition to her role as Deputy Director of Cochrane Canada, and editor of the Cochrane Consumers and Communication Review Group. She is a Registered Dietitian by background and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact at McMaster University. There, in the Health Research Methods graduate program, she coordinates the systematic review course. She has also provided training in Cochrane systematic reviews for more than a decade.

Since 2009, Dr. Santesso has been a member of the GRADE Working Group - a group dedicated to the rigorous development of clinical practice guidelines and the use of evidence from systematic reviews in guidelines. She has trained guideline developers and facilitated guideline panel meetings using the GRADE approach for the World Health Organization (WHO) and other professional organizations nationally and internationally. Her research interests include the engagement of patients and the public in evidence synthesis and use, and the communication of evidence to patients and the public as plain language summaries of systematic reviews and as patient versions of guidelines.

Faculty

Robby Nieuwlaat, Director
Nancy Santesso, Deputy Director
Grigorios Leontiadis
Holger Schünemann
Jan Brozek
Thomas Piggott
Wojtek Wiercioch

Central Administration and Communications

Heather Travis
Sveta Withrow

Research Team

Stephanie Duda
Ashley Motilall
Samer Karam
Marisa Deodat
Dana Green-Campbell
Tejan Baldeh

Students

Antonio Bognanni
Samer Karam
Aaron Yim
Lana Kovacevic

Cochrane

Canada

Michael G. DeGroote Cochrane Canada Centre