Dean Eurich, PhD, MSc, BSP

Email

deurich@ualberta.ca

Phone

(780) 492-6333

Address

2-040F Li Ka Shing Centre For Research

8602 112 St NW

Edmonton AB

T6G 2E1

I am the Program Director for the Clinical Epidemiology program. I am also a Research Associate with the Alliance for Canadian Health Outcomes Research in Diabetes (www.ACHORD.ca), a member of the Alberta Diabetes Institute Research & Trainee Steering Committee at the University. Provincially, I am the former Joint Lead, Capacity Development in Methods & Health Services Research platform for Alberta's Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR) Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research and Trials (SUPPORT) Unit. Nationally, I am the Chair for the Personal Awards Committee and Board Member of the Canadian Diabetes Association National Research Council. My current focus is on Health Outcomes in patients with chronic diseases as well as quality improvement initiatives with several First Nations communities in the Province.

My research has focused largely in the areas of clinical epidemiology and health services research. Within those core areas, my research program has targeted three of the most common diseases - diabetes, heart failure, and community acquired pneumonia. Collectively, these diseases affect a large number of patients, are rapidly increasing due to our aging population, and result in significant morbidity and mortality, particularly in the elderly. Moreover, these disease states often co-exist within individual patients, placing tremendous strain on our health care system due to the high degree of health services utilization associated with their management. Within these three disease areas, my research aims to evaluate health outcomes and health services use in general, but given my training as a clinical pharmacist, I am particularly interested in knowledge synthesis and evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of drug therapies in real-world settings. In addition, using these disease states as a platform, I continue to explore and expand on methodology (i.e., study design and analytic methods) to improve the evaluation of interventions within clinical and large population-based administrative data sets.

My research in chronic disease management has been directly translated into policy actions and ultimately to patient care. Most notably, my work on metformin use in patients with diabetes has directly resulted in policy changes by the Food and Drug Administration in the US and Health Canada, whereby both governing bodies changed product labels to allow the use of metformin in patients with diabetes & heart failure. Moreover, this research has been incorporated in all major clinical practice guidelines for the management of diabetes around the world, as well as international heart failure clinical practice guidelines. Similar accomplishments have been achieved in my research on respiratory diseases where my research also been directly incorporated into clinical practice guidelines in that field.

Degrees

1. PhD, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 2007
2. MSc, Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, 2003
3. BSP, College of Pharmacy & Nutrition, University of Saskatchewan, 1998

Awards

1. Royal Society of Canada, elected as a Fellow under the College of New Scholars, artists and scientists. Class of 2018.
2. Great Supervisor award, Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Alberta, 2018 
3. Instructor of the Year - Small Class Award = School of Public Health, 2017
4. Ronald D Mann Best Paper Prize, 2016
5. Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety Best Reviewer, 2015
6. Instructor of the Year – Large Class Award – School of Public Health, 2015
7. Tier II Canada Research Chair in Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, 2014-2019
8. Pharmacotherapy and Drug Safety Best Reviewer, 2014
9. Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Population Health Investigator Award, 2008 - 2015
10. Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Incentive Award, 2009-2014
11. Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Award, 2009-2014
12. Management and Leadership Best Practices Award, Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists National, December, 2011

Keywords

Medical cannabis

diabetes

health outcomes

morbidity
mortality
pneumonia
chronic disease
epidemiology
health systems and services
pharmacoepidemiology
drug use and drug policy
aboriginal health

Supervision

Not currently accepting students.