John Norman Lavis (born June 11, 1965) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

based in

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. He is a tenured professor in the Department of Health Evidence and Impact at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

, where he founded and directs the McMaster Health Forum. He is co-lead of Rapid-Improvement Support and Exchange (RISE). Lavis serves as the director of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

's Collaborating Centre for Evidence-Informed Policy and chairs the Advisory Committee on Health Research to the

Pan American Health Organization The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) in charge of international health cooperation in the Americas. It fosters technical cooperation among member countries to fight communicable and non ...

. He additionally holds the Tier 1

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

in Evidence-Informed Health Systems. He has co-led various research and policy development activities during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario The COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario was a viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Canada w ...

, including participation on the

Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table The Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, often referred to simply as the Ontario Science Table (OST), was a group of independent scientific experts that provided advice to the Government of Ontario about COVID-19. It consisted of several sp ...

and the COVID-19 Evidence Network to Support Decision-Making (COVID-END).

Early life and education

Lavis was born June 11, 1965, in Montréal, Quebec. He earned his MD at

Queen's University at Kingston Queen's University at Kingston, commonly known as Queen's University or simply Queen's, is a public university, public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Queen's holds more than of land throughout Ontario and ...

from 1983 to 1989, at which time he joined the

Canadian Medical Association The Canadian Medical Association (CMA; ) is a national, voluntary association of physicians and medical learners that advocates on national health matters. Its primary mandate is to drive positive change in health care by advocating on key hea ...

and the

Ontario Medical Association The Ontario Medical Association (OMA) is a membership organization that represents the political, clinical and economic interests of Ontario physicians. Practising physicians, Residency (medicine), residents, and Medical school, medical students en ...

. He did a rotating internship at

North York General Hospital North York General Hospital (NYGH) is a teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Primarily serving the North York district, as well as southern York Region, it offers acute care, ambulatory and long-term services at multiple sites. It is o ...

through the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

from 1989 to 1990, earning him a certificate in Clinical Traineeship in

HIV Infection The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a preventable disease. It can ...

. He then completed a Master of Sciences in Health Planning and Financing at the

London School of Economics and Political Science The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public university, public research university in London, England, and a member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the University ...

from 1991 to 1992, and briefly worked as a visiting research fellow in the Health Policy Unit at the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

. In 1992, he consulted for the

's Global Programme on AIDS on the cost of

HIV prevention HIV prevention refers to practices that aim to prevent the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV prevention practices may be undertaken by individuals to protect their own health and the health of those in their community, or may ...

strategies in developing countries. He worked as a research fellow at the

Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences ICES (formerly known as the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences) is an independent, non-profit corporation that applies the study of health informatics for health services research and population-wide health outcomes research in Ontario ...

(ICES) then attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

for his PhD in Health Policy from 1994 to 1997. During the summer of 1995 he worked as a research fellow at the Institute for Work and Health, returning again in June 1996 until his Harvard graduation in 1997.

Career

Lavis was hired as a professor at

in September 1997. That same year, he performed consulting work for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and the

Conference Board of Canada The Conference Board of Canada is an independent, non-profit applied-research organization based in Canada. It aims to help Canada's leaders make informed, evidence-based decisions using non-partisan and non-ideological analysis. The organiza ...

. In 1998 and 1999, he worked with the

Department of Canadian Heritage The Department of Canadian Heritage, or simply Canadian Heritage (), is the department of the Government of Canada that has roles and responsibilities related to initiatives that promote and support "Canadian identity and values, cultural develo ...

on the subject of social cohesion and health. He was given the status of assistant professor at the

from January 1999 to June 2001. He was principal investigator for the Health Evidence Applications and Linkage Network (HEAL''Net'') under the National Centres of Excellence from 1999 to 2002. This work with HEAL''Net'' was featured at the Fourth International Conference on the Scientific Basis of Health Services in

Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...

in September 2001. He assisted the Milbank Memorial Fund in setting up their population health website in 2000 and 2001. From 2001 to 2006, Lavis was a Tier 2

in Knowledge Transfer and Uptake, and Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Knowledge Transfer and Exchange from 2006 to 2011. Lavis co-developed the Evidence-Informed Policy Network (EVIP''Net'') alongside the

in the mid-2000s, and he remains co-chair of the global steering group. He founded the McMaster Health Forum in April 2009. He was made co-director of the

WHO Collaborating Centre World Health Organization collaborating centres are institutions that work with the World Health Organization (WHO) in disciplines such as occupational health, food safety, and communicable disease prevention. There are over 700 such centres across ...

for Evidence-Informed Policy in December 2010. From 2012 to 2017, Lavis was an adjunct professor of global health at

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school at Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Hong Kong entrepreneur Chan Tseng-hsi in 2014 following a US$350 ...

. Lavis was awarded the Tier 1

in Evidence-Informed Health Systems in January 2015. He became a visiting adjunct professor at the

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg, colloquially known as UJ, is a public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant fundi ...

in April 2018, and was promoted to director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Evidence-Informed Policy in December 2018. In July 2019, he began co-leading the Rapid-Improvement Support and Exchange (RISE) program.

COVID-19 pandemic

Lavis participated as a member of the

from 2020 to 2022, where he was responsible for contributing to guidance for provincial decision-making during the

. He is co-lead investigator for the COVID-19 Evidence Network to Support Decision-Making (COVID-END), through which he has gathered evidence syntheses related to protocols for

treatment and management of COVID-19 The treatment and management of COVID-19 combines both supportive care, which includes treatment to relieve symptoms, fluid therapy, oxygen support as needed, and a growing list of approved medications. Highly effective vaccines have reduced ...

since April 2020. In this role, he also co-led the Global Commission on Evidence to Address Societal Challenges, which published the Evidence Commission report in January 2022. Lavis participated as a speaker at the March 2022 Centre of Excellence for Development Impact and Learning (CEDIL) conference.

Research

In 2002, Lavis contributed a discussion paper titled ''Political Elites and Their Influence on Health-Care Reform In Canada'' to the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada (otherwise known as the Romanow Commission). As the Canada Research Chair in Evidence-Informed Health Systems, Lavis is evaluating how governments prepare themselves and make decisions relating to

public health policy Health policy can be defined as the "decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific healthcare goals within a society".World Health Organization''Health Policy'' accessed 22 March 2011(archived 5 February 2011) According ...

. This work is focused both on

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and long-standing health crises in Canada. Lavis has published research on the topics of

international treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventi ...

evidence-based policy Evidence-based policy (also known as evidence-informed policy or evidence-based governance) is a concept in public policy that advocates for policy decisions to be grounded on, or influenced by, rigorously established objective evidence. This c ...

medical technology Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of liv ...

long-term care Long-term care (LTC) is a variety of services which help meet both the medical and non-medical needs of people with a chronic illness or disability who cannot care for themselves for long periods. Long-term care is focused on individualized and ...

settings, and

international health International health, also called ''geographic medicine'', '' international medicine'', or ''global health'', is a field of health care, usually with a public health emphasis, dealing with health across regional or national boundaries. One subset ...

, among others.

Other activities

* AcademyHealth, member * AIDS Committee of Toronto, former chair * Africa Centre for Evidence, adjunct professor *

Canadian Institute for Advanced Research The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) is a Canadian-based global research organization that brings together teams of top researchers from around the world to address important and complex questions. It was founded in 1982 and is su ...

, Population Health Program scholar (1998, 2000–2003) *

Canadian Institutes of Health Research The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; ; IRSC) is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada. CIHR supports ...

, Health Policy and Systems Management grants review committee chair * Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis (CHEPA), Member (1996–2018) * Closing the Gap Healthcare, advisory board member *

Commonwealth Fund The Commonwealth Fund is a private American foundation whose stated purpose is to "promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, inc ...

, Harkness Fellows program Canadian associate (2001–2002) * European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, research associate (2007–2010) * Fife House Foundation, former president *

Health Systems Global Health Systems Global is a membership-based society that convenes researchers, policymakers and implementers from around the world to develop the field of Health policy and systems research, health systems research. History It emerged from a ...

, member (2012–present) * Institut de recherche et de documentation en économie de la santé, visiting researcher (2003–2004) * Michael G. DeGroote Cochrane Canada Centre, associate director (2016–2018) * Ontario HIV Treatment Network, Research Network Advisory Committee chair * Partnership for Evidence and Equity in Responsive Social Systems, Partner Executive Group chair

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavis, John Living people Academic staff of McMaster University World Health Organization officials Queen's University at Kingston alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health alumni Academic staff of the University of Toronto 1965 births Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table