Opioid Crisis: How Can Research Inform Solutions?

Wednesday, February 14, 2018 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Speaker’s Lounge 216-N, Centre Block, Parliament Hill

This event is by Invitation only.

To see information and pictures from past events, see the Health Research Caucus section under ‘Advocacy’ in the navigation

Opioid Crisis: How Can Research Inform Solutions?

Prescription painkillers and illicit fentanyl are together fuelling a national epidemic of opioid-related overdoses, claiming the lives of more than 2,800 people in Canada last year.

The crisis is affecting every region. No area of Canada is necessarily safe from this crisis. We are facing two different but overlapping issues: first, overdose deaths from prescription opioids and second, overdose deaths from illicit drugs laced with fentanyl or other synthetic opioids.

Another measure of the toll the epidemic is taking is the number of admissions to Canadian hospitals for opioid overdoses, accidental or deliberate, which increased by 70 per cent over the past decade. The crisis is much more than just a big-city phenomenon. Smaller cities are among those with the highest rates of hospitalizations owing to opioid poisoning over the past two years, based on population. The challenge for policy makers across Canada will be tailoring interventions to address both prescription and illicit opioids.

The Guest Speakers at the Luncheon will provide Parliamentarians with an overview of the crisis, identify research solutions and the critical role that government, industry and academe play in solving a public health crisis that is unprecedented and will require nothing less than a dedicated partnership among these players.

Guest Speakers

Hance Clarke, MD, PhD, FRCPC

Hance Clarke, MD, PhD, FRCPC

Director of Pain Services and Clinical Researcher, Toronto General Hospital Research Institute at UHN

Dr. Clarke is the director of Pain Services and the medical director of the Pain Research Unit at the Toronto General Hospital. He is appointed to the Institute of Medical Sciences at the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Royal College Clinician Scientist Program. His research interests include identifying novel acute pain treatments following major surgery, identifying the factors involved in the transition of acute postsurgical pain to chronic pain, studying the genetics of acute and chronic pain after surgery, and identifying risk factors associated with continued opioid use and poor health-related quality of life after major surgery. In 2016, Dr. Clarke was given a career award by the Canadian Pain Society for his novel Transitional Pain Program.
Bernard Le Foll, MD, PhD, MCFP

Bernard Le Foll, MD, PhD, MCFP

Medical Head, Addiction Medicine Service, Head, Translational Addiction Research Laboratory, CAMH

Dr. Le Foll is a Clinician Scientist specializing in drug addiction. He is Head of the Translational Addiction Research Laboratory in the Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, and Medical Head of the Addiction Medicine Service at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. The service is providing treatment to around 4,000 new patients a year through an interdisciplinary team. He is professor at the University of Toronto in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine, Pharmacology, Psychiatry, and Institute of Medical Sciences. Dr. Le Foll received specialized training in drug addiction and behavioural and cognitive therapy at Paris University in France. He has written treatment guidelines and has been coordinator of clinical trials. In his research, he has used various approaches such as preclinical models, genetic and brain imaging.
Edward Sellers, MD, PhD, FRCPC, FACP

Edward Sellers, MD, PhD, FRCPC, FACP

Professor Emeritus, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Medicine and Psychiatry, University of Toronto; Principal, DL Global Partners Inc.

Dr. Sellers is an internationally recognized authority on clinical psychopharmacology, pharmacogenetics, abuse liability assessment, and substance abuse, having published more than 650 papers. His focus includes accelerating early stage drug development through new methods, optimizing strategies to assess abuse potential of new and re-formulated drugs. He has worked with academic institutions, hospitals, government agencies, investors and biopharmaceutical and device companies. He was the co-founder of DecisionLine Clinical Research, a successful translational clinical research company. Dr. Sellers was Vice-President and Director at Clinical Institute of the Addiction Research Foundation, one of the world’s largest and best-known research and treatment organizations in the addiction field. He recently chaired the Scientific Advisory Panel on Opiate Analgesic Abuse for the Therapeutic Products Directorate, Health Canada.

Thank you to Our Event Sponsors

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