Overview
Dr. Brignardello-Petersen is an Assistant Professor, and the Associate Chair, Education, at the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact (HEI); at McMaster University. She has led the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) Network Meta-analysis project group for the past five years, and is one of the leads of a living Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis for the prevention and treatment of COVID 19, for which she has secured almost 2M in funding from grants as the nominated principal applicant, mostly from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and supports the development of treatment recommendations by the World Health organization. Finally, Dr. Brignardello-Petersen collaborates with several research teams in the development of methodological studies and projects related to the development of systematic reviews and practice guidelines, and has served as a guideline methodologist for several organizations, including the World Health Organization, the Pan-American Health Organization, the American Society of Hematology, and the Saudi Center for Evidence-Based Health Care
Areas of Research Interest
Dr. Brignardello-Petersen is interested in methods for development of evidence synthesis and guideline development, multiple comparisons and network meta-analysis, randomized trial methodology, and the use of evidence to inform decisions.
Training
Dr. Brignardello-Petersen obtained a DDS degree from the University of Chile in 2007, and practiced dentistry before moving to Canada in 2010. Dr. Brignardello-Petersen received an MSc (2012) and a PhD (2016) degree in Clinical Epidemiology and Healthcare Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, at the University of Toronto. She also holds an MSc degree in biostatistics from the University of Chile (2015). After spending two years as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at HEI, she joined as a full-time faculty member in 2018.
Distinctions
Dr. Brignardello-Petersen received two scholarships from the Chilean National Commission for Scientific and Technologic Research to pursue graduate training (MSc, 2020; PhD, 2012). She was also recognized with the “Dr. Claire Bombardier Award for Excellence in Clinical Epidemiology” (2016), and the “Thomas and Edna Naylor Memorial Award for best paper based on thesis in Health Services and Health Care Research” (2017) awards from the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation, at University of Toronto.
Current Research Projects
- Living systematic review and network meta-analysis of drug prophylaxis, antibodies and cellular therapies, and drug treatments for COVID-19
- Addressing intransitivity in network meta-analysis
- Guidelines for COVID-19 treatment with the World Health Organization
- Use of GRADE in systematic reviews in dentistry
- Guidelines for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 with the American Society of Hematology
- Development of an instrument to assess risk of bias in randomized clinical trials
Educational and Mentorship Activities
- Dr. Brignardello-Petersen supervises MSc and PhD students from the Health Research Methodology program at HEI. She also provides research opportunities for a number of undergraduate students per year. In addition to coordinating and teaching in courses related to evidence synthesis, systematic reviews, and guideline development methodology at HEI, she has taught courses for many organizations and institutions, including courses about Evidence Based Dentistry (at the University of Chile, the University of Toronto, and the University at Buffalo), the development of systematic reviews and guidelines (at the Pan-American Health Organization, and the American Dental Association, among others) and about GRADE as an instructor of courses and workshops offered by the MacGRADE Centre.
Trainee Supervision
- Dr. Brignardello-Petersen is considering supervision of students for the Health Research Methodology Program at McMaster University (MSc and PhD) and postdoctoral fellows on a case by case basis.