Dr. Gonzalo Alvarez is the current chair and chief of the division of Respirology at the Ottawa Hospital and also Professor of Medicine at The University of Ottawa as well as a Senior Scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. He holds a University and Department of Medicine Tier 1 Chair in Tuberculosis in Canadian Indigenous communities. In addition to his work serving the Ottawa region as a respirologist at The Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Alvarez is the respirology and tuberculosis consultant for the Government of Nunavut Department of Health. Since 2007 he has been providing pulmonary care for Nunavummiut through the Qikiqtani General Hospital and in his Ottawa Hospital respirology and tuberculosis (TB) clinics.
Along with Inuit partners, Dr. Alvarez founded the Taima TB (means stop TB in Inuktitut) research group in 2011. The Taima TB research group is an established partnership between Nunavut Tunngavik Inc (NTI), the Government of Nunavut (GN) and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI)/Ottawa University. Its mission is to apply research to help Inuit in Canada stop the transmission of TB in their communities. Formed in January 2011, the 10-member Taima TB Steering Committee is built on the foundation of inclusive research governance, community engagement and knowledge translation. Membership includes researchers, knowledge holders, policy/decision makers, and knowledge users from territorial, regional, and community levels. The committee provides a platform where members participate in the overall guidance of studies and facilitate the dissemination of knowledge generated by the research.
Current Research Projects:
- Home-based sampling for Mycobacterium tuberculosis to enhance and aid diagnosis (HOMESTEAD).
- The impact of tobacco smoking during pregnancy on the long-term risk of cardiovascular disease in women, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, co-applicant.
- Development and Validation of a Clinical and Biomarker-driven Model to Improve the Diagnosis of COPD Exacerbation among Hospitalized Adults, CHEST Foundation: Research Grant in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary, co-applicant.
- Finding the right balance: An adaptive trial to identify the safest regimen with the shortest duration for TB prevention, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, co-applicant.
Email: galvarez [at] ohri.ca
