ICES researchers receive over $1.7 million to study opioid-related harms impacting First Nation Peoples and communities

Congratulations to Tara Gomes, Graham Mecredy and Jonathan Zipursky and their research team on being awarded over $1.7 million by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to study opioid-related harms impacting First Nation Peoples and communities. Through building on strong existing collaborations between the Chiefs of Ontario (COO), the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN), and ICES, the researchers will generate respectful, timely, and highly relevant evidence that supports First Nations-led decision-making and informs culturally relevant opioid-related policies to improve the health of First Nation Peoples.

Dr. Gomes is the scientific lead and principal investigator of the ODPRN. Her research is focused on using Ontario’s large health administrative databases to conduct observational research and working collaboratively with drug decision makers at the provincial level to generate research that is timely, relevant and responsive to their priorities.

Mecredy, staff scientist, works directly with Indigenous partners and communities on analytic projects to produce research outputs that are tailored to their unique challenges and needs. He has been working closely with the COO to produce research for First Nations communities using First Nations survey data.

Dr. Zipursky is a scientist with the DAN Women’s and Babies Program at Sunnybrook Research Institute. His research uses population-based administrative health data to investigate the maternal and neonatal safety of drug use in pregnancy and postpartum.