Lab Information
Sasha Bernatsky (MD/PhD)
Senior ScientistCentre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation
Department of Medicine (McGill)
Research Profile
Keywords
Outcomes in rheumatic diseases • pharmacoepidemiology • air pollution’s effects on health • systemic lupus erythematosusResearch Interests
Dr. Sasha Bernatsky is a James McGill Professor of Medicine at McGill University (divisions of rheumatology and clinical epidemiology), and senior scientist within the Centre for Health Outcomes Research at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, the Infectious Diseases and Immunity in Global Health Program, and McGill’s Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department. She is nominated PI of CAN-AIM (CAnadian Network for Advanced Interdisciplinary Methods for comparative effectiveness research), a pan-Canadian group funded by the Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network (DSEN), a collaboration between CIHR, Health Canada, and other stakeholders. Working with Health Canada’s Marketed Health Products Directorate and other regulators, CAN-AIM studies high-priority drug safety and effectiveness topics, making essential contributions to Canada’s research capacity. She also mentors within CIHR’s Drug Safety and Effectiveness Cross-Disciplinary Training Program, preparing future leaders in this field.
Working with the SLE International Collaborating Clinics and the Canadian Network for Improved Outcomes in SLE, Dr. Bernatsky leads international initiatives including assessments of malignancy in SLE, and personalizing approaches to hydroxychloroquine therapy. She co-founded several collaborative networks, including the Canadian Rheumatology Administrative Data Network (CANRAD), focussing on optimal use of administrative data for research and surveillance. Studying rheumatic disease patterns with administrative data from across Canada, she contributed greatly to Public Health Agency of Canada’s work on rheumatic disease case validation, and helped the Canadian Institute for Health Information refine case definitions for federal research and surveillance. Affiliated with the McGill Environmental Epidemiology Research Group and the Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium, she pioneered studies of air pollution and systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases.
Team Members
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Latest Publications
- Bowdish, D. M. E., Chandran, V., Hitchon, C. A., Kaplan, G. G., Avina-Zubieta, J. A., Fortin, P. R., Larché, M. J., Boire, G., Gingras, A.-C., Dayam, R. M., Colmegna, I., Lukusa, L., Lee, J. L. F., Richards, D. P., Pereira, D., Watts, T. H., Silverberg, M. S., Bernstein, C. N., Lacaille, D., Benoit, J., Kim, J., Lalonde, N., Gunderson, J., Allard-Chamard, H., Roux, S., Quan, J., Hracs, L., Turnbull, E., Valerio, V., Bernatsky, S. & SUCCEED investigative team (2024). When Should I Get My Next COVID Vaccine? Data from the SUrveillance of responses to COVID-19 vaCcines in systEmic immunE mediated inflammatory Diseases (SUCCEED)study. The Journal of rheumatology.
- Krustev, E., Hanly, J. G., Chin, R., Buhler, K. A., Urowitz, M. B., Gordon, C., Bae, S.-C., Romero-Diaz, J., Sánchez-Guerrero, J., Bernatsky, S., Wallace, D. J., Isenberg, D., Rahman, A., Merrill, J. T., Fortin, P. R., Gladman, D. D., Bruce, I. N., Petri, M. A., Ginzler, E. M., Dooley, M. A., Ramsey-Goldman, R., Manzi, S., Jönsen, A., Alarcón, G. S., van Vollenhoven, R. F., Aranow, C., Mackay, M., Ruiz-Irastorza, G., Lim, S., Inanc, M., Kalunian, K. C., Jacobsen, S., Peschken, C. A., Kamen, D. L., Askenase, A., Buyon, J., Fritzler, M. J., Clarke, A. E. & Choi, M. Y. (2024). Anti-KIF20B autoantibodies are associated with cranial neuropathy in systemic lupus erythematosus. Lupus science & medicine, vol. 11.
- Moura, C. S., Morrison, L. J., Hohl, C. M., Grant, L., Pilote, L., Neville, A., Hau, J. P., Bernatsky, S., and the Canadian COVID-19 Emergency Department Rapid Response Network (CCEDRRN) investigators, Network of Canadian Emergency Researchers & Canadian Critical Care Trials Group (2024). Administrative data ICD-10 diagnostic codes identifies most lab-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 admissions but misses many discharged from the Emergency Department. Scientific reports, vol. 14, p. 6008.
- Sheehy, O., Eltonsy, S., Hawken, S., Walker, M., Kaul, P., Winquist, B., Barrett, O., Savu, A., Dragan, R., Pugliese, M., Bernatsky, S., Gorgui, J. & Bérard, A. (2024). Health Canada advisory impacts on the prevalence of oral codeine use in the Pediatric Canadian population: comparative study across provinces. Scientific reports, vol. 14, p. 5370.
- Flatman, L. K., Malhamé, I., Colmegna, I., Bérard, A., Bernatsky, S. & Vinet, É. (2024). Tumour necrosis factor inhibitors and serious infections in reproductive-age women and their offspring: a narrative review. Scandinavian journal of rheumatology, p. 1-12.
- Widdifield, J., Lee, J. J. Y. & Bernatsky, S. (2024). Effectiveness of a fourth mRNA dose among individuals with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases during the Omicron era. The Lancet. Rheumatology, vol. 6, p. e3-e4.
- Benoit, J. M., Breznik, J. A., Ang, J. C., Bhakta, H., Huynh, A., Cowbrough, B., Baker, B., Heessels, L., Lodhi, S., Yan, E., Ewusie, J., Nazy, I., Bramson, J., Miller, M. S., Bernatsky, S., Larché, M. J., Bowdish, D. M. E. & SUCCEED Investigator Group (2023). Immunomodulatory drugs have divergent effects on humoral and cellular immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in people living with rheumatoid arthritis. Scientific reports, vol. 13, p. 22846.
- Migowa, A., Bernatsky, S., Ngugi, A. K., Foster, H. E., Muriuki, P., Riang'a, R. M. & Luchters, S. (2023). Bridging gaps: a qualitative inquiry on improving paediatric rheumatology care among healthcare workers in Kenya. Pediatric rheumatology online journal, vol. 21, p. 144.
- Colmegna, I., Valerio, V., Amiable, N., Useche, M., Rampakakis, E., Flamand, L., Rollet-Labelle, E., Bessette, L., Fitzcharles, M.-A., Hazel, E., McCormack, D., Michou, L., Panopalis, P., Langlois, M.-A., Bernatsky, S. & Fortin, P. R. (2023). COVID-19 Vaccine in Immunosuppressed Adults with Autoimmune rheumatic Diseases (COVIAAD): safety, immunogenicity and antibody persistence at 12 months following Moderna Spikevax primary series. RMD open, vol. 9.
- Moura, C. S., Neville, A., Liao, F., Wen, B., Razak, F., Roberts, S., Verma, A. A. & Bernatsky, S. (2023). Validity of hospital diagnostic codes to identify SARS-CoV-2 infections in reference to polymerase chain reaction results: a descriptive study. CMAJ open, vol. 11, p. E982-E987.
See also
