Award-winning health economist joins BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

published on September 12, 2011

Dr. Bohdan Nosyk will evaluate the financial sustainability of health programs to ensure they yield health benefits and are cost effective

Vancouver, British Columbia (Sept 12, 2011): The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is pleased to announce that Dr. Bohdan Nosyk has joined our team as a health economist.

Dr. Nosyk has published 26 peer-reviewed manuscripts, primarily in the areas of HIV and drug addiction, and is considered a leading expert in the statistical and mathematical modeling required for economic evaluations of health programs.

“We are very pleased to have someone of Nosyk’s experience and calibre join our team,” said Dr. Julio Montaner, director of the BC-CfE. “As researchers, our job is to provide the best possible recommendations to improve public health and also ensure those recommendations are cost effective. Nosyk’s work at the BC-CfE will help us gain insights into the long-term financial viability of our health programs.”

Nosyk’s primary role will include evaluating the costs and health benefits of health technologies, programs and interventions to help us provide the best value for money. Among his first assignments, Nosyk will focus on evaluating the cost-effectiveness of Treatment as Prevention, a made-in-B.C. initiative aimed at expanding access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy among HIV-infected individuals to stop HIV- and AIDS-related morbidity and mortality as well as HIV transmission. Treatment as Prevention is endorsed by key international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), International AIDS Society, U.S. National Institutes of Health, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Nosyk has evaluated several large intervention programs in Canada and the U.S. These include the BC Methadone Maintenance Treatment Outcome Study, the North American Opiate Medication Initiative and California’s Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act.

“I am very excited to be part of a world-class team of passionate researchers who work hard every day to make a positive impact on public health,” said Nosyk. “I look forward to helping the BC-CfE make informed decisions to optimize the allocation of funding for healthcare programs.”

Nosyk has a PhD in epidemiology and a master’s degree in economics from the University of British Columbia. He recently completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles Integrated Substance Abuse Programs.

Nosyk has won several awards and research grants that amount to over $2 million. Most recently he was honoured by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research with the prestigious CIHR Bisby Fellowship award, which is granted to the highest-ranking candidates in each fellowship committee through two competitions each year.

About the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is Canada’s largest HIV/AIDS research, treatment and education facility and is internationally recognized as an innovative world leader in combating HIV/AIDS and related diseases. It is based at St. Paul’s Hospital, Providence Health Care, a teaching hospital of the University of British Columbia. The BC-CfE works in close collaboration with key provincial stakeholders, including Health Authorities, health care providers, academics from other institutions, and the community to improve the health of British Columbians living with HIV through developing, monitoring and disseminating comprehensive research and treatment programs for HIV and related illnesses.

For additional information, please contact:

Mahafrine Petigara

Edelman (for BC-CfE)

604-623-3007 ext. 297

mahafrine.petigara@edelman.com

BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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Award-winning health economist joins BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

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