About

Our Story

The Alberta Real World Evidence Consortium (ARWEC) was founded in 2018 through a $1.2 million joint investment by Alberta Innovates, the Government of Alberta, Alberta Health Services, the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, and the Institute of Health Economics.

Born from a shared vision to strengthen Alberta’s real world evidence (RWE) research ecosystem, ARWEC was created to showcase the province’s world-class health system data and accelerate its use in studies that inform policy, practice, and innovation. The initiative aimed to position Alberta as a national and global leader in RWE, particularly in the eyes of the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, as well as health technology assessment bodies and decision-makers.

ARWEC was championed by Alberta’s Ministries of Innovation and Technology and Health, and guided by the leadership of the Deans of Medicine at the time—Dr. Richard Fedorak (University of Alberta) and Dr. John Meddings (University of Calgary). Together, they brought institutions across the province into alignment, fostering collaboration between academic researchers and data custodians and laying the groundwork for a more integrated, responsive, and impactful research environment.

Today, ARWEC continues to build on this foundation, conducting high-quality and impactful real world evidence studies that support improved health outcomes.

Our Purpose

We leverage Alberta’s world class health system data to deliver timely decision grade evidence.

Core Values and Beliefs

Integrity.

We uphold the highest academic standards and best practices.

Collaboration.

We achieve goals by working together with respect and transparency.

Support.

We advance health by providing evidence to guide informed decision making.

Our Team

Our team consists of highly experienced thought leaders and a core group of talented individuals. We also collaborate with a wide network of research partners and clinical experts.

Scott Klarenbach, MD, MSc, FRCPC

Co-Director

Scott Klarenbach is a clinician, health economist, and Professor at the University of Alberta. He has expertise and demonstrated experience in the type of evidence that is needed to inform health care and drug policy decision making.

Tyler Williamson, PhD

Co-Director

Tyler Williamson is a Professor of Biostatistics and Director of the Centre for Health Informatics at the University of Calgary. He is an internationally recognized expert in combining electronic medical records and administrative data for health services research.

Jeff Round, PhD

Investigator

Jeff Round is Professor of Health Economics at the University of Alberta. His research portfolio includes the use of real world evidence for policy and reimbursement decision making. He has led and participated in national and international initiatives on the use and reporting of real word evidence in health technology assessment.

Colin Josephson, MD, MSc, FRCPC, CSCN (EEG)

Investigator

Dr. Josephson is a clinician-scientist in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Centre for Health Informatics, O'Brien Institute for Public Health, and the Hotchkiss Brain Institute. His research is focused on applying advanced analytics, machine learning, and predictive modeling to epilepsy outcomes.

Karen Martins, PhD

Associate Director, Research And Strategy

Karen Martins oversees funding partner engagement, knowledge user relationships, strategic direction, and the research portfolio. She has a comprehensive research scope that spans numerous therapeutic areas and research methodologies from bench to bedside to health systems.

Brandee Borne, BSc

Associate Director, Operations And Strategy

Brandee Borne directs the business office and oversees contracting, research agreements and legal matters, finance, organizational structure, human resources, and strategic direction. She ensures appropriate and necessary research infrastructure and agreements to support key functions of the Consortium.

Brent Korte, BA

Business Development Lead

Brent Korte is the first point of engagement for prospective partners. His knowledge of the regulatory, health technology assessment, and reimbursement intricacies in Canada allows him to support initial strategic approaches and utility of collaboration between industry partners and the Consortium.

Huong Luu, MD, PhD

Project Lead, Statistics

Huong Luu brings a clinical perspective and a wealth of epidemiological and biostatistical research experience to the team. She routinely applies advanced statistical methods across a broad range of therapeutic areas and various administrative datasets to facilitate evidence-based decision making.

Khanh Vu, MD, PhD

Project Lead, Statistics

Khanh Vu is a public health researcher, epidemiologist, and biostatistician with training in medicine. He has considerable experience in epidemiological and clinical trial design, and analysis of administrative health data using advanced statistical methods.

Mani Liu, MSc

Biostatistician

Mani has a background in statistics, biostatistics, and mathematics, with expertise in analyzing administrative health data using advanced statistical and epidemiological methods. She has applied her skills across various projects, including the evaluation of healthcare resource utilization, survival analysis, and epidemiological investigations.

Melanie Boldt, BComm, PAg

Communications Officer

Melanie supports the work of ARWEC in communications, marketing, strategic planning and development.