Improving public health through action-oriented information
Our mission is to provide timely and high-quality information needed for decision-making, planning and evaluating vaccine and prescription drug programs by:
conducting collaborative interdisciplinary research on uptake, safety and effectiveness of the vaccines and drugs used in Manitoba;
carrying out mathematical modeling and cost-effectiveness studies;
conducting disease burden and trend studies necessary for planning the introduction of new vaccines; and
performing ad hoc investigations of vaccine and drug adverse events.
The Centre at a glance
- 12 scientists, programmers and research associates
- 6 trainees
- Over 50 ongoing projects
- $7.0 million in external funding (>$48 million in collaborative projects)
- 113 peer-reviewed publications
- More than 150 peer-reviewed abstracts and presentations
In the Media
Press Release: Uniting Diverse Groups to Improve Adult Influenza Vaccination in Canada
More than a third of all cancers affecting Canadians can be prevented by a combination of sound policymaking and health education
Duo inducted into Royal Society of Canada’s college
Cancer stats sound alarm bell
Preventing cancer: Research into the use of common medicines might help
Winnipeg data a factor in developing vaccine
Study: Mutations during egg step cut last year's flu vaccine effectiveness
Mutations explain poor showing of 2012 flu vaccine
Flu vaccine offered only modest protection in 2012-13: study
Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Provides Poorer Protection in Women 18 and Older or with Abnormal Cytology
HPV Vaccine: The Earlier, the Better
Old drugs, new treatments
Latest Posts
Maternal antibiotic use and childhood cancer
Several epidemiological studies have found an association between maternal antibiotics use during pregnancy and increased risk of certain cancer types, although conclusions differ between studies. We examined this association in a cohort study including 262,116 mother‐child pairs of Manitoba births between 1996 and 2013. We published our results in Cancer Medicine.
Human papillomavirus vaccination against cervical dysplasia
The effectiveness of a vaccination program is influenced by its design and implementation details and by the target population characteristics. Using routinely collected population‐based individual‐level data, we assessed the effectiveness (against cervical dysplasia) of Manitoba’s quadrivalent human papillomavirus (qHPV) routine school‐based vaccination program and a short‐lived campaign that targeted women at high‐risk of developing cervical cancer. We published the results of our study in the International Journal of Cancer.
Statins, metformin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma incidence
Non‐Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL) are a group of cancers with highly heterogeneous biology and clinical features. Statins are increasingly prescribed to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Early evidence shows a preventive effect of statins for some cancers, but their effect on NHL risk is unclear. Several epidemiological studies have shown a positive association between diabetes and increased risk of NHL, but the effect of diabetic treatment drugs such as metformin on the risk is unknown. We conducted population‐based nested case–control studies to study the effect of both drugs and published the results in the International Journal of Cancer and Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.