Roberta Labelle was a founding member of CHEPA. Her death in 1991 occurred when broad recognition for her health economics research was beginning to emerge. The memorial Labelle Lecture is presented annually by a 'rising star' such as Dean Spears, shown here.
Labelle Lectureship
Roberta Labelle, left, was one of the Centre's founding members. Her death in 1991 was unexpected and occurred when broad recognition for her research in health economics was just starting to emerge. In memory of Roberta, CHEPA and the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impacts collaborated on establishing the Annual Labelle Lectureship Series. In the autumn of each year, a health services researcher with emerging recognition and an inter-disciplinary approach to research gives a general interest lecture on a topic in the broadly defined areas of health economics and/or health policy. The Labelle Lecturer is also available for consultations with individuals in and outside McMaster University during the period of his/her visit. An endowment was established to assure the ongoing funding of the Lectureship.
Scroll down for a historical list of Labelle Lectures.
The 30th anniversary Labelle Lecture, presented by Jay Shaw
Jay Shaw, an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, presented the 2021-22 Labelle Lecture – its 30th anniversary - on Wednesday, November 10 at 3 pm. His lecture was entitled "Will Innovation Save Health Care? Issues and Opportunities for Health Care as a Public Good."
To view a recording of this presentation, click HERE.
Shaw is Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at University of Toronto with cross-appointment to the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. He serves as Research Director of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Ethics & Health at the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, and is adjunct Scientist at the Women’s College Hospital Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care. He practiced as a physical therapist in community-based care prior to completing his PhD in 2012.
His program of research addresses the implementation and ethical implications of innovations in health care, with a special focus on innovative models of community-focused integrated care, digital health technologies, and applications of AI in health care.
Dr. Tiffany Green, an economist and population health scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an expert in racial/ethnic and nativity disparities in reproductive health. She presented "Saving Black Women and Babies: Leveraging Data and Community Engagement to Achieve Health Equity" on Nov. 11, 2020.
Jennifer Walker, PhD, associate professor, School of Rural and Northern Health at Laurentian University, who holds a Tier II Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Health. She is also the Indigenous Lead for the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. She presented "Indigenous Data and Research" on November 14, 2919.
Ruth Lavergne, PhD, an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Health Sciences, presented "Primary care, secondary data: Learning from policy change in British Columbia" on Wednesday Oct 3, 2018.
Dean Spears, PhD, executive director of the Research Institute for Compassionate Economics (R.I.C.E. institute). "Where India goes: Abandoned toilets, stunted development, and the costs of caste."
The Labelle Lectureship Series marked its 25th anniversary this year with a special lecture by Dr. Antoine Boivin, MD, PhD, who holds the Canada Research Chair in Patient and Public Partnership. He presented: "Evolving relationships: Caring for, learning from, and healing with patients."
Katy Kozhimannil, Associate Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota. "How health-care policies affect women and their families."
2014: Dr. Onil Bhattacharyya
Frigon-Blau Chair in Family Medicine Research, Women’s College Hospital.
"From Lean to the Lean Start-up; Improvement and innovation in the design of health services."
2012: Dr. Irfan Dhalla
Assistant Professor, Medicine and Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto; Staff physician, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital. "The Virtual Ward and other policy-relevant trials in health care"
2011: Michael Law
Assistant professor, School of Population and Public Health, UBC Faculty member, Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, UBC. Law, a researcher with expertise in pharmaceutical policy, described how the changing market for generic drugs presents a unique opportunity for Canadian governments to introduce universal coverage.
2010: Tamara Daly
Assistant professor, York University
Political economist, School of Health Policy & Management, York University
"It’s about time to care! Can we learn from Scandinavians about care for the elderly?"
2009: Anirban Basu
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago
Faculty Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research
"Comparative effectiveness research: Another emperor with no clothes?"
2008: Sebastian Schneeweiss
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health
"Reference drug programs: Can we contain costs without harming patients?"
2007: Steve Morgan
Assistant Professor, Department of Health Care and Epidemiology, University of British Columbia
Health Economist, Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, UBC
"Expenditure Overdose? Causes, Consequences and Cures for Canada's Pharmaceutical Cost Crises"
2006: Pascale Lehoux
Associate Professor, Department of Health Administration, University of Montreal
"Technology Innovation in Health Care: Who's Calling the Shots?"
2005: Jennifer Prah Ruger
Assistant Professor, Division of Global Health, Yale School of Public Health
"Health and Global Health Governance: What's Justice Got to do With It?"
2004: Valerie Steeves
Assistant Professsor, Department of Criminology, University of Ottawa
Why Are They Doing This To Us: Will Changes in Data Health Privacy Legislation Kill Research as We Know It?
2003: Meredith Rosenthal
Assistant Professor of Health Economics and Policy, Harvard School of Public Health
Paying for Quality in Health Care: Poison or Panacea?
1999: Colleen Flood
Faculty of Law, University of Toronto
Reinventing Health Care: A Legal, Economic and Political Analysis of Reform in New Zealand and Canada
1998: Lisa Bero
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Institute for Health Policy Studies, University of California, San Francisco
Evidence-based Policy: Oxymoron or Just Plan Moronic?
1997: Mandy Ryan
Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen, Scotland
Assessing the Benefits of Health Interventions: A Role for Conjoint Analysis?
1996: Jane Weeks
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School
Outcome Measures in Oncology: A New Paradigm for Patient Care and Clinical Research
1994: Steven Katz
Departments of Internal Medicine and Health Care Management and Policy, University of Michigan
Learning from Canada/U.S. Health Care Comparisons: Can a River Flow in Two Directions?
1993: Alayne Mary Adams
Harvard Centre for Population and Development Studies
The “Black Box” Between Intervention and Outcome: Exploring the Dynamics of Health Change
1992: Andrew M. Jones
Econometrics and Social Studies, University of Manchester, UK
Starters, Quitters, and Smokers: Choice or Addiction
The Faculty of Health Sciences is committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience. If there is an accessibility issue with this website, please contact us at fhsaoda@mcmaster.ca.