Tara Gomes

PhD, MHSc

Scientist

Biography

Tara Gomes is an epidemiologist and Principal Investigator of the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN), a provincial network of researchers with expertise in pharmaceutical utilization, outcomes and policy who rapidly conduct research for drug decision-makers in Ontario and across Canada.  She holds a Canada Research Chair in Drug Policy Research and Evaluation, is a Scientist in the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital and ICES, and is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto.  Her research is focused on pharmacoepidemiology, drug safety and drug policy research leveraging large, administrative databases, and she has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and over 100 policy reports in this area.  Dr. Gomes also works closely with government regulators at the provincial and national level to develop evidence to inform policies related to opioid use disorder and opioid-related harm through the Ontario Opioid Drug Observatory.  In 2014, she was awarded the Institute for Public Administration of Canada’s Bronze Public Sector Leadership Award in Health and Education to recognize the impact of the ODPRN’s work.

Recent Publications

  1. Rzepka, AM, Cheung, AM, Kim, S, Gomes, T, Cadarette, SM. On-time denosumab dosing recovered rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet remains suboptimal. JBMR Plus. 2024;8 (5):ziae027. doi: 10.1093/jbmrpl/ziae027. PubMed PMID:38623483 PubMed Central PMC11018358.
  2. Ledlie, S, Juurlink, DN, Tadrous, M, Mamdani, M, Paterson, JM, Gomes, T et al.. Opioid-related deaths between 2019 and 2021 across 9 Canadian provinces and territories. CMAJ. 2024;196 (14):E469-E476. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.231339. PubMed PMID:38621782 PubMed Central PMC11019600.
  3. Akbar, S, Iacono, A, Yang, J, Antoniou, T, Juurlink, D, Sheikh, H et al.. Characteristics of Opioid Toxicity Deaths Among Adolescents and Young Adults in Ontario Prior To and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Adolesc Health. 2024; :. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2024.02.024. PubMed PMID:38597841 .
  4. Antoniou, T, McCormack, D, Tadrous, M, Gomes, T. Alpha-1 adrenergic antagonists and the risk of hospitalization or death in non-hospitalized patients with COVID-19: A population-based study. Fundam Clin Pharmacol. 2024; :. doi: 10.1111/fcp.13004. PubMed PMID:38575851 .
  5. Greenwald, ZR, Werb, D, Feld, JJ, Austin, PC, Fridman, D, Bayoumi, AM et al.. Validation of case-ascertainment algorithms using health administrative data to identify people who inject drugs in Ontario, Canada. J Clin Epidemiol. 2024; :111332. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2024.111332. PubMed PMID:38522754 .
  6. Ledlie, S, Tadrous, M, Bayoumi, AM, McCormack, D, Cheng, C, Besharah, J et al.. Trends in opioid toxicities among people with and without opioid use disorder and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario, Canada: A population-based analysis. Int J Drug Policy. 2024;127 :104392. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104392. PubMed PMID:38522177 .
  7. Schmidt, RA, Everett, K, Perez-Brumer, A, Strike, C, Rush, B, Gomes, T et al.. A population-based time-series analysis of opioid agonist treatment dispensed during pregnancy. Addiction. 2024; :. doi: 10.1111/add.16459. PubMed PMID:38476027 .
  8. Ledlie, S, Garg, R, Cheng, C, Kolla, G, Antoniou, T, Bouck, Z et al.. Prescribed safer opioid supply: A scoping review of the evidence. Int J Drug Policy. 2024;125 :104339. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104339. PubMed PMID:38335867 .
  9. Tourchian, N, McCormack, D, Leece, P, Tadrous, M, Gomes, T. Patterns of publicly funded naltrexone use among patients diagnosed with alcohol use disorder in Ontario. Alcohol Alcohol. 2024;59 (2):. doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agad091. PubMed PMID:38300604 PubMed Central PMC10833073.
  10. Antoniou, T, Pajer, K, Gardner, W, Penner, M, Lunsky, Y, McCormack, D et al.. Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on prescription stimulant use among children and youth: a population-based study. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2024; :. doi: 10.1007/s00787-023-02346-x. PubMed PMID:38180538 .
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Affiliations & Other Activities

  • Assistant Professor, Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto
  • Assistant Professor, Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto
  • Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences
  • Principal Investigator, Ontario Drug Policy Research Network