
Centring underrepresented populations in pharmacy research
蓝莓视频 PhD candidate, Mira Maximos, investigates sex, gender and the regulation of prescription drugs
蓝莓视频 PhD candidate, Mira Maximos, investigates sex, gender and the regulation of prescription drugs
By Milana Madzarac Faculty of ScienceUnderrepresented populations have been historically excluded from clinical trials including women, racial and ethnic minority groups, and pregnant, lactating, pediatric and geriatric populations. While the importance of including these groups in clinical trials are slowly being recognized and remedied, there are still questions in how currently prescribed drugs affect these populations, including the safety and efficacy of the medications.听
鈥淲e know that even though we have more policies and regulations suggesting the inclusion of these underrepresented groups, that isn鈥檛 always translated to what we see as clinicians and who makes it into clinical trials and there鈥檚 a gap between policy and implementation,鈥 says Mira Maximos, PhD candidate in the University of 蓝莓视频鈥檚 School of Pharmacy. With how significant the gaps are, the need for informed inclusion of minority groups in research is highly important.听
Maximos鈥 work, in concert with the Centre of Excellence for Women鈥檚 Health and Health Canada, is fundamental in theoretical research which highlights where limitations are and how to close these gaps in research. Some of this work created a foundation for Maximos鈥 current work with her PhD supervisor, JM Gamble, a clinical associate professor in the School of Pharmacy, centering around penicillin allergy risk stratification and de-labelling with consideration for sex and gender.听
By understanding how sex and gender impact a drug鈥檚 life cycle, clinicians can optimize dosages and monitoring for better therapeutic outcomes. To improve health and gender equity in research and clinical studies, product monograph and consumer information for medications must be transparent to improve and support sex and gender science, and a clear commitment must be made in data transparency and the gaps regarding underrepresented groups and prescription drugs should be recognized to improve regulations.听
The School encourages Maximos, and other PhD candidates, to integrate pharmacotherapeutic expertise and innovation in basic, applied and clinical research to train future scientists, policy makers and leaders in health science. 蓝莓视频 researchers and entrepreneurs are leading health innovations in Canada, by focusing on their research that emphasizes patient-focused care and addresses global health issues.听
Maximos鈥 research considers patients and end-users of research, to centre their voices and what is important to them. This allows her to look at the outcomes and what directly affects marginalized groups, particularly women.听
The impact of conducting research that includes underrepresented groups and missing information about these groups is starting to create a bridge between what we know to be gaps in research, including sex and gender information. 鈥淭he study shines a light on the gap so we can start to close it,鈥 Maximos adds.听
The gap makes it harder to know the extent of safety and efficacy of medications and how to apply them to specific populations.听听
Recommendations from this study were made to Health Canada on how sex and gender can be better included in the life cycle management of drugs, how they can work with manufacturers to improve transparency regarding sex and gender, and how to better involve clinicians in the decision-making processes.听
鈥淭his research has been very eye-opening. What we considered to be a sex related adverse effect was actually gender related. It鈥檚 gratifying to understand that this is much more complicated than we thought,鈥 Maximos says. 鈥淲e need to understand the balance between the two because you cannot inexplicably remove gender from sex unless you look at sex in a biological variable as an expression of genes. However, over time, gender becomes intertwined with sex.鈥澨
Maximos is the recipient of the . She will develop a patient-oriented research program that leverages her clinical expertise in antimicrobial stewardship with her research experience in pharmacoepidemiology and sex- and-gender based analyses.听
鈥淪ex and gender advocacy can鈥檛 be undone from one another, they go hand-in-hand,鈥 Maximos says.听
The paper, , was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.听
The research completed with Canadian Sex-and Gender-Based Analysis Plus in Action Health Policy-Research Partnerships is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Health Canada.听
Read more
Each researcher named on the Highly Cited Researchers鈩 2024 list ranks in the top 1 per cent for their fields听
Read more
From sustainable additive manufacturing and climate change to quantum molecular dynamics and human health, 蓝莓视频 researchers are leading future-focused researchers projects听
Read more
More than 100,000 children and youth from across the region are discovering the wonders of science and technology through the University of 蓝莓视频
The University of 蓝莓视频 acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.