The program gave a lot of depth in the area of focus, which in my case was economic modelling and health technology assessment, but also a lot of breadth in learning other areas of health services research,” says Wijeysundera. “This has made me a much more complete researcher and allowed collaborations with a wide group of people.”
Harindra Wijeysundera joined the IHPME community because of the breadth of expertise available across many areas of health system research. Wijeysundera enrolled in doctoral studies in the Clinical Epidemiology and Health Care Research (CEHCR) program with a focus on economic modelling and cost-effectiveness analysis.
Wijeysundera shares he immediately appreciated the program’s curriculum, which advances knowledge in the theory and methods related to clinical research paired with a collaborative environment that fosters new ideas and learning experiences.
“The program gave a lot of depth in the area of focus, which in my case was economic modelling and health technology assessment, but also a lot of breadth in learning other areas of health services research,” says Wijeysundera. “This has made me a much more complete researcher and allowed collaborations with a wide group of people.”
Currently, Wijeysundera is a Clinician Scientist at the University of Toronto and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Wijeysundera’s research and professional interests focus on clinical evaluation and effectiveness, medical decision-making and cost-effectiveness analysis, and health technology assessment. More recently he has pivoted to policy work with past positions as the Vice President of Medical Devices and Clinical Interventions at Canadian Agency for Technology in Health (CADTH).
Wijeysundera is now Chief of the Schulich Heart Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and a Canada Research Chair in Structural Heart Disease Policy and Outcomes.
For those interested in pursuing doctoral studies at IHPME in CEHSR, Wijeysundera shares students will be inspired to take on new challenges and learning opportunities.
“It is a wonderful opportunity to learn new methodologies but also be inspired by the other students and faculty,” says Wijeysundera.
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