Biography
Dr. Lise M. Bjerre is the inaugural University of Ottawa and Institut du Savoir Montfort Chair in Family Medicine, a position she has held since January 1st, 2021. Dr. Bjerre holds a B.Sc. Honours in Biology from Concordia University, an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Epidemiology from McGill University, a medical degree (MDCM) from McGill University, and a Medical Doctorate (Dr. med.) from the University of Göttingen, Germany. She also holds certification from the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CCFP). In addition to her clinical career in family medicine, which she has led on two continents, she has extensive research experience as a clinician-researcher with the Department of Family Medicine since 2010. She is an Associate professor in family medicine and is also affiliated with the School of Epidemiology, Public Health and Preventive Medicine at the University of Ottawa. The accomplished researcher is also an Adjunct (full-status) Scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) - the agency responsible for Ontario's population health databases, which she uses for several of her studies.
Her areas of interest focus on access to primary health care (particularly for vulnerable and underserved populations, including Francophones minorities and rural populations), and on the appropriate use of medications at the population level. She also conducts evidence-based knowledge syntheses to improve clinical practice and to foster patient involvement in managing their own health. In addition, she uses artificial intelligence (AI) in combination with population databases as a means to make better use of existing data resource.