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Doctoral Dissertation
Considerations for the use of genetic testing to guide antidepressant prescribing in primary care

Our genetic makeup can influence the way we respond to antidepressants, influencing dosage, likelihood of side effects, or the choice of drug prescribed to begin with. Pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing is a type of genetic testing that lets us identify whether a patient has drug response-related variants. PGx testing has the potential to help primary care providers prescribe antidepressants in a more targeted way. The goal of my PhD work was to understand what different groups of people who would encounter PGx testing think about this technology.

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You can read my doctoral dissertation in its entirety here.

Approach

I conducted two qualitative studies to understand patients' and key informants' perspectives on and preferences for the implementation of PGx testing in primary care in Ontario.​ Key informants included health care providers, scientists, policy-makers, and members of industry.

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Impact

Understanding the perspectives and preferences of different groups about PGx testing can help inform health policy and implementation decisions that are in-line with patients' and professionals' values and beliefs.​

Funding

My doctoral work has been generously funded and supported by:

  • the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) through a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship;

  • the Ontario government through an Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS) and Ontario Graduate Fellowship (OGF);

  • McMaster University; and

  • the Brocher Foundation in Switzerland.

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Meet My Committee

My graduate work would not be possible without the unwavering support and indispensable guidance of my supervisor and dissertation committee. You can learn more about them here.

Meredith Vanstone, PhD

Dr Vanstone was my primary doctoral supervisor. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University and the Director of the MD/PhD program. She holds the Canada Research Chair in Ethical Complexity in Primary Care. She is an expert in qualitative research methodology and her work focuses on health policies that have social and ethical implications in the context of primary care. To find out more about her team, and the exciting and innovative work she leads, please visit her website here.

Julia Abelson, PhD

Amanda Ramdyal, MD, CCFP

Zainab (Zena) Samaan, MBChB, MSc, DMMD, PhD, MRCPsych

Dr Abelson was one of my dissertation committee members. She is a Professor in the Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, and the former Director of the Health Policy PhD program at McMaster University. She is an expert in public engagement methods and evaluation, values in health policy analysis, and politics of health policy.

Dr Ramdyal was one of my dissertation committee members. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University, and an academic family physician in Hamilton, Ontario. Her research interests lay in women's health, with a focus on preventing, screening, and managing sexually transmitted infections.

Dr Samaan was one of my dissertation committee members. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, and a staff psychiatrist at St Joseph's Healthcare and Hamilton Health Sciences. She has expertise in psychiatric genetics, comorbidity of depression with cardiometabolic disorders, and addiction and suicide risk factors.​

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