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Wendy Ungar
Research Positions
Director
Technology Assessment at SickKids (TASK)
Biography
Dr. Wendy Ungar is a Senior Scientist in the Child Health Evaluative Sciences Program at SickKids Research Institute, and Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto. She holds a BA cum laude from Brandeis University, a master's degree in Pharmacology and Therapeutics from McGill University, and a PhD in Health Policy, Management and Evaluation from the University of Toronto.
Dr. Ungar holds the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Economic Evaluation and Technology Assessment in Child Health. Dr. Ungar founded TASK (Technology Assessment at SickKids) in 2007, where she and her team apply health economic methods to child health with a focus on genomics and neurodevelopmental disorders. She and her team maintain the PEDE database, a user-friendly searchable online database of paediatric economic evaluations published since 1980 used by HTA agencies around the world.
In 2017, Dr. Ungar was appointed Chair of the Ontario Genetic Testing Advisory Committee which makes funding recommendations on emerging genetic testing technologies for Ontario. Her book, Economic Evaluation in Child Health, was published by Oxford University Press in 2010.
Research
Dr. Ungar leads a program of research in the application of health economic methods to the paediatric population. In recent years, Dr. Ungar and her team at Technology Assessment at SickKids (TASK) have completed studies evaluating genomic testing technologies across several clinical areas and have examined the cost-effectiveness of treatments and services for children with brain disorders including autism. These studies have been used to inform and improve child health policy in Canada.
Dr. Ungar and her crew also maintain the PEDE database, a popular online tool that allows users to search for paediatric economic evaluations published on any topic.
Education and experience
- 2006–Present: Senior Scientist, Child Health Evaluative Sciences, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON
- 2014–Present: Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
- 2001–Present: Adjunct Scientist, Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON
- 2005–2016: University of Toronto Program Director, International Masters Degree in Health Technology Assessment & Management (Ulysses Program), Toronto, ON
- 1993–1997: PhD, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
- 1981–1984: M.Sc., Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, QC
- 1977–1981: BA cum laude, Biology, Brandeis University, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Achievements
- 2020: Dr. Jill M. Sanders Award of Excellence in Health Technology Assessment - Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
- 2019–Present: Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Economic Evaluation and Technology Assessment in Child Health
- 2017–Present: Chair, Ontario Genetics Advisory Committee (OGAC) - Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
- 2017–Present: Member, Ontario Health Technology Assessment Committee (OHTAC) - Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
- 2002–2007: New Investigator Award - Canadian Institutes of Health Research
- 2006: Literary Award for Health Services Policy - Society of Graduates, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation
Publications
- Ungar WJ, Herdman M. Meeting the challenges of preference-weighted health-related quality of life measurement in children. PharmacoEconomics, 42(Suppl 1):3-8, 2024.
- Lamsal R, Yeh A, Pullenayegum E, Ungar WJ. A systematic review of methods used by pediatric cost-utility analyses to include family health spillover effects. PharmacoEconomics, 42(2):199-217, 2024.
- Tsiplova K, Ungar WJ. Why it is so challenging to perform economic evaluations of interventions in autism and what to do about it. Autism Research, 16(11):2061-2070, 2023.
- Jegathisawaran J, Tsiplova K, Hayeems R, Marshall CR, Stavropoulos DJ, Pereira SL, Thiruvahindrapuram B, Liston E, Reuter MS, Manshaei R, Cohn I, Jobling R, Kim RH, Mital S, Ungar WJ. Trio genome sequencing for developmental delay and pediatric heart conditions: A comparative microcost analysis. Genetics in Medicine, 24(5):1027-1036, 2023.
- Ungar WJ (Editor). Economic Evaluation in Child Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010
- Government of Australia Medical Research Futures Fund 2020: Preventive and Public Health Initiative. Tools to Value Health Changes in Paediatric Populations.
- PhRMA Foundation Value Assessment Initiative Research Award. Family Matters: Expanding the economic value paradigm for precision medicine diagnostics to include the costs and health consequences of family members.
- Genome Canada Genomic Applications Partnership Program (GAPP). Optimization and implementation of a clinical genome-wide sequencing service for rare disease diagnosis in Ontario.
- BC Ministry of Children and Family Development Parent Coaching Research Project. Cost-effectiveness analysis of BC-ESDM Parent Coaching in autism.
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Analyses of Existing Canadian Cohorts & Databases. The Pathways in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) cohort study – Examining how child and youth health, education and community services are integrated to support optimal trajectories of developmental health.
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research. Health Economics Evaluation Platform within CHILD-BRIGHT: Child Health Initiatives Limiting Disability - Brain Research Improving Growth and Health Trajectories.
