Holger Schunemann

Professor Emeritus, Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact

0000-0003-3211-8479

Holger Schünemann is a tenured professor in the Departments of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact and of Medicine at McMaster University. He joined McMaster University as a part-time faculty member in 2001. From 2009 to 2019, he completed his two terms as Chair of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McMaster University, widely considered the birthplace of evidence-based health care. He initiated the Department's MPH program and the online diploma in Clinical Epidemiology.
He received training in respiratory and exercise physiology and internal and respiratory medicine at the Medical School of Hannover (MD in 1993 & Dr. med. in 1994) and lung biology, epidemiology, internal medicine and preventive medicine/public health at the University at Buffalo (UB), State of New York (M.Sc. Epidemiology in 1997; Ph.D. Epidemiology & Community Medicine in 2000). He was on faculty at UB and, from 2007 to 2009, interim Chair of Epidemiology at the National Cancer Institute in Rome, Italy, until 2009.
Since 2000, he helped to reshape the methodology for guideline development spanning clinical medicine to public health and contributed methodologically and practically to knowledge synthesis research, foremost through his co-leadership of the GRADE working group (www.gradeworkinggroup.org) that he co-chairs. As the author of over 800 scientific publications (h-index 174 google/158 research.com), he is among the 300 most cited scientists in medicine (www.research.com) and ranked #9 in Canada. He has been advisor and chair of many guideline expert groups for WHO, the European Commission, ministries of health, other governmental organizations, and professional societies. He is director of Cochrane Canada and the McMaster GRADE center and co-director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Infectious Diseases, Research Methods and Recommendations. Maintaining an active internal medicine practice fulfills his passion for patient care and ensures his research is people-oriented.