Members of the Cardiometabolic Health, Diabetes, and Obesity Research Network (CMDO) have been involved in several major trials in cardiovascular co-morbidities associated with obesity (lipids, diabetes, hypertension) conducted over the last decade as designers, leaders, coordinators and/or recruiters. The CMDO network is currently performing a RCT at PHRI to definitively answer the question as to whether weight loss through bariatric surgery decreases mortality as well as adverse cardiac outcomes. BRAVE is a multi-centre, parallel-arm, open-label randomized controlled trial with blinded endpoint evaluation of bariatric surgery vs. medical weight management in patients with severe obesity and high-risk CVD. Drs. Mehran Anvari and Salim Yusuf, PHRI’s Executive Director, are the co-chairs of BRAVE – bringing complementary skills of CVD, clinical trials, and obesity together.
Dr. Anvari is a professor of surgery at McMaster, an expert in bariatric surgery, and the chair of the Ontario Bariatric Network (OBN) which was established in 2009 as part of the Ontario Bariatric services strategy initiated by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care of Ontario. He is the lead Principal Investigator for the Ontario Bariatric Registry, with local principal investigators.
Dr. Paul Poirier is the chair of the medical management committee of the BRAVE trial. He is a cardiologist and professor of pharmacy at the Institut de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec, Université Laval. He has chaired the Obesity Committee of the Council on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism of the American Heart Association and has been involved in obesity research for several decades.
