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The People
Clinical Advisors
Kenneth L.N. Blocka, MD
Dr. Kenneth Blocka is a Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) as well as
Clinical Head of the Division of Rheumatology at St. Paul’s Hospital with which he has an affiliation
through his full-time rheumatology practice. Dr. Blocka graduated from the University of Saskatchewan, School
of Medicine and completed his post-graduate and sub-specialty training at the University of Saskatchewan and
University of Toronto followed by a Clinical Fellowship in Rheumatology at the University of California Los
Angeles. He then returned to assume a full time academic position at the University of Saskatchewan rising
to the rank of Clinical Professor as well as Head of the Division of Rheumatology. In addition to pursuing
clinical research, Dr. Blocka has a major interest in undergraduate and postgraduate education and served for
a number of years both as a Member as well as Chairman of the Royal College Examination Committee for Rheumatology.
Walter P. Maksymowych, MD
Dr. Walter Maksymowych, is a Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology at
the University of Alberta. He is also a Senior Scholar of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research,
a member of the Canadian Arthritis Network Centres of Excellence, advisory board member of the Assessments in
Ankylosing Spondylitis International Working Group, and Scientific Chair of the Alberta Rheumatoid Arthritis and
Pharmacovigilance Program and Outcomes Research in Therapeutics (RAPPORT) committee. He has served on the Task
Force for the FDA Industry Guidance Document for Clinical Trials in Ankylosing Spondylitis. He is past-Chair of
the Scientific Committee of the Canadian Rheumatology Association, and past-Chair of the Medical Advisory Board
of the Spondylitis Association of America and the American College of Rheumatology Spondyloarthropathy Study Group.
Dr. Maksymowych graduated from the University of Manchester School of Medicine, United Kingdom and completed his
postgraduate training at the University of Edmonton and the Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio.
He holds Fellowships in the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, the American College of Physicians, and the Royal
College of Physicians of the UK. He has authored over one hundred peer-reviewed papers as well as numerous abstracts
and book chapters, and has been invited to speak at both national and international meetings. His primary research
interests are advanced therapeutics, ankylosing spondylitis and other sero-negative spondyloarthropathies, rheumatoid
arthritis, and the genetics of arthritis.
Kam Shojania, MD
Dr. Kam Shojania is the Head of the Division of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine at UBC and is on active
staff at the Vancouver General Hospital. He is an investigator at the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada (ARC) in Vancouver and is the former
Director of Clinical Trials at ARC. He was a founding member and Director of the Canadian Rheumatology Research
Consortium and is involved in several ongoing clinical trials in the areas of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic
arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and ankylosing spondylitis. Dr. Shojania’s former positions and
previous awards include Medical Director of the Vancouver Pain Clinic, the Director of Continuing Medical Education
in the UBC Division of Rheumatology and he was the recipient of a Clinician-Teacher Award from The Arthritis Society
and received a UBC Faculty of Medicine Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is a graduate from the UBC medical school
where he also completed his specialty training in Internal Medicine and his fellowship in Rheumatology. Dr. Shojania
has an interest and is published in the area of laboratory testing of the rheumatic diseases.
George A. Wells, MSc PhD
Dr. George Wells is a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine at the University of
Ottawa and Director of the Cardiovascular Research Methods Centre at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. He is
also a Professor in the Department of Medicine and a Senior Investigator at the Ottawa Health Research Institute at the
Ottawa Hospital, and Principal Scientist, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa. Dr. Wells is a recipient
of the University of Ottawa Research Award of Excellence and is a Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation Distinguished
Scientist. His research interests are in the design and analysis of clinical trials, statistical methodology related to
disease processes and health care delivery, systematic reviews and meta-analysis, economic evaluations and the development
and assessment of decision support technologies for patients and practitioners. Dr. Wells is currently a member of several
international advisory groups including the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) working group on rheumatoid arthritis
outcomes and the Outcomes Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) steering committee.
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