Timothy Allen Caulfield
(born 1963) is a Canadian
professor of law at the
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
,
the research director of its Health Law Institute,
and current Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy. He specializes in legal, policy and ethical issues in medical research
Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from "basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scientif ...
and its commercialization. In addition to professional publications, he is the author of several books aimed at the general reader and host of a television documentary series debunking pseudoscientific
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...
myths. He is a fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry
The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the US non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "prom ...
and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation
The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation (french: Fondation Pierre Elliott Trudeau), commonly called the Trudeau Foundation (french: Fondation Trudeau), is an independent and non-partisan Canadian charity founded in 2001 by friends and family of for ...
.
Early life and education
Caulfield went to high school in Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. He attended the University of Alberta, earning a B. Sc. in 1987 and a law degree in 1990. He completed a Masters in Law at Dalhousie University
Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...
in 1993. During this period he also performed in two punk rock and new age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
bands, The Citizens and Absolute 9.
Academic career
In 1996, Caulfield became an assistant professor at the University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
. After working several years as an associate professor, he became a full professor in 2004 and is currently teaching biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
. In 1993, he became Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta, a position he currently occupies. In 2013, he was named a fellow of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation
The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation (french: Fondation Pierre Elliott Trudeau), commonly called the Trudeau Foundation (french: Fondation Trudeau), is an independent and non-partisan Canadian charity founded in 2001 by friends and family of for ...
. He is a Health Senior Scholar at the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research
Alberta Innovates (AI) is an Alberta government provincial corporation whose appointed Board of Directors is accountable to the Minister of Jobs, Economy and Innovation and is responsible for promoting innovation in the province. AI was created ...
and has worked on a variety of advisory committees involved in medical and scientific ethics, including one with the International Society for Stem Cell Research
The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Skokie, Illinois, United States. The organization's mission is to promote excellence in stem cell science and applications to hum ...
.[
Caulfield has published numerous articles in academic journals and popular media on topics related to ethics and the effect of media hype on medical research.] He is the editor for the ''Health Law Journal'' and ''Health Law Review''.[ He is a member of the ]Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
, and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences
The Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) is one of three national academies that comprise the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), the highest honour granted to scholars in Canada. The two other CCA academies are the Royal Society of Canada ...
. He is a member of the Task Force on Ethics Reform at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; french: Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada; IRSC) is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the M ...
.[
Represented by his publisher ]Penguin Random House
Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House.
On April 2, 2020, Bertels ...
, Caulfield works with a speakers bureau
A speakers bureau is a collection of speakers who talk about a particular subject, or a company, which operates to facilitate speakers for clients requiring motivational speakers, celebrity appearances, conference facilitators, or keynote speakers. ...
called Speakers' Spotlight on a variety of topics including COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, misinformation and anxiety
Anxiety is an emotion which is characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil and includes feelings of dread over anticipated events. Anxiety is different than fear in that the former is defined as the anticipation of a future threat wh ...
. Some of his recent clients for speaking engagements include the Canadian Health Libraries Association The Canadian Health Libraries Association or Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada was founded in 1976. It represents the views of Canadian health sciences librarians to governments, the health community and fellow librarians.
Chap ...
, Canadian Nuclear Association
The Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA), founded in 1960, is the trade association for the nuclear industry in Canada. The CNA undertakes several advocacy tasks related to nuclear technology in Canada, such as participating in relevant regulatory a ...
, Canadian Nurses Association
The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), known in French as the Association des infirmières et infirmiers du Canada (AIIC), is the national professional association representing registered nurses, nurse practitioners, licensed and registered pra ...
, Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists
The Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists (CSHP) is a professional organization representing the interests of pharmacists
A pharmacist, also known as a chemist ( Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Common ...
, Dietitians of Canada Dietitians of Canada (DC), or Les Diététistes du Canada in French, is the professional organization and "nation-wide voice of dietitians in Canada". As an organization DC is active at the local, provincial, national and international levels and h ...
, Hamilton Health Sciences Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS)is a hospital network of seven hospitals and a cancer centre serving Hamilton, Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of ...
, Own the Podium and the Seven Oaks General Hospital Foundation.
COVID-19
Caulfield has referred to the amount of misinformation
Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. It differs from disinformation, which is ''deliberately'' deceptive. Rumors are information not attributed to any particular source, and so are unreliable and often unverified, but can turn ou ...
surrounding the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic as an "infodemic
An infodemic is a rapid and far-reaching spread of both accurate and inaccurate information about something, such as a disease. The word is a portmanteau of "information" and "epidemic." As facts, rumors, and fears mix and disperse, it become ...
". He has received funding from the federal government's Rapid Research Funding Opportunity to investigate how misinformation about COVID-19 spreads and to look for ways to stop it.[ He noted that this is the first time a global ]pandemic
A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...
has spread in the time of social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
, which allows for information to be shared quickly and often inaccurately. Some of the supposed cures of COVID-19 that Caulfield has debunked are drinking bleach
Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...
, drinking silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
, snorting cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
, homeopathy
Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths, believe that a substance that causes symptoms of a dis ...
, drinking cow urine
Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excretion, excreted from the body through the urethra.
Cel ...
, garlic soup
Garlic soup is a type of soup using garlic as a main ingredient. In Spanish cuisine, ''sopa de ajo'' (soup of garlic) is a traditional garlic soup made with bread and egg poached in chicken broth, and laced with garlic and sherry.
By country ...
and hydroxychloroquine
Hydroxychloroquine, sold under the brand name Plaquenil among others, is a medication used to prevent and treat malaria in areas where malaria remains sensitive to chloroquine. Other uses include treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, an ...
.
On April, 8, 2020, Caulfield was appointed to the Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
Task Force to help support Canada's response to and recovery from COVID-19. The task force mandate is to give informed responses to the many challenges that may come to Canada as a result of the virus and will work with academies from around the world to identify societal challenges.
Caulfield is a spokesperson for ScienceUpFirst
ScienceUpFirst is a Canadian initiative launched to counter misinformation online, especially about COVID-19. Launched January 25, 2021, it brings together independent scientists, health care providers and science communicators.
Goals and history ...
, a science communication
Science communication is the practice of informing, educating, raising awareness of science-related topics, and increasing the sense of wonder about scientific discoveries and arguments. Science communicators and audiences are ambiguously def ...
initiative aiming at reducing the impact of COVID misinformation online.
In 2020 Tim Caulfield collaborated with his brother Sean Caulfield, also a University of Alberta professor, to use artistic images to share pro-science information in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health advice by celebrities
Caulfield developed an interest the health advice given by celebrities and the significant impact it has on the public's health, especially when the celebrity advice is based on pseudoscience. He uses social media platforms, interviews, his books and his television series to counter some health claims made by stars such as actress and entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (; born ) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Paltrow gained notice for her early work in films ...
and alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthiest figures in alternati ...
.
His 2015 book ''Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?'' focuses on the negative impact celebrity endorsement have on public health. Caulfield argues that the public should be wary of accepting health advice from entertainers and artists. The book won the 2015 Science in Society General Book Award from the Canadian Science Writer's Association.
"Scienceploitation" and stem cell tourism
Caulfield has advocated for medical professionals to not exaggerate potential benefits of new unproven treatments in fields that have only long-term potential. Stem cell treatments in particular is sometimes fraudulently hyped as a very expensive miracle cure for anything from autism
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
, Lou Gehrig’s disease
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most commo ...
and spinal cord injury
A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cor ...
, to cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sensa ...
, a practice Caulfield calls "scienceploitation".[
In addition to plain dishonesty, Caulfield argues that the media looking for human-interest stories often portray unsound treatments as effective and give hope to patients. Researchers face pressure to present their research as being more advanced than it actually is and to respond to commercialization imperatives.]
Caulfield points out that these practices have been used all the way back to the discovery of magnetism, and tend to appear whenever new scientific discoveries attract the interest of the public: "Now you see stem cell, genetic, and increasingly, microbiome
A microbiome () is the community of microorganisms that can usually be found living together in any given habitat. It was defined more precisely in 1988 by Whipps ''et al.'' as "a characteristic microbial community occupying a reasonably well ...
research being exploited to sell a host of ridiculous products. My favorite example, however, has to be the use of “quantum physics.” Many alternative medicine practitioners seem to think that if they slap the word “quantum” on a product it sounds more science-y and more legitimate."[
]
Books and collections
Caulfield edited several reference works on research ethics. In the last decade, he also wrote books taking aim at pseudoscience. In his 2012 ''The Cure for Everything'', he tried to clarify the science behind sensationalized media reports about the effects of diet and fitness on health. ''Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?'' in 2015 tackles celebrity endorsement of dubious treatments and their effect on public health, while ''The Vaccination Picture'' in 2017 examines myths propagated against vaccines. His 2020 book ''Relax Dammit!: A User's Guide to the Age of Anxiety'' looks at how misinformation and science affect daily decisions.
He is also editor or coeditor of the following publications:
*Editor, with Maria Knoppers and T. Douglas Kinsella. ''Legal Rights and Human Genetic Material'' (1997).
*Editor, with Bryn Williams-Jones
Bryn Williams-Jones (born 1972) is a Canadian bioethicist, professor and Director of the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the School of Public Health, Université de Montréal. He is co-founder and editor-in-chief of the '' Canadi ...
. ''The Commercialization of Genetic Research: Ethical, Legal, and Policy Issues'' (1999).
*Editor, with Barbara Von Tigerstrom (2002) , , ''Health Care Reform & the Law in Canada: Meeting the Challenge''(2002).
* Editor, with Sean Caulfield, , ''Imagining science: Art, Science and Social Change'' (2008).
*Editor, with Nola Ries and Tracey Bailey. ''Public Health Law and Policy in Canada,'' 2nd ed. (2008).
*Editor, with Jocelyn Downie
Jocelyn Grant Downie is the James S. Palmer Chair in Public Policy and Law at Schulich School of Law. She was the first Dalhousie scholar to be named a Pierre Trudeau Foundation Fellow.
Early life and education
While studying at Queen's Univer ...
and Coleen M. Flood. ''Canadian Health Law and Policy,'' 4th ed. (2011).
*Editor, with Sean Caulfield and Curtis Gillespie. ''Perceptions of Promise: Biotechnology, Society and Art'' (2011).
* Editor, with Nola Ries and Tracey Bailey. ''Public Health Law Policy in Canada'' (2013).
Television series
Caulfield is the host and main protagonist of the documentary series, ''A User's Guide to Cheating Death'', presented in 60 countries, including Canadian specialty channel Vision TV
VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic.
VisionTV is currently owned by ZoomerMedia, a company ...
. The first six-episode season presents Caulfield subjecting himself to various treatments of doubtful efficacy. The episodes include conversations with people believing the treatments work for them and discussions with panels of experts. The series was renewed for a second season, and became available on Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
in North America during the Fall of 2018. His show was reviewed by Jonathan Jarry, saying, "Tim Caulfield is an excellent host for a show that shines a disinfecting light on medical pseudoscience. Unlike many skeptics in the public eye, he does not come across as antagonistic or condescending."
Awards
* 2007, Fellow, Royal Society of Canada.
* 2010, Till and McCulloch Award, Stem Cell Network.
* 2013, Fellow, Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation
The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation (french: Fondation Pierre Elliott Trudeau), commonly called the Trudeau Foundation (french: Fondation Trudeau), is an independent and non-partisan Canadian charity founded in 2001 by friends and family of for ...
.
* 2015, Science in Society General Book Award winner, Canadian Science Writers’ Association.
* 2016, Distinguished Academic Award, Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations.
* 2017, Gold Winnier, Best Blog or Column, Digital Publishing Awards.
* 2020, Sandford Fleming Medal
The Sandford Fleming Medal was instituted in 1982 by the Royal Canadian Institute. It consists of the Sandford Fleming Medal with Citation. It is awarded annually to a Canadian who has made outstanding contributions to the public understanding of s ...
for outstanding communication of science, Royal Canadian Institute for Science.
* 2020, Fellow, Committee For Skeptical Inquiry, Center For Inquiry
The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a US nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal, as well as to fight the influence of religion in government.
History
The Center for Inquiry was established in 199 ...
.[
* 2020, Balles Prize for Critical Thinking, ]Center For Inquiry
The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is a US nonprofit organization that works to mitigate belief in pseudoscience and the paranormal, as well as to fight the influence of religion in government.
History
The Center for Inquiry was established in 199 ...
.
* 2022, Member, Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
.[
]
Personal life
Caulfield enjoys track cycling
Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles.
History
Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it wa ...
and running. He is married and has four children.
He suffers from motion sickness, which is one of the reasons he abandoned a fledgling career as a rock musician.[ He is "a bit of a ]germophobe
Mysophobia, also known as verminophobia, germophobia, germaphobia, bacillophobia and bacteriophobia, is a pathological fear of contamination and germs. The term was coined by William A. Hammond in 1879 when describing a case of obsessive–com ...
. I hate sharing food. I'm not good with handshakes or hugs."
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caulfield, Timothy
1963 births
Living people
Canadian legal scholars
Schulich School of Law alumni
University of Alberta faculty
University of Alberta alumni
Critics of alternative medicine
Members of the Order of Canada