> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Brian Schwartz - URL: https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/brian-schwartz/ - Published: 1999-01-02T12:12:00.000Z - Updated: 2025-07-12T23:19:42.000Z - Author: Liam Sturgess - Tags: Profiles, #docs, #individual **Brian Schwartz** is a Canadian emergency and public health physician. He is vice-president of [Public Health Ontario](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Public-Health-Ontario)[\[1\]](#fn1) and an associate professor in the [Dalla Lana School of Public Health](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Dalla-Lana-School-of-Public-Health) at the University of Toronto.[\[2\]](#fn2) During the declared COVID-19 pandemic, Schwartz served as co-chair of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table (OST).[\[3\]](#fn3) ## History Before entering public health, Schwartz practiced emergency medicine for over 30 years in community and academic settings. He was director of the \[Sunnybrook Centre for Prehospital Care from 1996 to 2009. Schwartz served as vice-chair of the Ontario SARS Scientific Advisory Committee in 2003.[\[4\]](#fn4) Schwartz served as Scientific Advisor to the Emergency Management Branch of the [Ontario Ministry of Heath and Long-Term Care](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Ontario-Ministry-of-Health-and-Long-Term-Care) from 2004 to 2011\. He was chair of the Ontario Scientific Response Team during the declared 2009 swine flu pandemic.[\[2:1\]](#fn2) Schwartz served as co-Incident Manager for health consequence management for the 2010 G8 Health System Coordination Committee.[\[2:2\]](#fn2)[\[5\]](#fn5) Schwartz obtained his medical degree and Master of Science in Community Health from the University of Toronto in 2012\. He received his certification in emergency medicine from and is a fellow of the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Schwartz has been a member of the Canadian Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Task Group since its inception.[\[6\]](#fn6) He has attended meetings within Ontario related to pandemic preparedness, for which his expenses have been repaid by the [Public Health Agency of Canada](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Public-Health-Agency-of-Canada).[\[7\]](#fn7) In 2015, Schwartz co-authored authored a study that concluded that the “evidence base for public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) is weak” alongside [Bonnie Henry](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Bonnie-Henry) and [Eileen de Villa](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Eileen-de-Villa).[\[8\]](#fn8) He also co-authored a May 2016 study finding that insufficient evidence existed to determine whether N95 masks were superior to surgical masks in protecting healthcare workers against acute respiratory infections.[\[9\]](#fn9) Schwartz has also contributed to research on communications strategies around climate change and extreme weather, funded by [Public Health Ontario](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Public-Health-Ontario).[\[10\]](#fn10) ### COVID-19 Schwartz helped lead Ontario's response to the declared COVID-19 pandemic as co-chair of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table (OST) alongside [Adalsteinn Brown](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Adalsteinn-Brown).[\[3:1\]](#fn3) Schwartz is a supervisor for a project titled “AI-driven solutions to mitigate the social and psychological impact of COVID-19”, which includes engaging with “vaccine advancement models” to “address the COVID-19 data misinformation.”[\[11\]](#fn11) ## Publications - December 5, 2018: "[Public health emergency preparedness: a framework to promote resilience](https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-6250-7)" - Co-authored by Yasmin Khan, Tracey O'Sullivan, Adalsteinn Brown, Shannon Tracey, Jennifer Gibson, Mélissa Généreux and [Bonnie Henry](https://www.whiteroseintelligence.com/Bonnie-Henry) ## External links - [Campfire Wiki](https://www.campfire.wiki/doku.php?id=brian%5Fschwartz) --- 1. *Dr. Brian Schwartz.* Public Health Ontario. Retrieved January 25, 2022, from [↩︎](#fnref1) 2. *Schwartz, Brian.* Dalla Lana School of Public Health. Retrieved January 25, 2022, from [↩︎](#fnref2) [↩︎](#fnref2:1) [↩︎](#fnref2:2) 3. *About Us.* Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from [↩︎](#fnref3) [↩︎](#fnref3:1) 4. Zoutman, D., & Schwartz, B. (2003). *The Ontario SARS Scientific Advisory Committee*. Government of Ontario. [↩︎](#fnref4) 5. *2010 G8 Summit SMDHU Preparedness & Response Plan.* (2010, June). Simcoe Muskoka Health. [↩︎](#fnref5) 6. Henry, B on behalf of the Canadian Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Task Group. (2019). Canadian pandemic influenza preparedness: Public health measures strategy. *Canada Communicable Disease Report, 45*(6), 159–163\. [↩︎](#fnref6) 7. Schwartz, B. (2020). *Declaration of Interest.* Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. [↩︎](#fnref7) 8. Khan, Y., Fazli, G., Henry, B., de Villa, E., Tsamis, C., Grant, M., & Schwartz, B. (2015). The evidence base of primary research in public health emergency preparedness: a scoping review and stakeholder consultation. *BMC Public Health, 15*(1). [↩︎](#fnref8) 9. Smith, J. D., MacDougall, C. C., Johnstone, J., Copes, R. A., Schwartz, B., & Garber, G. E. (2016). Effectiveness of N95 respirators versus surgical masks in protecting health care workers from acute respiratory infection: a systematic review and meta-analysis. *Canadian Medical Association Journal, 188*(8), 567–574\. [↩︎](#fnref9) 10. MacIntyre, E., Khanna, S., Darychuk, A., Copes, R., & Schwartz, B. (2019). Evidence synthesis - Evaluating risk communication during extreme weather and climate change: a scoping review. Synthèse des données probantes - Évaluation de la communication des risques en présence de changements climatiques et de phénomènes météorologiques extrêmes : examen de la portée. *Health promotion and chronic disease prevention in Canada : research, policy and practice, 39*(4), 142–156\. [↩︎](#fnref10) 11. *AI-driven solutions to mitigate the social and psychological impact of COVID-19.* (2021, September 1). Canadian Research Information System. [↩︎](#fnref11)