Montreal, December 10, 2010 - Dr Renaldo Battista, researcher at the CHU Sainte-Justine, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) as a competency-based member. This independent agency funded by Canadian federal, provincial, and territorial governments provides health care decision makers with credible advice related to health services. This agency makes available a range of free products to inform and support those who make decisions about health policy and purchasing, service management and clinical practice. Its three main programs are Health Technology Assessment, the Common Drug Review and the Canadian Optimal Medication Prescribing and Utilization Service.

In addition, Dr. Battista was named President of the Science Advisory Board of Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada in May 2010. Established in 1997, the Science Advisory Board advises these two organizations on a variety of scientific matters.

Dr. Battista holds the Canada Research Chair in Health Technology Assessment. He is Professor at the Department of Health Administration of the University of Montreal and is Senior Scientific Advisor of the Health Technology Assessment Unit (UETMIS) of the CHU Sainte-Justine. Dr. Battista also presides the University of Montreal RUIS Committee on Health Technology Assessment and is the Scientific Director of the Ne³LS Network.