Nunavut TB research
Dr. Alvarez is the co-founding director the Taima TB research group. Taima TB (www.tunngavik.com/taimatb) is a group of research projects aimed at helping Inuit in Canada stop the transmission of tuberculosis (TB) in their communities. Since 2011, he has implemented several new technologies to screen for latent TB infection (LTBI) and active TB disease, as well as a new treatment to prevent TB disease with the goal of reducing the TB burden in Inuit communities. His mission has been to work with patients, Inuit representatives, front line health care workers, and government policy makers to determine the course of the research. Over the past 5 years, his team has implemented community wide awareness programs, a new LTBI diagnostic test (Interferon Gamma Release Assay), and a new active TB disease test (Gene Xpert). These new evidence based tools were each piloted, evaluated and published independently in Nunavut’s territorial capital of Iqaluit. He recently implemented a new significantly shorter treatment for LTBI, known as 3HP, in Iqaluit going from 9 months of twice weekly dosing to 3 months of once weekly dosing, thus reducing the number of doses required to complete therapy by 85% (3HP, Rifapentine and INH). The Taima TB research group is the first group in Canada to formally roll out this regimen. He has presented his work at national and international conferences.
Clinical care
Dr. Alvarez provides inpatient and outpatient general Respirology care. He is also the Nunavut consultant in respiratory care including Tuberculosis. He also works regularly in the TB clinic at the Ottawa Hospital. He established several programs including the implementation of 3HP as a treatment for latent TB infection in Ottawa as well as a sputum induction program. He expanded the sputum induction program to Nunavut where it is now the standard of care. He established a new Non tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) clinic at The Ottawa Hospital.
Research administration
Dr. Alvarez is a past member of CIHR grants reviews committees, and previously served on the Ottawa Hospital Department of Medicine Research Advisory Committee. He has also been a grant reviewer for the Canadian Lung Association and Canadian HIV trials network. He is currently a member of the Ottawa Hospital Promotions Committee as well as the Endoscopy Committee.
Education (Research and clinical)
Dr. Alvarez has supervised and mentored many medical students, residents and graduate students to peer reviewed publications. He has supervised, supported and participated in thesis advisory committees for the Ottawa University School of Public Health for many years. He is also the staff supervisor for the respirology fellows weekly clinic where he teaches clinical Respirology. He also teaches the Respirology program that brings one of the senior fellows to Iqaluit, Nunavut each year. He teaches academic half days for the Respirology, General Medicine and ICU Fellows. He also gives yearly lectures at the Medical School in both French and English. He has been involved in developing exam questions for the pulmonary exam for the University, participated in internal medicine exam OSCEs and provides yearly preparatory exams to the graduating fellows. He also has medical students and residents join him in TB clinic. He co-led the Nunavut course on clinical TB in 2019 with Drs. Faiz Khan (McGill) and James Johnston (University of British Columbia). He is a regular lecturer at the yearly summer course on TB research methods at McGill University (since 2015).
Dr. Alvarez speaks English, French and Spanish fluently.
