Timothy Caulfield

Timothy Allen Caulfield (born 1963) is a Canadian professor of law at the University of Alberta,[1] the Research Director of its Health Law Institute,[2][3] and current Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy.[4][5][6] He specializes in legal, policy and ethical issues in medical research and its commercialization. In addition to professional publications, he is the author of several books aimed at the general reader, the host of a television documentary series debunking pseudoscientific myths and is a fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.[7]

Timothy Caulfield
Born
Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationBachelor of Science, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws
Alma materUniversity of Alberta, Dalhousie University
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Alberta
ThesisThe Last Straw: The Impact of Cost Containment in Health Care on Medical Malpractice Law (1993)

Early life and education

Caulfield went to high school in Edmonton, Alberta.[3] 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 in 1993.[8] During this period he also performed in two punk rock and new age bands, "The Citizens" and "Absolute 9".[1][9]

Academic career

In 1996, Caulfield became an assistant professor at the University of Alberta. After working several years as an associate professor, he became a full professor in 2004 and is currently teaching biotechnology. In 1993, he became Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta, a position he currently occupies. He is a Health Senior Scholar at the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research 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.[4]

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.[4][10][11] He is the editor for the Health Law Journal and Health Law Review.[4] He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences He is a member of the Task Force on Ethics Reform at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.[4][2]

COVID-19

Caulfield has referred to the amount of misinformation surrounding the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic as an "infodemic". 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 has spread in the time of social media, 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, drinking silver, snorting cocaine, homeopathy, drinking cow urine, garlic soup and hydroxychloroquine.[12]

On April, 8, 2020, Caulfield was appointed to the Royal Society of Canada 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.[13]

Caulfield is one of the spokespersons for ScienceUpFirst, a science communication initiative aiming at reducing the impact of COVID misinformation online.[14]

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 starts such as actress and entrepreuneur Gwyneth Paltrow and alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra.[9][15][16][17]

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.[18][19][20][5][21] The book won the 2015 Science in Society General Book Award from the Canadian Science Writer's Association.[22]

"Scienceploitation" and stem cell tourism
Caulfield speaking about "scienploitation" at CSICon 2018 in Las Vegas

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, Lou Gehrig’s disease and spinal cord injury, to cerebral palsy, a practice Caulfield calls "scienceploitation".[23][24][25]

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.[23][26][27]

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 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."[28]

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,[29][30] he tried to clarify the science behind sensationalized media reports about the effects of diet and fitness on health.[31] Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? in 2015 [32] tackles celebrity endorsement of dubious treatments and their effect on public health, while The Vaccination Picture in 2017 examines myths propagated against vaccines.[33]

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).[34]
  • Editor, with Bryn Williams-Jones. The Commercialization of Genetic Research: Ethical, Legal, and Policy Issues (1999).[35]
  • Editor, with Barbara Von Tigerstrom (2002) || Health Care Reform & the Law in Canada: Meeting the Challenge(2002).[36]
  • Editor, with Sean Caulfield|| Imagining science: Art, Science and Social Change (2008).[37]
  • Editor, with Nola Ries and Tracey Bailey. Public Health Law and Policy in Canada, 2nd ed. (2008).[38]
  • Editor, with Jocelyn Downie and Coleen M. Flood. Canadian Health Law and Policy, 4th ed. (2011).[39]
  • Editor, with Sean Caulfield and Curtis Gillespie. Perceptions of Promise: Biotechnology, Society and Art (2011).[40]
  • Editor, with Nola Ries and Tracey Bailey. Public Health Law Policy in Canada (2013).[41]

Television series

Caulfield is the host and main protagonist of the documentary series, A User's Guide to Cheating Death, presented in 60 countries,[42] including Canadian specialty channel Vision TV. 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.[43][44][45] The series has been renewed for a second season,[46] and will be available on Netflix in North America during the Fall of 2018.[47][28] 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."[48]

Episode[49]Original airing date
Season 1
Detox Debunked - The Truth Behind the PhenomenonSeptember 18, 2017
The Fountain of Youth - Science of CosmeticsSeptember 25, 2017
Full Potential - Genetic Testing and the Rise of Personalized MedicineOctober 2, 2017
Losing It - Extreme DietingOctober 9, 2017
Au Natural - Turning Our Back to Modern MedicineOctober 16, 2017
ScienceploitationOctober 23, 2017
Season 2
I'll Sleep When I'm DeadOctober 15, 2018
Vitamins and SupplementsOctober 22, 2018
Sex and RelationshipsOctober 29, 2018
GermsNovember 5, 2018
Body HackingNovember 12, 2018
Spiritual ScienceNovember 19, 2018

Awards
  • 2007, Fellow, Royal Society of Canada.[4]
  • 2010, Till and McCulloch Award, Stem Cell Network.[50]
  • 2015, Science in Society General Book Award winner, Canadian Science Writers’ Association.[2]
  • 2016, Distinguished Academic Award, Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations.[51]
  • 2017, Gold Winnier, Best Blog or Column, Digital Publishing Awards.[52]
  • 2020, Fleming Medal for outstanding communication of science, Royal Canadian Institute for Science.[53]
  • 2020, Fellow, Committee For Skeptical Inquiry, Center For Inquiry.[54][7]

Personal life

Caulfield enjoys track cycling and running. He is married and has four children.[55][56] He prefers beer to wine and cannot live without coffee.[9][56]

He suffers from motion sickness, which is one of the reasons he abandoned a fledgling career as a rock musician.[55] He is "a bit of a germophobe. I hate sharing food. I'm not good with handshakes or hugs."[57]

References
  1. Pelley, Lauren (8 January 2015). "Timothy Caulfield debunks celebrity health trends, from gluten-free diets to colon cleanses". Toronto Star.
  2. "CSWA Book Award Winners!". Sciencewriters.ca. April 21, 2016. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  3. "Timothy Caulfield: Alberta's 50 Most Influential People 2014 - Alberta Venture". Alberta Venture. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  4. "Task Force on Ethics Reform: Membership". Canadian Institutes of Health Research. November 15, 2017. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  5. Walden, Celia (9 May 2015). "Is Gwyneth Paltrow wrong about everything?". Telegraph. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  6. "There's a word for that feeling you get when you're phone's not nearby". CBC. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  7. "Ten new Fellows elected to Committee for Skeptical Inquiry". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. 23 November 2020. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  8. "Timothy Caulfield". Ualberta. Archived from the original on November 24, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  9. Pelley, Lauren (January 8, 2015). "Timothy Caulfield debunks celebrity health trends, from gluten-free diets to colon cleanses". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  10. "Healthy Skeptic André Picard eschews the hype, pandering and pseudo-science that plague his beat". Ryerson Review of Journalism, Elena Gritzan — April 6, 2016
  11. Tamara L. Roleff (26 September 2005). Cloning. Greenhaven Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-7377-3311-2.
  12. Mosleh, Omar (April 6, 2020). ""This is misinformation on steroids': The Canadian who took on Gwyneth Paltrow is debunking coronavirus myths". The Star. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020.
  13. "Communiqué Covid-19". The Royal Society of Canada (RSC). April 8, 2020. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
  14. "Who are ScienceUpFirst". ScienceUpFirst. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  15. McFarling, Usha (20 April 2016). "Tim Caulfield on a mission to debunk celebrity health advice". STAT. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  16. "'Embodiment of pseudoscience': Deepak Chopra bad choice for Edmonton autism conference says expert". October 29, 2017. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  17. "Deepak Chopra, Timothy Caulfield end Twitter feud". CBC News. January 26, 2017. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  18. Walden, Celia (May 9, 2015). "Is Gwyneth Paltrow wrong about everything?". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  19. Caulfield, Timothy (July 14, 2017). "Sorry, Gwyneth Paltrow. Science will always beat goopy junk". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  20. Payne, Elizabeth (16 January 2015). "Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? A Q&A with the author". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  21. "Book Review: Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? by Timothy Caulfield". Cracked Science, February 16, 2015 by Jonathan Jarry
  22. "CSWA Book Award Winners! ". Canadian Science Writer's Association website.
  23. Caulfield, Timothy (September 12, 2011). "Blinded by Science". The Walrus. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  24. "What is stem cell tourism? Narrated by Professor Timothy Caulfield". ccrm.ca. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  25. Caulfield, Timothy (March 20, 2017). "Beware the hype on stem-cell breakthroughs". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  26. Caulfield, Timothy (December 1, 2012). "Commercialization creep". Policy Options. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  27. "The blunt truth about 'cutting edge' medical research". CBC radio. March 26, 2017. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  28. Gerbic, Susan (July 24, 2018). "GOOP, Netflix and Motion Sickness". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  29. Caulfield, Timothy (2012). The cure for everything! : untangling the twisted messages about health, fitness, and happiness. Toronto: Viking Canada. ISBN 978-06700-65233.
  30. Ahearn, Victoria (6 March 2015). "Edmonton author Timothy Caulfield challenges Gwyneth Paltrow's 'Goop'". Global News. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  31. "Book Review: The Cure For Everything! by Timothy Caulfield". National Post, January 13, 2012. Julia Belluz
  32. Caulfield, Timothy (2015). Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash. Toronto: Viking. ISBN 978-06700-67589.
  33. Caulfield, Timothy (2017). The vaccination picture. Viking. ISBN 978-0735234994.
  34. Knoppers, Maria; Caulfield, Timothy; T. Douglas, Kinsella (1996). Legal Rights and Human Genetic Material. Toronto: Emond Montgomery. ISBN 0920722865.
  35. Caulfield, Timothy; Williams-Jones, Bryn (1999). The Commercialization of Genetic Research: Ethical, Legal, and Policy Issues. Toronto: Springer. ISBN 146137135X.
  36. Timothy A. Caulfield; Barbara Von Tigerstrom, eds. (2002). Health Care Reform & the Law in Canada: Meeting the Challenge. University of Alberta. ISBN 978-0-88864-366-7.
  37. Caulfield, Sean; Caulfield, Timothy (2008). Imagining Science: Art, Science, and Social Change. Calgary, Alberta: The University of Alberta Press. ISBN 978-0-88864-508-1.
  38. Ries, Nola; Bailey, Tracey; Caulfield, Timothy (2008). Public Health Law & Policy in Canada, 2nd Edition. Markham, Ontario: LexisNexis Canada. ISBN 0433458178.
  39. Downie, Jocelyn; Caulfield, Timothy; Flood, Coleen (2011). Canadian Health Law and Policy (4th ed.). Markham, Ontario: LexisNexis. ISBN 9780433465249.
  40. Caulfield, Sean; Gillespie, Curtis; Caulfield, Timothy (2011). Perceptions of Promise: Biotechnology, Society and Art. Department of Art and Design, University of Alberta and University of Washington Press. ISBN 0969989849.
  41. Ries, Nola; Bailey, Tracey; Caulfield, Timothy (2013). Public Health Law & Policy in Canada, 3rd Edition. LexisNexis Canada. ISBN 9780433470397.
  42. "U of A professor's TV show debunking alternative therapies will be on Netflix". CBC News. August 1, 2018. Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  43. "Timothy Caulfield hosts new TV series: 'A User's Guide to Cheating Death'". CBC.ca. September 11, 2017. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  44. Szklarski, Cassandra (September 4, 2017). "Goop-debunker buoyed by renewed attack on Gwyneth Paltrow's wellness brand". The Canadian Press. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  45. "A User's Guide To Cheating Death". Eye on Canada. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  46. "VISIONTV GREENLIGHTS SEASON 2 OF "A USER'S GUIDE TO CHEATING DEATH."". Peacock Alley TV. March 7, 2018. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  47. Simons, Paula (September 26, 2018). "Paula Simons: A user's guide to Timothy Caulfield, the University of Alberta's very public intellectual". The Edmonton Journal. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  48. Jarry, Jonathan (September 14, 2017). "Review: "A User's Guide to Cheating Death"". McGill University. Archived from the original on July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  49. "A User's Guide to Cheating Death: Episodes". VisionTV.ca. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  50. Willemse, Lisa (April 11, 2012). "Dr. Aaron Schimmer Receives the Till and McCulloch Award". Newswire.ca. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  51. "CAFA distinguished Academic Awards, 2016" (PDF). CAFA-AB.ca. September 20, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 17, 2017. Retrieved Nov 17, 2017.
  52. "The Winners". Digitalpublishing awards.ca. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  53. "The 2020 Sandford Fleming Medal is awarded to Professor Timothy Caulfield, University of Alberta". Royal Canadian Institute for Science. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  54. Metella, Helen (October 16, 2020). "Prof. Timothy Caulfield named to international group of scholarly questioners". University of Alberta. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  55. "Timothy Caulfield, LLM, FRSC, FCAHS". isscr.org. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  56. Caulfield, Timothy (2018). "Genetic Revolution". A User's Guide to Cheating Death. Episode Season 2, Episode 3.
  57. Caulfield, Timothy (2018). "Germs". A User's Guide to Cheating Death. Episode Season 2, Episode 4.
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