Wajd Alkabbani

Dr. Alkabbani is a pharmacoepidemiologist and the director of the ASPiRE (Assessment of Services and Pharmaceutical policy for Real-world Evidence) program. Her work focuses on understanding the bidirectional relationship between pharmaceutical policy and health services and outcomes using large health databases.

• Pharmacoepidemiology

• Drug safety and effectiveness

• Health services

• Pharmaceutical policy

Dr. Alkabbani uses large healthcare databases and advanced epidemiologic and statistical methods to advance real-world evidence on the post-marketing use, equitable access, effectiveness and safety of pharmaceuticals and therapeutic technology. Her current clinical focus is on metabolic diseases like type-2 diabetes and obesity.

• 2025, Postdoctoral Fellowship, Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Women’s Hospital, USA

• 2023, PhD, University of Waterloo, Canada

• 2019, MSc, University of Manitoba, Canada

• 2015, Bachelor of Pharmacy, Kuwait University, Kuwait

• 2023, Brian Dufton Memorial Award, Diabetes Canada.

• 2023, W.B. Pearson Medal, University of Waterloo.

• 2021 Mike and Valeria Rosenbloom Foundation Research Award

• 2021-2024 Alzheimer society of Canada Doctoral Award

• 2021 Substantial Impact on Overall Research Mission, University of Waterloo.

• 2021-2024 Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS)

• 2023-2024, Board Member, Canadian Association of Population Therapeutics (CAPT)

• 2020-2023, Student representative, Canadian Association of Population Therapeutics (CAPT)

• American Diabetes Association (ADA)

• International Society of Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE)

• Diabetes Canada

• Canadian Society of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (CSEB)

• PHARM 222 - Integrated Patient Focused Care 3
  • Taught in 2022, 2023

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• Alkabbani W, Cromer SJ, Kim DH, Paik JM, Bykov K, Munshi M, Wexler DJ, Patorno E. Overall Uptake and Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Disparities in the Use of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices Among Insulin-Treated Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2025 May 30:dca250006. doi: 10.2337/dca25-0006.

• Alkabbani W, Suissa K, Gu KD, Cromer SJ, Paik JM, Bykov K, Hobai I, Thompson CC, Wexler DJ, Patorno E. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists before upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and risk of pulmonary aspiration or discontinuation of procedure: cohort study. BMJ. 2024 Oct 22;387:e080340. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2024-080340.

• Alkabbani W, Maxwell CJ, Marrie RA, Tyas SL, Lega IC, Gamble JM. Insulin Use in Type 2 Diabetes and the Risk of Dementia: A Comparative Population-Based Cohort Study. Diabetes Care. 2023 Aug 1;46(8):1492-1500. doi: 10.2337/dc23-0222.

• Alkabbani W, Maxwell CJ, Marrie RA, Tyas SL, Lega IC, Gamble JM. Associations of Mid- and Late-Life Severe Hypoglycemic Episodes With Incident Dementia Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: A Population-Based Cohort Study. Diabetes Care. 2023 Feb 1;46(2):331-340. doi: 10.2337/dc22-1496.

• Alkabbani W, Maxwell CJ, Marrie RA, Tyas SL, Lega IC, Gamble JM. Hypoglycaemia and the risk of dementia: a population-based cohort study using exposure density sampling. Int J Epidemiol. 2023 Jun 6;52(3):908-920. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyac168.

• Alkabbani W, Pelletier R, Gamble JM. Sodium/Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitors and the Risk of Diabetic Ketoacidosis: An Example of Complementary Evidence for Rare Adverse Events. Am J Epidemiol. 2021 Aug 1;190(8):1572-1581. doi: 10.1093/aje/kwab052. PMID: 33751032.

• Graduate students recognized at annual awards ceremony
• New research finds serious hypoglycaemic events in type-2 diabetes patients are linked to dementia
• Graduate student awarded prestigious Alzheimer’s Society of Canada grant