Holger Schüenemann

Dr. Holger Jens Schüenemann is a German physician and epidemiologist based in Hamilton, Ontario.

He was born in March 1967.

Schüenemann graduated from the Hannover Medical School with his Doctor of Medicine in 1994, and trained in lung biology, epidemiology, internal medicine and preventive medicine/public health at the University at Buffalo in New York.

Schünemann joined McMaster University as a part-time faculty member in 2001. He is a tenured professor in the Departments of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact and of Medicine, where he was department chair from 2009 to 2019.^{1) 2)}

He initiated the Department's Master of Public Health program and the online diploma in Clinical Epidemiology. He is also director of the McMaster GRADE Center.

Schüenemann served as interim Chair of Epidemiology at the National Cancer Institute in Rome, Italy, until 2009.

Schüenemann is a visiting professor at the University of Freiburg, Germany.³⁾

Schüenemann is a Research Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health at the University at Buffalo.⁴⁾

Schüenemann is co-chair of the GRADE Working Group.

Schüenemann is director of Cochrane Canada. He formerly served as a member of the Cochrane Steering Group (CSG), from which he resigned in 2016.⁵⁾

Schüenemann has participated in advisory groups for the European Commission.⁶⁾

Schüenemann is a member of the Guidelines International Network Board of Trustees.

According to his official biography, Schüenemann “was a key contributor to the revised methods for WHO guideline development.”⁷⁾ He is a member of the Advisory Committee on Health Research at the WHO.⁸⁾

He is Co-Director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases, Research Methods and Recommendations at McMaster University.⁹⁾

Schüenemann's research interested include evidence-based medicine, presenting evidence, measuring health related quality of life, levels of evidence, strength of recommendations, guidelines, lung function, nutrition and oxidative stress, decision making in COPD.

He has received grant funding through his institution from the American Society of Hematology, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Endocrine Society, European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, World Allergy Organization, and the World Health Organization.¹⁰⁾

He has also received honoraria and/or consulting fees from the European Commission, Multiple Sclerosis International Foundation, University of Washington, and the World Health Organization.

He has published research supporting “Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection” for reducing SARS-CoV-2 transmission, commissioned and paid for by the World Health Organization as part of the COVID-19 Systematic Urgent Review Group Effort (SURGE) study.¹¹⁾