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Timothy Caulfield

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Timothy Allen Caulfield (born 1963) is a Canadian professor of law at the University of Alberta,[1] the former research director of its Health Law Institute,[2][3] and current Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy.[4][5][6] He studies, writes and speaks about legal, policy and ethical issues in medical research and its commercialization. He is author and editor of several books, as well the host of a television documentary series debunking pseudoscientific myths.

Timothy Caulfield
File:Timothy Caulfield.png
Born
Cape Cod, Massachusetts, United States of America
EducationBachelor of Science, Bachelor of Laws, Master of Laws
Alma materUniversity of Alberta, Dalhousie University
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Alberta
Thesis The 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 an Masters in Law at Dalhousie University in 1993.[7] During this period he also performed in two punk rock and new age bands, "The Citizens" and "Absolute 9".[1][8]

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 the Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta, a position he occupied until 2011. He is now leading the Health Law and Science Policy Group at the faculty of Law. 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 about a variety of topics related to ethics and the effect of media hype on medical research.[4][9][10] He is the editor for the Health Law Journal and Health Law Review.[4] He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada, as well as the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and[2] a member of the Task Force on Ethics Reform at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.[4] Caulfield gave the keynote speech (on the impact of popular culture on health) at the regional 2017 World Health Summit of the M8 Alliance, held in Montreal on May 8-9.[11][12]

Debunking pseudoscientific celebrity health advice

Caulfield uses social media platforms, interviews, his books and his television series to debunk health advice provided by celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Kim Kardashian, Madonnna, Leo DiCaprio, Britney Spears and Gwyneth Paltrow.[8][13]

I never planned to be a “debunker”. In my work on science and health policy I just became increasing frustrated with all the inaccurate noise that exists in popular culture.

— Timothy Caulfield, HHS Q&A[14]

An attentive follower of celebrity news, Caulfield became worried about seeing large numbers of people follow harmful or useless health advice, dispensed by celebrities, such as juice cleanse.[8] That realization led him to be more vocal as a critic of pseudoscience: "I never planned to be a “debunker”. In my work on science and health policy I just became increasing frustrated with all the inaccurate noise that exists in popular culture. (...) It also became increasingly clear that this pseudoscience has a real impact."[14]

Goop and Gwyneth Paltrow

When Caulfield published a book on the negative impact celebrity endorsement have on public health in 2015, he chose to title it "Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?" He suggests people be critical of such health claims: "The truth is that people like Gwyneth do have a place in our lives as entertainers and artists. Just as long as we don’t see them as being sources of truthful information on anything other than what they do.”[15][16]

The book debunks health and beauty advice given by celebrities,[17][5] and addresses the statistical likelihood of the average person becoming a celebrity.[18] The book won the 2015 Science in Society General Book Award from the Canadian Science Writer's Association.[19]

Deepak Chopra

For Caulfield, alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra is an example of someone using scientific language to promote treatments that are not grounded in science: "[Chropra] legitimizes these ideas that have no scientific basis at all, and makes them sound scientific. He really is a fountain of meaningless jargon."[20] Caulfield's criticism of Chopra gained widespread attention in October, 2016, when he opposed Chopra's participation as a keynote speaker to a conference on autism in Edmonton (Alberta). Calling Chopra "the great de-educator", he argued offering a platform to Chopra's views were not useful to the conference's participants.[21] Interviewed prior to his address, Chopra shot back people should ignore skeptics such as Caulfield, but invited him to listen to his speech. When Caulfield was refused access to the room by hotel security, the following exchange on Twitter saw Chopra accusing Caulfield of inventing the incident for publicity, then apologizing when it was discovered hotel security had mistakenly received instructions to block him.[20]

[Chropra] legitimizes these ideas that have no scientific basis at all, and makes them sound scientific. He really is a fountain of meaningless jargon.

— Timothy Caulfield, CBC News

Beauty products

Caulfield is also critical of unfounded claims made by manufacturers of beauty products, as well as the retailers and medical professionals who push them on clients.[22]

Get exercise. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Sleep. Don’t smoke.

— Timothy Caulfield, Reader's Digest

Caulfield spent a year faithfully following an expensive regimen of various skin care products specifically recommended by a dermatologist. The experiment ended with another dermatologist, using the same skin-analysis equipment as the first one, scoring his skin condition as worse or the same as the initial assessment. Caulfield passed on the suggested $500 corrective treatment: "We should always bring a furiously critical eye to the assessment of any claim made by Big Beauty. Phrases such as “clinically proven” or “dermatologist approved” have little meaning because they could refer to almost anything."[23][24]

We should always bring a furiously critical eye to the assessment of any claim made by Big Beauty. Phrases such as “clinically proven” or “dermatologist approved” have little meaning.

— Timothy Caulfield, The Atlantic

He also expressed skepticism about nutricosmetics (beauty pills), pointing out their alleged benefits are not backed by clinical trials.[25]

Caulfield worries that consumers interpret a lack of results from those products by buying more, rather than questioning their effectiveness.[22] Rather than spending thousands of dollars on beauty products, Caulfield suggests people should "get exercise, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, sleep and don’t smoke."[24]

"Scienceploitation" and stem cell tourism

Caulfield has advocated for medical professionals to properly represent the potential benefits of new unproven treatments in fields that have great 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 pratice caulfield calls "scienceploitation". These treatments are often available in clinics taking advantage of lax regulatory frameworks in some countries, hence the term "stem cell tourism."[22][26][27]

In addition to plain dishonesty, the media looking for human-interest stories often portray unsound treatments as effective and giving hope to patients. Researchers face pressure to present their research as being more advanced than it actually is and to respond to commercialization imperatives.[22] [28][29][30]

Books and collections

Caulfield edited several reference works on research ethics. In the last decade, he also wrote books taking aim at pseudoscience. In The Cure for Everything,[31] he tried to clarify for his readers the science behind sensationalized media reports about the effects of diet and fitness on health.[32] Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? tackles celebrity endorsement of dubious treatments and their effect on public health, while The Vaccination Picture examines myths propagated against vaccines.

Year Title Notes
1997 Legal Rights and Human Genetic Material[33] Editor, with Maria Knoppers and T. Douglas Kinsella.
1999 The Commercialization of Genetic Research: Ethical, Legal, and Policy Issues[34] Editor, with Bryn Williams-Jones.
2002 Health Care Reform & the Law in Canada: Meeting the Challenge[35] Editor, with Barbara Von Tigerstrom.
2008 Imagining science: Art, Science and Social Change[36] Editor, with Sean Caulfield.
2008 Public Health Law and Policy in Canada, 2nd ed.[37] Editor, with Nola Ries and Tracey Bailey.
2011 Canadian Health Law and Policy, 4th ed.[38] Editor, with Jocelyn Downie and Coleen M. Flood.
2011 Perceptions of Promise: Biotechnology, Society and Art[39] Editor, with Sean Caulfield and Curtis Gillespie.
2012 The cure for everything! : untangling the twisted messages about health, fitness, and happiness[40]
2013 Public Health Law Policy in Canada[41] Editor, with Nola Ries and Tracey Bailey.
2015 Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash[42] 2015 Science in Society General Book Award
2017 The Vaccination Picture[43] Debunking of anti-vaccine rhetoric.

Television series

Caulfield is the presentator and main protagonist of the documentary series A User's Guide to Cheating Death, presented on the Canadian specialty channel Vision TV. Using humour and science, the six-episode series presents Caulfield subjecting himself to various treatments of doubtful efficacy (including an ionic foot bath) in their quest to stay healthy and young forever. Filming locations include California and South Korea. The episodes include conversations with people believing the treatments work for them and discussions with panels of experts, such as Joe Schwarcz and Jennifer Gunter.[44][45][46]

Episode[47] Original broadcast date
Detox Debunked - The Truth Behind the Phenomenon Sept. 18, 2017
The Fountain of Youth - Science of Cosmetics Sept. 25, 2017
Full Potential - Genetic Testing and the Rise of Personalized Medicine October 2, 2017
Losing It - Extreme Dieting October 9, 2017
Au Natural - Turning Our Back to Modern Medicine October 16, 2017
Scienceploitation October 23, 2017

Selected awards and distinctions

Year Award or distinction
2000 Martha Cook Piper Award for Research Excellence, University of Alberta.[4][48]
2002 Alumni Horizon Award, University of Alberta.[49]
2004 Media Relations Award, University of Alberta.[4]
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]

Personal life

Caulfield's brother Sean is the University of Alberta's Centennial Professor of Fine Arts and a former Canada Research Chair in Fine Arts. Through art, he explores the shifting boundaries between the technological and the biological.[53][54]

Caulfield enjoys track cycling.[55] He cannot live without coffee.[8]

Caulfield suffers from motion sickness, which is one of the reasons he abandoned a fledgling career as a rock musician.[55]

References

  1. ^ a b Pelley, Lauren (8 January 2015). "Timothy Caulfield debunks celebrity health trends, from gluten-free diets to colon cleanses". Toronto Star.
  2. ^ a b c "CSWA Book Award Winners!". Sciencewriters.ca. April 21, 2016. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  3. ^ a b "Timothy Caulfield: Alberta's 50 Most Influential People 2014 - Alberta Venture". Alberta Venture. 1 July 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "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. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  5. ^ a b 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. ^ "Timothy Caulfield". Ualberta. Archived from the original on November 24, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  8. ^ a b c d 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 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 16, 2017 suggested (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  9. ^ "Healthy Skeptic André Picard eschews the hype, pandering and pseudo-science that plague his beat". Ryerson Review of Journalism, Elena Gritzan — April 6, 2016
  10. ^ Tamara L. Roleff (26 September 2005). Cloning. Greenhaven Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-7377-3311-2.
  11. ^ "Thimothy Caulfield speaks at the World Health Summit". Trudeau Foundation. May 9, 2017. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 17, 2017 suggested (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  12. ^ "World Health Summit Regional Meeting - North America, Montreal 2017". World Health Summit. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 17, 2017 suggested (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  13. ^ McFarling, Usha (20 April 2016). "Tim Caulfield on a mission to debunk celebrity health advice". STAT. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  14. ^ a b "HEALTH FACT OR FICTION?: A Q&A WITH TIMOTHY CAULFIELD". Hamilton Health Sciences. October 11, 2017. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 16, 2017 suggested (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  15. ^ 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. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  16. ^ 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. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  17. ^ Payne, Elizabeth (16 January 2015). "Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? A Q&A with the author". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  18. ^ "Book Review: Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? by Timothy Caulfield". Cracked Science, February 16, 2015 by Jonathan Jarry
  19. ^ "CSWA Book Award Winners! ". Canadian Science Writer's Association website.
  20. ^ a b "Deepak Chopra, Timothy Caulfield end Twitter feud". CBC News. January 26, 2017. Archived from the original on November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  21. ^ "'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. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  22. ^ a b c d Caulfield, Timothy (September 12, 2011). "Blinded by Science". The Walrus. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  23. ^ Caulfield, Timothy (May 5, 2015). "The Pseudoscience of Beauty Products". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 16, 2017 suggested (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  24. ^ a b Laidlaw, Katherine. "Timothy Caulfield: The RD Interview". Reader's Digest Canada. Retrieved November 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: Check |archive-url= value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  25. ^ Tucker, Rebecca (April 22, 2016). "Six pills, powders and potions that promise beauty from the inside out". Toronto Life. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 16, 2017 suggested (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  26. ^ "What is stem cell tourism? Narrated by Professor Timothy Caulfield". ccrm.ca. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  27. ^ 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. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  28. ^ Caulfield, Timothy (December 1, 2012). "Commercialization creep". Policy Options. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  29. ^ "The blunt truth about 'cutting edge' medical research". CBC radio. March 26, 2017. Archived from the original on March 26, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 21, 2017 suggested (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  30. ^ Bersenev, Alexey (November 20, 2012). "Lecture: Timothy Caulfield – Stem cells tourism: The challenge for health and science policy". Stem Cell essays. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  31. ^ Ahearn, Victoria (6 March 2015). "Edmonton author Timothy Caulfield challenges Gwyneth Paltrow's 'Goop'". Global News. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  32. ^ "Book Review: The Cure For Everything! by Timothy Caulfield". National Post, January 13, 2012. Julia Belluz
  33. ^ Knoppers, Maria; Caulfield, Timothy; T. Douglas, Kinsella (1996). Legal Rights and Human Genetic Material. Toronto: Emond Montgomery. ISBN 0920722865.
  34. ^ Caulfield, Timothy; Williams-Jones, Bryn (1999). The Commercialization of Genetic Research: Ethical, Legal, and Policy Issues. Toronto: Springer. ISBN 146137135X.
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ 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.
  37. ^ Ries, Nola; Bailey, Tracey; Caulfield, Timothy (2008). Public Health Law & Policy in Canada, 2nd Edition. Markham, Ontario: LexisNexis Canada. ISBN 0433458178.
  38. ^ Downie, Jocelyn; Caulfield, Timothy; Flood, Coleen (2011). Canadian Health Law and Policy (4th ed.). Markham, Ontario: LexisNexis. ISBN 9780433465249.
  39. ^ 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.
  40. ^ Caulfield, Timothy (2012). The cure for everything! : untangling the twisted messages about health, fitness, and happiness. Toronto: Viking Canada. ISBN 978-06700-65233.
  41. ^ Ries, Nola; Bailey, Tracey; Caulfield, Timothy (2013). Public Health Law & Policy in Canada, 3rd Edition. LexisNexis Canada. ISBN 9780433470397.
  42. ^ Caulfield, Timothy (2015). Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash. Toronto: Viking. ISBN 978-06700-67589.
  43. ^ Caulfield, Timothy (2017). The vaccination picture. Viking. ISBN 978-0735234994.
  44. ^ "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. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  45. ^ 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. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  46. ^ "A User's Guide To Cheating Death". Eye on Canada. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  47. ^ "A User's Guide to Cheating Death: Episodes". VisionTV.ca. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  48. ^ "Martha Cook Piper Research Prize Recipients". University of Alberta. Archived from the original on November 15, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  49. ^ "Search Award Recipients". University of Alberta. Retrieved November 15, 2017. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  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. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  51. ^ "CAFA distinguished Academic Awards, 2016" (PDF). CAFA-AB.ca. September 20, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on Nov 17, 2017. Retrieved Nov 17, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  52. ^ "The Winners". Digitalpublishing awards.ca. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 17, 2017 suggested (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  53. ^ "Thimothy Caulfield: Expertise". Trudeau Foundation. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 17, 2017 suggested (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  54. ^ "Sean Caulfield". University of Alberta. Archived from the original on November 16, 2017. Retrieved November 16, 2017. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 17, 2017 suggested (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  55. ^ a b "Timothy Caulfield, LLM, FRSC, FCAHS". isscr.org. Archived from the original on November 22, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)

External links

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