Olivier Bernard

Olivier Bernard, known as the Pharmafist (Le Pharmachien), is a Canadian science communicator who uses cartoons to counter pseudo-scientific myths. He writes the Pharmafist blog, the Pharmachien books and produces the television program Les aventures du pharmachien, denouncing ineffective or dangerous treatments.

Early life, family and education Bernard earned his Bachelor of Pharmacy in 2004 from Université Laval in Quebec City. He subsequently completed, in 2006, a master's degree in pharmacogenetics and worked for some time in the pharmaceutical industry.

In 2017, his French Facebook page had 144,000 subscribers. The lepharmachien.com website logged 350,000 visits per month. (The boy who asked too many questions)

Television series Three seasons of the documentary series Les aventures du Pharmachien (The Adventures of Pharmafist) have been aired by ICI Explora. Started December 14, 2018 La détox du foie (liver detox) Le cannabis médical (medicinal cannabis) L'ostéopathie (osteopathy) L'alimentation bio (organic food) Les OGM (GMOs) La diète cétogène (keto diet) L'effet placebo (placebo effect) Le TDAH (ADHD) L'autisme (autism) La diète alcaline (alcaline diet) Les suppléments alimentaires pour sportifs (sports supplements) L'alimentation végétalienne (vegetarianism) Les régimes (diets) La pilule contraceptive (birth control pill) L'accouchement (births) La crème solaire (sunscreen) Les thérapies énergétiques (energy therapies) La maladie de Lyme (Lyme disease) Les jus (juices) Le lait (milk) Les métaux lourds (heavy metals) Les produits naturels (natural products) Les traitements contre le cancer (cancer treatments) Les vitamines (vitamins) L'hypnose (hypnosis) Le jeûne (fasting) Les antibiotiques (antibiotics) Le gluten (gluten) L'intestin et le microbiote (intestines and microbiotics) Tests médicaux et dépistage (screening medical tests) Les superaliments (super foods) L'allaitement (nursing newborns) Maladies causées par les émotions (diseases caused by emotions) Les ondes électromagnétiques (electromagnetic waves) L'alcool (alcohol) Allergies et intolérances alimentaires (allergies and dietary intolerance) Le système immunitaire (immune system) Les produits cosmétiques (beauty products) Les eaux (water) L'homéopathie (homeopathy) Les vaccins (vaccines) Podcast series As the first season of his podcast Dérives , Bernard released in 2020 an eight-episodes podcast on the 2011 death of Chantal Lavigne, during a New Age sudation workshop. Produced with Radio-Canada, the podcast includes interviews with several people connected to the events leading to the tragedy. Bernard indicated Lavigne's death is one of the reasons started doing science communication.

The second season of the podcast, aired in 2021, examines the events leading to the death of Nelson Deschênes following his participation in Ayahuasca rituals .

Taking the death of Bernard Lachance as a starting point, the third season (2024) relates the role Guylaine Lanctôt played in the spread of medical disinformation in Quebec and Canada, mainly in the 1990s.

The fourth season makes a deep dive into chronic Lyme disease. The podcast was awarded the Michener Award for 2025, which Bernard accepted for Radio-Canada.

2024: Meritorious Service Medal (Civil Division), Governor General of Canada

2019: John Maddox Prize (early career award) for defending science (award from Nature and Sense about Science)

2018: Prix Coup de Coeur, ASPQ (award from Quebec's Public Health Association).

2015: Prix Innovation, Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec (Innovation Award from the Order of Pharmacists of Quebec).