September 17, 2024
Michael Smith Health Research BC is funding 23 new Scholars and 14 Health Professional-Investigators (HP-I) through the 2024 competitions.
This year’s recipients include registered nurses, a physical therapist, a dietitian, a genetic counsellor, a psychologist, an occupational therapist, a pharmacist and physicians—individuals all making substantial contributions to their fields.
The Scholar program supports early career health researchers, helping them form their own research teams, train the next generation of scientists and develop world-leading research programs.
The HP-I program supports health professionals who are actively involved in patient care to build their health research programs, train the next generation of scientists, and make significant contributions to their field.
Twenty-seven health researchers at UBC are among those awarded funding through these competitions.
See the Michael Smith Health Research BC announcement
2024 Scholar
Award
UBC Recipients
Fourteen scholars from UBC have been awarded funding through the 2024 Scholar program.
Drew Clark (School of Nursing)
Healthcare ethics and health equity: Improving access to care through equity-focused ethical reasoning and participatory ethics
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBCV
Rubee Dev (School of Nursing)
Optimization of cardiovascular health in postpartum women with reproductive and pregnancy-related risk factors
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBCV
Andrew Ivsins (Department of Medicine)
Exploring the shifting landscape of medication-based drug treatment and safer supply in the fentanyl era: a research program to address the evolving overdose crisis in BC
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: BC Centre on Substance Use
Partner(s): BC Centre on Substance Use, St. Paul's Foundation
Carla Hilario (School of Nursing, UBCO)
Addressing the structural and social determinants of young people’s health
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBCO
Mohamed Ibrahim (School of Social Work)
Strengthening mental health in Horn of Africa (IGAD region) and Somalia (MH Care-Somalia)
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBCV
Kate Johnson (Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences/Department of Medicine)
The Lifetime Exposures and Asthma Outcomes Projection Model (LEAP): A Platform for Improving Asthma Prevention in Canada
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBCV
Leah Lambert (School of Nursing)
Advancing Equitable Cancer Care: A Innovative Approach to Transformative Action in BC
Host Institution: BC Cancer
Research Location: BC Cancer
Partner(s): BC Cancer Foundation
Catrina Loucks (Department of Pediatrics/Department of Anesthiology, Pharmacology and Therapeutics)
Towards improving pain management for children using patient-specific genetic information
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: BC Children's Hospital Research Institute
Hudson Reddon (Department of Medicine)
Evaluating the impact of cannabis exposure and access on substance use trajectories among people who use unregulated drugs during the fentanyl era
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBC
Partner(s): BC Centre on Substance Use, St. Paul's Foundation
Stephanie Glegg (Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy)
Bridging KT Connections: Using the social drivers of knowledge translation (KT) to improve health care service delivery
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBCV
Jessica Rosin (Faculty of Dentistry)
Investigating the role phagocytic immune cells play in developmental programming during gestation
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBCV
Silvia Stringhini (School of Population and Public Health)
Life-course socio-economic adversity and trajectories of aging from early to old age
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBC School of Population and Public Health
Thomas Velenosi (Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Characterizing metabolic biomarkers of drug response and precision treatment in triple-negative breast cancer
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBCV
Kevin Wei (Department of Zoology)
Molecular mechanisms and genomic consequences of transposable element hijack strategies during embryogenesis
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBC
2024 Health Professional-Investigator Award
UBC Recipients
Thirteen scholars from UBC have been awarded funding through the 2024 Health Professional-Investigator program.
Tashmeeta Ahad (Department of Dermatology and Skin Science)
Longitudinal non-invasive optical biopsy of skin cancers to monitor efficacy and response to treatment
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBC Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute
Partner(s): Lotte & John Hecht Memorial Foundation
Jessica Chan (Department of Surgery)
Developing equity-centered language with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples to reduce anti-Indigenous discrimination in healthcare
Host Institution: BC Cancer
Research Location: BC Cancer Vancouver
Stephen Chia (Department of Medicine)
Understanding and Overcoming Disparity in Care of Breast Cancer Patients in Rural British Columbia
Host Institution: BC Cancer
Research Location: BC Cancer Centre for the North, BC Cancer Vancouver
Carol Cremin (Department of Medical Genetics)
BC Familial Pancreatic Cancer Program-Improving access to germline testing at time of diagnosis
Host Institution: BC Cancer
Research Location: BC Cancer
Allison Ezzat (Department of Physical Therapy)
Co-designing the implementation of an injury prevention program in girls community soccer
Host Institution: Provincial Health Services Authority
Research Location: BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit
Natasha Haskey (Department of Biology, UBCO)
Precision Nutrition for Digestive Diseases: Bridging the Gap through Translational Nutrition Research (PRECISE Study)
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBCO
Souvik Mitra (Department of Pediatrics)
The Better Outcomes for the Sickest & Tiniest (BOOST) Program – Rigorous clinical trials in babies born extremely preterm to improve patient and family important clinical outcomes
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre
Fiona Muttalib (Department of Pediatrics)
EQUITY-PIC-BC: Epidemiology and Quality of Pediatric Intensive Care in British Columbia: a health equity perspective
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: BC Children's Hospital Research Institute
Scott Ramsay (School of Nursing)
Using an equity-informed approach to enhance care for children and youth with a neurological condition in British Columbia
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: UBCV
Alyson Wong (Department of Medicine)
Administrative-based case-finding algorithms to evaluate health inequities: a methodological framework and an application in progressive pulmonary fibrosis
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes
Haizhou (Erica) Wang (Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences)
Optimal antithrombotic therapy for patients after cardiac surgery
Host Institution: UBC
Research Location: Fraser Health Authority, Providence Health Care Heart Centre, Vancouver General Hospital
Gang Wang (Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
Toward an immunohistochemical model for molecular subtyping and predicting of treatment response in bladder cancer
Host Institution: BC Cancer
Research Location: BC Cancer Vancouver
Denise Jaworsky (Department of Medicine)
Seeking Rural Equity by Increasing Rural Engagement in Clinical Trials: An East Kootenay Clinical Research Program
Host Institution: Interior Health Authority
Research Location: Interior Health Authority