UBC researchers building foundations for research impact through Health Research BC's Engage Award

Today, Michael Smith Health Research BC (MSHRBC) announced the inaugural recipients of the Engage Award, supporting 50 teams across BC to strengthen collaboration, explore shared priorities, and lay the foundation for future knowledge mobilization. 

The Engage Award cohort includes teams from across BC, including 19 that are led by researchers with a UBC affiliation. The teams bring together researchers and research users from a range of sectors and communities, including health system staff, policymakers, community organizations, Indigenous Peoples and organizations, people with lived experience, and private and not-for-profit organizations.

This award is the first funding opportunity under MSHRBC's Impact Pathways Program, a new initiative supporting collaborative, community-connected health research across BC. 

See MSHRBC's announcement

UBC Links and Features

• UBC Medicine researchers receive Engage Awards to advance community-connected research
• Pharm Sci researchers recognized in CIHR and Health Research BC competitions

Engage Award

UBC Recipients

• Alison Phinney (Nursing)
  Dementia Inclusion Community of Practice Network- Planning Next Steps for Building Capacity
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Thais Lopes (Kitsilano Neighbourhood House)
   
• Allison Ezzat (Physical Therapy)
  Building relationships and setting priorities to improve equitable access to first-line osteoarthritis care in British Columbia
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Elaine Galt (Mount Seymour Medical Center, 333 Seymour Blvd, North Vancouver, BC V7L 2J4)
   
• Andrew Thamboo (Surgery)
  Using Portable Nasal Endoscopy for Early Diagnosis of Chronic Rhinosinusitis in Primary Care, co-developing a collaborative care pathway and implementation partnership in British Columbia, Canada
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: David Han (University of British Columbia)
   
• Angela Russolillo (Nursing)
  Workforce Evidence for Labour and Leadership (WELL) Collaborative: Partnering to Address Women's Mental Health and Health Human Resources Challenges in British Columbia
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Michelle Carter (Providence Health Care)
   
• Cass Djurfors
  Strengthening Primary Care Research Partnerships at Vancouver Coastal Health: Connecting Operational Priorities with the BC Research Community
  Host Institution: Vancouver Coastal Health
  Researcher Co-Lead: Olivia Tseng (VCH Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation)
   
• Diane Lacaille (Medicine)
  Community engagement activities to inform future research on rheumatoid arthritis and strength training among Muslim women
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Nejat Hassen (trainee, PWLE)
   
• Farinaz Havaei (Nursing)
  BC Nursing Retention: Priority Dialogues
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Elizabeth Stockman (Vancouver Coastal Health)
   
• Hugh Kim (Oral Biological and Medical Sciences)
  Closing the Evidence Gap for Care of Seniors with Blood Cancer
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Heather Leitch (St. Paul's Hospital)
   
• Jason Min (Pharmaceutical Sciences)
  Collaborating in scarcity: engaging an action-oriented team to explore healthcare provider shortages in the care of vulnerable populations under the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP)
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Mei-ling Wiedmeyer (Family Doctor, Clinical Lead)
   
• Jeffrey Wong (Obstetrics and Gynaecology)
  Co-Developing Solutions to Improve Equitable Uptake of Perinatal RSV Vaccination in Northern BC Through Interdisciplinary Prenatal Care Engagement
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Tarneer Johal (University Hospital of Northern British Columbia)
   
• Johanna Sam (Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education)
  Urban Indigenous Young People’s Perspectives: Co-Creating Priorities for Culturally Resurgent Public Health Responses in Integrated Youth Services
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Corinne Tallon (Foundry BC)
   
• Julia Manczurowsky (Physical Therapy)
  Building Relationships Between Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Care for Healthier Aging
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Chris Palmer (GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre)
   
• Kate Salters (Medicine)
  Co-Creating Impact: A Multi-Regional Planning Session for Strengthening and Aligning Research & Operational Support for Harm Reduction
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Corey Ranger (Harm Reduction Nurses Association)
   
• Mahsa Khalili (Emergency Medicine)
  Equitable Access to Remote Cardiac Monitoring for Older Adults in British Columbia: Understanding Barriers, Implementation, and Health System Gaps
  Host Institution: British Columbia Institute of Technology
  Research User Co-Lead: Maryam Zaker-Kouzani (Providence Health Care)
   
• Mark Gilbert (School of Population and Public Health)
  Strengthening relationships for sexual health research and knowledge mobilization for Indigenous people in BC
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Barbara Whyte (on behalf of the Indigenous Steering Committee)
   
• Michelle Takeuchi (School of Population and Public Health)
  Building Trust in Vaccinations: What Different Communities Need From Immunization Providers
  Host Institution: Provincial Health Services Authority
  Researcher Co-Lead: Julie Bettinger (Pediatrics)
   
• Tami Howe (School of Audiology & Speech Sciences)
  A UBC Living with Aphasia Lab-Stroke Recovery BC (SRBC) Collaboration to Explore Optimizing Access and Onboarding for People with Aphasia to BC Aphasia Peer Connect
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Manveet Lail (Stroke Recovery BC (a not-for-profit community organization))
   
• Ben Mortenson (Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy)
  Neurodivergent Aging in British Columbia: Building Research and Systems Priorities
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Lara McLachlan (Neurodiversity Change Foundation)
   
• Erica Y. Lau (Emergency Medicine)
  Peer- and PWLLE-informed priorities for meaningful ED-to-community opioid care: an Island Health engagement
  Host Institution: University of British Columbia
  Research User Co-Lead: Elizabeth Haywood (Island Health)

See all recipients