Recipients

Amninder Dhatt is a third-year student in the Entry-to-Practice Doctor of Pharmacy program in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Amninder was involved in a health advocacy project to assess the integration of a novel health advocacy workshop into the pharmacy curriculum. She assisted with evaluating the impact of the workshop on student conceptualization and enactment of health advocacy in practice. The project intended to ensure health professional students received educational material that was effective in instilling professional knowledge and core healthcare competencies. The research project helped advance healthcare improvement by evaluating new material to address a perceived gap in health education and enabling students to better understand and recognize health advocacy opportunities to promote and improve patient-directed care.

Simroop Ladhar is a third-year student in the Entry-to-Practice Doctor of Pharmacy program in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Simroop was involved in a research project that evaluated the quality and readability of online written heart failure medication resources available to people living with heart failure. She assisted with research protocol design, data collection and analysis, and manuscript development. Results found that most resources were of acceptable educational quality but could be improved, including reading grade level to reduce limitations in utility for people with low literacy. The project highlighted the importance of patient engagement and the need to develop more patient-friendly heart failure medication resources. The research could also be used as a guideline for creating patient-friendly resources for other chronic conditions.

Leora Pearl-Dowler is a second-year student in Doctor of Medicine program in the Faculty of Medicine. Leora was part of a research project that engaged families of children across the developmental spectrum in the co-development of a platform for in-home data collection, which offers researchers an opportunity to collect longitudinal data that is more representative of how patients function in their daily lives. Leora helped conduct, transcribe, and analyze patient and family interviews, collaboratively developed recommendations for future phases of research, and contributed to manuscript preparation. The new platform will enable underrepresented populations to participate in research, facilitate the integration of research and clinical care, and enable patients to take an active role in their health.

Ria Garg is a student in the final year of the Entry-to-Practice Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. As chair of the faculty’s suicide prevention working group, Ria successfully advocated for the provision of novel pharmacy-specific suicide prevention training as part of the Entry-to-Practice PharmD curriculum. She collaborated with faculty members to create a development, implementation, and evaluation plan to enable safe provision of suicide prevention training that was inclusive and addressed the mental healthcare needs of students. The training project will support students in their attainment of the knowledge and skills required to engage effectively with patients who present with suicide warning signs and refer them to appropriate community resources. The project is intended to improve patient access to mental healthcare services and ultimately reduce the number of lives lost to suicide.

Jennifer Murray is a PhD candidate in her third year of the Doctor of Philosophy program in the School of Population and Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine. Jennifer is engaged in a research project on preterm birth among First Nations women in BC, developed in response to a First Nations community’s concern about a high rate of preterm birth. She has a strong commitment to community-led Indigenous health research and, as a part of the community research team, helped develop extensive partnerships and collaborations with this First Nations community to co-create a project based in the local territory, grounded in cultural teachings, and led by the community. The research is looking at factors impacting pregnancy health, clinical, policy, and health service delivery issues, and predictors of preterm birth. Study results will enable the development of a model of preterm birth experiences in community, with the intention of offering insights into how to prevent preterm birth and reduce its effect in this and other Indigenous communities. Jennifer is a settler of mixed European ancestry and resides on traditional, ancestral, and unceded Coast Salish territories.

Gabriel Dix, second year student in the Master of Science in Health and Exercise Sciences program in the Faculty of Health and Social Development at UBC Okanagan, was recognized for research on the effects of non-pharmacological interventions on various health-related outcomes in individuals with a spinal cord injury. Gabriel’s project uses an integrated knowledge translation approach, which includes patient engagement throughout the research process, from inception to dissemination. This research on the link between non-pharmacological strategies and immune function aims to enhance the quality of life for people with spinal cord injury and may have significant physiological, psychological, and financial implications. 

Emily Giroux, first year student in the Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology program in the Faculty of Health and Social Development at UBC Okanagan, was recognized for a development project aimed at ensuring people with spinal cord injury were meaningfully engaged in decisions regarding their healthcare needs. Conducted for a spinal cord injury organization, Emily’s project assessed client agreement with the organization’s proposed strategies for addressing specific healthcare areas. Using the findings, the organization adjusted its plans for research, implementation, and service provision in ways that reflected the perspectives and priorities of clients and best supported their needs.

Deana Kanagasingam, fourth year student in the Doctor of Philosophy in Kinesiology program in the Faculty of Education, was recognized for research on the impact of social justice practices on patients’ quality of care. Deana’s project explores obesity treatment and how social justice is understood, enacted, and experienced in clinical interventions related to weight. Seeking to raise awareness about equitable and fair healthcare from the perspectives of both patients and practitioners, Deana will use research findings to conduct a capacity-building workshop for health students. The workshop will equip them with clinical skills consistent with a social justice and patient-centred paradigm, which will ultimately enhance patient-clinician communication and health outcomes.

Arwa Nemir, second year student in the Master of Science program in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, was recognized for research on patient participation in the workplace-based assessment of pharmacy learners. Arwa’s study is the first of its kind in Canada that provides patients with a space to voice their perceptions of pharmacy trainees, with the intent of improving care delivery as well as learner training as a holistic healthcare practitioner. The results of this research will contribute to the enhancement of existing competency-based assessment modalities that will better train future health professionals and prepare them for the evolving landscape of healthcare. 

Nevena Rebic, first year student in the Doctor of Philosophy program in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, was recognized for research exploring how female patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) form decisions about having children, pregnancy, and medication use. Nevena developed a dynamic, multidimensional women-centered framework and demonstrated that a patient-centred approach to care supports female patients with RA in making informed reproductive and medication choices that align with their individual desires, needs, and values. The research has implications for advancing patient care improvement and engagement through the creation of a standard of perinatal rheumatology care for supporting planned pregnancies among female patients with RA and other rheumatic diseases.

Matthew Boroditsky, third year student in the Doctor of Medicine program with the UBC Faculty of Medicine, received the 2019 ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for his research project on the complex and multidisciplinary scope of care needed by pediatric patients with a rare genetic disorder called 22q11.2DS.

Elizabeth Burden, second year student in the Doctor of Medicine program with the UBC Faculty of Medicine, received the 2019 ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for her research on perioperative anxiety in patient supporters and her work with PatientLink, an innovative online platform to improve communication and reduce anxiety in patient supporters.

Bonnie He, third year student in the Doctor of Medicine program with the UBC Faculty of Medicine, received the 2019 ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for her research on the impact of poverty, adverse childhood experiences, and other social determinants of health on the health outcomes of pediatric surgical patients.

Celia Kwan, third year student in the Doctor of Medicine program with the UBC Faculty of Medicine, received the 2019 ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for her community-based knowledge translation project to enhance community physical activity programs for children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Shawna Narayan, second year student in the Master of Science in Experimental Medicine program with the UBC Faculty of Medicine, received the 2019 ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for her research on the use of digital mental health services and information among Canada’s culturally diverse population for anxiety and depressive disorders.

Kate Wahl, first year PhD student in the Reproductive and Developmental Sciences program with the UBC Faculty of Medicine, received the 2019 ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for her development of an evidence-based Canadian patient decision aid to help individuals make informed decisions about their choice of abortion method.

Natasha Benson, third year student in the MD undergraduate program (UBC Faculty of Medicine) receives the ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for her research on the evaluation of sickle cell disease education for mothers in the indigenous Tharu population of Nepal.

Kuljinder (Keesha) Khehra, second year student in the MD undergraduate program (UBC Faculty of Medicine) receives the ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for her research on kidney transplant donors and recipients at the Department of Urologic Sciences at the Vancouver General Hospital.

Shahrzad Salmasi, first year student in the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Pharmacy program (UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences) receives the ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for her research and development project focused on improving the educational components of atrial fibrillation decision aids.

Vivian Tsang, second year student in the MD undergraduate program (UBC Faculty of Medicine) receives the ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for her research involving the KidsCan development project at the BC Children's Hospital Research Institute.

Enav Zusman, second year student in the Entry-to-Practice PharmD program (UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences) receives the ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for her research involving the EmPhAsIS (Empowering Pharmacists in Asthma Management through Interactive SMS) research study.

Ian Yu Yang Miao, fourth year student in the MD undergraduate program (UBC Faculty of Medicine) receives the ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for his summer research project at BC Children’s Hospital focused on the usability and feasibility testing of a smartphone health application designed to aid parents in the management of children’s post-operative pain.

Team members Daphne Lu, Marina Parapini, Karla Rebullar and Jeffery Tong, all fourth year students in the MD undergraduate program (UBC Faculty of Medicine), each receive the ImpactBC Scholarship in Health Care Research and Development for their team project on evaluating the refugee experience with using interpretation services in the primary care setting in British Columbia.

Yun-Hsuan Iris Feng, 4th year student, Bachelor of Dental Sciences, Dental Hygiene Entry-to-Practice program, Faculty of Dentistry, UBC.

Luke Spooner, Master of Science student, Health Outcomes program, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UBC.