Supporting innovation in health research

Health is produced by a complex interplay of individual, social, political, and economic factors, and interdisciplinary and cross-faculty research collaborations have the potential to lead to more innovative solutions to improve health and address health inequities.

UBC Health catalyzes these collaborations at UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan through the Health Innovation Funding Investment (HIFI) Awards. In 2022/23, UBC Health provided $469,794 in HIFI funding to 22 research collaborations working across 13 faculties to undertake innovative activities that have the potential to create change.

With the addition of two funding streams for health equity and healthy aging (in partnership with the Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Aging), UBC Health is supporting research teams to promote diversity and inclusion and impact health equity across individuals, communities, and societies; and take an interdisciplinary approach to address health challenges related to aging.

Funded initiatives are diverse and unique, including:

• Women-driven empowerment toolkit to promote mental health
• Countering the negative impacts of settler-colonialism on an Indigenous community
• Blood screening technology for low-resource communities
• Education tools to reduce substance use stigma as a barrier to cancer care
• Sleep disruption among night shift workers
• Understanding Indigenous perspectives on aging
• Artificial intelligence to support Alzheimer’s caregivers

Through the HIFI Awards, UBC Health enables researchers to bring diverse perspectives together to create change and improve the health and wellbeing of people and communities in British Columbia.

Strategic Objectives

HIFI advances the following UBC Health strategic objectives:

• New research collaborations: Stimulate and support health research collaborations
• Evidence for new approaches: Help align university and sector activities to establish evidence for new approaches to health

Back to Plan in Action

Posted October 23, 2023