UBC Health is strengthening its capacity to promote integrated collaboration across all health programs at UBC by expanding to the Okanagan. This expansion enhances partnerships across both UBC campuses and together with external health sector collaborators, is driving efforts to address inequities and improve the systems that produce health.

Since the establishment of the UBC Health portfolio in 2018, the Office of the Vice-President, Health (OVPH) at UBC Vancouver Point Grey has led initiatives that foster interprofessional health education, facilitate interdisciplinary research, and convene university and health sector partners in its efforts to contribute to improving health care collaborations in the province. Our strategic plan (2021-26) serves as a roadmap to guide our activities on both campuses. Since the creation of the Vice-President, Health portfolio, UBC Health has been working to engage more meaningfully with the UBC Okanagan (UBCO) and offer our programs and supports to that campus. Our recent efforts of expansion to UBCO aim to address this gap, and will lead to more pathways to collaboration as we move forward.

New UBC Health Team Members based in the Okanagan

Beginning in February 2025, UBC Health welcomed new leadership and staff members in Kelowna to support its initiatives in the Okanagan. The team includes the Director of Health Systems, a newly established Okanagan Health Partnership Manager, and the Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives. Working closely with UBCO leadership, this team strengthens collaborations within UBCO while fostering meaningful connections between UBCV and UBCO. Below is a short bio for each of the new team members.  

Devin Harris – Director, Health Systems
Devin Harris joins UBC Health as the Director of Health Systems. As an Executive Medical Director at Interior Health, a Clinical Professor in the UBC Department of Emergency Medicine, and Council Chair at Health Quality B.C., Devin brings extensive experience in health systems leadership. His role focuses on building relationships and collaborations between university and health sector partners. His connections to regional health authorities, the Ministry of Health, Health Quality B.C., and other organizations will help bridge silos and drive regional health initiatives.

Marie-Elssa Morency – Okanagan Health Partnership Manager
Marie-Elssa Morency is leading the coordination of strategic, collaborative interprofessional education and research initiatives at UBCO. Her role includes supporting existing initiatives, identifying shared priorities, and fostering partnerships. She has already begun a campus-wide consultation to develop a UBCO health strategy, which will guide faculty recruitment, program development, community partnerships, and the strategic integration of health-related research and teaching across UBC’s campuses.

Lindsay Burton – Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives
Lindsay Burton, a long-time UBC employee and PhD candidate at UBCO, has transitioned into the role of Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Research Initiatives. She works with the UBC Health team to support health researchers in developing and delivering initiatives that foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the bridging of research and practice to improve health systems.

Strengthening UBC Health’s Presence in the Okanagan

By establishing dedicated resources, processes, and structures, UBC Health is fostering deeper engagement with UBCO. For example, our Bridging Research and Action event, being convened in person and online at both UBCV and UBCO campuses, will connect partners from across BC’s health system to explore how research insights can be translated through dialogue into actionable strategies to improve health across the province. These efforts are laying the groundwork for strong, productive partnerships that will continue to integrate collaborative health education, interdisciplinary research, and health systems initiatives across Vancouver and the Okanagan.