Along with Dr. Dermot Kelleher, Vice-President Health, I am delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Kimberlyn McGrail as the new Director of Research for UBC Health, in the portfolio of the Vice-President Health, effective January 1, 2020. 

Kim is a Professor in the School of Population and Public Health and the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research at UBC. She is Scientific Director of Population Data BC and the SPOR Canadian Data Platform. 

Her research interests are quantitative policy evaluation, aging and the use and cost of health services, and the ethical and technical aspects of the development and operation of large linked data systems. Her research is conducted in collaboration with policy and decision makers, clinicians, and the public.

Kim is a founding member of the International Population Data Linkage Network and founding Deputy Editor of the International Journal of Population Data Science. She was the 2009-10 Commonwealth Fund Harkness Associate in Health Care Policy and Practice, a 2016 recipient of the Cortlandt JG Mackenzie Prize for Excellence in Teaching, and 2017 recipient of a UBC award for Excellence in Clinical or Applied Research.  She holds a PhD in Health Care and Epidemiology from UBC, and a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Michigan.

In her new role, Kim will be a key member of the senior leadership team in the portfolio of the Vice-President Health. She will work to initiate and support collaborations among academic and clinical faculty and other stakeholders on relevant translational health research issues; and engage, in partnership with UBC academic leaders and stakeholders, in aligning use of health data in translational research and in the application of knowledge to health systems.

We are confident that Kim will provide strong leadership in this new role. Please join me in welcoming her as UBC Health’s new Director of Research.

Anne Martin-Matthews, O.C., Ph.D., FCAHS
Associate Vice-President, Health