How Can Twitter Benefit Researchers? Ask the Expert!

Recently our Communications Assistant, Rebecca Tingling, had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Kendall Ho, Lead of UBC’s Digital Emergency Medicine and Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Ho has been an active Twitter user for over 6 years and we wanted to hear his advice and lessons learned for other researchers who may be interested in using Twitter themselves.

To learn some helpful tips from Dr. Ho about how to start using Twitter, the opportunities it provides, and more, please click here!

WHRI Member, Jonathan Simkin, Discusses Elevated Cancer Mortality in Yukon

WHRI member, Jonathan Simkin, a doctoral student at the School of Population Public Health (UBC) and cancer epidemiologist at the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Yukon, is making an impact in the North by broadening the reach, depth and availability of cancer information concerning cancer in Canada’s North. Jonathan’s recent findings, published in the International Journal of Circumpolar Health, examines cancer mortality trends in the Yukon Territory across 15 years (1999 to 2013). While cancer mortality rates are declining in Yukon and across Canada, a mortality gap exists and rates are elevated in Yukon compared to national counterparts, which is discussed in the study. Furthermore, the study compares mortality rates for major cancers between Yukon and many BC administrative health regions, highlighting important differences between the North and South, and urban and rural regions.

WHRI Staff Spotlight: Emma Branch, Research Analyst

Emma Branch has been a valued WHRI team member for the past few years, joining the team as a Research Assistant before being promoted to her current position as a Research Analyst. Emma graduated with an MSc from the University of Sheffield in 2012 and has since enjoyed working in a variety of health research settings from drug screening in Shanghai to biobanking at Imperial College London. Ever since becoming ill and spending time in intensive care in Tanzania, Emma has had a strong desire and motivation to pursue a career in the field of healthcare research. Since moving from the UK to Vancouver, Emma enjoys exploring the great outdoors!

For assistance on protocol development or database development, please email Dr. Kathryn Dewar at kdewar@cw.bc.ca.

Student Spotlight: Natasha Orr

Natasha Orr, a graduate student in the MSc in Reproductive and Development Sciences at the University of British Columbia, was recently awarded with the prestigious Canadian Graduate Scholarship – Master’s (CGS-M).  Natasha received her Honors BSc in Life Sciences from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

The objective of her research is to study the associations between psychological factors and the severity of deep dyspareunia (pelvic pain), as well as central sensitization and deep dyspareunia. This study may help identify women for whom standard hormonal or surgical treatment of endometriosis is not sufficient, and who may respond to multidisciplinary care. This award could not have been possible without the support from Dr. Paul Yong, her mentor.