The Fall leaves are starting to change, which also signals a busy time of the year for our WHRI community (i.e., grant season, trainees defending thesis proposals, conference preparation, etc.). I hope that our monthly eBlast provides you with a snapshot of some of our WHRI initiatives.

I wish to express my congratulations to the recipients of the Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar and Research Program! I encourage you to read about their projects, which will have a transformative impact on women’s health in the future. I also want to ensure that our community is aware of our 8th annual Women’s Health Research Symposium, taking place on International Women’s Day (March 8, 2023). This event will be done in partnership with the BC Mental Health and Substance Use Research Institute (led by Dr. Jehannine Austin) with a focus on women’s mental health. Be sure to lock that date in your calendars!

Twice per year the WHRI leads public events designed to share innovations in women’s health research with a general audience, and I encourage you to spread the word about tonight’s topic, focused on cancer screening and prevention. We’ll hear from international experts on breast and gynaecologic screening and prevention. Share this information with anyone you know who might want to attend.

Sincerely,

Lori Brotto, PhD, R Psych

Executive Director | Women's Health Research Institute
Professor | Department of OBGYN, UBC
Canada Research Chair | Women's Sexual Health

Mark your calendars for the Eighth Annual Women's Health Research Symposium, taking place March 8th, 2023! 

Following last year's precedent, we are pleased to offer a hybrid format so that attendees may choose to tune in virtually or join us in-person at the University of British Columbia's Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre.

This year's theme will focus on women's mental health - stay tuned for more details!

PHSA Research Launches
Three-Year Research Roadmap

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We wish to share with you an important development for the PHSA-wide research enterprise. PHSA’s Research Leadership Council (RLC), which is comprised of representatives from across PHSA research entities, has championed the development of the first PHSA-wide research strategic plan, which has now been approved by the PHSA Executive Leadership Team and Board. The three-year PHSA Research Roadmap was developed with extensive stakeholder engagement. The plan aims to improve the success of the PHSA research enterprise through collective and coordinated efforts that: strengthen alignment with clinical priorities, optimize investment in research, remove barriers to research productivity, enable scaling and sharing of resources, and strengthen shared infrastructure and expertise. All of which, complement our own strategic aims to: 1) Be a National Leader in Advancing Women’s Health Research 2) Increase and Promote Research Translation, Implementation, and Communication, 3) Increase Capacity to Catalyze New Women’s Health Research, and 4) Nurture Existing Relationships and Cultivate New Collaborations. We will continue to champion implementation of the Roadmap and provide you with updates on progress.

The first outcome of the plan is a recently-created News and Stories page on PHSA’s website that showcases the work of the 950 researchers across PHSA. The page recognizes activities and achievements of researchers based at BC Children’s & Women’s Research Institutes, BC Cancer Research, BCCDC, BC MHSUS, BC Renal, and more. Find this page at: http://www.phsa.ca/our-research/about-us/news-stories.

This new resource provides an opportunity to strengthen collaborations across PHSA, profile PHSA-led research activities, and build awareness of existing equipment and resources available to PHSA researchers and trainees. We encourage you to consider this page as an avenue for your research communication and would be happy to facilitate with our communications team whri.communications@cw.bc.ca.

For questions about the Roadmap or the News & Stories page, please contact Ady Bhardwaj at aditi.bhardwaj@phsa.ca.

Breast Cancer Awareness Bundle

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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we encourage you to join us raising the profile of work underway here in BC to promote breast health.

Looking for materials to share? Here are a few featuring WHRI member Dr. Paula Gordon, a driving force behind changes to breast cancer screening processes, communicating breast density results at the time of a screening mammogram, and in educating the public about the latest evidence related to breast health:

• This profile on Dr. Gordon includes information on breast density, and links to further reading
• The Women's Health Research Cluster recently featured Dr. Gordon in a podcast episode on breast health
• Registering for your next mammogram? The TMIST study is recruiting!
• The @WomensResearch Wellness Exchange will feature a presentation from Dr. Gordon. Can't attend? Registration is free and will provide you with a link to view the event recording

Trainee invitation: PWHR Canada Virtual Networking + Mentoring
Oct 19th

Are you a trainee interested in the health of women, trans and non-binary people? Do you want to meet new mentors and other trainees from across the country? Do you have questions about diverse research related career paths and making a contribution to improving the health of women, trans and non-binary people?

Join mentors who work in academia and government and trainees from across the country for a unique virtual networking and mentoring event hosted by the Partnership for Women’s Health Research (PWHR) Canada.

October 19, 2022 (9-10 am Pacific/10-11 am Mountain/12-1pm Eastern/1-2 pm Atlantic)

Register here

Spots are limited—register today. After registering, you will receive more information about participating in the session. To facilitate break out rooms, please register with the email address associated with the zoom account you will use to participate in the session.

Mentors include:

1. Dr. Mary De Vera, Associate Professor, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of British Columbia, “What does good mentorship look like?”
2. Dr. Robin Mason, Scientist, Women’s College Research Institute, Women’s College Hospital, “Leading capacity building in community-based research and SGBA+”
3. Dr. Meghan Riddell, Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alberta, “Transitioning from graduate student to post-doc to the tenure track”
4. Dr. Lisa Allen Scott, Senior Scientist, Alberta Health Services, “Practicing implementation science in the health system”

How can we make digital health more equitable?

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Check out episode 20 of the @WomensResesarch podcast to hear from Dr. Caroline Figueroa, Dr. Gina Ogilvie, and Dr. Roopan Gill about digital health, equity, and innovation. Candice Taguibao, our former Digital Health Manager, fills the host's seat for this episode, which is full of helpful insights and advice for anyone thinking about digital health.

Health Research BC announces 2022 Scholars and Research Trainees

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Please join us in congratulating the trainee members, members, and trainees supervised by WHRI members who were awarded as 2022 Scholars and Research Trainees by Michael Smith Health Research BC!

Congratulations, Eunice!

Eunice Bawafaa, trainee member, is the recipient of the 2022 Strengthening Mothers Through Research Award! 

"The purpose of her study is to show how a contextualized explanation of women’s experiences and perspectives of reproductive healthcare can provide direction for nursing’s future efforts to improve access to care in rural Ghana," shares the UBC Department of Midwifery announcement.

We can't wait to hear more about your project as it unfolds, Eunice!

WHRI Reading List

We received a number of submissions to the WHRI Reading List this month, including new publications from the Contraception and Abortion Research Team and new findings from the CANCOVID-Preg Research Team!

Don't forget to share your new publications with our team at whri.communications@cw.bc.ca for inclusion in the reading list.

We're looking for a Digital Health Manager

If you have experience in digital health research and are committed to women’s and newborn health, we want to hear from you!

In this role, you will collaborate with experts, academia, care providers, industry, and government to support WHRI members and trainees leveraging digital technologies in their research, to improve the health of patients and families across British Columbia.

Play a role in creating new frontiers and catalyzing innovation in women’s health: apply now.

Call for Abstracts

Are you working on digital health research? Submit an abstract to present your project for Digital Health Week, hosted by WHRI, BCCHR, and PHSA! As part of the planned activities for Digital Health Week, we will be hosting virtual poster presentations open to any clinician, investigator, trainee or healthcare innovator. Trainees who submit will automatically be entered into a poster competition. The trainee poster award winner will receive a prize of $300 and have the opportunity to present orally at the main event (hybrid) on November 17th.

Check out our Call for Abstracts page for more details and be sure to submit using our online form by October 14. https://drive.google.com/file/d/17krzwduG-80AbQln1lzXlcaHMykPfLvc/view?usp=sharing

The BC Children's Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR) and the Women's Health Research Institute (WHRI) are hosting a virtual seminar about how to practically use behaviour change theories in developing digital health interventions that support patients and families.

Learning Objectives.

After the session, learners will be able to:

1. Understand the value of using behaviour change theories as key components of digital health interventions.
2. Identify and apply behaviour change theories to inform design of digital health projects in partnering for digital health research.

Speakers.

To lead this discussion, we've invited two experts who have developed digital tools, informed by behaviour change theories.

• Louise Masse, Professor, SPPH, UBC
• Maggie Woo Kinshella, Research Coordinator, PRE-EMPT

CIHR + partners announce the launch of National Women’s Health Research Initiative

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Institute of Gender and Health, and Women and Gender Equality Canada announced the launch of the National Women’s Health Research Initiative. This initiative will consist of two funding streams: the Pan-Canadian Women’s Health Coalition, and the Innovation Fund. The coalition will be hosting a webinar for the Pan-Canadian Women’s Health Coalition funding opportunities, “IDEAS FAIR AND LEARNING CIRCLE,” to develop your ideas to identify and address challenges in women’s health.

The virtual event will be held on October 25 and 26, 2022.

Learn more and register.

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Did you know we have a Funding Hub on our website? 

The hub is home to upcoming funding opportunities, grant writing resources, and information on how you can access support for your grant development needs. Click here for the list of October/November funding opportunities.

Email eric.lussier@cw.bc.ca for assistance with developing a research idea, finding funding, grants applications or grants revisions. I am available every Tuesday from 8am-4pm for virtual office hour meetings with WHRI researchers, or at other times by appointment.