Mariko Sakamoto was completing her master’s degree in nursing and working as a transition nurse in a local hospital when she kept noticing older adult patients waiting around in hallways on and off for weeks, either by themselves or with their families. Part of Sakamoto’s job was to ensure access to adequate care and services for soon-to-be discharged patients once they arrived back home. The patients in the hallways did not fall under her purview even though they no longer needed acute care services. She learned that they were designated as alternate level of care, or ALC.
An analysis of COVID-19 cases at six greater Vancouver health centres has revealed a link between A or AB blood group patients and more severe COVID-19 outcomes than O or B patients. The study, led by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher Dr. Mypinder Sekhon, points to two main factors that seem to have a protective effect against COVID-19.
Scientific research into the double- and single-helix linear structures of DNA and RNA has revealed a mystery in the form of circular RNA (circRNA). As interest grows in these strands of RNA that are continuous loop shapes, a new computational tool called CircMiner, developed by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute scientist Dr. Faraz Hach and his team at the Vancouver Prostate Centre (VPC), is helping researchers identify circRNA and better understand their role in conditions like prostate cancer.
Shortly after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, Dr. Mina Park and other members of the COVID-19 Research and Knowledge Translation (KT) Group jumped into action.
The group of almost a dozen researchers, clinicians, librarians and students from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), the University of British Columbia (UBC) and beyond was tasked with combing through and interpreting the constant and ever-evolving flow of evidence on how to contain the virus.
In this workshop you will learn how to write an effective biographical sketch for grant applications. Biosketches are one of the many “soft” professional skills that are important for professional success. Using the new VCHRI Biosketch template, this workshop will review the format and provide tips to highlight your research accomplishments.
Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Location: virtually via Zoom (all registrants will receive an email with the link 2-days prior)
Something that can keep pharmacists like Dr. Karen Dahri up at night is the possibility that a patient might not be taking his/her medication regularly and properly. This concern prompted the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher to investigate how pharmacists are screening for low health literacy.
“In Canada, approximately 60 per cent of adults and 80 per cent of seniors have low health literacy, which can impact such things as whether or not they take their medication properly.”
When it comes to mapping and predicting the behaviour of gynecologic cancers, the more information researchers have at their fingertips, the better. Headed by a team of three OVCARE and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researchers, the new Big Data Solutions Lab is poised to become a leader in high-tech research for women’s health care.
A $48 million (USD$36.4) grant has been awarded to researchers at Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) and the University of British Columbia (UBC) to investigate integrative and implantable technology that could revolutionize how patients recover from traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).
“We are extremely excited to embark on this journey,” says team lead and VCHRI researcher Dr. Brian Kwon. “Never before has an agency committed funding of this magnitude for spinal cord injury and set such a high bar for not just incremental, but truly transformative solutions.”
This workshop is designed for researchers conducting studies at the point of care. We will focus on how each team can conduct end-of-grant KT, while also briefly outlining the broader scope of knowledge translation including integrated knowledge translation, implementation science, and patient-oriented research. By the end of this workshop, you will have a plan for sharing your research with those who are intended to use it.
The only certainty about the novel coronavirus when it first appeared on the global stage was the uncertainty about how to stop its spread. COVID-19 has no known cure at present, and treating patients who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 has required the insights and knowledge of multiple experts, something Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher Dr. David Sweet recognized early into the pandemic.
