An innovative approach to diabetes prevention for the at-risk South Asian community is showing early success. Project Bhangra, which targets school-aged children, was created by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute scientist Dr. Tricia Tang and her colleagues. Implemented last year, the project provides free after-school Bhangra dance lessons to children in four elementary schools in Surrey and Delta.

One of the most prevalent and concerning complications diabetes patients face is diabetic retinopathy (DR), which can lead to partial or complete vision loss. Now, a clinical trial based out of Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) could uncover clues about how the disease progresses, enabling clinicians to intervene quickly and only when necessary. 

“Historically, Indigenous women’s voices have not been heard in the health care system, and their opinions were not sought,” says Colleen Stewart, a researcher at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI). While much progress has been made, more work is needed to provide culturally appropriate care for Indigenous women. 

According to data from UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), less than 30 per cent of the world's researchers are female. But that discouraging number didn't stop these women from pursuing their passion for science and discovery. 

A head trauma is often a physically and mentally debilitating event that can take people away from their daily routines, including work. Around one in four mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBIs) in adults occur in the workplace, yet little was known about how workplace MTBIs differ from non-workplace MTBIs. Research led by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute scientist Dr. Noah Silverberg is shedding new light on treatment gaps in the care of injured workers.

For years many clinicians and researchers theorized that statins—a cholesterol lowering medication that can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by between 25-35 per cent—were toxic to tendons and could increase the risk of tendon rupture. But new findings from a pioneering study led by Dr. Alex Scott, a Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute investigator, prove otherwise.

“Our study reassures patients with high cholesterol that taking statins should not have a negative impact on their Achilles tendons.”

British Columbia is in the midst of an overdose epidemic with more than 100 people dying each month. In an effort to save lives, community groups and health providers in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside now operate several overdose prevention sites (OPS)—places where users can consume drugs safely, under supervision. And while opioid overdoses have been disproportionately impacting men, those spaces need to be welcoming for women as well in order to address the unique harms they experience as a result of their substance use.