Q: What is your role in health research?
A: I am a Master of Science student in the Cox Lab at the Vancouver Prostate Centre. My research focuses on using high-resolution imaging to better understand bone structure and function, particularly how bone architecture changes in response to prostate cancer bone metastasis.
Q: What is your role in health research?
A: I am a graduate student in the Ultrasound Technology and AI for Healthcare Laboratory, where I study how artificial intelligence (AI) can support knee osteoarthritis assessment using point-of-care ultrasound devices. My goal is to develop objective tools for community-based screening, detection and monitoring of knee osteoarthritis, particularly for high-risk groups such as athletes with knee injuries, First Nations communities or older adults.
Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) is pleased to welcome Dr. Stirling Bryan as Interim Executive Director, effective February 2026. A distinguished health economist, Dr. Bryan’s work has helped shape health system policy and build capacity for patient-oriented research across British Columbia. His leadership experience spans academic, health system and provincial research organizations, with a strong track record in economic evaluation, health technology assessment and evidence-informed decision-making.
Every year, the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) Research Challenge gives front-line staff and clinicians the tools, funding and mentorship to lead research projects. By pairing point-of-care Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) health care providers with experienced VCHRI researchers, the program helps transform real-world questions into evidence-based answers to improve patient care.
Q: What is your role in health research?
A: I work as a clinical research coordinator under the guidance of Dr. Sara Belga in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia (UBC). My responsibilities include managing ethics applications, recruiting study participants and collecting data. It’s the perfect blend of desk work and people work, which keeps each day interesting.
Q: What is your role in health research?
A: I am a graduate research assistant at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation (C2E2), working under the supervision of Dr. Craig Mitton. I support the Health Technology Assessment team on a range of projects. My responsibilities include conducting systematic reviews for evidence synthesis, analyzing data, contributing to the development of analytical frameworks and assisting with report writing.
Research is crucial to improving health outcomes and unlocking the potential of new medication, treatments and medical devices. However, it has historically excluded certain groups, including Indigenous Peoples, leading to biased results that do not accurately reflect the experiences of all Canadians. Expanding research to be more inclusive ensures findings are more representative of the broader population, leading to more impactful outcomes.
