Providence Research

09/30/2026

September 30, 2026, marks the sixth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day honours the survivors of residential schools, their families and communities, and those who never returned home. At Providence Research, we remain committed to fostering Indigenous cultural safety, wellness and reconciliation in our research practices and partnerships.

Read more: https://www.providenceresearch.ca/en/news/honouring-national-day-truth-and-reconciliation-reflecting-learning-and-taking-action

09/22/2026

Dr. Nadia Fairbairn is an Associate Professor and holder of the Philip Owen Professorship in Addiction Medicine in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and a physician and addiction medicine specialist at St. Paul’s Hospital. Dr. Fairbairn’s research program is focused on strategies to close the evidence-to-practice gap in addiction medicine through clinical, educational and research innovation.

In this Q&A, she discusses her recent CIHR Project Grant award and her aims to improve clinical care for people with opioid use disorder. Read it here: https://www.bccsu.ca/blog/2026/09/14/qa-with-dr-nadia-fairbairn/

09/21/2026

The 26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) took place July 26-31st in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with the theme of Rethink. Rebuild. Rise. The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS was well represented, with six poster presentations including Maggie Duncan, who was selected as one of 25 Young Leaders taking part in the IAS Young Leaders Programme.

Read more: https://bccfe.ca/the-bc-cfe-at-aids-2026/

09/18/2026

Centre for Heart Lung Innovation Principal Investigator Dr. David Granville is among the 59 new Fellows elected into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS) for 2026, considered one of the highest honours for individuals in the Canadian health sciences community.

His research investigates the mechanisms linking tissue injury, inflammation and aging with impaired healing, with the goal of translating these discoveries into new therapies for wound healing and chronic disease.

Read more: https://www.med.ubc.ca/news/three-ubc-medicine-researchers-elected-as-2026-fellows-of-the-canadian-academy-of-health-sciences/

09/17/2026

Join the BC Centre on Substance Use for their next Research & Dialogue Speaker Series session, “Understanding Drug Use and Evaluating Harm Reduction Interventions.” Presenters Perrine Roux, Marie Dos Santos, and Joachim Levy will discuss several studies to give examples on how to better understand the socio-epidemiology of drug use, evaluate interventions aimed at reducing risks from drug use, and conduct community-based research that aligns with the needs of the community.

Learn more and register here: https://www.bccsu.ca/blog/event/research-dialogue-speaker-series-2026-episode-3/?event_date=2026-09-29

Understanding Drug Use and Evaluating Harm Reduction Interventions Perrine Roux, Marie Dos Santos, Joachim Levy September 29, 2026 10:00am - 11:30am PDT The presenters will discuss several studies to give examples on how to: 1) better understand the socio-epid

09/15/2026

Dr. Jim Christenson has been appointed to the Order of British Columbia, which recognizes residents who have served with the greatest distinction, excelled in their field, and left an enduring legacy. When Dr. Christenson speaks about receiving the Order in August 2026, he does so with a sense of humility.

“I feel a ‘why me’ kind of thing… I do not think I am special,” he says, reflecting on a career that has shaped emergency medicine across the province and country for nearly 50 years.

Read the full story: https://www.providenceresearch.ca/en/news/dr-jim-christenson-recognizing-life-curiosity-courage-and-care

09/14/2026

Seeing a list of the unexpected active substances in their drugs empowered individuals to take harm-reduction steps, according to a study led by Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and BC Centre on Substance Use researcher Dr. Mint (Lianping) Ti.

Of the hundreds of individuals surveyed who used a drug-checking service, many reported engaging in risk-reduction practices following receipt of their results, including disposing of unregulated drugs containing one or more substances they did not want to consume.

Read more: https://www.vchri.ca/stories/2026/08/18/empowering-harm-reduction-behaviour-drug-checking

09/11/2026

Join the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS for “The Path from PAP Smear to HPV-Based Self Collection: Building the Evidence for Change in BC.”

You will learn to describe the evidence base for the transition from PAP screening to HPV-based screening, discuss the role of knowledge translation in influencing policy change, and identify the opportunities presented by HPV-based screening in global settings.

Learn more and register here: https://bccfe.ca/events/the-path-from-pap-smear-to-hpv-based-self-collection-building-the-evidence-for-change-in-bc-2/

09/10/2026

For decades, sickle cell trait (SCT) has been considered benign in infancy. SCT newborns are typically asymptomatic and indistinguishable from their peers.

However, a recent multi-omics study led by Providence Researcher Abhinav K. Checkervarty, working with data from The Gambia, suggests that this long-held assumption may not tell the whole story. Researchers found that newborns with SCT showed distinct biological differences within their first week of life.

Read the full story: https://www.providenceresearch.ca/en/news/study-finds-early-molecular-differences-newborns-sickle-cell-trait

09/09/2026

Join the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use for the next edition of What’s New in Addiction Medicine, “Good News, Bad News, or Both? The Changing BC Overdose Crisis.”

Learn to understand how public health surveillance data are collected and analysed to identify overdose trends, review and critically assess potential explanations for the recent changes in overdose in BC, and discuss the implications of changing overdose trends for clinical practice, policy, and harm reduction efforts.

Learn more and register here: https://www.bccsu.ca/blog/event/whats-new-in-addiction-medicine-volume-133/?event_date=2026-09-29

Good News, Bad News, or Both? The Changing BC Overdose Crisis Dr. Laura Idarraga Reyes Addiction Medicine Fellow, BC Centre on Substance Use September 29, 2026 12pm - 1pm PT Learning Objectives: