What do physical therapy, dentistry, lived experience, and social justice have in common? They’re some of the areas where UBC students and faculty as well as community members have embraced interprofessional collaboration and earned a UBC Health Award for their efforts.
 
Every year, UBC Health offers a number of awards and scholarships to outstanding individuals and teams who embody leadership in interprofessional collaboration in health education and research. The awards recognize academic and research excellence of faculty and students from various health disciplines at UBC as well as achievements of health professionals, educators, and community partners across BC.

To break new ground, we must break down silos in health research and education, and that’s what the UBC Health Awards are designed to facilitate.

“Solutions to the complex health challenges we are facing locally and around the world require innovation across disciplines,” said Dermot Kelleher, Vice-President, UBC Health. “To break new ground, we must break down silos in health research and education, and that’s what the UBC Health Awards are designed to facilitate.”
 
In 2019, UBC Health Awards supported students, faculty members, and community educators whose accomplishments exemplified collaborative education and innovative research. Some of these accomplishments included: 

• Providing physical therapy research mentorship for trainees and faculty from diverse disciplines, including occupational and physical therapy, audiology, neuroscience, neurology, radiology, medical genetics, kinesiology, education, cellular and physiological sciences, physics, engineering, psychology, epidemiology, and music.
   
• Creating innovative interprofessional education opportunities for dentistry students, such as a debate on community water fluoridation and community health placements with non-dentistry health professions (even an elementary school!) to develop oral health programs.
   
• Offering a unique perspective as a volunteer patient and using one’s own medical diagnosis as a student learning opportunity to provide insight into how healthcare providers can support people with chronic conditions.
   
• Using a social justice lens in workshops for health students to increase their understanding of the issues girls and young women can face in the healthcare system and help them learn how to better meet the needs of a vulnerable population and improve their healthcare experience.

“We congratulate our 2019 award and scholarship winners,” said Anne Martin-Matthews, Associate Vice-President, UBC Health. “They’ve demonstrated a strong commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration that is the hallmark of health innovation, and we look forward to the outcome of their remarkable work.”

Normally, UBC Health would have hosted an awards ceremony and dinner in honour of the recipients. However, due to the global pandemic and resulting restrictions, this year’s festivities were postponed. Once restrictions are lifted and it’s safe to do so, UBC Health will celebrate all award and scholarship winners.

Recipients of 2019 UBC Health Awards

John McNeill Excellence in Health Research Mentorship Award

• Dr. Lara Boyd, Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine 

Award for Excellence in Interprofessional Education Teaching

• Diana Lin, Clinical Associate Professor, Faculty of Dentistry 

R. Paul Kerston Community Educator Award

• Jon Collins
• Stephen Reid
• Justice for Girls 

John H. V. Gilbert Interprofessional Scholarship

• Adelia Jacobs 

Professor Jessie Gordon MacCarthy Memorial Scholarship

• Joanna Paterson 

ImpactBC Scholarships in Health Care Research and Development

• Matthew Boroditsky
• Elizabeth Burden
• Bonnie He
• Celia Kwan
• Shawna Narayan
• Kate Wahl

Learn more about the recipients of the 2019 UBC Health Awards. 

UBC Health works under the auspices of the Office of the Vice-President, Health to enhance interdisciplinary health education, research, and systems by fostering collaboration across disciplines and faculties at both UBC campuses, as well as with institutions and government organizations around the province.