Providence Research

04/27/2026

A groundbreaking first-in-BC treatment, pioneered by Dr. Vishal Varshney, the inaugural Chair in Pain Management at St. Paul’s Hospital, is helping patients to find freedom again.

A pilot program is bringing sacral nerve stimulation therapy, which delivers gentle electrical impulses to stimulate the nerves that help regulate bladder and bowel function, to patients in BC – providing access to a therapy that can drastically improve quality of life.

Read more: https://helpstpauls.com/stories/how-a-first-in-bc-treatment-changed-one-womans-life/

04/23/2026

Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and British Columbia Centre on Substance Use researchers Drs. M. Eugenia Socías and Nadia Fairbairn contributed to the newly released first study providing clinical evidence on the comparative effectiveness of slow-release oral morphine and methadone for the treatment of opioid use disorder. Both treatments were equally protective against mortality and delivered similar effectiveness and patient adherence.

Read more: https://www.vchri.ca/stories/2026/03/24/comparing-medications-opioid-use-disorder-bc

04/22/2026

In this next Learning Series session from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, learn about the methodology, key findings, and legacy of the Positive Brain Health Now Study, ten years later.

Learn more and register here: https://bccfe.ca/events/the-positive-brain-health-now-study-10-years-later-what-we-learned-and-our-legacy-for-people-living-with-hiv/

04/21/2026

In the latest edition of The Evidence Speaks from the Centre from Advancing Health Outcomes:

🟩PTSD patterns in road injury survivors
🟩How gender impacts bystander intervention in overdose-related cardiac arrest
🟩People with glomerular disease are at higher risk of developing cancer

Read more: https://www.advancinghealth.ubc.ca/research-in-action/the-evidence-speaks-april-2026/

04/20/2026

On April 14, 2016, BC's Provincial Health Officer declared a provincial health emergency in response the dramatic increase in toxic drug poisoning deaths. Since that time, countless British Columbians have been impacted by the crisis. To mark this somber occasion, the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use shares reflections on the last decade from within our community, and their perspectives on what must come next.

Read more: https://www.bccsu.ca/blog/2026/04/13/behind-the-numbers/

04/17/2026

Work with us! The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS is looking for a Research Coordinator to assist in the project development and coordination of the STOP HIV/AIDS Program Evaluation (SHAPE) study and other projects within the Epidemiology & Population Health program.

Learn more: https://bccfe.ca/careers/research-coordinator/

04/16/2026

Drug checking services help individuals understand what’s in their drugs, but they can also reveal important patterns in the broader unregulated drug supply. Join the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use on April 29th for the next edition of their Research & Dialogue series, “Measuring BC’s Drug Supply: What Drug Checking Can Reveal About Risks, Trends, and Policy.”

Learn more and register here: https://www.bccsu.ca/blog/event/research-dialogue-drug-checking/?event_date=2026-04-29

Measuring BC's Drug Supply: What Drug Checking Can Reveal About Risks, Trends, and Policy Presenter: Samuel Tobias Co-Presenter: Will McLellan Wednesday April 29 12pm - 1pm PDT Join us in April for a webinar on Drug Checking in British Columbia. Drug checking services help individuals u

04/15/2026

In another Seminar Series session from the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, Milad Vahedi, a PhD trainee working under Dr. Graeme Koelwyn, gave a talk delving into the fascinating relationship between physical activity, our immune system, and the aging process.

Read the full story: https://www.hli.ubc.ca/2026/04/milad-vahedi-on-chronic-exercise-and-immune-responses-in-aging/

04/14/2026

In this next Learning Series session from the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, learn about the methodology, key findings, and legacy of the Positive Brain Health Now Study, ten years later.

Learn more and register here: https://bccfe.ca/events/the-positive-brain-health-now-study-10-years-later-what-we-learned-and-our-legacy-for-people-living-with-hiv/

04/13/2026

When Dr. Yara Alkhodair arrived at the University of British Columbia (UBC) from Saudi Arabia for a behavioural neurology fellowship, she expected to spend a year in the clinic. She ended up spending two – and helped launch an international collaboration now reshaping Alzheimer’s diagnostics in the Middle East.

Under the supervision of Dr. Mari DeMarco, Investigator at the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, Alkhodair joined a research group that has become one of Canada’s most important training grounds for the next generation of dementia diagnosticians.

Read the full story: https://www.hli.ubc.ca/2026/04/advancing-alzheimers-diagnostics-around-the-world/

04/10/2026

Join the BC Centre on Substance Use for the next edition of What’s New in Addiction Medicine – Nurse Practitioner, “Concurrent Opioid Use Disorder and Psychotic Disorders: Considerations for Optimizing Treatment and Outcomes”.

In this session, learn to review the prevalence and risk factors for opioid use disorder in patients with psychotic disorders, and unique pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic considerations for optimization of care and outcomes

Learn more and register here: https://www.bccsu.ca/blog/event/whats-new-in-addiction-medicine-nurse-practitioner-vol-13/?event_date=2026-04-22

Concurrent Opioid Use Disorder and Psychotic Disorders: Considerations for Optimizing Treatment and Outcomes Sara Pape Salmon, Addiction Nurse Practitioner Fellow, BC Centre on Substance Use Wednesday April 22 12pm - 1pm PST Learning objectives: Review prevalence of opioid use diso

04/09/2026

Join the British Columbia Centre on Substance Use for the next BC ECHO on Substance Use session, “Identifying and Responding to High-Risk Alcohol Use Among Youth.”

Learn to apply trauma-informed and culturally safe screening approaches for talking about alcohol use with youth, describe brief intervention and counselling strategies, discuss harm reduction approaches, and understand considerations for pharmacological treatment and psychosocial interventions.

Learn more and register here: https://bcechoonsubstanceuse.ca/echo-webinar/identifying-and-responding-to-high-risk-alcohol-use-among-youth/

By the end of this BC ECHO on Substance Use session, participants will be able to: 1) apply trauma-informed and culturally safe screening approaches for talking about alcohol use with youth, including Indigenous youth, 2) describe brief intervention and counselling strategies that support and engage...