From left to right: Kim McGrail (Scientific Director, Population Data BC), Carolyn Gotay (Co-Director, UBC School of Population and Public Health), Dermot Kelleher (board member, BC SUPPORT Unit/BC Academic Health Science Network/Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine), the Honourable Jane Philpott (Canada’s Minister of Health), Minnie Downey (Executive Director, BC SUPPORT Unit), the Honourable Terry Lake (British Columbia’s Minister of Health), Kent Loftsguard (member BC SUPPORT Unit Patient Engagement Working Group), Linda Li (Lead BC SUPPORT Unit Knowledge Translation and Implementation Science Methods Cluster/Professor, Faculty of Medicine, UBC)
The Honourable Jane Philpott, Canada’s Minister of Health, and Terry Lake, British Columbia’s Minister of Health have announced a major investment in research that will strive to improve patient care for those living in British Columbia.
The Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia announced a combined $80 million in funding and in-kind contributions towards a new British Columbia Support for People and Patient-Oriented Research and Trials Unit.
The BC SUPPORT Unit (the Unit) is a multidisciplinary cluster of specialized personnel in the areas of research, policy, and patient care, who will engage patients to identify their needs and set priorities for research.
While the Unit will be engaged in a number of initiatives to support patient-oriented research throughout the province, Population Data BC’s involvement focuses on data and data related services.
“With over 20 years of experience in providing and linking data for the research community, PopData brings to the Unit a wealth of knowledge and expertise in data access, data linkage, privacy and security,” says Minnie Downey, the BC SUPPORT Unit’s Executive Director. “In leading the development of the Unit’s data plan, PopData’s contribution is key to shaping a more comprehensive, coordinated approach to health research in BC.”
“We are very excited to be part of the BC SUPPORT Unit,” says Kim McGrail, PopData’s Scientific Director and the BC SUPPORT Unit's Data Lead. “The Unit is being built with new partnerships and with a lot of energy and enthusiasm about what we can do together to improve health care in the province.”
