@WomensResearch: Recent Episodes
WHRI
There is much more to research than results – there are rich and fascinating stories to be told about how scientists discover a gap in knowledge, how they collaborate, why they choose to pursue a line of inquiry, or why a research user should care about their work.
@WomensResearch explores the latest in women's health research in British Columbia.
Hosted by the Women's Health Research Institute.
In Episode 30, we'll be discussing community-engaged research on gender-based violence and sexual assault. Before we proceed, please note that our conversation may be triggering for some individuals. Please refer to our show notes for resources.
Our guests, Dr. Ann Pederson and Dr. Kate Rossiter, bring extensive expertise with backgrounds in health promotion, trauma research, and community engagement. Together, they'll share insights from their project on Changing Perceptions of Sexual Assault in BC, shedding light on barriers and facilitators to seeking help.
Resources:VictimLinkBC (1-800-563-0808)
Over 150 languages
Community-based anti-violence services across BC – endingviolence.org
Community Legal System Society
Biography:
Dr. Barha is a multidisciplinary, translational researcher with expertise in behavioral neuroscience, neuroendocrinology, and exercise neuroscience. The goal of her research is to promote healthy brain aging by developing efficacious and personalized exercise interventions for cognition and neuroplasticity using both randomized controlled trials in humans and rodent models.
Specifically, she is interested in determining who benefits from exercise by focusing on biological sex and genetics, examining when in the lifespan to most effectively intervene with exercise by looking at critical neuroendocrine transition states (i.e., pregnancy, midlife, older age), and exploring how exercise exerts its influence on the brain. She is particularly interested in the short- and long-term consequences of pregnancy for brain health and the potential role of physical activity.
The Aging, Mobility and Cognitive Health Laboratory: https://cogmob.rehab.med.ubc.ca/research
VCHRI Directory: Understanding perimenopausal brain health | VCH Research Institute (vchri.ca)
Dr. Cindy Barha profile: https://profiles.ucalgary.ca/cindy-barha
Lab Twitter account: https://twitter.com/UBC_CogMobLab
Lab IG account: https://www.instagram.com/cogmoblab/
Our WHRI KT Manager hosts Dr. Rachel Ollivier, a PhD-trained Nurse Practitioner joining BC Women’s Hospital with a unique role that includes dedicated research time. With 7 years of nursing experience, a PhD from Dalhousie University, and a Nurse Practitioner Diploma from Queen’s University, Dr. Ollivier brings extensive expertise. Named one of North America’s Top 25 most influential women for 2023, she also serves on the boards of the Canadian Association of Perinatal & Women’s Health Nurses and Options for Sexual Health BC. Join their conversation on feminist poststructuralism and sexual health research in the post-partum period.
Resources:
Postpartum Sexual Health with Dr. Rachel Ollivier, PhD (buzzsprout.com)
Rachel OLLIVIER | PhD NP | Research profile (researchgate.net)
Meet one Woman of Influence | Queen's Gazette (queensu.ca)
Queen's University student named among the most influential women of 2023 | CTV News
Nursing alum honoured with Top 25 Women of Influence award - Dal News - Dalhousie University
Sexual health after birth | The Social - YouTube
In this episode, we are discussing the BREAST study, conducted by the UBC Sexual Health Research Lab, the BC Cancer Agency, and the University of Calgary Department of Oncology.
This study looks into aiding breast cancer survivors with post-treatment sexual changes. Principal investigators, Dr. Lori Brotto and Dr. Lauren Walker compare two effective treatments: online mindfulness-based group therapy and sexuality education. These interventions target sexual challenges. We are also joined by Melody, a survivor and study participant who shares her experience.
Enjoy this brief and insightful exploration of mindfulness and sexuality education in supporting breast cancer survivors.
Important Links:
Follow Dr. Lori Brotto on IG: https://www.instagram.com/drloribrotto/
The Brotto lab: https://brottolab.med.ubc.ca/
Sex and Cancer Dr. Anne Katz: https://www.drannekatz.com/books/
Watch Bridgerton on netflix: https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/80232398
Follow ubcshr on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ubcshr/?hl=en
Better Sex through Mindfulness book: https://www.amazon.ca/Better-Sex-through-Mindfulness-Cultivate/dp/1771642351
Blog post: https://brottolab.med.ubc.ca/studies/empowering-breast-cancer-survivors/
Meditation and mindfulness resources: https://bccancer.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=36775815
Dr. Katrina Bouchard is an Assistant Professor in UBC's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She directs the Psychology, Health, and Sexuality (Phase) Laboratory, focusing on enhancing sexual health care for women, people with vulvas, and their partners. Additionally, she serves as Research Director at the BC Centre for Vulvar Health, a leading center for comprehensive care and research on vulvar health concerns.
Resources
- Phase Lab
- BC Center for Vulvar Health
- Hello Vulva Instagram
- Dr. Katrina Bouchard
Patient-oriented research is all about engaging patients, their caregivers, and families as active partners in the research process. By involving them, we ensure that studies focus on the priorities identified by patients themselves, leading to improved outcomes and better care.
In this episode, we have the privilege of speaking with some incredible individuals from the Endometriosis Patient Research Advisory Board. Joining us today are Edurne Lopez de Arbina, Jessica Sutherland, and Heather Noga. They are here to share their valuable insights and experiences in the world of patient-oriented research.
Resources:
Canadas Strategy for patient-oriented research
Patient Engagement in Research Scale (PEIRS) Workbook
Reflections on Patient Engagement by Patient Partners
Patient-oriented research pathways self-assessment readiness tool for researchers
In this episode, Nicole Prestley and Melissa Nelson chat with Brynn Lavery (Communications Coordinator, UBC Sexual Health Research) about ways that TikTok is changing the game for research communications.
Learn more about UBC Sexual Health Research
Check out UBC Sexual Health Research on TikTok
Tori Ford, Founder and Executive Director of Medical Herstory, talks with Nicole Prestley, Knowledge Translation Manager, and Melissa Nelson, Communications Coordinator, about the power of storytelling, lived expertise, and using social media to eliminate medical stigma.
Nicole Prestley, Knowledge Translation Manager, sits down with Dr. Astrid Christoffersen-Deb, AJ Murray, and Sarah Heng Hartse to talk about their collaboration and process for developing a video on miscarriage for patients and their partners.
Learn more about Sarah's work: https://sarahdrawsacrowd.com/
In this episode, Dr. Angela Kaida chats with Dr. Nikki Salmond and Dwayne Tucker, recipients of our 2021 Graduate and Fellowship Research Awards in Women's Health.
Our 2022 competition is live, with applications due on September 19th, 2022! Learn more here: https://whri.org/our-services/graduate-and-fellowship-research-award-in-womens-health-grant-competition/
Connect with Angela, Nikki, and Dwayne on Twitter.
About the speakers:
Dr. Angela Kaida is a Co-Producer of the short film HIV Made Me Fabulous. She is a global health epidemiologist and Associate Professor at Simon Fraser University, where she holds a Canada Research Chair in Global Perspectives on HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health. Her global research program centres on a rights-based, evidence-informed, and community-driven approach to sexual and reproductive health among women and youth living with and affected by HIV. She is a Principal Investigator of several community-based cohort studies in South Africa, Uganda, and Canada, including the CHIWOS study.
Dr. Nikki Salmond is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the laboratory of Dr Karla Williams in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Dr Salmond’s research goal is to better understand breast cancer and how we can more effectively treat breast cancer to improve patient survival.
Dwayne Tucker (bio coming soon!)
In this episode, Candice Taguibao chats with Dr. Caroline Figueroa, Dr. Gina Ogilvie, and Dr. Roopan Gill about digital health, equity, and innovation.
Mentioned in this episode:
- The need for feminist intersectionality in digital health
- CervixCheck
- Vitala Global
About the speakers:
Candice Taguibao is the digital health research manager at the Women’s Health Research Institute. She is interested in the ways that digital technologies can be used responsibly to improve health outcomes and health system processes. Candice has a background in public health and has previously worked in academic and health tech spaces. Candice completed her B.Sc. from McGill University and her MPH at the Yale School of Public Health.
HIV Made Me Fabulous is a short film produced through the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. This episode explores the collaboration and journey that led to this incredible piece of arts-based knowledge translation.
Before listening, we encourage you to view the film at https://www.lifeandlovewithhiv.ca/film.
The resources mentioned in this episode can all be accessed on the Life and Love with HIV website.
About the speakers
Dr. Angela Kaida is a Co-Producer of the short film HIV Made Me Fabulous. She is a global health epidemiologist and Associate Professor at Simon Fraser University, where she holds a Canada Research Chair in Global Perspectives on HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health. Her global research program centres on a rights-based, evidence-informed, and community-driven approach to sexual and reproductive health among women and youth living with and affected by HIV. She is a Principal Investigator of several community-based cohort studies in South Africa, Uganda, and Canada, including the CHIWOS study.
Juno Roche is the Writer and Narrator of HIV Made Me Fabulous. She is a writer and campaigner whose work around class, gender, sexuality and trans lives has been funded by the likes of The Paul Hamlyn Foundation and described as 'provocative and innovative'. Juno studied Fine Art and Philosophy at Brighton and English Literature at Sussex, and writes for a wide range of publications including Bitch Magazine, Dazed, Vice, Broadly, Cosmopolitan, The i, The Independent, i-D, The Tate Magazine and Refinery29. Her first three books, Queer Sex, Trans Power and Gender Explorers werepublished by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Her memoir, A Working-Class Family Ages Badly, published by Dialogue Books has recently been released.
Edmond Kilpatrick is the Director and Producer of HIV Made Me Fabulous. He has held a professional dance career for over twenty years. His performing career is highlighted by nine years as a featured principle dancer at Ballet BC. Edmond’s career has transitioned from dance performance to film and arts for social change facilitation. He is a graduate of Simon Fraser University.
Azra Bhanji is a recent Master of Public Health graduate from Simon Fraser University. She is currently the research co-ordinator for the short film HIV Made Me Fabulous. Azra also co-ordinates the Life and Love with HIV digital storytelling platform that shares experiences, disseminates scientific evidence and offers support for health and wellbeing among women living with HIV. She also has experience planning, organizing and implementing HIV and youth related programming in Kenya.
This episode features audio titled Borough by Blue Dot Sessions.
In honour of World Maternal Mental Health day, Dr. Kathryn Dewar spoke with Dr. Catriona Hippman and Claire Lawrence about their research and reproductive mental health.
Links:
- Reproductive Mental Health | Supporting BC women’s mental health before, during and after pregnancy
- SUPPORT study: Online Resource for Treating Postpartum Depression
- BC Women's Health Foundation
Connect with Dr. Hippman:
- http://twitter.com/catriona_hippma
- catriona.hippman@ubc.ca
Keep up to date with the SUPPORT study:
- http://twitter.com/postpartumcare.ca
- http://instagram.com/postpartumcare.ca
BC Women’s Health Foundation is currently investing in reproductive mental health research and programming through their $4.5 million Reproductive Mental Health Campaign. Funds raised through the campaign will support world-class research conducted by the Reproductive Mental Health Program at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre, helping women across the province better navigate their mental health before, during, and after pregnancy.
This episode features audio titled Borough by Blue Dot Sessions.
Melissa Nelson sits down with Nicole Keay and Stephanie Lam, co-hosts of the Gynecologic Oncology Sharing Hub (or GOSH) podcast to discuss their podcasting journey, the power of storytelling, and patient engagement.
GOSH episodes mentioned:
Season 2 Episode 7: A Chinese Perspective - Hereditary Cancers, Genetic Testing and Language Accessibility
Season 2 Episode 3: Gender Diversity in Gynecologic Cancer
Season 2 Episode 8: A New Gynecologic Cancer Survivorship Clinic in BC
Season 1 Episode 8: On Cancer Survivorship, Sexual Health and Mindfulness
Listen to the GOSH podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1387837
Keep up with the Gynecologic Cancer Initiative:
- Website: https://gynecancerinitiative.ca/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gynecancerinitiative/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/GCI_Cluster
This episode features audio titled Borough by Blue Dot Sessions.
Dr. Angela Kaida sits down with Dr. Jennifer Gardy to discuss her journey, from research with the BC Centre for Disease Control, to her path to television, to her current position with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and what it means to think about local research in a global context.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Gender Equality Toolbox
This episode features audio titled Borough by Blue Dot Sessions.
Nicole Prestley interviews Dr. Tara Sedlak and Dr. Natasha Prodan-Bhalla on their research, practice, and advocacy to support women's heart health.
Resources mentioned:
- Ms. Understood
- WearRedCanada.ca
This episode is led by Candice Taguibao, Digital Health Manager at the Women’s Health Research Institute, and features Dr. Patti Janssen, Shaina Pennington, Nadia Fourik, Randi Parsons, and David Puddicombe. Learn more about SmartMom. This episode features audio titled Borough by Blue Dot Sessions.
This episode features Karen Mason, Dr. Paul van Donkelaar, and Quinn Boyle, interviewed by Dr. Kathryn Dewar.
TW: Please note that this episode discusses intimate partner violence and brain injury, and may be upsetting.
Learn more about the SOAR Project
In this episode, Dr. Lori Brotto and Kate Wahl sit down with Professor Timothy Caulfield to discuss the role the research community can play in debunking pseudoscience.
ScienceUpFirst - Together Against Misinformation
Let’s Do Better: Public Representations of COVID-19 Science | The Royal Society of Canada (rsc-src.ca)
Please note that this episode contains discussion of gender based violence, which may be triggering or upsetting.
In this episode, Drs. Jila Mirlashari, Ann Pederson, and Janet Lyons discuss their work which aims to understand barriers to and develop interventions for healthcare providers to address gender based violence in the perinatal period.
Learn more about this project: Gender-based violence during perinatal care: the experience of women and healthcare providers
Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior, Dr. Shauna Correia, and Allison Macbeth discuss a recent publication from the Center for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research, examining where and if women’s interest in sex peaks at any point in the menstrual cycle.
Learn more about CeMCOR, or check out their Daily Diaries.
Read Dr. Prior and Allison's publication
"What is stopping us?"
Sarah Coutts, Alix Woldring, and Deb McLaren discuss kangaroo care, implementation science, and the future of care in British Columbia's neonatal intensive care units.
Learn more about kangaroo care: http://www.perinatalservicesbc.ca/health-professionals/professional-resources/kangaroo-care
Read about the first phase of this project: https://rdcu.be/cjK7B
What are people saying about the COVID-19 pandemic?
In this episode Nicole Prestley speaks with Dr. Ahmed Al-Rawi, Dr. Julia Smith, and Maliha Saddiqi, members of the Gender + COVID-19 project at Simon Fraser University who are analyzing social media posts to get to the bottom of this question. Through machine learning and various research methods, their goal is to better understand how people discuss COVID-19 through a gendered lens.
Learn more about the Gender + COVID-19 project: https://www.sfu.ca/fhs/gendercovid.html
In this episode three members of UBC Sexual Health Research demystify the world of sex research.
How has COVID-19 impacted trainees? In this episode, Dr. Angela Kaida speaks with Chenoa Cassidy-Matthews, Kalysha Closson, Kristina Jenei, Bethel Lulie, and Punit Virk about their experiences as graduate students in public health.
Learn more about the findings of our survey on the impacts of the pandemic on trainees in women's health: http://whri.org/our-research/covid19-trainee-survey/
Read "Challenges and opportunities for graduate students in public health during the COVID-19 pandemic": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7272105/
On this episode of @WomensResearch we hear from Nicole Prestley, Brynn Lavery, and Melissa Nelson, who share their insights into the uses of social media for disseminating research results and supporting knowledge translation work.
Learn more about the #DebunkingDesire campaign by searching the hashtag on Twitter or Instagram, or visit debunkingdesire.com. You can stay up to date with the campaign by following @UBCSHR on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Read the #ItsNotInYourHead campaign report: http://whri.org/its-not-in-your-head/
Learn more about influencer contracts: https://sproutsocial.com/glossary/influencer-marketing/
In this episode of @WomensResearch, Nicole Prestley interviews Dr. Lori Brotto, Dr. Gina Ogilvie, and Heather Corcoran about navigating the unfamiliar terrain of leading an institute virtually.
In this episode, Dr. Arianne Albert, Senior Biostatistician, and Dr. Liisa Galea, Scientific Advisor, explore a loaded question: Why women's health research?
FURTHER READING:
Dr. Albert + Dr. Galea's paper on sex difference research: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091302219300822
Problems and Progress regarding Sex Bias and Omission in Neuroscience Research: https://www.eneuro.org/content/4/6/ENEURO.0278-17.2017
Dr. Galea's piece for Vice.com: https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/j5wy7x/i-should-be-allowed-to-leave-men-out-of-my-studies
Beery AK, Zucker I (2011) Sex bias in neuroscience and biomedical research. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 35:565–572. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2010.07.002 pmid:20620164
Dr. Albert on Twitter
Dr. Galea on Twitter
With COVID-19 changing so many aspects of our lives, knowing how to identify and combat health misinformation online is an increasingly important skill.
In this episode, Dr. Beth Payne and Dr. Robine Donken explore the role the research community can play to help ensure health information shared online is accurate and evidence-based.
Links to the resources mentioned in this episode:
Dr. Beth Payne's CTV interview
Sifting Through Misinformation by the BC Women's Health Foundation (filled with fantastic resources!)
BC Government COVID-19 page
BC CDC COVID-19 page
WHO COVID-19 page
John Hopkins University COVID-19 Dashboard
BC COVID-19 Self-Assessment Tool
In the first episode of @WomensResearch we're exploring the topic of Knowledge Translation with Nicole Prestley, Manager of Research + Knowledge Translation, and Dr. Lori Brotto, Executive Director of the Women's Health Research Institute.