2024: Our year in review

11 December 2024

2024 Highlight Reel graphic featuring a purple geometric design with holiday-themed ornaments and four photos, including team members and highlight events.

As 2024 comes to a close, Michael Smith Health Research BC is grateful for another year of learning, partnership, and collaboration with the health research community.

Looking ahead to 2025, we are excited to continue our work to build and retain health research talent, enhance the health research system, and mobilize communities for research impact. From our community to yours, we wish you a restful holiday season, and we look forward to reconnecting with you in the new year!

Discover some of our highlights from 2024:

Furthering our journey towards Indigenous reconciliation

This year, we were humbled to share the inspiring stories of Dr. Krista Stelkia and Dr. Evan Adams. These leaders are advancing Indigenous self-determination in research through mentorship and partnership.
In April, almost 100 people joined a symposium to deepen their knowledge of cultural safety in health research and Indigenous health research ethics. Co-hosted by the BC Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research and the BC SUPPORT Unit, the event highlighted learnings about values-guided work, relationship-building, and engagement with Indigenous communities.
We acknowledge that we are on a learning journey; Indigenous partners and advisors have provided invaluable support to help us shape our journey towards true cultural safety as we create new opportunities for Indigenous health researchers. With their guidance, we are introducing a distinct peer review panel for Indigenous-led applications to the 2025 Scholar and Health Professional-Investigator competitions.

Leaders supporting the Indigenous Health Research Ethics in Clinical Research Symposium. Left to right, top to bottom: Dr. Jeffrey Reading, Dr. Stirling Bryan, Dr. Krista Stelkia, Mark Matthew, Gillian Corless, Dr. Evan Adams, Tara Erb.

Advancing research impact

Over 170 researchers and research teams were funded through Health Research BC awards, building talent and mobilizing communities for research impact.
We identified four broad themes where our funding and support can increase impact: population aging; climate change and health; the health human resources challenge; and public health emergencies. These priorities complement our existing focus on co-creating and funding an Indigenous-led health research program.
Our KT Connects 2024 webinar series explored how open science — a movement to make scientific methods and processes more accessible and transparent — is tackling increasingly complex global health research challenges.

Partnering for action on health priorities

Our partnership with CIHR’s Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies enabled eight grants involving BC researchers to address immediate research needs in avian flu outbreaks in animals and the risk of transmission to human populations.
Our partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) saw eight BC researchers co-funded through the Health System Impact Fellowship to integrate evidence into health-system decision making.

Empowering patient perspectives

The BC SUPPORT Unit continues to transform how lived experience shapes health research and care. This includes sharing a new resource on Indigenous engagement in health research, uplifting patient partners’ voices in the interior and the north, and helping identify priorities for dementia care on Vancouver Island.
The seventh annual Putting Patients First conference was its largest ever, bringing together over 500 people from BC and beyond. Hosted by the BC SUPPORT Unit, the event explored new ways of collaborating to improve health and health research ecosystems.

Building clinical research expertise

We honoured Drs. Robert Olson and Bernie Eigl with the 2024 Clinical Trials BC Awards for their outstanding contributions to the clinical trials community.
Our clinical research professional (CRP) certification program continued to elevate careers and expertise in BC’s clinical trial ecosystem, with over 110 clinical research professionals achieving certification.
We co-funded 23 BC-based trainees through partnership with clinical trial training platforms to increase clinical research skills and expertise.

Recipients of the 2024 Clinical Trials BC Awards: Drs. Robert Olson and Bernie Eigl.

Enhancing research ethics review

The Research Ethics Model Design Initiative, led by Health Research BC and supported by Accenture, wrapped up its 18-week project as planned. In November, we presented a community-informed recommended service model, business case and high-level roadmap for a new provincial health authority research ethics board service model to the Ministry of Health and the RAPP Implementation Steering Committee.
We brought the research ethics community together to share knowledge and collaborate on building system strengths through initiatives and events like the Clinical Research Ethics Symposium, REBA Retreat and Knowledge Exchange gathering this year.
Three more ethics boards joined the harmonized research ethics review platform, bringing the total to 27. They join a vibrant community dedicated to the continued streamlining of research ethics reviews in the province.