Leadership announcement

Message from Dr. Elinor Wilson
Chair, Board of Directors

After eight years as President & CEO of Michael Smith Health Research BC, Dr. Bev Holmes has informed the Board of her intention to step down once a successor has been appointed. 

The Board will miss working with Bev.  Her expertise in the production and use of research evidence, and her creative and collaborative leadership style, have served the organization and the province well. The Board fully supports Bev’s decision and her view that the timing is right for new leadership for the organization, and new adventures for herself. 

With a committed Board and staff, and the support of the health research community and provincial government, Bev has led our organization through many complex change initiatives. These include the development of a provincial health research strategy, the creation of the BC SUPPORT Unit, and the coordination of a provincial research response to the COVID pandemic.  

 

“It has been an honour to serve BC’s health research community. I am proud of all we have accomplished together to enhance the health of individuals and communities across our province.”  Dr. Bev Holmes President & CEO, Health Research BC

The consolidation of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and the BC Academic Health Science Network in 2021 was a significant accomplishment.  In partnership with Dr. Stirling Bryan and Board members from both organizations she launched Michael Smith Health Research BC, which received $116M as part of the province’s life sciences and biomanufacturing strategy.   

Bev’s participation in the National Alliance of Provincial Health Research Organizations, the Review of the Federal Approach to Pandemic Science Advice and Research Coordination, the Royal Society’s Health Research System Recovery project and the Transforming Evidence Funders Network, have helped earn Health Research BC a reputation nationally and internationally for its evidence-based approach to building research talent, catalyzing system change, and mobilizing communities for research impact as reflected in our current strategy. 

Bev would be the first to say none of these achievements are hers alone, and the Board continues to value the exceptional people who have worked with her – internal and external to the agency – to establish Health Research BC as a trusted partner committed to Indigenous reconciliation and equity, diversity and inclusion in health research, and focused on improving health and health care.  

I know that Bev remains passionate about health research systems and will continue her work in this area.  The Health Research BC Board asks the community to join them in thanking Bev for her stellar leadership of the province’s health research agency, and wishing her all the best in her future endeavours.   

Bev remains in her position with Health Research BC pending the appointment of a new CEO. A search process for her successor is now underway.  

Dr. Elinor Wilson Chair, Board of Directors