SRAC Committee Members

Director of Research and Medical Epidemiology Lead for Antimicrobial Resistance – BC Centre for Disease Control

Professor – School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia

Dr. Patrick is professor and past director of population and public health at UBC and director of research at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC). He has a career interest in responses to emerging infectious diseases, having led BC’s epidemiology team through SARS and the H1N1 pandemic. He currently chairs a group coordinating COVID-19 research in BC and connects research strategy to BC’s health emergency command structure.

President & CEO – MSFHR

Since joining MSFHR in 2010, Bev has supported the Foundation through a period of organizational redesign and program expansion, and helped establish MSFHR’s reputation as a leader in knowledge translation. Under her leadership, the Foundation has launched a new suite of funding programs that focus on developing, retaining and recruiting the talented people whose research improves the health of British Columbians, addresses health system priorities, creates jobs and adds to the knowledge economy. Bev is an active and respected member of the health research community and is regularly called upon to publish and present internationally on health research funding, and how best to support the translation of research evidence into policy and practice. Bev’s roles prior to MSFHR include health communications and knowledge translation consultant, researcher, writer and communications director. Her research interests include knowledge translation, discourse analysis, health communication, risk communication, and public involvement in health research.

Senior Executive in Residence for Innovation – Partnerships and Innovation Division, BC Ministry of Health

Mary acts as senior executive in residence and lead for the Partnerships and Innovation Division at the British Columbia Ministry of Health, focused on health innovation. Mary also acted as the president and CEO of Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) from 2014 to 2020, originally joining in 2007 as a chief operating officer. Prior to this, she served on Fraser Health’s leadership team for seven years. Throughout her career, Mary has pursued her passion for transforming the way care is delivered in order to ensure BC has a high quality health-care system that is sustainable in the face of growing demand and constrained resources. This focus includes her leadership of the OneVCH employee engagement initiative that is committed to empowering and engaging staff and physicians across VCH. In 2019, Glassdoor, one of the world’s largest employee recruitment sites, named Mary as one of Canada’s top 25 CEOs based on employee reviews. Mary is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Master of Business Administration program and the West Virginia University’s Industrial Engineering program.

Professor and Dean – Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University

Dr. Bubela is professor and dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at SFU, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2019) and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2018). She advises government health and science agencies as well as life sciences research communities and patient organizations. Dr. Bubela co-leads CLEONet, funded by Genome Canada and others, on implementation of precision oncology in Canada. She has over one hundred publications in law, ethics and biomedical journals.

BC COVID-19 SRAC Project Consultant/Secretariat; Hutson & Company

Judith is an experienced health-care consultant known for her strategic approach, innovation, drive for success, ability to build trust and enthusiasm for her consulting assignments. Judith’s expertise includes organizational strengthening, project management, issue management, strategic planning and change leadership. Judith has a graduate degree in health services administration (Master of Health Services Administration) and an undergraduate degree in political science (Bachelor of Arts) from the University of Alberta. Judith is based in Vancouver and has been providing expert consulting support to health-care organizations in BC, Alberta, Yukon and NWT for over 25 years.

Co-Interim Executive Director – BC Centre on Substance Use 

Dr. Kendall is the co-interim executive director at the BC Centre on Substance Use. As the province’s former provincial health officer, Dr. Kendall was a leading voice in calling for public health approaches to substance use. He led the BC provincial response to SARS, H1N1 and Ebola viruses. Dr. Kendall has also held leadership positions in Ontario, including serving as Toronto’s chief medical officer of health and the president of the Ontario Addiction Research Foundation. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and BC.

Professor – Medicine, University of British Columbia

Head – Division of Nephrology, University of British Columbia

Executive Director – BC Renal Agency

Consulting Nephrologist – St. Paul’s Hospital

Dr. Levin is a professor of medicine, head of the Nephrology Division at the University of British Columbia, and consultant nephrologist at St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. She is also the executive director of the BC Renal Agency, where she developed an evidence-based transparent system to enhance patient care. Dr. Levin was awarded the Canadian Society of Nephrology Outstanding Contributions to Canadian Nephrology (2013), the Kidney Foundation Research Medal of Excellence (2014), and was inducted as a fellow into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. In 2015, Dr. Levin received MSFHR’s Aubrey J. Tingle Prize and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Patient/Public Representative

Wayne is a retired expatriate executive whose career lasting over 40 years has been focused on developing and implementing systems abating a broad range of supply chain risks, including natural disasters, terrorism and pandemic events. His hands-on pandemic experience started with Nipah virus, SARS and H1N1 while living in Singapore. In November 2013, he encountered a “low probability, high consequence” mountain biking accident that left him with incomplete quadriplegia. Wayne continues to be an active participant in international Occupational Health and Safety bodies. Wayne holds degrees in public health/environmental engineering and chemical engineering, and is a Certified Industrial Hygienist and Certified Safety Professional.

Professor and Head of the Department of Medical Genetics – University of British Columbia

Vice Dean, Research for the Faculty of Medicine – University of British Columbia

Chair – AHSN Clinical Trials BC Advisory Counsel

Co-Chair – Clinical Operations and Research Task Force, University of British Columbia

Dr. McMaster is a professor and head of the Department of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia, and has also held positions as director of the Immunity and Infection Research Centre at Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) and director of Transplant Immunology for British Columbia Transplant. His research interests focus on molecular immunology, parasitology and transplant immunology. He is actively involved with national and international granting agencies including the World Health Organization, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, having served as a chair of the Research Advisory Council. Dr. McMaster acted as chair of the board for the BC Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (BCCRIN) from 2013 to 2016, and is currently the chair of the AHSN Clinical Trials BC Advisory Counsel. He is a member of the Health Research Council of BC, and a member of the board of directors for the Transplant Research Foundation of BC. He is also a member of the board of Medical Device Development Centre, a member of board of directors for HealthCareCAN, and previously acted as chair of the board for Research Canada.

Patient/Public Representative

Catherine is a retired financial executive and a Chartered Professional Accountant, CA, whose career developed in municipal and not-for-profit sectors. She is inspired by complementary health care and body mind therapy, having completed the three-year Integrative Energy Healing program at Langara College, and is currently studying shamanic healing. After a vacation in Egypt in March 2020, Catherine became very ill with COVID-19. Although she was not hospitalized, the symptoms were debilitating and long lasting. Happily, Catherine has made a complete recovery and has been able to use her experience to participate in establishing BC’s Post-COVID-19 Recovery Clinic and Network.

Medical Health Officer – Fraser Health

Dr. Newhouse completed her residency in public health and preventive medicine at the University of British Columbia. She initially worked as a medical health officer at Vancouver Coastal Health, where her regional portfolio focused on communicable disease control and injury prevention. She joined Fraser Health as a medical health officer/medical director in 2019, where she is the regional lead for environmental health services, community care licensing, drinking water services and injury prevention. She provides local communicable disease and outbreak management; during the Covid-19 pandemic, her focus is on management of transmission in community sites and workplaces. She is also a clinical faculty member at the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia.

Professor – Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University

Chair – FNHA Health and Wellness, St. Paul’s Hospital

Member – BC Network Environment for Indigenous Health Research

Dr. Reading is the inaugural British Columbia First Nations Health Authority chair in Heart Health and Wellness at St. Paul’s Hospital, and professor at Simon Fraser University (2016). He is the lead on the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force National Indigenous Seroprevalence study. His broad interests include First Nations heart health and well-being, and community-engaged research.

A/Executive Director – Research and Technology, BC Ministry of Health

Manik holds a MSc in Public Health and has over 12 years of experience with the BC Ministry of Health. He currently stewards BC’s health technology assessment process and is a key contact with the province’s life sciences community. He has previous experience leading the writing of BC’s strategy towards tuberculosis, supporting Swaziland’s Ministry of Health to accelerate progress towards the elimination of indigenous malaria, and assessing Burkina Faso’s drug supply chain on behalf of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. Manik has two young children and is an avid tennis player.

Professor – School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia

Dr. Schechter is a professor in (and previously the founding director of) the School Of Population & Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine at UBC. Dr. Schechter combines interests in clinical epidemiology and health services research with HIV and addiction research. He is both a founder and national director of the Canadian HIV Trials Network. Dr. Schechter is also an advisor to MSFHR’s Board and executive team.

Executive Director – Research and Technology, BC Ministry of Health

Victoria, MA, is executive director, Research and Technology (R&T), at the BC Ministry of Health (MoH). She is the MoH project lead for the BC SUPPORT Unit and the BC Academic Health Science Network. The R&T branch supports collaboration with external research units and funders, manages the ministry’s health technology review process and works on initiatives involving other ministries and stakeholders with academic, social policy and economic development interests in health research. She currently provides leadership and project support to a group advising MoH senior leadership on primary and community care research to support the implementation of care transformation.

Professor – Department of Family Practice, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

Rural Doctors’ UBC Chair in Rural Health

Dr. Snadden is a professor in the Department of Family Practice at UBC. He previously led the development of the Northern Medical Program, a distributed site of the Faculty of Medicine at UBC, and from 2011 to 2016 was the executive associate dean, Education, for the Faculty of Medicine. As the Rural Doctors’ UBC chair in Rural Health, he is engaged in building rural research capacity and advocating for improved rural health care. His current research activities are focused on recruitment and retention of rural health professionals, primary care system change, and a hermeneutic approach to implementation science.

Professor – School of Nursing, University of Victoria

Scientist – End of Life Program, Fraser Health

Dr. Stajduhar is a professor in the University of Victoria School of Nursing and Institute on Aging & Lifelong Health, and research scientist with Fraser Health. She has worked for 30 years in oncology, palliative care and gerontology as a practicing nurse, educator and researcher. In 2017, Dr. Stajduhar was named academic of the year from the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of BC and was inducted as a fellow into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Director of Research – Island Health

Cindy is responsible for strategic planning, research operations and building capacity for research and integrated knowledge translation. She is the chair of HealthcareCAN’s Emerging Research Institutes Committee, a member of the Clinical Trials BC Advisory Council and the BC AHSN Long Term Care Advisory Committee, and also oversees Island Health’s partnership with the University of Victoria for the Vancouver Island Regional Centre. She has a Canadian Health Executive (CHE) designation from the Canadian College of Health Leaders and is a member of the board of the Umbrella Society for Mental Health and Addictions. She also has a graduate degree from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba (molecular endocrinology). 

Cindy is strongly committed to learning and working in partnership with Indigenous communities to address the impacts of colonialism and create culturally safe care, free of racism, for Indigenous people. She lives and works on the traditional territories of the Esquimalt and Songhees First Nations.

Director, Ethics Service – Provincial Health Services Authority

Dr. Virani is the director of ethics at the Provincial Health Services Authority of BC and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Medical Genetics at UBC. Her research interests relate to ethics and genetics, pediatric bioethics and public health ethics. She has over 10 years experience serving as an ethicist on various research ethics boards in BC and currently serves on Canada’s Panel on Research Ethics.