Join us as we celebrate the upcoming International Day of Women and Girls in Science on Thursday, February 8, 2024. Become part of the conversation by following #WomenInScience on Instagram!
In 2015, UNESCO and UN Women established an annual day to honour the important role women and girls play in science and technology. Together they are making a global call to "smash stereotypes, defy gender biases and defeat discrimination that hold women and girls back in STEM fields."
At BC Children's Hospital and BC Women's Hospital + Health Centre, we are proud to support our inspiring female leaders who are making groundbreaking discoveries and innovations in research. At this unique evening event, we will be showcasing the important contributions of six of these women.
Our Women in Science evening strives to empower the community and promote an equitable and inclusive learning environment. We interpret "women" in the broadest sense and respect all ways in which people choose to self-identify including female-identified, agender, non-binary and women across the LGBTQIA2S+ spectrum. People of all genders are welcome to participate.
Presented by BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Women's Health Research Institute and BC Mental Health & Substance Use Services Research Institute.
Curriculum
- 6:00 pm: Participant registration
- 6:30 – 8:00 pm: Hear from six women who are paving the way for research in health sciences. Learn more about our presenters including what inspired them to pursue a career in science and what stereotypes or other gender-based barriers they faced. This will be an open conversation so be prepared to ask questions!
- 8:00 - 8:30 pm: For those participating in-person, join us after the panel for a reception for your chance to engage in conversation with our panelists and BCCHR researchers
- Learn more about the 2024 Women in Science Faculty!
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Dr. Najah Adreak, Clinical Researcher, CAPSNet Data Registry Coordinator, Pediatric Surgery, BC Children’s Hospital
Melissa Crump, Executive Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Provincial Health Services Authority
Dr. Angela Kaida, Scientific Director, CIHR Institute of Gender and Health; Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, SFU
Dr. Angela Kaida is a global health epidemiologist and community-based researcher at Simon Fraser University, where she is an SFU Distinguished Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences and the former Canada Research Chair in Global Perspectives on HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health. She leads a global research program focused on factors and environments that increase vulnerability or protect sexual and reproductive health in the context of HIV. Dr. Kaida works closely with community leaders and decision makers to integrate research evidence into health policy and programming attending to social and gender equity. In 2022, she was elected as a Member of the Royal Society College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. As of January 2023, Dr. Kaida is the Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health.
Abisola Kehinde, Doctoral Student, Parker Research Team, BC Children’s Hospital; Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, UBC
Abisola Kehinde is a Ph.D. Candidate in Dr. Seth Parker's lab at BC Children's Hospital Research Institute and the University of British Columbia. She received her BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, and her MSc in Biochemistry from UBC, Canada. She is interested in how nutrients and/or their transporters can be used to mitigate or treat metabolic disease(s). Her current research is aimed at tracking the metabolism of highly demanded nutrients (such as amino acids) in cancer cells and tumors.
Dr. Heather Palis, Postdoctoral Fellow, BC Centre for Disease Control; Department of Psychiatry, UBCDr. Heather Palis is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at UBC and with Harm Reduction and Substance Use Services at the BC Centre for Disease Control, where her research has been supported by a CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship, Health Research BC Trainee Award, and Marshall Fellowship from the UBC Institute of Mental Health. She holds a PhD in Population and Public Health from the School of Population and Public Health at UBC. Her research uses linked administrative health data to study the implementation of harm reduction and substance use treatment interventions to inform the overdose public health emergency response in BC.
Dr. Caron Strahlendorf, Investigator, BC Children's Hospital; Clinical Professor, Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, UBC
Dr. Caron Strahlendorf is Head of the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT at BC Children’s Hospital and Clinical Professor at the University of British Columbia. She has been Deputy Head of Pediatrics since 2019. She graduated from medical school at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and completed an internship at the Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto, followed by a pediatric residency at the University of the Witwatersrand and went on to subspecialize in Pediatric Hematology /Oncology/BMT. Prior to joining the faculty at UBC, she completed a three-year fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, and returned to Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital to become Division Head for 2 years.
Dr. Strahlendorf treats patients with a wide range of oncological conditions, focusing on solid tumours and retinoblastoma, and also leads the apheresis unit. Her research interests include clinical and research bioethics, both cooperative clinical trials and investigator driven quantitative and qualitative clinical research. Additionally, she co-chairs the Children’s and Women’s Research Ethics Board.
Dr. Strahlendorf strives to enable individuals to achieve their personal goals, mentoring medical students, residents, fellows, nurses and colleagues, and she fosters a strong team culture.
Session Moderator: Dr. Wendy Robinson, Associate Director & Investigator, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute; Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, UBC - BCCHR
Interested in Participating?
Registration for Women in Science is open to high school students, university students and members of the general public. People of all genders are welcome.
For 2024, we will have two ways to participate in this event:
- In Person: Engage with our inspiring leaders in person at BC Children's Hospital. In-person participants will be invited to join us for a networking reception before the event for the opportunity to interact with panelists. Light refreshments will be provided.
- Virtually Live: Engage with our inspiring leaders online in real-time.
Do you have additional questions? Check out our FAQs or contact researchevents@phsa.ca.
