UVic Faculty of Health

09/08/2026

It's official—the new academic year has started! Welcome to all new health students, and welcome back to those returning.

We asked recent School of Health Information Science, UVic graduate Zeina Ebeid, who now works as a data analyst in Edmonton, to share some advice.

"Your degree is what you make of it. While much of it will be lectures, assignments, and exams, the experiences you seek outside of that are just as important," she says.

"Your undergraduate years are a chance to try new things and discover what actually excites you. Finding that balance is essential for avoiding burnout and reminding yourself that you are, in fact, a human being and not a machine!"

Thanks for your words of wisdom, Zeina. Read our full Q&A: https://lnkd.in/g_F6T_7H

09/04/2026

Registration for the 5th International Indigenous Nursing Research Summit closes Sept. 15.

Learn about the health and wellbeing of Indigenous populations worldwide and network with nurse researchers who are working to improve the health and lives of Indigenous people.

Indigenous and non-Indigenous health leadership, Elders, Healers, and Knowledge Keepers, faculty, researchers, policy makers, and students are welcome to attend. Seats are being held for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis students interested in health careers.

Register here: https://www.ihnr.ca/

09/01/2026

Meet Karen Urbanoski, our inaugural Lansdowne Scholar in Public Health, whose research on substance use is influencing policy in the midst of a toxic drug crisis that has killed more than 56,000 Canadians.

As we mark International Overdose Awareness Day this week, Urbanoski reflects on her research on prescribed safer supply, the enormous toll of the toxic drug crisis, and what motivates her work.

"This is an incredibly challenging area to study. At the same time, it’s rewarding to be doing science in an area that is so topical and needs solutions so badly," she says.

"We get into these lines of research because we care about the injustices and because of our own lived experiences. It takes an emotional toll, but I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else."

Read the full story: https://www.uvic.ca/health/stories/health/meet-karen-urbanoski-healths-new-lansdowne-scholar.php

08/13/2026

How can technology help older adults remain safely at home and in their communities?

Health Information Science's Claudia Lai will be examining that question after being appointed to a Council of Canadian Academies' expert panel on supporting the use of technologies for aging in place.

More info: https://www.cca-reports.ca/cca-appoints-expert-panel-to-examine-technologies-to-support-aging-in-place/

08/06/2026

UVic PhD graduate, Patrick Cormier worked behind the scenes of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Canada's men's national team.

08/05/2026

We have more research grant success to share!

Congrats to Lisa Bourque Bearskin (Nursing), Mariko Sakamoto (Nursing), Brianna Turner (Clinical Psychology), and Karen Urbanoski (Public Health and Social Policy and Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research) for receiving grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

More than $8.4 million awarded to UVic researchers through federal CIHR programs

07/24/2026

We're proud to see four health faculty members on this list! Congrats to Ingrid Handlovsky (Nursing), Sam Liu (Exercise Science, Physical and Health Education), Christine Ou (Nursing), and Brianna Turner (Clinical Psychology) for receiving Social Sciences and Health Research Council funding for their respective research projects.

Read more:

More than $5 million awarded to UVic researchers through federal SSHRC programs

06/18/2026

Farah Mawani is featured on the Courageous Public Health podcast, speaking about her public health research and her family's intergenerational experiences of systemic racism and health inequities.

"My families and communities are dying from systemic racism. I have to make it possible to dismantle systemic racism. It's a matter of life and death for us," says Mawani.

Mawani is a Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar in the School of Public Health and Social Policy at UVic.

Listen:
🎧 CPH 59 — Speaking Truth to Power: A Conversation with Dr. Farah Mawani - https://linktr.ee/courageouspublichealth

06/16/2026

Early bird registration closes Friday for the 5th International Indigenous Nursing Research for Health Empowerment Summit, which will be held Oct 6-9 at UVic.

Don't miss your chance to hear from keynote speakers Ursula Knoki-Wilson, Kathleen Bird and Lynore Geia.

More info: https://www.ihnr.ca/

06/16/2026

Check out this important paper about the link between alcohol consumption and pancreatic cancer from the School of Medical Science's Tim Naimi, who is also director of the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research.

Does alcohol increase the risk of pancreatic cancer?

The World Health Organization (WHO) currently links seven types of cancer including breast, colon, and mouth cancer with alcohol consumption. Pancreatic cancer is currently not on that list.

However, a new study out of UVic’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR) contributes to mounting evidence of alcohol’s link to this particularly deadly form of cancer. After controlling for “former drinker” bias in an analysis of multiple previous studies, researchers found that drinking more than 24 grams of alcohol per day (a little under two standard Canadian drinks) was associated with a 10-30 percent increase in risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

💬 “After rigorously analyzing the existing evidence, we strongly believe it’s time to add pancreatic cancer to the list of alcohol-related cancers.” - Tim Naimi, CISUR director and an author of the study.

🔗 Learn more: https://ow.ly/CX6850ZcmYW

📸 Photo: Tim Naimi, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR) director.