Local women 18 to 35 years-old needed for new health study

A UBC Okanagan study is recruiting women from the Central Okanagan to support a new health research project.

UBC Okanagan Assistant Professor Dr. Sarah Purcell is exploring the relationship between dietary intake and appetite, metabolism, body composition, physical activity, and premenstrual symptoms.

“Women often have fluctuations in their dietary intake over the course of their menstrual cycle,” says Dr. Purcell, investigator with the UBC Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management. “We hope to gain a deeper understanding of how things like hunger, metabolism, and physical activity may contribute to dietary intake fluctuations to improve women’s health”

Women that meet the following criteria are invited to apply:

• 18 to 35 years old
• A body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 to 24.9. Link to BMI calculator
• Have a regular menstrual cycle of approximately 21 to 38 days
• Not taking oral contraceptive pills
• Do not have a hormonal intrauterine device (IUDs; e.g., Mirena); copper IUDS are okay
• Live within the Central Okanagan. Travel to UBC Okanagan required

Participants will be provided with 10 days of food and take part in measurements of appetite, body composition and metabolic rate (“metabolism”). A few online self-reporting surveys will also be required. Each participant will receive an honorarium for their time.

If you are interested in participating, please complete the pre-screening survey. For more information or questions, contact Miranda at smithm@student.ubc.ca

Being more active might be related to better blood glucose levels in people with diabetes, which is important to optimize health outcomes. Little is known about how active children with diabetes are, or why they are active (or not). Our aim is to learn about physical activity in children with diabetes in Kelowna, BC and its surrounding communities. We hope that results from this study can be used to support children with diabetes to be more active.

Led by Principal Investigator Dr. Christine Voss and an interdisciplinary team of researchers, clinicians and graduate students, we are seeking to learn more about physical activity in children aged 5 – 19 years with diabetes in Kelowna and surrounding communities in British Columbia.

The study consists of 2 phases: 1) completing an online survey 2) children wearing a Fitbit for 28 days, and OPTIONAL 3) semi-structured interview with a researcher.

Inclusion criteria: Children aged 5 – 19 years who:

• Reside in the Kelowna, BC or its surrounding communities
• Have a clinical diagnosis of diabetes

Participants will receive a Fitbit Charge 5 for their time. For more information contact Simran by phone (250) 878-9959 or email at simran.gill@ubc.ca.

West Kelowna’s Anand Kannan works out with UBC Okanagan staff during a research project.

Ever since Anand Kannan’s 2008 ATV accident left him a paraplegic, the West Kelowna man has learned to appreciate any and all victories in his mission to stay healthy. 

For instance, by participating in research studies at UBC Okanagan he was exposed to exercise equipment and regimens specifically tailored to the spinal-cord injury (SCI) community—something not readily available otherwise. 

“I was at UBCO using a press machine, pulling down on the weight,” Kannan says. “But then I realized the machine also worked in reverse—I could press straight above my head. For someone in a wheelchair, just being able to use that simple motion without worrying about falling backward was such a gift.” 

That’s one reason why Kannan is advocating for others in the SCI community to embrace the opportunities at UBCO in Kelowna by signing up for a research project. UBCO’s Dr. Kathleen Martin Ginis is hoping to recruit as many as 60 participants for a project called “Exercise guidelines and Promotion and Implementation in Chronic Spinal Cord Injury” – or EPIC SCI. 

“This is an opportunity for adults with an SCI to help those in their same situation,” Dr. Martin Ginis says. “This isn’t about doing research so the results can sit on a library shelf. We are genuinely driven to do research that can improve people’s lives. But we need study participants. Even if you are unsure, please contact our offices and we will answer any and all questions.”  

Participants are compensated for visits to the UBCO lab and receive a gift card upon completion of the study. 

Study participants are also asked to complete an online or phone questionnaire and attend three in-person visits to UBC Okanagan—at entry into the study and again at three and six months. 

During the visits, participants are asked to undergo a fitness test, a brief pain sensation test and provide a blood sample. 

Participants are randomly divided into two groups. One group begins a personalized exercise program and participates in weekly Zoom or phone coaching sessions for six months. The other group waits for six months and then receives a personalized exercise program and weekly Zoom/phone coaching sessions for six months. 

“We are doing our best to remove any barriers to participation,” says Dr. Martin Ginis, director of the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management. “We see everyone benefitting. Participants get personalized health prescriptions, access to adapted workout equipment, and the knowledge they are providing vital information for our research.” 

Anyone who wants to participate must be 18 or older, experience chronic pain and have been diagnosed with a spinal cord injury more than a year ago at C3 or below. Further, you must be doing less than 40 minutes of moderate aerobic exercises per week and fewer than two days per week of strengthening exercises. 

West Kelowna’s Kannan has already completed the program, and wants everyone in the SCI community in the Central Okanagan to know how much of a benefit it can be. 

“I’d say, if you’re presented with the opportunity, you need to take it,” he says. “Having people around makes it so much more worthwhile. You keep each other motivated, and it makes you feel connected to those who understand you. It’s just so much better working out with friends.” 

If you, or someone you know, wants to volunteer, email kenedy.olsen@ubc.ca or call 236-970-6226 with any questions. 

In early June, Dr. Chris West’s lab hosted a launch event at UBC Okanagan with research and industry partners for his recently awarded Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Alliance Grant.

The NSERC Alliance grant represents a large research collaboration with the UBC Faculty of Medicine, UBC Okanagan School of Engineering, and industry partner Transonic.

The overall goal of the project is to develop a state-of-the-art telemetric solution that would allow researchers to conduct long-term monitoring of vascular blood flow, blood pressure and ECG in animal models.

“This partnership represents an extremely exciting endeavor for our lab and will enable us to make the first simultaneous measure of cardiac pressures, blood flow and ECG,” says Dr. West, investigator with the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management. “These innovative devices will advance our fundamental understanding of how the cardiovascular system responds to a wide range of stimuli.”

Key project collaborators include Dr. Brian Kwon, Canada Research Chair in Spinal Cord Injury and Professor with the UBC Department of Orthopaedics and Dr. Rudolf Seethaler, Associate Professor with the UBC Okanagan School of Engineering.

Being more active might be related to better blood glucose levels in people with diabetes, which is important to optimize health outcomes. Little is known about how active children with diabetes are, or why they are active (or not). Our aim is to learn about physical activity in children with type 1 diabetes in the BC Interior, including rural/remote communities. We hope that results from this study can be used to support children with diabetes to be more active.

Led by Principal Investigator Dr. Christine Voss and an interdisciplinary team of researchers, clinicians and graduate students, we are seeking to learn more about physical activity in children aged 8 – 12 years with type 1 diabetes in Interior British Columbia.

The study consists of 3 phases: 1) parents completing an online survey 2) children wearing an accelerometer for 7 days, and 3) parent/child semi-structured interviews with a researcher.

Inclusion criteria: Children aged 8 – 12 years who:

• Reside in the Interior Health Region
• Have a clinical diagnosis of type 1 diabetes for at least 1 year
• Have 1 parent/legal guardians who is also willing to take part in an interview

Participants will receive a $25 gift card for their time. For more information contact Simran by phone (250) 878-9959 or email at simran.gill@ubc.ca.

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic conditions in children and youth. There are a lot of things one has to take care of everyday when living with diabetes. Sometimes this can lead to ‘diabetes distress’, which refers to the emotional burden of living with diabetes. It is estimated that 1 in 3 adolescents with type 1 diabetes suffer from significant ‘diabetes distress’. Experiencing diabetes distress is associated with poorer glycemic control and thus long-term prognosis. The aim of our project is to figure out what can be done to better help young people in Interior Health manage their diabetes.

Led by Principal Investigator Dr. Christine Voss and an interdisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians, we want to better understand the challenges that teens (ages 13-19) with type 1 diabetes face and what can be done to better support them. Parent/guardians of teens with type 1 diabetes are also invited to take part (separately).

The study consists of 2 phases: 1) complete an anonymous online survey 2) participate in a virtual focus group with up to 5 other teens (or parents of teens) living with type 1 diabetes.

Participants will receive a $25 gift card for their time. For more information contact Simran by phone (250) 878-9959 or email at simran.gill@ubc.ca.

Parents of children with physical and/or sensory disabilities needed for study exploring the context of when and where children with disabilities are active in British Columbia.

Currently, Canadian children with disabilities are not getting enough daily physical activity to gain health benefits. Little is known about the locations where children with developmental disabilities are active.

A study called “Feasibility of qualitative-geospatial methods to investigate physical activity behaviours in children with disabilities in British Columbia” is led by Principal Investigator Dr. Christine Voss and graduate student Aleksandra Jevdjevic, who are exploring the context of when and where children with disabilities are physically active.

This study will also give parents the opportunity to learn more about their child’s daily physical activity behaviours.

The overall aim of this study is to provide more insight on physical activity behaviours in children with physical and/or sensory disabilities and to test the feasibility of qualitative-geospatial research methods. This includes wearable devices and interviews.

The research team is inviting one adult (parent/legal guardian) and their child with a physical and/or sensory disability between the ages of 8-12 years living in British Columbia to participate in this study.

Parents will fill out a 20-minute questionnaire about their child’s physical activity behaviours. Children will be asked to wear a Fitbit, an acceleromter, and a GPS device for 7 days to track their daily physical activity. Parents and children will also participate in a 1-hour virtual interview on Zoom. After the study, children will be able to keep their Fitbit device.

 To learn more or to participate in the study please contact the main study contact, Aleksandra Jevdjevic via phone 250 878-9959 or email at aleks.jevdjevic@ubc.ca.

The UBC Okanagan Interdisciplinary Student Health Conference (IDHC) brings together students from across UBC Okanagan to showcase their health science research and public health experiences at an engaging presentation event.

At our 2022 conference, an astounding 69 students presented 55 different projects from Science, Medicine, Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies, Heath and Social Development, Arts and Social Sciences, and Applied Sciences.

Congratulations to our top presenters for this year’s conference.

2022 top Presentation Awards

Biomedicine and Pharmaceuticals
Creation of mucus factories using colon organoids to combat intestinal diseases
Spencer Ursel, Science; Ojogbane Amedu, Applied Science

Child and Public Health
Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 Precautions on Classroom Communication for Adolescents with Hearing Loss: A Qualitative Study
Lindsay Booth, Medicine

Clinical and Emergency Care
ERCP Under General Anesthesia Compared to Conscious Sedation (EUGACCS) Study
Grant Greaves, Medicine

Community Health
The Toxic Drug Response Project
David Byres, Arts and Social Sciences; Victoria Bester, Health and Social Development

Health Policy and Advocacy
Planning and piloting peer-led food skills workshops for UBCO students
Morgan Game, Arts and Social Sciences

Rural and Remote Health
Being there: A qualitative exploration of support systems for rural adults 50 years and older with mental health concerns
Carley Paterson, Arts and Social Sciences

Student and Social Health
Understanding early semester distress in undergraduate students: The impact of work and predictability of work schedule
Jaime-Lyn MacLeod, Arts and Social Sciences; Eric Ferguson, Arts and Social Sciences

Virtual and Digital Health
Mobile App-Delivered Motivational Interviewing for Individuals on an Eating Disorder Clinic Waitlist: Pilot and Feasibility Study
Amané Halicki-Asakawa, Arts and Social Sciences

Download 2022 Conference Guide

Dr. Sarah Purcell has been appointed Assistant Professor with the UBC Faculty of Medicine Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism and UBC Okanagan Faculty of Science, Department of Biology effective January 1, 2022. Dr. Purcell will serve as an Investigator with the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management (CCDPM) based at UBC Okanagan.

Dr. Purcell completed a BSc in Dietetics and MSc in Clinical Nutrition at Florida State University followed by a PhD in Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Alberta. For the past two and a half years, she has served as a Postdoctoral Fellow with the University of Colorado focused primarily on energy intake regulation among breast cancer survivors. Dr. Purcell’s research aims to improve our understanding of the unique dietary requirements of people with chronic diseases and reduce obesity in people with chronic disease by implementing nutrition and exercise interventions. She has authored 23 peer-reviewed publications and served as a Principle Investigator on three pilot grants and two U.S. national fellowships.

In her new role, Dr. Purcell will lead a strong, innovative, and internationally-recognized research program in nutrition and chronic disease prevention and management. She will work collaboratively with faculty and graduate students from both UBC campuses, health professionals and researchers with Interior Health, and communities and health populations across the BC Interior. Dr. Purcell will also serve as a national leader in nutritional interventions to prevent or manage chronic conditions.

Participants needed to help develop solutions and improve long-term patient outcomes

In British Columbia, large rehabilitation centers that provide ongoing care for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) are in Vancouver. However, many individuals with SCI live outside of the lower mainland. Since local factors are known to play a role in care delivery it is anticipated that individuals with SCI living in the Interior of BC may face unique challenges for managing their health.

Following a SCI there are several autonomic disturbances that occur including, but not limited to, autonomic dysreflexia, temperature dysregulation, orthostatic hypotension, neurogenic bladder/bowel, and sexual dysfunction. Furthermore, there are several secondary health conditions occurring in individuals with SCI. Depending on the severity and location of injury, secondary health conditions can range from fatigue and pain to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It is not surprising, therefore, that the ongoing care for individuals living with SCI must take into consideration the management of secondary health and autonomic complications

Led by Principal Investigator Dr. Chris West, Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, an interdisciplinary team of researchers, clinicians, graduate students, and medical students are seeking insight into the healthcare experiences of individuals living with SCI in the Interior of BC. The long-term vision is to work with the SCI community to develop solutions to improve outcomes for patients with SCI.

The primary goals of the study are to:

1. Understand where the current gaps are in relation to care for autonomic disturbances and offsetting secondary health conditions via a short survey that all people living with SCI within the B.C. interior will be invited to complete.
2. Determine where SCI residents are receiving their care, whether it is locally or in the lower mainland.

Currently the project is recruiting individuals with spinal cord injury that live within the B.C. Interior to complete a 15 minute electronic survey to share their experiences. All information will be kept completely confidential.

To learn more or participate in the study, please contact study lead and Southern Medical Program student Lisa Renaud at LRenaud@student.ubc.ca or west.lab@ubc.ca.