Simon Fraser University | Health & Biosciences

Key facilities

The Pacific Blue Cross Health Informatics Lab advances computational health research to improve health care delivery and outcomes.

The Community Health Research Team (CoHeaRT) studies population health and associated environmental determinants of obesity, heart disease and other chronic diseases.

Menrva Research Group specializes in Assistive and Rehabilitation technologies and Biomechatronics.

SFU Locomotion Laboratory focuses on understanding the fundamental principles that underlie the physiology of legged locomotion as well as the application of these principles to improve human health

Brinkman Laboratory conducts research on genomics and bioinformatics in order to make infectious diseases control more sustainable.

Major collaborations

Expansion of Antiretroviral Therapy and its Impact on Vulnerable Populations in Canada and Global Settings is a $6.5M multi-institutional project, led by Dr. Robert Hogg and funded by CIHR. The goal of the project is to to identify persisting health inequities and their causation among vulnerable HIV+ populations including gay, ageing HIV+ individuals, and other vulnerable sub-populations

Nurse-family Partnership in British Columbia: Scientific Evaluation is a $6.8M project sponsored by the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development to support the implementation of the Nurse-Family Partnership program in BC. Dr. Charlotte Waddell from SFU is a co-leader of the scientific evaluation of the program.

Researchers

Dr. Robert Hogg, University Professor, Director of the HIV/AIDS Drug Treatment Program at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Paz Buttedahl Career Achievement Award Recipient. Research integrates anthropology, demography and epidemiology to benefit those living with HIV.
Dr. Charlotte Waddell, Professor of Health Sciences, Canada Research Chair in Children’s Health Policy, Director of the Children’s Health Policy Centre. Research focuses on child and adolescent psychiatry.
Dr. Caroline Colijn, Canada 150 Research Chair in Mathematics for Infection, Evolution and Public Health. Research focuses on connections between mathematics and public health.
Dr. Fiona Brinkman, Professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics and a Highly Cited Researcher (Thomson Reuters, 2014). Research focuses on microbial bioinformatics with the aim to better control infectious diseases and associated immune disorders in a sustainable way.

Special programs and work integrated learning initiatives

-SFU’s Work Integrated Learning program offers co-operative education, and career planning and building opportunities through workshops and advising in 75 programs spread across 8 faculties.

-SFU offers a wide range of health related graduate training research programs through several research groups at the Faculty of Health Sciences such as Population and Public Health and Mental Health and Addictions groups.

-SFU offers both undergraduate and graduate training in bioinformatics and students have access to high performance computing resources such as WestGrid and CEDAR (Canada’s most powerful supercomputer, hosted at SFU)

Partners

The Pacific Blue Cross; Philips Electronics Ltd; Merck Canada Inc; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd; Agrima Botanical Corp; Alectos Therapeutics Inc; BC College of Pharmacists; SATECH Safety Technology; Novo Nordisk Canada Inc; Bentley Systems Inc; IBM Canada Ltd; Extem Bioscience Corporation; Heart Force Medical Inc; LX Medical Corporation; Johnson & Johnson; Apotex Inc; STEMCELL Technologies;