Women's Health Research Institute

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Women's Health Research Institute

We are dedicated to facilitating and building a community for women’s health research.

08/01/2026

August marks several important awareness days, offering an opportunity to spotlight the WHRI community working behind the scenes to advance women’s health research across British Columbia. 💙

- Emancipation Day
- Indigenous Milk Medicine Week
- International Youth Day
- World Humanitarian Day
- National Immunization Awareness Month

We encourage you to keep an eye on our social media channels throughout the month as we feature WHRI members, research teams, and resources dedicated to raising awareness and improving health outcomes of women and gender-diverse people.

07/27/2026

✈️Congratulations to the recipients of the Women’s Health Research Institute’s 2026 Spring Trainee Travel Grant competition: Alice Murage, Kia Anarna, Le Tam Nhan Nguyen, Lulu Pei and Rebecca Ho.

The WHRI’s Trainee Travel Grants support full-time research trainees for travel to national or international meetings. Ten grants valued at up to $1000 each are offered annually, with five grants available in May and five in November.

Read more about the spring recipients and their projects on our website: https://ow.ly/oHO950ZsteX

07/27/2026

Reminder: the final session of our 2026 Summer Scholar Series takes place this Wednesday, July 29!

Join us online or in person at BC Women's Hospital + Health Centre for: “Doing Research Between Worlds: Interdisciplinary, Community‑Engaged Pathways to Impact.” Dr. Kalysha Closson will deliver a talk and discussion on interdisciplinary and community‑engaged research in practice, helping attendees learn how collaboration works across teams and communities, and discover ways to build meaningful research networks

Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Time: 1–2 PM

Location: In-person or online

Open to WHRI members, trainees, and community members.

Register now: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/summer-scholar-series-2026-tickets-1989617935805?keep_tld=true

Can't make it? Check our YouTube channel in August for recordings of all this year's sessions.

07/24/2026

💡 WHRI Team Member Spotlight - Julia Santana Parrilla 💡

As the Qualitative Research Analyst at the WHRI, Julia supports qualitative research decision-making among staff, members and trainees. From ideation to implementation, knowledge translation and evaluation, Julia informs the alignment of decisions to fortify the trustworthiness of results. She integrates and models equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and justice-oriented practices in all of her work.

Julia shares that “qualitative methods are conducive to understanding how and why, most notably relative to health inequities…When we know how and why people are experiencing inequities, we can inform responsive strategies that are meaningful and appropriate to them.”

Julia was an essential team member in the development of the the Beyond the Binary in BC Guide and is WHRI’s Trauma and Resiliency-informed Practice representative and specialist. Her portfolio covers the full lifespan, as she’s worked with teams in all areas from perinatology and neonatology, to reproductive health, and aging.

If you or your team are interested in qualitative research and in the supports offered by the WHRI, visit our Qualitative Research page and reach out to Julia: https://whri.org/research-resources/qualitative-research/

07/15/2026

Reminder: join WHRI Qualitative Research Analyst Julia Santana Parrilla for the second of two in-person sessions delving deep into the methodology and mindset of qualitative research. All students and trainees who are interested in developing their skills and knowledge with qualitative research are welcome.

Session 2: Finding alignment: querying research decision-making with poetry takes place Friday, July 17 from 9:00am - 10:30am.

Register now: https://ow.ly/ZeFF50Zo1bV

07/15/2026

Register now for the final session of the Summer Scholar Series 2026—featuring Dr. Kalysha Closson!

Join us on July 29, where Dr. Closson will be speaking on “Doing Research Between Worlds: Interdisciplinary, Community‑Engaged Pathways to Impact.”

Attendees will be able to:

- Explore interdisciplinary and community‑engaged research in practice
- Learn how collaboration works across teams and communities
- Discover ways to build meaningful research networks

This hybrid session includes a dedicated Q&A—come ready to engage!

Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Time: 1–2 PM

Location: In-person or online

Open to WHRI members, trainees, and community members.

Register now: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/summer-scholar-series-2026-tickets-1989617935805?keep_tld=true

07/11/2026

Help Options for S*xual Health (OPT) serve you better — complete a short survey by July 31, 2026.

Options for S*xual Health and S*x Sense are exploring a new chat and text service designed to help all residents of BC access accurate, confidential, judgement-free information about s*x and s*xual health. Your feedback will directly influence how the service moves forward.

Scan the QR code or click the link below fill out this short survey:

https://ow.ly/jKbQ50ZjQhl

07/10/2026

The Skidmore Goodman Perinatal Research IMaging and Evaluation (PRIME) Centre is a cutting-edge ultrasound research and education facility at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre. PRIME brings together researchers, educators, and learners from diverse disciplines to advance healthcare and foster new discoveries that improve the health of women and families.

To support this mission, PRIME provides access to specialized equipment, dedicated research space, and hands-on training resources.

Key Facilities Include:

- 4 state-of-the-art ultrasound imaging suites
- A private consent room for study participants
- Collaboration room for team planning and discussion
- Phlebotomy room for sample collection
- Soiled utility room for equipment cleaning
- Dry lab for non-clinical research activities
- Ultrasound simulators for training and skill development
- PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication) system for DICOM image storage

Learn how PRIME can support your research or education initiative — click the link in our bio to to reach out directly to the PRIME team: https://whri.org/our-services/whri_research_facilities/

07/07/2026

Calling all students and trainees who are interested in developing their skills and knowledge with qualitative research! This month, join WHRI Qualitative Research Analyst Julia Santana Parrilla for a series of two in-person sessions delving deep into the methodology and mindset of qualitative research.

July 10: Mapping -ologies: integrating body and mind in research planning.

July 17: Finding alignment: querying research decision-making with poetry.

Together these sessions will explore qualitative research philosophies and allow attendees to practice integrating principled commitments into qualitative health research decision-making, using arts-based methods.

Note these sessions are designed to be sequential; attendees may attend either, but attending both is recommended for the best learning experience.

Don't miss out -- register today for session 1: https://ow.ly/o1Mg50Zle5N

or session 2: https://ow.ly/srw550Zle5O

07/06/2026

This May, we deepened our commitment to Trauma‑ and Resiliency‑informed Practices (TRiP) with a new two‑part training series for researchers and evaluators. Co‑hosted by long‑time WHRI partner BC Pomeroy and WHRI Qualitative Research Analyst Julia Santana Parrilla, the sessions guided participants through an inward journey of self‑compassion before turning outward to build caring, connected research relationships. As Julia shared during the training, “an investment in ourselves is an investment in each other.”

BC Pomeroy — a q***r researcher, engagement specialist, author, and the Medical Assistance in Dying Lead (PHSA) — has been facilitating TRiP Training since its inception, bringing deep experience and grounding to this work.

To read more about both sessions and participants’ reflections, read the website article here: https://ow.ly/E3TU50ZkPPU

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4500 Oak Street
Vancouver, BC
V6H3N1

Website

http://www.whri.org/

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