British Columbia Sub-Hub
Background
A report in 2020 estimated that of the approximately 10,000 people living with HIV in BC, “94% were linked to care, 77% of those linked were on ART, and 69% of those on ART were virologically suppressed.” Across the HIV care cascade, women and those who have a history of injection drug use are more likely to have challenges being engaged at each step. The legacy and ongoing harms of colonization mean that Indigenous people are disproportionately impacted by HIV in BC as well.
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In BC, we are lucky to have care like Oak Tree Clinic that provides specialized clinical care for women living with HIV. However, resources in BC tend to be mostly concentrated in the lower mainland, with other regions (Northern BC, Interior, and Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands) having less access to services, community, and research.
Our Team
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CO-LEAD
Dr. Elizabeth Marie King
Dr. Elizabeth King is an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University and an Infectious Diseases specialist at the Oak Tree Clinic, a centre for women and children living with HIV in Vancouver, BC. She is the co-lead of the Futures Leadership team of the Women-Centred HIV Care hub and member of the BC sub-hub. Dr. King is passionate about the care for women living with HIV across the life course and dedicates her clinical and research work to understand and diminish health inequities experienced by women living with HIV.
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CO-LEAD
Dr. Melanie Murray
Dr. Melanie Murray is a clinical associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia. She is also an infectious disease specialist in HIV care at BC Women’s Oak Tree Clinic, and an Infectious Diseases Specialist and Staff Physician at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver. She earned a Bachelor’s in science, as well as a medical degree and a PhD at the University of Manitoba in Microbiology. She completed an infectious disease fellowship and an internal medicine residency at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include HIV and women, the role of hormones in HIV and aging, viral co-infection, and strategies for the engagement of marginalized populations. In the WCHC Hub, Dr. Murray serves as a co-chair on the Quad Leadership Team, bringing a clinical perspective to the Hub’s major operations, while also co-leading the BC Sub-Hub.
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CO-LEAD
Hélène Côté
Dr. Hélène Côté, a Professor in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia, has garnered acclaim for her research, including receiving the Michael Smith Research Foundation Scholar Award and a CIHR New Investigator award. Her expertise ranges from antiretroviral drug toxicity to healthy aging in women living with HIV and their children, demonstrated through her leadership in initiatives like the CARMA cohort and the British Columbia CARMA-CHIWOS Collaboration (BCC3).
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COORDINATOR
Hadiza Umar is a foreign-trained lawyer and community advocate, particularly for women in health care. She works to bridge known and potential barriers with a keen interest in research and its benefits. Hadiza uses her expertise to support activities in the BC sub-hub as Co-Coordinator!
Hadiza Umar
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COORDINATOR
Zoë is a community-based research coordinator at Simon Fraser University with a focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights, as well as gender equity. She works closely with community researchers, including women living with HIV and queer and trans youth, to support their capacity building and career development. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from Simon Fraser University and a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from Harvard University.
Zoe Osborne
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Contact
British Columbia
Contact Zoe Osborne or Hadiza Umar for any inquiries related to the BC Sub-Hub.
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Sub-Hub Priorities
Sub-Hub Initiatives
Sub-Hub Land Acknowledgement
We respectfully acknowledge that the land many of this group work, collaborate, learn, play, and live on is the
Ancestral, Traditional, unceded Territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the Səlwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-
Waututh), xÊ·mÉ™θkwəəm (Musqueam), and Skwxw7mesh (Squamish).
We have members that join from across the province colonially known as British Columbia from the unceded
traditional territories of many First Nations peoples.