SFU Faculty of Health Sciences

Why aren't people getting vaccinated? PhD candidate Haaris Tiwana and adjunct professor Julia Smith, PhD have observed that sometimes, vaccine hesitancy can be the result of structural barriers - for example, reduced access to transportation or childcare, or lack of access after work hours. Negative historical experiences of the health care system can also be a contributing factor.

Tiwana and Smith analyze and propose solutions for how structural and trust-building approaches to vaccination can help improve public health safety for all in their article for The Conversation Canada.

https://lnkd.in/gt44jvrR

FHS researcher and graduand Sarah Munoz-Violant successfully defended her Master of Science degree, engaging in work that blended hands-on community work and academic research to help address structural gaps in the system of care for Vancouver's Downtown East Side residents.

Munoz-Violant won two awards - the Dr. Elliot Goldner Graduate Fellowship in Mental Health Policy and the Dr. Nancy Hall Graduate Award in Public Health - while pursuing her academic studies. "You can find yourself wondering: How will this work actually reach the people it's meant to serve? That feeling is especially present when you've come from hands-on community work and you're suddenly spending your days writing and analyzing rather than being in the field. External recognition in those low moments is a powerful reminder that your research matters and will have an impact, even if that impact isn't immediate."

Full story 🔗 : https://www.sfu.ca/fhs/news-events/news/2026/msc-graduand-award-winner-shares-research-journey.html

Dr. Kelley Lee -- FHS professor, lead of the Pandemics and Borders Project, and scientific co-director of Bridge Research Consortium -- spoke to CBC's Piya Chattopadhyay about Canada's travel restrictions amid the Ebola outbreak ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. What can past events tell us about how and when to use travel measures to mitigate health risks?

🔗 is for May 31 - Interview starts at: 1 min 16 sec: https://lnkd.in/gbSpPaFa

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New OpEd about the lessons from COVID19 that are informing responses to the hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks in The Conversation Canada. FHS PhD candidate Julianne Piper, Professor Kelley Lee, and Research Fellow Miranda Nonis remind folks about the lessons we've learned from 2020-21, how that knowledge is informing our current responses, and actions/interventions that still need to be improved to provide good public health safety and protection.

Planes, trains and pandemics: Lessons from COVID-19 about travel risks posed by hantavirus and Ebola Recent outbreaks of Hantavirus and Ebolavirus raise concerns about risks linked to travel, with responses varying between countries. COVID-19 offers lessons for effective approaches to public health.

We're pleased to announce that FHS Assistant Professor Kyle Burrows is the new Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Barrier Tissue Immunity and Chronic Inflammatory Disease. 🎉

Burrows' research focuses on how environmental microorganisms interact with the immune system at mucosal barrier surfaces, including the lungs and intestine. Despite growing recognition of the microbiome’s importance in health, relatively little is known about how mucosal immune cells interpret signals from environmental exposures, including the beneficial microbes that make up the body’s microbiome, to shape systemic immunity and influence the health of distant organs.

A deeper understanding of these interactions could have broad implications for chronic inflammatory and immune-mediated conditions, including asthma, arthritis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and cancer.

Read more about Burrows' CRC projects: https://www.sfu.ca/fhs/news-events/news/2026/fhs-professor-kyle-burrows-receives-tier-2-crc.html

ATTENTION HSCI STUDENTS:

If you are enrolled in a course for the 2026 summer semester, please check your SFU email for messages from your instructors.

During the Canvas outage, your SFU email will be the primary mode of contact for information about your courses. This is especially important if you are enrolled in an online course.

Thank you for your patience as we continue to navigate this situation. We'll provide additional updates as they become available.

Please join us in congratulating FHS professor Kelley Lee who was recognized with an SFU Research Excellence - Legacy Award by SFU's Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation! 🎉

This award recognizes exceptional investigators and leaders who have set a standard of excellence and inspired change – beyond their specific work or domain – in how research is created, conducted and/or conveyed. It's entirely fitting for Lee, who was the first investigator to undertake theorizing and analysis on the impacts of globalization on health, building a new field in the process.

She not only trained several generations of global health governance scholars, but influenced how governments, international organizations, and the general public understand and respond to shared population health threats such as pandemics or the commercial determinants of health.

Learn more about Lee's storied career:
https://www.sfu.ca/fhs/news-events/news/2026/fhs-professor-kelley-lee-research-excellence-legacy-award.html

FHS professor Kelley Lee receives SFU Research Excellence – Legacy Award Dr. Kelley Lee - SFU Health Sciences Professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Global Health Governance - was recognized by SFU's Office of the VP, Research and Innovation with a Legacy Award for her creation of and extraordinary contributions to the field of global health governance.

April 26 - May 2, 2026 is National Immunization Week in Canada!

This year, we're highlighting the recent report from Bridge Research Consortium (BRC) examining how people in Canada view mRNA technology and how they interact with information about mRNA technology online.

Canada is a global leader in the development of mRNA medicines. And yet, despite evidence of the safety of mRNA technology, public trust in these tools in Canada and the US is slow to develop, especially in online spaces.

“Advancements in next-generation RNA technologies have the potential to transform how we treat and prevent disease — but realizing that full potential in Canada hinges on understanding public concerns, proactively building trust, and strengthening our communication approaches,” says Rackeb Tesfaye, PhD, BRC Knowledge Mobilization Lead and Senior Scientist

Learn more about BRC's findings and their recommendations for addressing the many issues surrounding mRNA technology and its uptake: https://www.sfu.ca/fhs/news-events/news/2026/brc-report-highlights-perspectives-recommendations-on-mrna-technology.html

Bridge Research Consortium report highlights perspectives, recommendations on mRNA technology in Canada Researchers examined the perspectives of people in Canada towards mRNA technology. They seek to better understand perspectives and to make recommendations that could strengthen public trust and support for the adoption of immune-based innovations during health emergencies.

Congratulations to FHS PhD candidate Riana Sihota who is one of three recipients of the Knowledge Translation Student Award from the National Collaborating Centre for Public Health! 🎉

This award recognizes graduate students and recent grads leading high quality, innovative and impactful knowledge translation projects in public health.

As part of her recognition, Sihota will be presenting her research in a webinar on May 13, 2026. She will be speaking on her project, "Co-Designing Mental Health Care with South Asian Migrant Women: A Knowledge Translation Partnership." Register using the link in the post below.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7450169991485820930/

Meet Riana Sihota (she/her): Riana is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. Her work examines how cultural orientation (collectivism and individualism)… | National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools.. Meet Riana Sihota (she/her): Riana is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. Her work examines how cultural orientation (collectivism and individualism), migration experiences, and gendered social expectations shape mental health outcomes, help-seeking behaviou...

It's Long COVID awareness month!

We're proud to announce a new project led by FHS adjunct professor Julia Smith, PhD and FHS research associate Kayli Jamieson to help improve education about Long Covid for patients and healthcare providers in emergent and urgent care settings in British Columbia.

Other team members include: FHS adjunct professor Kaylee Byers, PhD; FHS associate professor Lindsay Hedden; and, FHS knowledge mobilization lead and research associate Rackeb Tesfaye, PhD.

Says Smith: “To our knowledge, there are currently no formal resources or pathways in place for staff in EDs/UPCCs to gain medical education on safely managing and recognizing Long COVID.”

🔗 : https://www.sfu.ca/fhs/news-events/news/2026/fhs-researchers-seek-to-improve-long-covid-education-in-urgent-emergent-settings.html



This research is being generously supported with a grant from the David and Dorothy Lam Foundation.