Governance

Morris L. Barer
Emeritus Professor
Health Services and Policy Division, SPPH, University of British Columbia

Morris L. Barer  was the inaugural Scientific Director of the Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (one of the thirteen Canadian Institutes of Health Research). He was the founding Director of the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, serving from inception in 1990 to 2001, and again from 2007 through 2012.

Dr. Barer has served on the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Advisory Committee on Health Services, as senior editor for Health Economics with the journal Social Science and Medicine, as a member and Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement (and its predecessor the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation [CHSRF]).

Dr. Barer delivered the Justice Emmett Hall Memorial Foundation lecture in 2004, and was the recipient of the Health Services Research Advancement Award (from CHSRF) in 2006. He is a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Angela Brooks-Wilson
Associate Vice-President, Research pro tem
Simon Fraser University

Dr. Brooks-Wilson has significant experience in academia with degrees in Biochemistry, Medical Biophysics and Genetics from SFU, University of Toronto and University of British Columbia respectively. She has also worked in the biotechnology industry in the United States and Canada. She brings a passion for higher education and research and a track record of success as a researcher. Dr. Brooks-Wilson is an SFU Professor in the Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology. She is also a Distinguished Scientist at Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer. She has served on advisory boards for the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. Her research focuses on the genetics of healthy aging and the genetics of susceptibility to cancer, particularly blood cancers, in families and populations. She leads a Healthy Aging Study in which exceptionally healthy elderly individuals, ‘Super-Seniors’, are helping to determine the genetic influences that contribute to healthy aging and protect against age-related diseases.

Dr. Stirling Bryan
Chief Scientific Officer
Michael Smith Health Research BC

Stirling Bryan is a health economist with extensive experience of engagement with the health policy and decision-making worlds. He began his career in the United Kingdom with appointments at St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School and then Brunel University, before moving to the University of Birmingham in 1997.

His research track-record reveals a long-standing goal of informing health policy and practice, demonstrated, in part, through an extensive engagement with the National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE). In 2005 he was awarded a Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellowship and spent one year at Stanford University, researching health technology coverage decision making in US health care organizations.

Stirling immigrated to Canada in 2008, taking on the roles of professor in UBC’s School of Population and Public Health, and director of the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology & Evaluation (C2E2). He provided leadership for C2E2 through until 2018 and remains a senior scientist at the Centre where his research lab and team are located. Over recent years, he has become a strong advocate for, and practitioner of, patient-oriented research, and now partners with patients in all of his research activities.

In 2016, he was appointed scientific director for the BC SUPPORT Unit, a component part of BC’s Academic Health Science Network (BC AHSN) focused on promoting patient-oriented research, and in January 2020 stepped into the leadership role as president for BC AHSN. He was in this role until September 2021, helping to navigate the course through to consolidation of BC AHSN with the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.

Stirling is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and recently completed his term as chair of the Advisory Board for CIHR’s Institute for Health Services & Policy Research. He currently serves as president elect for the Canadian Association for Health Services & Policy Research, and is co-editor for the Wiley-published journal, Health Economics.

Helen Burt
Associate Vice President Research & Innovation
University of British Columbia

Dr. Burt has been serving as the Vice President Research & International, pro tem since May 2016 and was the Associate Vice President Research in the Vice President Research & International Office at the University of British Columbia from 2011-2016.

She is a professor in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC. She was born in Manchester, England and obtained her B. Pharm.(Hons) from the University of Bath and her Ph.D in Pharmaceutics from UBC. She has published over 170 peer-reviewed papers and 8 patents. She has been the recipient of several teaching prizes and research awards, including the UBC Killam Teaching Prize and Killam Faculty Research Prize, NSERC Synergy Award for Innovation, CSPS Award of Leadership in Canadian Pharmaceutical Sciences and YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for Science, Research and Technology.

She is a founding scientist in the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) and a member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Robin Ciceri
Vice-President, External Relations,
University of British Columbia

In her role, Robin leads UBC's communications, campus and community planning, government relations and broad-based engagement with communities.  As Vice-President, External Relations, Robin supports the university in accomplishing the vision and goals and commitments as set out in the strategic plan: Shaping UBC's Next Century.plan: Shaping UBC's Next Century.

Before joining UBC, Robin was the President of The Research Universities' Council of British Columbia responsible for strategic advice, system leadership and advocating on behalf of the presidents of BC's research universities.  Previous to this, Robin held a number of BC Government leadership positions including Deputy Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development, Deputy Minister of Human Resources, Deputy Minister of Small Business and Revenue and CEO of the Public Sector Employers' Council Secretariat.

Robin currently serves on the Boards of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, BC Academic Health Science Network, LifeSciences BC, Digital Technology Supercluster and UBC Properties Trust.

Heather Davidson
Assistant Deputy Minister,
BC Ministry of Health

Dr. Davidson holds a PhD in Psychology (Adult Development and Aging) from the University of Victoria, British Columbia.   

She has worked for the BC government since 1991 in a series of progressively senior positions, mostly in the Ministry of Health. She is currently Assistant Deputy Minister of the Partnerships and Innovation Division with responsibilities for research & innovation, legislation and intergovernmental relations.  She was an early advocate for evidence-based policy and decision making and has maintained strong linkages with the research community throughout her government career. 

She sits on the Board(s) of the Academic Health Science Network, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and the Institute for Health System Transformation and Sustainability and is a member of the Medical Services Commission. 

Hayden Lansdell
Assistant Deputy Minister
Digital Platforms and Data Division, BC Ministry of Citizens' Services

Hayden Lansdell is the Chief Data Officer (CDO) of the Integrated Data Division within the Office of the Chief Information Officer, Citizens' Services. As CDO, Hayden provides oversight to government-wide initiatives focused on enabling access to and use of public sector data.

Previously, Hayden was the Executive Director for Strategy at the Ministry of International Trade where he oversaw B.C.'s international marketing activities. Prior to joining the Ministry of International Trade, Hayden was the Communications Director in the Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training. This position followed Hayden's eight years of work in Ottawa where he led a number of regulatory policy and pharmaceutical policy initiatives at both Health Canada and Environment Canada. 

Cynthia Milton
Associate Vice President, Research
University of Victoria

Dr. Milton holds an Honours BA in History and Political Science from McGill University, an MA in Latin American Studies from Stanford University, and a PhD in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Milton joined the University of Victoria in September 2020 as the Associate Vice President Research, with an academic appointment in the Department of History.

Prior to joining UVic, Dr. Milton was a Full Professor in the Department of History, Co-Director of the Montréal Centre for International Studies, Director of the International Studies Graduate Program, and a two-term Canada Research Chair in Latin American History at the Université de Montréal. Major honours include a Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellowship (2019-20), an Experienced Researcher Fellowship with the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation of Germany (2011-12), and a Fernand Braudel Fellowship from the European University Institute in Italy (2016). She was the President of the the College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists of the Royal Society of Canada from 2016-2018.

Dr. Milton’s interdisciplinary research studies inclusive modes of truth-telling, transitional justice, memory, and cultural interventions in the construction of historical narratives after state violence. In her academic networking, she is concerned with the science-society disconnect in our dramatically changing world and the need for the humanities, arts, and social sciences in the diffusion of knowledge.

Martin Wright
Assistant Deputy Minister
Health Sector Information, Analysis and Reporting, BC Ministry of Health

Martin has been the Assistant Deputy Minister, Health Sector Information, Analysis and Reporting Division since November 19, 2018. His portfolio includes leading sector analytics and data stewardship strategies and BC Vital Statistics. Martin is a board member of the Canadian Institute of Health Information and Population DataBC and co-Chairs, with Health Canada, the Canadian Health Information Forum.

Most of Martin's two decades of experience in the BC Public Service have been spent leading analytics teams focussed on influencing organizational strategy and operations to improve performance.

Martin joined the Ministry of Health from the Ministry of Children and Family Development where he led a team recognized nationally for excellence in analytics in the social sector. He has also previously worked in similar roles in the Ministry of Health and the Premier's Office.

He has an M.Sc. in Economics from the University of Wales, Cardiff, UK.