UBCO showcases student health research

The UBCO Interdisciplinary Student Health Conference continues to exceed expectations. Over 200 people attended the student-led conference which featured research and public health experiences from 68 students and represented six different faculties at UBC Okanagan.

“It was inspiring to be surrounded by such keen students both on the planning committee and all the conference participants,” says Richie Mageto, Southern Medical Program student and conference planning committee co-chair. “I’m certain that new connections that were made will only further the research culture here at UBCO.”

This year’s conference was the largest in its eleven years of history. Congratulations to the 2024 top presentations:

Digital Health and Technologies (poster)
Renata Kanerva: Opportunities and challenges parents may encounter when using a digital tool to access tangible social support

Child and Public Health (poster)
Dylan Nemes: Timeline Mapping Congenital Heart Disease

Clinical and Emergency Care (poster)
Belle Stokes: Colon Dopaminergic Response and Concurrent Behavioural Effects in Inflammatory Conditions

Community and Social Health (poster)
Madison Eagle: Discrimination of Chronic Pain: The Role of Patient Weight and Pain Origin

Health Policy and Advocacy (poster)
Haley Berrisford: Is quality participation related to decisions to re-enroll in an exercise program for people with disabilities?

Rural and Remote Health (poster)
Simran Gill: Active Steps: Feasibility of a virtual intervention to promote active lifestyles in children with type 1 diabetes living in rural and remote communities

Biomedicine and Pharmaceuticals (5 min oral presentation)
Keanna Spanggaard: Analysis of the Role of Palmitoyltransferase Genes in Neuronal Cell Death

Child and Public Health (5 min oral presentation)
Morgan Game and Hillary Shaba: Combating Food Insecurity at UBCO through the Community Meal Program with a Focus on Long-Term Viability

Clinical and Emergency Care (5 min oral presentation)
Sara Klick: Exploring stroke-related factors that modulate motor imagery-related brain activation

Community and Social Health (5 min oral presentation)
Negin Kazemian : Unraveling the interplay of gut microbiome, metabolites, and mucus in luminal cholesterol metabolism

Health Policy and Advocacy (5 min oral presentation)
Brandon Hayashi and Samara Reyes: Parental Perspectives On the Self-Injurious Behaviour Intensity Screening Assessment (SIBISA): A New Tool To Assess Self Injury In Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Rural and Digital Health (5 min oral presentation)
Kendra Corman: Evaluating the Social Network Typology of Adults 50 years and Older with Mental Health Concerns in Rural BC

“Audience Choice” (top 10-minute presentation)
Kennedy Wiens: Psilocin Inhibits Select Pro-Inflammatory Functions of Brain Immune Cells

The student organizers would like to acknowledge all of the presenters, adjudicators, and volunteers for making this year’s conference a great success.

“To see the outstanding caliber of students, presentations, and research in this superbly run volunteer student-led academic conference is more than I ever envisioned when planning the very first conference 12 years ago,” says Dr. Charlotte Jones, Professor of Medicine and Director of Student Research with the SMP.

To learn more about planning for the 2025 conference, contact ubco.ishc@ubc.ca.