Dr. Christopher West has been appointed the new Assistant Dean, Research (ADR) for the Southern Medical Program (SMP) for a one-year term. Dr. West is an Investigator with the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management based at UBC Okanagan and an Associate Professor with the UBC Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences. Dr. West is also a member of the UBC ICORD (International Collaboration On Repair Discoveries Research Centre.
Dr. West earned a BSc in Sport and Exercise Science at Essex University followed by a MSc and PhD in Exercise Physiology at Brunel University. He then completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) at UBC. Dr. West has previously been a Michael Smith Foundation Health Research Scholar and a Heart and Stroke National New Investigator who also served as an Assistant Professor with the UBC School of Kinesiology. Dr. West’s research explores the circuits controlling cardiovascular and autonomic function following spinal cord injury. His research laboratory relocated to the SMP and UBC Okanagan in 2018.
In his new role as ADR, Dr. West will oversee and support the operation of health research activities in the Interior Health region. He will liaise and work with all faculty members of SMP to set the strategic research direction, ensuring alignment with the Faculty of Medicine. Through collaborations with scientists and clinicians and in partnership with UBC Okanagan and Interior Health, Dr. West will support investigators to achieve their research goals, build research capacity, and facilitate undergraduate and graduate students in research.