Infectious Diseases Research Sexual Health

Providence Health’s Dr. Jeannie Shoveller breaks ground as first woman chair of research group

Dr. Jeannie Shoveller first woman of chair of CIHR governing council
Health Minister Pettipas Taylor (L) and CGSHE's Dr. Jeannie Shoveller

Dr. Jeannie Shoveller, Associate Director and Director of Research at Providence Health Care’s Center for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, has been named as the new Chair of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Governing Council.

Federal Health Minister Ginette Pettipas Taylor made the announcement as part of the international conference on gender equity, Women Deliver being held in Vancouver.

Dr. Shoveller is the first woman named as Chair of the CIHR Governing Council, making her appointment a critical milestone in fostering women in leadership in STEM.

Health Canada said in a news release that Dr. Shoveller and others appointed to the governing council  today “will play a vital role in helping shape health research that changes the lives of Canadians across the country.”

Along with her roles at the CGSHE, Dr. Shoveller is the research director of the BC Centre on Substance Use at Providence Health, a professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population & Public Health  and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.  Her research on social inequalities and youth sexual health is recognized internationally. To date, Dr. Shoveller has supervised more than 70 Doctoral and Master’s students as well as Post-Doctoral Fellows. She also is the founder and lead investigator of the Youth Sexual Health Team, now located at the CGSHE. It includes interdisciplinary faculty, research staff, and students from universities across North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and South America.

“It is a great honour to be able to serve as the Chair of Governing Council,” said Dr. Shoveller. “CIHR is an organization that is making important contributions to equity, diversity and inclusion – which resonates strongly with the ethos of the Centre for Gender & Sexual Health Equity.”

The CIHR Governing Council provides strategic direction and establishes goals for the organization, as well as providing oversight by evaluating CIHR’s overall performance.

 

 

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