Five recipients in BC have been awarded grants totaling $1 million by the Arthritis Society, BC and Yukon Divi-sion. The grants will fund research projects benefiting patients in BC and the Yukon who are living with arthritis.

Dr Mary De Vera, assistant professor with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Co-lumbia and research scientist at the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada, received the Young Investigator Operating Grant. Dr De Vera, a pharmacoepidemiologist, will lead a team studying whether taking arthritis medications during pregnancy leads to miscarriages, prematurity, and birth defects. 

Dr Linda Li received the Arthritis Society Models of Care Catalyst Grant. Dr Li is an associate professor and the Harold Robinson/Arthritis Society chair in arthritic diseases at the UBC Department of Physical Therapy, and senior scientist at the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada. Dr Li will be exploring the improvement of physical activity in arthritis care in the digital age. 

Dr Michael Hunt, a physiotherapist and assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at UBC, was awarded the Arthritis Society Strategic Operating Grant. The focus of Dr Hunt’s clinical investigation will be to exam-ine the effects of a walking retraining program on symptoms and progression for patients with osteoarthritis. 

Dr Shahin Jamal is a rheumatologist and a clinical associate professor at UBC. Dr Jamal received the Clinician Teacher/Educator Award, and will be using her grant to develop a multi-tiered approach to the continued development of rheumatology training. Her goal is to increase awareness and interest in rheumatology and ensure a quality training program for medical residents. 

Dr Carlo Marra is the recipient of the Arthritis Society Model of Care Catalyst Grant. Dr Marra, a pharmacist and professor in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at UBC, will be ex-ploring a team approach to knee osteoarthritis involving neighborhood pharmacists helping to identify people with knee pain and potential osteoarthritis. This re-search will explore whether a collaborative approach to knee osteoarthritis involving pharmacist-initiated intervention can improve care.