January 2025
HEATHER PALIS
Assistant Professor, UBC School of Population & Public Health
Senior Scientist, BC Centre for Disease Control
Meet Dr. Heather Palis, a former Marshall Fellow and Stimulus Grant awardee! Her research at the BC Centre for Disease Control and the UBC School of Population and Public Health focuses on harm reduction and substance use interventions to address the overdose emergency in BC. Dr. Palis’ collaborative efforts include bringing together people with lived experience of stimulant use to tackle knowledge gaps in research.
Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I have an MSc and PhD in Population and Public Health from the School of Population and Public Health at UBC, where my research was focused on treatment for people with opioid use disorder. After my PhD, I completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry that was focused on examining overdose risk and access to health and substance use services among people released from provincial correctional centres in BC.
Can you describe your role in your current Department?
Currently I am a Senior Scientist in Harm Reduction and Substance Use Services at the BC Centre for Disease Control, and an Assistant Professor (Partner) in the School of Population and Public Health at UBC. In these roles, I lead research that builds upon my Graduate and Postdoctoral research, focused on examining the intersections of mental health, substance use, and chronic disease to identify opportunities for intervention to reduce overdose risk across the health system.
Can you describe what kind of research you are involved in?
My research uses large administrative health datasets to study harm reduction and substance use treatment interventions. This includes studying individual and system-level outcomes with the overall goal of informing the overdose public health emergency response in BC.
Can you tell us about an interesting project or initiative you are working on?
Alongside collaborators across UBC and the BCCDC, our teams were recently funded by Health Research BC’s Collaborating and Convening Awards to identify priorities for research focused on stimulant use in BC. Stimulants (i.e. cocaine and methamphetamine) are increasingly detected in drug toxicity (i.e. overdose) deaths in BC, however a number of knowledge gaps remain with respect to stimulant use and overdose risk. Our project brings together a group of people with lived and living experience of stimulant use to form a Peer Advisory Group. The group will advise on how provincial data can be used to investigate the intersections of chronic health conditions and overdose risk, with attention to the specific risks faced by people who use stimulants.
What are your interests and hobbies outside of work?
Outside of work I like to be outside as much as possible. I cycle and play tennis in the spring and summer and do lots of running in the Fall and Winter Vancouver rain. I am learning to swim as an adult which has been something I have been avoiding for many years and has been a rewarding experience!
If you are an IMH member and would like to share more about yourself and your research with the community, please contact Megan Rollerson, Manager, Communications and Partnerships at megan.rollerson@ubc.ca.