An evening of friendly competition and heartfelt purpose at the Lawn Bowling Social Fundraiser in support of The Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance. Hosted at the beautiful Kelowna Lawn Bowling Club in City Park, this casual summer night out included lawn bowling, a silent auction, raffle prizes, and a BBQ, with all proceeds supporting life-saving research, education, and awareness through the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance!
The event was led by our patient partner, Jennifer Monaghan, a passionate women’s heart health advocate. At just 43, Jennifer experienced a life-altering stroke and diagnosis of cardiomyopathy—despite having no prior symptoms or risk factors. Her recovery journey led her to advocacy and volunteering, and she now channels her story into action, awareness, and support for others. Learn more about Jennifer’s story here: https://www.interiorhealth.ca/stories/heart-failure-heart-function-jennifers-story
Three UBC Okanagan faculty members have been recognized for their outstanding research commitment and achievements through the university’s annual Researcher of the Year awards. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the prestigious awards, which recognize faculty members making the world a better place through scholarly and creative pursuits. Award recipients epitomize excellence and are leaders in their respective fields and disciplines.
UBC Okanagan proudly recognizes Dr. Brodie Sakakibara as one of three 2025 Researchers of the Year, celebrating exceptional contributions to research, innovation and creative activity.
Dr. Sakakibara is dedicated to empowering stroke survivors after discharge from hospital and giving them the support they need to help reduce further hospital visits and advocates for viewing stroke as a chronic condition, not just a single acute event. “Very few researchers and labs in the world are taking the approach of stroke as a chronic condition,” says Dr. Sakakibara. “It’s empowerment. It’s putting people back in control, letting them manage on their own and making them a key partner in their care for much better long-term outcomes.”
Congratulations to Dianne Kim, who recently completed her Bachelor of Science degree with a psychology major and biology minor! Thank you for all of your amazing work! Best of luck during your graduate studies at the University of Alberta!
Congratulations to Dr. Elise Wiley, who received two prestigious postdoctoral fellowship awards from Michael Smith Health Research BC and StrokeCOG!
Dr. Wiley is looking at one-year self-management and health resource use trajectories among individuals who have had a recent stroke. Her primary research area is chronic disease self-management after stroke with a particular focus on health resource utilization and sex-based considerations.
Dr. Wiley received the Michael Smith Health Research BC trainee award for her work in ‘Exploring the natural history of chronic disease self-management and health resource utilization after stroke’.
Additionally, she received the StokeCOG clinical trail training program award for her work in ‘Optimizing stroke recovery in women through accessible modalities of health service delivery: A sex-and-gender-based analysis of the TeleRehabilitation with Aims to Improve Lower Extremity Recovery (TRAIL) Clinical Trail’.
