The Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity (CGSHE) are proud to share that our Associate Director and Director of Research, Dr. Jeannie Shoveller, PhD, has been named as the new Chair of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Governing Council. As Dr. Shoveller is the first woman named as Chair of the CIHR Governing Council, this announcement today by the Minister of Health, the Hon. Ginette Pettipas Taylor, is a critical milestone in fostering women in leadership in STEM, and comes amidst local and international focus on gender equity at Women Deliver 2019, taking place this week in Vancouver.

In addition to her roles at the CGSHE, Dr. Shoveller is also a Professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population & Public Health, and is 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 and which 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. Prof. Shoveller has been a member of the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) since 2018, and is also a member of the CIHR College of Reviewers and has served on many review panels, including the CIHR Banting Post-Doctoral Fellowship.

Photo: Dr. Helen Burt, UBC Vice-President Research & Innovation; Dr. Jeannie Shoveller, CGSHE Associate Director & Director of Research, Chair of CIHR Governing Council; Hon. Ginette Pettipas Taylor, federal Minister of Health; Dr. Kate Shannon, CGSHE Executive Director