We would like to congratulate CHÉOS Scientist Dr. Eugenia Oviedo-Joekes on receiving the 2016 Research and Mission Award from the Providence Health Care Research Institute (PHCRI). This annual award is given to an outstanding researcher who exemplifies Providence Health Care’s (PHC) mission and values.
PHC President and CEO Ms. Dianne Doyle presented Dr. Oviedo-Joekes with her award at the annual PHCRI Research Day, which took place on May 9. Dr. Oviedo-Joekes was recognized for her efforts to improve health care and quality of life for people living with heroin addiction. “We need to do the best for our patients,” said Dr. Oviedo-Joekes after receiving her award. “It is definitely up to us to keep them safe, give them the opportunity to recover, and make effective treatments available.”
An Associate Professor at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health, Dr. Oviedo-Joekes is the Principal Investigator for the Study to Assess Longer-Term Opioid Maintenance Effectiveness (SALOME). The results of the ground-breaking clinical trial, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Psychiatry in April, found hydromorphone (HDM) to be as effective as diacetylmorphine (pharmaceutical-grade prescription heroin) for individuals with opioid addiction who have not benefited from previous treatments, such as methadone or suboxone.
Past recipients of the award include: Dr. John Webb (2011), Dr. Eric Grafstein (2012), Dr. Evan Wood (2013) and Dr. Richard Harrigan (2014), and Drs. Jonathon Leipsic and Don Sin (2015).
