Karen Tran

Investigator, BC Children's Hospital
Physician, Obstetrical Medicine, BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre

Academic Affiliations

Clinical Assistant Professor, General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

Research Theme

Healthy Starts

Research Group

Pathways to Healthy Birth

Research Areas

Managed Care

Pregnancy

Affiliate Websites

UBC Division of General Internal Medicine
Centre for Health Evaluation & Outcome Sciences

Contact

karen.tran@cw.bc.ca

Mailing Address

4500 Oak Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6H 3N1

Overview: Preeclampsia and high blood pressure (BP) in pregnancy affects 1 in 10 pregnancies. Currently, experts recommend that BPs are measured and medications are given based on BP readings in the maternity care-providers’ offices. This may be inaccurate because pregnant women often have a “white–coat effect”, experiencing a higher BP reading in the office. Many physicians already use home BP monitoring in pregnant women to get a more “accurate” BP reading. The problem with this approach is no guidelines for properly measuring BP at home exist in pregnancy. The goal of our research is to understand how physicians use HBPM and the experiences of home monitoring in pregnant women.
Research: Systematic review and meta-analysis of home blood pressure monitoring in pregnancy
Systematic review and meta-analysis of home blood pressure monitoring in pregnancy
We completed a systematic review and meta-analysis to understand how home blood pressure monitoring was used in pregnant women. We noted that wide variation in patterns of practice exist on how physicians prescribe home BP monitoring in pregnancy.
Validation of BpTRU, an automated blood pressure monitor, in pregnancy
BpTRU is a common automated BP monitor used in non-pregnant adults, however, little information exists on whether this is an accurate BP device in pregnancy. We conducted a validation study and found that BpTRU is not validated to be used in pregnancy or in women with preeclampsia.

Grants

UBC GIM CALI Physicians Coordinating Liaison Committee

Honours & Awards

Honour Roll for Clinical Teaching Excellence Award, University of British Columbia Department of Medicine. (June 2018, 2019)
Top Poster at North America Society of Obstetrical Medicine Conference (October 30, 2016)
Top Poster at Canadian Hypertension Congress (October 21, 2016)
Canadian Society of Internal Medicine Research and Education Fund (October 2015)

Research Group Members

Alia Izquierdo, Research Coordinator

Stories See all

Congratulations CIHR Spring 2023 Project Grant recipients

Congratulations to the BC Children's Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR) and Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI) investigators and their teams who were awarded funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Spring 2023 Project Grant competition. Our research community received around $8 million in new research grants as principal investigators or co-investigators.

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New research tools can shed light on an understudied organ essential to our lives

The placenta is essential to a healthy start in life. Despite its importance, little is known about it, including why it might not develop properly, which can lead to long-term health issues. Dr. Alexander Beristain’s lab is investigating two state-of-the-art stem cell-based tools that model a human placenta to find answers that can positively impact children’s health.

Continue reading New research tools can shed light on an understudied organ essential to our lives

Government of Canada invests $20 million to improve health outcomes of children living with rare diseases

The Government of Canada is providing $20 million over five years for the creation of RareKids-CAN: Pediatric Rare Disease Clinical Trials and Treatment Network. This national network, of which BCCHR will be a part, will support national and international clinical trials to advance discoveries, enable better prevention, diagnosis, and treatments, to improve health outcomes for children and adolescents affected by rare diseases.

Continue reading Government of Canada invests $20 million to improve health outcomes of children living with rare diseases

Women in Science: Abisola Kehinde

While growing up, Abisola Kehinde was fascinated by biology, one of those courses she didn’t have to study much to easily understand. It was natural to her, so choosing a career in science was a no-brainer. She was never told that, as a woman, there wasn’t space for her in this field. But there were other challenges related to gender biases.

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Study reveals surprising link between malnutrition and rising antibiotic resistance

A new study by Dr. Paula Littlejohn discovers the connection between a lack of crucial micronutrients and the composition of gut microbiomes that could increase antibiotic resistance.

Continue reading Study reveals surprising link between malnutrition and rising antibiotic resistance

Dr. Paula Littlejohn, driven to succeed

Dr. Paula Littlejohn is a postdoctoral research fellow co-supervised by Dr. Michael Kobor and Dr. Bruce Vallance at BC Children's Hospital Research Institute. Her research is aimed at understanding the molecular mechanisms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with the goal of developing new treatments.

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