BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute is pleased to congratulate the recipients of the 2024 Outstanding Achievement Awards. This program, generously funded by the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, plays a pivotal role in acknowledging and nurturing excellence within our research community.
The Outstanding Achievement Awards recognize the remarkable accomplishments of our trainees in their research endeavours aimed at improving the health and wellbeing of children and families.
This year’s recipients are:
Outstanding Achievement by a Master’s Student
Marina Viñeta — Lavoie Research Team
This award recognizes the outstanding achievement of a master’s student whose research skills and analytical capacity clearly demonstrate the individual’s potential as a productive member of the scientific community.
Marina Viñeta’s medical journey began when she completed a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain. After graduating, she moved to Canada to pursue a career as a physician-scientist, focusing on childhood diseases. In 2021, she joined BCCHR as a Graduate Research Assistant where she worked under the supervision of Dr. Pascal Lavoie to assess the resurgence of respiratory infections in young children during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings were then used by institutions across the province to assess health-care resource allocation and inform prevention guidelines on a real-time basis.
Marina is currently enrolled in the Women+ and Children’s Health Sciences program at UBC as part of her doctoral studies. Her research focuses on quantifying the burden of respiratory infections in young children and identifying factors associated with severe disease. Through her work, she hopes to improve evidence-based respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) prevention strategies in BC and other regions.
Outstanding Achievement by a Doctoral Student
Dr. Tasha Wainstein — Elliott Research Team
This award recognizes the outstanding achievement of a doctoral student whose originality, research ability, and capacity for critical thinking show that the individual is likely to become a contributing member of the scientific community.
Dr. Tasha Wainstein completed her PhD in Medical Genetics at UBC, where she was involved with the GenCOUNSEL project. During her PhD studies, she was awarded a Doctoral CIHR Canada Graduate Award, ranking in the top 1% of applicants. Under the supervision of Dr. Alison Elliott and Dr. Jehannine Austin, she explored the lived experiences of adolescents with complex genetic conditions. Her research findings have laid the basis for future initiatives aimed at optimizing clinical genetics services for this unique population.
In 2023, Dr. Wainstein was honoured with the James Miller Memorial Prize, one of the most prestigious distinctions awarded to PhD students in the UBC Department of Medical Genetics. In addition to her substantial research accomplishments, Dr. Wainstein has demonstrated a commitment to teaching and mentorship by taking on the responsibility of supervising several genetic counselling trainees in their directed studies projects, and leading workshops and lectures within the UBC Genetic Counselling program.
Outstanding Achievement by a Sub-specialty Resident or Fellow
Dr. Clara Westwell-Roper — Stewart Research Team
Dr. Clara Westwell-Roper completed her MD and PhD at UBC in 2016, with a research focus on inflammation in type 2 diabetes under the supervision of Dr. Bruce Verchere at BCCHR. She went on to complete her residency with the UBC Research Track Psychiatry program, followed by subspecialty training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Her postdoctoral research with Dr. Evelyn Stewart explores the factors contributing to comorbidity between immune-related conditions and psychiatric disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Dr. Westwell-Roper is particularly interested in the relationship between early-life events and immune function across the lifespan, as well as factors influencing families’ experiences of comorbid physical and psychiatric symptoms. From a clinical perspective, her focus includes consultation-liaison psychiatry, psychotherapy, and support for families facing severe mental illness.
Throughout her career, Dr. Westwell-Roper has demonstrated exceptional academic performance, research potential, and leadership qualities. As an MD/PhD student, she received numerous prestigious awards, including the UBC Medicine Hamber Medal for the most outstanding record in her graduating medical class, and the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In addition, she has been recognized nationally and internationally through achievements such as the International OCD Foundation Young Investigator Award and the Dan Offord Resident Research Award from the Association of Professors of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry of Canada.
As a resident, Dr. Westwell-Roper has led multiple cross-disciplinary translational research collaborations and spearheaded an ongoing clinical trial. Her commitment to teaching and mentoring is evident through her work with clinician-scientists in training. Dr. Westwell-Roper’s journey exemplifies the dedication of an emerging clinician-scientist, with a promise to excel as a clinician, researcher, and mentor.
