The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is pleased to share the news Dr. Jeannie Shoveller has accepted the position of Director of Epidemiology and Population Health and the Drug Treatment Program, beginning January 4, 2016.
Originally from Nova Scotia, Dr. Shoveller has called British Columbia home since 1993. She completed a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies (1997) and her post-doctoral training (1999) at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She accepted an appointment in the UBC Faculty of Medicine in 1999, where she continues to work as a Professor in the School of Population and Public Health. Her research focuses on the health effects of social inequities — including the effects of unfair distribution of income, barriers to educational attainment, ageism, homophobia, and gender bias on HIV-related outcomes.
Dr. Shoveller has served as Principal Investigator on more than 20 studies, published over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts, and supervised more than 50 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. She has received awards for her scholarship from prestigious institutions, including the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the European Union Commission. In 2015, she was inducted into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in recognition of her leadership and contributions to health and social equity nationally and internationally.
Dr. Shoveller is excited to join the BC-CfE and said, “Throughout my career, I have worked alongside amazing people, including colleagues at the BC-CfE. I am truly honoured to accept this new role. It will allow me to work with people whom I respect greatly and provide opportunities to make new contributions that address the needs of the communities we serve.”
Raised on the Barteaux family farm in Clarence, Nova Scotia, Dr. Shoveller credits her parents for instilling in her a love of doing meaningful work in an honest, gracious and generous manner. She brings the same level of enthusiasm and discipline to her academic endeavours. Many might be surprised to learn that after launching a new project in Brazil, she challenged herself to learn Portuguese, initially enrolling in evening classes at Langara College. She has spent the past decade improving her Portuguese language proficiency, which has been helpful to her HIV-related research collaborations in Brazil, where she also had been a Visiting Professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, the State University of Rio de Janeiro, and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sol.
Married for over 25 years to her husband Tim (an English teacher), Dr. Shoveller shares a quote from one of her favourite poets, Elizabeth Bishop (an adopted Nova Scotian): “The armored cars of dreams, contrived to let us do so many a dangerous thing.” When asked what this means to her, Dr. Shoveller said, “It’s important to think big, as it allows us to do things we might otherwise never have tried.” Keeping that sentiment in mind, we are very pleased to welcome Dr. Shoveller to the BC-CfE and look forward to working together for many years to come.