Dr. Surita Parashar receives Dean’s Convocation Medal

Dr. Surita Parashar is one of the first PhD students to graduate from our Faculty of Health Sciences, and her doctoral dissertation exemplifies SFU’s goal of engaging the community.

Her dissertation highlights the moving stories of people living with HIV in Vancouver and investigates the impact of housing on their health and quality of life. While working on her PhD, Surita arranged photo exhibitions where participants shared their photos and stories with politicians, health care providers and members of their own communities.

Dr. Robert Hogg, her supervisor, says, “Surita works tirelessly to facilitate the meaningful engagement of community in her research. She brings a sincere dedication to participatory, community-based approaches to HIV/AIDS research and empowering affected communities, and I am sure she will carry these core values into all of her future endeavours.”

Surita’s PhD research was supported by a Canadian Institutes
of Health Research (CIHR) Doctoral Research Award in Health Services and Population Health. As a PhD student working at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE), Surita facilitated the submission of seven successful CIHR grants in competitive funding pools. As an investigator on these projects, she has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles in the scientific literature and abstracts that she has presented at national and international conferences. After Dr. Parashar was selected to present her PhD research at the 21st Annual conference on Canadian HIV Research, she was awarded the prestigious CAHR New Investigator Award in 2012.

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