Welcome to the fundraising page to establish The Dr. Allison Eddy Lectureship in Pediatric Healthcare Excellence which will showcase clinical and patient-oriented research that advances knowledge and best practices in the field of pediatric healthcare.

Named for Dr. Allison Eddy, Professor and Head of the UBC Department of Pediatrics at BC Children’s Hospital, raised funds will help launch the lectureship program. This annual lectureship will support a visit of an outstanding national or international scholar and allow him/her to give a presentation and spend some time with our faculty, trainees and staff. It is hoped that the visit will not only inspire our own faculty, but potentially lead to new cross-institutional research collaborations that will ultimately strengthen patient care at BC Children’s Hospital.

ABOUT DR. ALLISON EDDY

Dr. Allison Eddy is an internationally respected pediatric nephrology physician-scientist and leader across multiple domains (patient care, education, research, global health, and pediatrician workforce). She is currently Professor and Pediatric Department Head, University of BC (UBC) and Chief Pediatric Medicine, Children’s and Women’s Hospitals, Provincial Health Services Authority. As one of the largest pediatric departments in Canada, BC Children’s Hospital, Department of Pediatrics serves a pediatric population of nearly 1 million in BC and consists of 19 subspecialty divisions and one General Pediatrics division, as well as four provincially distributed sites (Vancouver-Fraser, Island, Southern, and Northern).

The UBC Department of Pediatrics at BC Children’s Hospital is at the critical nexus between research, education, and clinical care within the Province of British Columbia. While the focus of the Department is provincial, the impact of the Department is international. In her role as Department Head of Pediatrics, Dr. Eddy has clearly proven herself as creative in how she has led BC pediatricians. Her actions have been very deliberate in having long-term positive effects not only on patient care, but also on university and hospital infrastructure—trainee education, faculty careers, quality improvement, research, etc. As Department Head, she has been determined to enhance and strengthen BC Children’s Hospital, Department of Pediatrics leaving it stronger than when she received it. Some highlights of her contributions include:

· Creation of “Vision 2020”, a departmental strategic plan with a mandate to guide the department in achieving its goals of: unifying the department, investing in its people, strengthening its resources, and improving its work environment. This strategic plan integrated clinical care with research, expanded mentorship of faculty through successful promotion and award nominations, advanced pediatric rotations into rural/remote areas of the province, increased awareness of the critical BC pediatrician shortage via the BC Pediatric Workforce Survey with the BC Pediatrics Society, and boosted Visiting Professor speaking programs at distributed sites outside of Vancouver.

· In 2016, Dr. Eddy was awarded the BC Children’s Hospital inaugural endowed hospital chair – the Hudson Family Hospital Chair in Pediatric Medicine. With this honour, she founded an early faculty career development program which provides pediatricians with 20% protected research time to explore quality improvement endeavours over a two-year period. The program’s goal has been to establish a critical mass of pediatrician specialists with the expertise to lead innovative quality improvements (QI) that positively impact health systems, health services, and health care models to enhance pediatric patient quality, access and outcomes, and propel research forward. This competitive program is now highly valued and receives an excess of applications. Each scholar is awarded an honorarium over a two-year period to work on quality improvement initiatives that will benefit patient care. The program is currently in Cohort #3. In 2020, she enabled the 2-year pediatric leadership roles to develop and implement a department-wide Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) faculty engagement, professional development and strategic action plan with tangible initiatives that also help us eliminate Racial Inequity. The program has funded 14 Hudson Scholars to date. This program also provides young faculty with mentors and will lead to the development of numerous pediatrician specialists at BC Children’s Hospital – ultimately, creating win-win scenarios for everyone.

· Another innovative initiative that Dr. Eddy has been leading is a new Graduate Program in Women and Children’s Health (WACH) Science Program. This is a new UBC Faculty of Medicine graduate program (MSc and PhD) in partnership with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Currently, no unified graduate student community at the BC Children’s Hospital site (UBC Oak Street campus). Unfortunately, very few graduate programs offer an expertise stream in child health anywhere in the world. There is anticipation that this innovative “Enhanced Scholar Program” will bring together research expertise in both women and children’s health sciences across a research continuum from bench to bedside to populations and health services. The intention is to create a culture of individualized student-focused training. It is hoped that inaugural students can enroll fall 2022. 

The above are just a few examples of how Dr. Eddy has devoted herself to pediatrics and has made remarkable contributions to improving the long-term health of British Columbia’s children and youth through excellence in research, education and clinical care.

In her many roles, she mentored and supported many researchers who have gone on to make remarkable contributions to pediatric science.

Dr. Eddy is a renowned scientist, in her own right, and has been a basic science clinician-investigator since 1985 and is internationally recognized for her work on the cellular and molecular mechanisms of kidney fibrosis, the final common pathway leading to chronic and end-stage kidney disease.

She has published over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts. From 2001-2007 she was the Deputy Editor of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology and recently completed a term as an Associate Editor for the journal Pediatric Nephrology.

In recognition of her leadership, academic excellence, scientific creativity, and willingness to serve, Dr. Eddy was elected as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2020 for her contributions to Pediatric Nephrology. Induction into the Academy represents one of the highest honours within Canada’s academic community.

WHY DONATE?

Under Dr. Eddy's leadership, the Department of Pediatrics is not only transforming pediatric health care in British Columbia, but transforming the next generation of pediatricians committed to delivering equitable and expert care. By contributing to her named lectureship, your donation will make a difference in ongoing pediatric research and patient care at BC Children’s Hospital. 

The Dr. Allison Eddy Lectureship in Pediatric Healthcare Excellence will launch in June 2022, with the first presentation delivered by Dr. Allison Eddy herself. 

Please donate to this important initiative to honour Dr. Allison Eddy for her many outstanding contributions to BC Children’s Hospital and to follow her excellent example of ensuring that pediatric research and patient care at BC Children’s Hospital are not just sustained, but continue to grow and strengthen over time – ultimately benefitting BC’s pediatric patient population.

Donations of $20 or more will receive an income tax receipt.

Thank you for your consideration contribution!

THE HOSPITAL FAMILY FOUNDATION MATCHING PROGRAM

To kick off this fundraising campaign, the Hospital Family Foundation Matching Program will automatically match a $10,000 donation from one individual or corporation. If interested, please contact us at the e-mail address below.

Queries: pedcomm@cw.bc.ca