A White Rock doctor who "is doing incredible work to keep seniors healthier" is among 14 researchers across the province celebrated with a Michael Smith Health Research BC Professional-Investigator Award.
Dr. Sonia Singh received the distinction last month. Worth $90,000/year for up to five years, the award aims to support health professionals who are involved in building research programs, training the next generation of scientists and making significant contributions to their field.
According to a bio at healthresearchbc.ca, Singh is a hospital-based physician with expertise in osteoporosis and fall prevention. She started the province's first Fracture Liaison Service at Peace Arch Hospital in 2015. The aim of FLS is to help prevent injuries among patients who are at risk of subsequent fractures.
Currently, Singh is the lead investigator on a Health Research Policy Project funded by the Canadian Institute of Health Research to develop policy to spread FLS across B.C.
She is the third Fraser Health physician to receive the Michael Smith Health Research BC award, and said she is "incredibly grateful" for the opportunity.
“There aren’t a lot of salary support awards for research for practising clinicians who don’t have paid academic appointments," Singh said in a news release.
"The research I’m doing involves a lot of teamwork and collaboration, and it’s very time-consuming.”
Singh's work is focused on helping people live well as they age, particularly older folks with fractures that are not associated with a form of exercise or other specific event.
“In orthopedics and emergency medicine, we do a good job of treating fractures and broken bones and ensuring patients have rehabilitation to regain function,” Singh elaborated. “But we don’t typically have the wraparound care to ensure people don’t come back with another fracture.”
Fractures are one of the reasons that people end up in long-term care, Singh said. Preventing them "improves quality of life and helps people maintain their independence while decreasing health-related costs."
The Michael Smith award will give Singh the flexibility to devote half of her time to research, and support potential expansion of the Fracture Liaison Service. Offering patients a personalized treatment plan and following them for one year, the FLS is currently only available at PAH and Chilliwack General Hospital.
Fraser Health department of evaluation and research services director Kate Keetch described Singh as "a shining example of how physicians support their patients by constantly striving for better ways of delivering health services."
“Her research in the area of frailty is already improving lives and is moving knowledge into action," Keetch continued.
The award "reflects her commitment to patients and research in the Fraser Health region and beyond," Keetch added.
The accolade was not Singh's first. In addition to receiving previous research grants from national and provincial agencies, she was awarded a Fraser Health Above and Beyond Award for Evidence Based Practice in 2015, and in 2022, received Osteoporosis Canada's Community BackBone Award.