Vancouver doctor wins prestigious award

published on March 31, 2010

Despite the federal government’s continued opposition to Insite, the Downtown Eastside facility that offers a medically supervised injection environment for drug users, one of its founding principal investigators has received a top honour from the prestigious British Medical Journal (BMJ) for his work.

The BMJ gave 36-year-old Dr. Evan Wood, a Vancouverite, its inaugural Junior Doctor of the Year award for his groundbreaking work related to HIV, public health, drug policy, and addiction. The physician and epidemiologist has been involved with the scientific evaluation of Insite, which is the only safe-injection facility in North America, since it opened in 2003. His work has focused on HIV treatment strategies and health-care issues facing the Downtown Eastside. More >>