Meet HSD's research excellence winners
The winners of this year’s HSD Research Excellence Awards are changemakers who mobilize knowledge for good.
Three Nursing faculty members and an Indigenous Governance scholar were honoured at an event at HSD Research Day on April 25 for their efforts to build decolonial, just, sustainable and equitable futures.
It is the last year for the HSD-specific awards, as the Faculty of Human and Social Development is disestablished and the Faculty of Health officially starts on May 1.
Acting Associate Dean Research Karen Urbanoski says it was fitting to honour four researchers whose work extends beyond HSD to strengthen the communities they serve.
“This year’s awardees are united in their commitment to social justice and authentic collaboration in addressing the biggest challenges facing society today," says Urbanoski.
"Their work stands out as a testament to what is possible when research is conducted in service to community."
Here are the winners of this year’s awards:
- Indigenous Research Excellence Award - Hōkūlani Aikau, Indigenous Governance
- Early Career Research Excellence Award - Mariko Sakamoto, Nursing
- Mid-Career Research Excellence Award - Nancy Clark, Nursing
- Senior Research Excellence Award - Bernie Pauly, Nursing
This year’s HSD Research Day welcomed researchers based at schools and programs that will become part of the Faculty of Health.
More than 30 scholars and students presented at Sngequ House on research relating to the theme Partnering for a Shared Future, one of the University of Victoria’s strategic priorities, and a theme that unites research conducted across HSD.
The one-day symposium featured Harlan Pruden, a nēhiyo/First Nations Cree scholar known for his work with and for the Two-Spirit community, as the opening speaker.
Urbanoski says research day was an opportunity to gather, share and celebrate the research we have collectively co-created with diverse partners.
“This year’s event celebrated our many research collaborations – a fitting theme for the last HSD Research Day, as we look forward to future partnerships and opportunities,” she says.
Read more about the 2025 HSD Research Excellence winners.
Indigenous Research Excellence Award - Hōkūlani Aikau
Hōkūlani Aikau is known as an exceptional leader at UVic and internationally for her excellence in Indigenous-led research and community engagement.
A professor and interdisciplinary scholar with training in American studies and sociology, Aikau is a Kanaka ‘Ōiwi (Native Hawaiian) and is director of the School of Indigenous Governance at UVic.
Among her many research achievements, Aikau is co-leader of the $2.3 million CIHR Grant "Archipelagoes of Indigenous-led Resurgence for Planetary Health," which includes a new podcast series, Indigenous Planetary Health.
The Molokai Heritage Trust, Native Hawaiian community-led organization dedicated to the rematriation of Molokai lands to the community, is among the organizations that Aikau collaborates with. Interim general manager Kawaipuna Kalipi praised Aikau’s unwavering commitment to the work and her collaborative approach.
“While many professors possess extensive knowledge and articulate their expertise effectively, Dr. Aikau stands apart in her ability to do so while holding sacred space for the lived experiences and generational knowledges of Indigenous peoples,” Kalipi says in the nomination letter.
Fellow IGOV faculty member and nominator Gina Starblanket praised Aikau’s mentorship of students and academics and her leadership in shaping institutional programming and community partnership-building across HSD.
“Hōkū is not only a leader in Indigenous community-based and participatory action research, she is an innovator and visionary who creates opportunities, programs and policies that seek to center and drive Indigenous self-determination,” Starblanket says.
Early Career Research Excellence Award - Mariko Sakamoto
Mariko Sakamoto research focuses on the perspectives and experiences of older people living with complex and chronic conditions.
A registered nurse for more than 25 years and president of the Gerontological Nurses Association of BC, Sakamoto is particularly interested in people living with dementia and their caregivers.
Sakamoto joined UVic’s School of Nursing in 2023 as an assistant professor. In 2024, Mariko received a Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar Award, which was co-sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Society of BC.
She recently launched the second season of the podcast, Call to Mind. The series uses storytelling and audio diaries to explore the complexities and realities of dementia caregiving through the lens of four caregivers and their loved ones living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.
Nursing Professor Vera Caine says Sakamoto’s research highlights the importance of engaging with people who are often marginalized and excluded from social and political activities.
“I have been most impressed by Mariko’s longstanding commitment to dementia care, her community-based research approach, and her commitment to including people with lived and living experience in her research in meaningful and ethical ways,” Caine wrote in her nomination letter.
Read more about Sakamoto’s research.
Mid-Career Research Excellence Award - Nancy Clark
Nancy Clark is a community-engaged scholar who works with non-government groups and settlement agencies across BC to support the mental health and wellbeing of immigrant, refugee and racialized groups in Canada.
An associate professor in the School of Nursing, Clark received a Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar Award and was named a UVic’s President’s Chair in 2023.
Clark’s research examines the intersecting effects of globalization, racialization, the environment and the social determinants of mental health for refugees and other newcomers.
A community mental health nurse and clinician by training, Clark spent three decades working in underserved communities, including in Vancouver’s downtown Eastside and with people with acute mental health issues, before completing her PhD at the University of British Columbia.
Nursing Professor Vera Caine says Clark has been a leader in equity, diversity, and inclusion policy since joining UVic in 2017, advising on the academic advisory committee on equity and diversity, as well as within the school of nursing as co-chair of the justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion committee.
“Nancy has managed to build an exceptional program of research in response to today’s most significant global challenges,” Caine wrote in her nomination letter.
Clark is also co-chair of the Institute for Aging and Lifelong Health (IALH) health services and systems research area.
Senior Research Excellence Award - Bernie Pauly
Bernie Pauly is a world leader in reducing health inequities associated with substance use, promoting equity in substance use systems and services, and in conducting community-engaged research.
Described as a force for change, with an unwavering commitment to health equity and social justice, Pauly is a professor in the School of Nursing and a scientist with Canadian Institute of Substance Use Research (CISUR).
Over 20 years, Pauly’s research program has focused on the promotion of health equity at the intersection of substance use and homelessness in collaboration with communities impacted by health inequities. Her work has informed provincial, regional, and national harm reduction policies in nursing, housing and healthcare.
Pauly co-led a national study of Managed Alcohol Programs in Canada (CMAPS), which has established an evidence base for this harm-reduction approach to people with severe alcohol dependence. Her work as co-lead of a mixed methods study of prescribed safer supply in BC is providing ground-breaking, rigorous evidence on a topic of significant interest in BC, Canada, and beyond.
A highly sought-after research leader and collaborator, Pauly has worked with Victoria’s SOLID Outreach, many peer drug user groups around BC, multiple Indigenous organizations, and other community-based groups.
Nominator and CISUR Director Tim Naimi says although Pauly’s research has been largely conducted in the community, her work has had a dramatic impact on public policy.
“She has brought honour and dignity to her science, the university, her students, her collaborators, and her research subjects throughout her highly successful, innovative, and impactful career,” Naimi wrote.