Abbotsford (Carrie Stefanson) – A clinical dietitian in Abbotsford has received the prestigious 2025 Michael Smith Health Research BC Health Professional-Investigator award, worth $450,000 over five years, to expand her research into sarcopenia in critically ill patients.
“This award gives me the time and capacity to grow my research program and answer questions that matter to patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit,” says Courtney Wedemire, a clinical dietitian at Abbotsford Regional Hospital.
Her research aims to improve quality of life for ICU patients by identifying and addressing muscle loss early—an often-overlooked factor linked to poor outcomes. With this new funding, Courtney will expand her work on how pre-existing sarcopenia and malnutrition influence recovery. The research will be conducted at Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Surrey Memorial Hospital, in collaboration with Fraser Health dietitians and the University of British Columbia.
The Health Professional-Investigator award provides financial support to health professionals like Courtney—who are actively involved in patient care—to build their research programs, train the next generation of scientists and make significant contributions to their field.
“Research is important, research is another way of delivering health care,” says Courtney. “As clinicians, we are focused on delivering care to patients at the bedside, leaving little time to contribute to research and help improve outcomes for all patients, so I’m incredibly grateful to Michael Smith Health Research BC for this opportunity to further my research and I hope it will have implications for patient care province wide.”
It was the late Liz da Silva, Fraser Health’s first research dietitian, who sparked Courtney’s passion for research. Throughout her more than 30-year career, Liz was a fierce advocate for research in dietetics.
“I don’t think I would be here in this position if it wasn’t for Liz,” Courtney says. “Her dream was to see acute care dietitians have dedicated research time and funding. And she encouraged me and mentored me starting many years ago, even with just simple quality improvement projects.”
“Through Courtney, Liz’s dream is becoming a reality,” says Kate Keetch, director, Department of Evaluation and Research Services. “She is conducting research that improves clinical care with a team of students and other dietitians, whom she will mentor, just as Liz did for her. I know Liz would be so proud of Courtney, just as I am. She is another great example of championing our vision that ‘research is care.’
