Eureka! moments
Leaders in life-changing research.
We try not to call them mavericks but it’s hard not to. The clinician/researchers at Providence Health Care personify the concept of “moonshot” thinking.
Together with their teams, they’re tackling huge, community-wide problems to improve care and outcomes for people across British Columbia and beyond.
- This is the place where Dr. Julio Montaner discovered how to not die from HIV/AIDS. Today, treatment protocols he introduced have turned HIV from a death sentence to a chronic, manageable disease.
- It’s where Dr. John Webb pioneered a minimally-invasive way to replace heart valves without open heart surgery. TAVI is now the gold-standard in more than 40 countries. Even Mick Jagger has had the procedure!
- Where Dr. Steve Mathias recognized the urgent need for youth-specific mental health outreach. His idea became Foundry: a place where young people can drop in and get support for mental wellness, substance use, family dynamics, employment, and social connection all under a single roof. Today, there are 13 Foundry locations in communities across BC with 11 more underway. [1]
- Where Dr. Marc Deyell is leading the first-in-BC trials of a revolutionary new device to treat patients with atrial fibrillation. This frightening heart condition affects more than 200,000 Canadians and can increase your risk of stroke by 500%.
- Where Dr. Fariba Mohtashami developed a safer, less invasive way to remove uterine fibroids. Using a minimally-invasive laparoscopic technique (sometimes called keyhole surgery), the majority of large fibroid tumours can be excised without removing the entire uterus.
We’re on the cusp of a golden age in research with the promise of not only treating life-threatening conditions, but discovering how to prevent them in the first place.

“What would I say to our donors? Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Without you, we wouldn’t be where we are today! ”
Dr. Andrew Thamboo
Research Director, St. Paul’s Sinus Centre
Your gift fuels innovation, discovery, and life-changing care.