August 10, 2022
Dr. Anita Palepu

Meet our DASH community

Starting this month, DASH will feature our members and trainees on our newsletter and website to explore the various expertise, interests, and background that each of us brings to our data science and health community.

Name:
Dr. Anita Palepu

Title and Affiliation:
Professor and Eric W. Hamber Chair
Head, Department of Medicine
University of British Columbia

Role in DASH:
Co-Lead

Please introduce yourself.

I am the Head of the Department of Medicine for UBC and Providence Health Care and have been in the roles for almost 3 years. I am a General Internal Medicine specialist and practice at St. Paul's Hospital on the Clinical Teaching Unit. A strategic priority for the UBC Department of Medicine is to build our capacity in data science and health and we are collaborating with amazing faculty and staff across UBC Vancouver and Okanagan to move this agenda forward.

What is your role in DASH and what do you hope to achieve through DASH?

I am one of the DASH leads and aim to build a collaborative network of faculty and staff interested in data science and health across Faculties and Campuses at UBC. With the input and support of the network, we hope to facilitate research opportunities to answer important questions that will improve health and health care.

What is your favourite book and why?

My favourite book is still A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. It is historical fiction and a heart-wrenching story that follows four individuals in 1975 during the State of Emergency declared by Indira Gandhi. The author has deep compassion for the characters, which translates to powerful and poignant storytelling.

"'You see, we cannot draw lines and compartments and refuse to budge beyond them. Sometimes you have to use your failures as stepping-stones to success. You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair.' He paused, considering what he had just said. 'Yes', he repeated. 'In the end, it's all a question of balance.'"

In life, I often reflect on that fine balance between hope and despair.

  • Story

Data Science and Health

10th Floor, Diamond Health Care Centre, 2775 Laurel Street
Vancouver, BC Canada V5Z 1M9

Research Excellence Clusters at UBC Vancouver is a joint initiative of the Provost and Vice-President, Academic, UBC Vancouver and the Vice-President, Research and Innovation. Funding support for the clusters is provided by Academic Excellence Funds – UBC Vancouver.

UBC Crest The official logo of the University of British Columbia. Urgent Message An exclamation mark in a speech bubble. Caret An arrowhead indicating direction. Arrow An arrow indicating direction. Arrow in Circle An arrow indicating direction. Arrow in Circle An arrow indicating direction. Bluesky The logo for the Bluesky social media service. Chats Two speech clouds. Facebook The logo for the Facebook social media service. Information The letter 'i' in a circle. Instagram The logo for the Instagram social media service. External Link An arrow entering a square. Linkedin The logo for the LinkedIn social media service. Location Pin A map location pin. Mail An envelope. Menu Three horizontal lines indicating a menu. Minus A minus sign. Telephone An antique telephone. Plus A plus symbol indicating more or the ability to add. Search A magnifying glass. Twitter The logo for the Twitter social media service. Youtube The logo for the YouTube video sharing service.