Meaghan Anne Thumath
PhD, MSc PH, BSN, RN
Assistant Professor, Presidents Academic Excellence Initiative (PAEI) in Public Health Emergencies
- Email meaghan.thumath@ubc.ca
- Address
UBC School of Nursing
T201 2211 Wesbrook Mall
Vancouver BC V6T2B5
Canada
Profile
Bio
- Assistant Professor, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia
- Clinician Scientist, Women’s Health Research Insititute (WHRI) and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI)
- Fellow, Wolfson College, University of Oxford
- Director, Office of the Chief Medical Health Officer, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH)
- Public Health Delegate, Emergency Response Unit (ERU), Canadian Red Cross
- Public Health Officer, World Health Emergencies Programme, WHO
Credentials
Profile
Dr. Meaghan Thumath is a Clinician Scientist and Clinical Assistant Professor at the UBC School of Nursing, specializing in health equity during public health emergencies. Her work bridges clinical practice, research, and policy to strengthen emergency response and preparedness, with a particular focus on human rights, gender, and marginalized populations.
She is a member of the World Health Emergencies Programme at the World Health Organization and has provided technical expertise on global outbreak response efforts, including WHO’s COVID-19 response in South Africa and the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). In addition to her work with WHO, she has conducted field research on infectious disease outbreaks with the Canadian Red Cross, UNAIDS, and the World Bank in South Sudan, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Ukraine, and Sri Lanka.
In Canada, Dr. Thumath has played a key role in public health leadership, serving as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Mental Health and Addiction, a Senior Practice Leader at the BC Centre for Disease Control, and the Executive Director of Population and Public Health for the BC Ministry of Health. Her work has informed national and provincial health strategies on harm reduction, infectious disease control, and health system preparedness.
She holds a doctorate in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation from the University of Oxford, where she was a Trudeau Scholar at the Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention (CEBI). She also has a Master of Science in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and maintains academic affiliations with the Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI, the BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) and Wolfson College at the University of Oxford. Dr. Thumath is a registered nurse (RN) with advanced practice certification in sexual and reproductive health and addiction medicine, integrating frontline experience with policy and research to advance health equity in public health emergencies.
Educational Background
BSN (Nursing), University of British Columbia
DLSHTM (Public Health), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
MScPH (Public Health), University of London
DPhil/ (Doctor of Philosophy in Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation), University of Oxford
Other affiliations/ titles:
Public Health Officer, World Health Emergencies Programme, WHO
Director, Office of the Chief Medical Health Officer, Vancouver Coastal Health
Fellow, Wolfson College, University of Oxford
Public Health Delegate, Emergency Response Unit (ERU), Canadian Red Cross
Clinician Scientist, WHRI (Women's Health Research Institute) and VCHRI (Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute)
Honours and Awards
King Charles III Coronation Medal
BC Ministry of Health STARS Nominee: Innovation
CTN James Kreppner Postdoctoral Fellow Award
Operation 50/50 Top Women in Global Health Security (Women in Global Health)
Summit Social Impact Fellowship Award
UBC Centenary Medal for Excellence in Nursing Profession
Skoll World Forum University of Oxford Fellowship Award
Ideas to Impact Fellowship, Said Business School, University of Oxford
Canada 150 Nursing Award (Canadian Nurses Association)
Andrew Johnson Award for Exceptional Contribution to HIV/AIDS Nursing, Canadian Association of Nurses in Aids Care (CANAC)
Award for Excellence in Interprofessional Education, College of Health Disciplines
Excellence in Nursing Education, College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (CRNBC
Publications
Publications
Selected Publications not Indexed in PubMed
Meaghan Thumath: COVID-19 and Inequities in Health — Below the Radar Conversations, 2020 | other
SOURCE-WORK-ID: BASE:15725ae240bab57ddbf535d67a7851fe61d187e942467cdd35e4c9d8b56c6f99
Source:Meaghan Thumath via BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine
"Offline: Part of the human experience" The Lancet
2018-11 | journal-article
Part of DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(18)32857-5
Part of ISSN: 0140-6736
Source:Meaghan Thumath
Expecting Better: Improving Health and Rights for Pregnant Women Who Use Drugs
2018 | report SOURCE-WORK-ID: BASE:ce5a8b5e5969e12354a040ed91c5114682875699b48cc909ef7a8a2e9d4e0802
Source:Meaghan ThumathviaBASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine
Awareness and use of nonoccupational post-exposure prophylaxis among men who have sex with men in Vancouver, Canada HIV Medicine
2016 | journal-article
DOI: 10.1111/hiv.12369
EID: 2-s2.0-84991384072
Source:Meaghan ThumathviaScopus - Elsevier
HIV testing behaviour and use of risk reduction strategies by HIV risk category among MSM in Vancouver International Journal of STD and AIDS
2016 | journal-article
DOI: 10.1177/0956462415575424
EID: 2-s2.0-84958152742
Source:Meaghan Thumath via Scopus - Elsevier
Implementation of HIV treatment as prevention strategy in 17 Canadian sites: immediate and sustained outcomes from a 35-month Quality Improvement Collaborative BMJ Qual Saf
2015-07 | journal-articleDOI: 10.1136/bmjqs
-2015-004269
Source:Meaghan Thumath via Crossref Metadata Search
24(th) Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research/24(e) Congrès Annuel Canadien de Recherche sur le VIH/sida CAHR Committees / Comités de l'ACRV. The Canadian journal of infectious diseases & medical microbiology = Journal canadien des maladies infectieuses et de la microbiologie medicale
2015-03 | journal-article
PMID: 26015799
PMC: PMC4427862
Source:Meaghan Thumath via Europe PubMed Central
Relationship between disclosure of same-sex sexual activity to providers, HIV diagnosis and sexual health services for men who have sex with men in Vancouver, Canada. Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique
2014-04 | journal-article
PMID: 25165837
PMC: PMC6972168
DOI: 10.17269/cjph.105.4212
Source:Meaghan Thumath via Europe PubMed Central
Risks for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections among Asian men who have sex with men in Vancouver, British Columbia: a cross-sectional survey. BMC public health
2013-08 | journal-article
PMID: 23947623
PMC: PMC3751745
DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-763
Source:Meaghan Thumath via Europe PubMed Central
Thumath, M, Nettleton C, Stephens C, Napolitano D (2007). Peoples of North America Section: Overview of the existing global knowledge on the social determinants of Indigenous Health. WHO Commission on the Social Determinants of Health: World Health Organization. PDF link
Granger P, Thumath M (2004) UBC Division of Inner City Health. University of British Columbia, Department of Family Practice Research: Volume 4, Issue 1, p. 2-3.
B. Lightfoot, C. Panessa, S. Hayden, M. Thumath, I. Goldstone, B. Pauly (2009). Gaining Insite: Harm Reduction in Nursing Practice. Canadian Nurse: Apr; 105(4):16-22.
Teaching
Supervisor Eligibility
MSN - thesis, PhD