Centre for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences Education

Welcome to the Centre for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences Education.

Situated at the Cumming School of Medicine, RIHSE is the place to connect with individuals who are engaged with education research, innovation, and scholarship.  Our primary mandate is to build a community of individuals who can come together to share their interests and collaborate on education scholarship in the health sciences.  We welcome undergraduate students, graduate students, medical students, residents, and faculty in the health sciences to join us in advancing health sciences education through collaboration in original education research and scholarship and evaluation of existing educational innovations.

Our Goals:

1. Build community and culture.
2. Foster excellence in health science education research and scholarship
3. Measure impact of educational programs
4. Build capacity in health sciences education research and scholarship
5. Lead transdisciplinary health sciences education research

How Can We Help?

If you are working on an education project in a health sciences related discipline, whether it is in medicine, foundational sciences, graduate education, or in other health-related faculties, RIHSE is here to support you. 

We are here to make connections within and beyond CSM between people who have a special interest in education, educational innovation, and educational research and scholarship.  At CSM there is a network of skilled educators and scholars who may be able to support your work, provide mentorship, or consultation to help you with your educational scholarship. We host regular events to help build capacity and community in educational research and have some supports for doing education research. Please reach out to us, whether you are a student, new faculty, or seasoned education researcher, if you would like to connect.  RIHSE@ucalgary.ca

Our Team

Dr. Lara Cooke is the Associate Dean of Health Education Research and Innovation and took on the leadership of RIHSE in January of 2025.

Anthony Sturgeon, Program Coordinator, came to RIHSE in September of 2025 from UBC, where he worked for several years coordinating programming in their undergraduate medical education program.

Shree Lamicchane, Research Assistant, joins RIHSE in November 2025, having come to CSM from Queen’s University.

Join our Team!

RIHSE is seeking collaborators.  In the coming year, we will form a Program Evaluation Group and a Scientific Collaborative at RIHSE.  If you are a graduate student, trainee or faculty at the University of Calgary and have interest and expertise in educational program evaluation or are interested in contributing to and participating in an academic community of practice in education research and scholarship, please contact Dr. Lara Cooke, lcooke@ucalgary.ca.  We welcome individuals from any Faculty, with the goal of enhancing educational innovation and research through transdisciplinary engagement.