Taylor Atwater

Indigenous Health Research Facilitator, Vancouver Coastal and Pacific Region

Education

• MSc Student in Indigenous Popluation Health, Simon Fraser University 

Biography

Taylor Atwater is Semà:th First Nations with mixed ancestry and grew up in Pemberton BC. She brings a diverse background to her work with a foundation in clinical exercise physiology, investigating the effects of high altitude on the coronary vascular system in her undergraduate research to exploring the lived experience of First Nations in BC with diabetes with the First Nations Health Authority. She is currently pursuing her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Krista Stelkia, focusing on First Nations-specific approaches to ethical health research in British Columbia.

Taylor boasts over four years of quantitative and qualitative research experience, using a Two-Eyed Seeing approach throughout various projects. Her dedication to advancing the well-being of Indigenous peoples is evident in her passion for promoting cultural safety and humility, as well as her commitment to exploring structural racism.

Currently, Taylor serves as an Indigenous Health Research Facilitator for both the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Regions with the BC NEIHR and the CCAIHG. She resides on the unceded and occupied lands of the Líl̓wat Nation, where she remains deeply connected to this community.