As one of SFU's most outstanding graduate students from the Faculty of Health Sciences, Dr. Natalie Kinloch is recognized with the Governor General’s Gold Convocation Medal. On behalf of SFU, we congratulate Dr. Natalie Kinloch on her outstanding achievements.

Dr. Natalie Kinloch’s PhD research leveraged HIV genetic diversity to better understand the virus while at the same time addressing some of the problems this diversity poses to HIV vaccine and cure development. Her work, in part conducted in collaboration with researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine, included improvements to a gold-standard test used to measure HIV that can remain hidden in the body of individuals living with HIV for decades, a test that is now used in research and clinical trials.

Kinloch completed her undergraduate degree with honours in the Faculty of Health Sciences, and decided to stay at SFU for graduate studies, pursuing her doctoral degree in Dr. Zabrina Brumme’s lab, helping to make the laboratory into the internationally-recognized one it is today.

Kinloch received top grades during her graduate program, as well as numerous awards, including the prestigious CIHR Vanier Scholarship to support her doctoral studies. She was even invited early in her graduate career to serve as a reviewer for a CIHR undergraduate funding programme.

With many published manuscripts in high impact journals and presentations at local, national and international conferences, Kinloch has been sought out by international leaders in HIV cure clinical trials for her expertise.

Kinloch’s leadership also extends beyond the academy. As an ambassador of the lab and the university, her mentorship, support and empowerment extends to BC youth athletics, where she served as a Head Coach in the Tri-City Eagles junior girls field hockey program for over 10 years, alongside the demands of her academic program, research and the lab.

Dr. Zabrina Brumme, Kinloch’s supervisor, is thrilled to have been able to work with Kinloch for such a long time. Says Brumme, “Natalie is one of our long-time star SFU students. I was fortunate to originally attract Natalie to my lab as an BSc honours student, and even more fortunate that she decided to pursue her graduate degree in my laboratory.”

“I have been so fortunate to have received Dr. Brumme’s incredible mentorship throughout our nearly decade-long journey working together. She has taught me how to be a scientist and given me every possible opportunity to learn and grow as a young researcher. I would not be where I am today without her guidance and support.”   

She is a current SFU postdoctoral fellow and a research assistant at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS where she is wrapping up the last study from her thesis for publication while finding the right place for the next step in her career.