Faculty profile

Richard Lester

ResearcherInfectious DiseasesUniversity of British Columbia

This profile is built from public research funding records (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) and PubMed. We have not imported them from a University of British Columbia directory, so their courses and email address may be missing. Find their university profile.

Richard Lester

Researcher

Infectious Diseases

University of British Columbia

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Supervision signals

Has led research grants, which requires an independent research appointment. Ask their department whether they supervise graduate students.
10 publications in the last five years, latest in 2025.
Senior (last) author on 1 recent paper, a sign of leading a research group.
Principal investigator on 7 research grants (7 CIHR), most recently in 2020.
Supervisor on 2 trainee awards (2 CIHR), most recently in 2019.

These signals come from public records, including CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions. Ask the professor or the graduate program whether they are taking new students.

Academic metrics

Publications

468

Citations

Collaborators

Grants

Publications by year

Counts cover the publications linked to this profile. Citations and the h-index appear when the source records them.

Profiles and links

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Signals and details

Research

Global Health Engagement In Care Hiv/Aids Retention In Care Coronavirus 2019 (Covid-19)Data Analytics Digital Health Emergency Preparedness

Latest papers

Findings from the Tushirikiane-4-MH (supporting each other for mental health) mobile health–supported virtual reality randomized controlled trial among urban refugee youth in Kampala, Uganda
Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health · 2025
Equitable access to essential medicines to treat neglected tropical diseases: Latest developments from the World Health Organization (WHO).
PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2025
Text-based messaging to support rheumatoid arthritis care: an analysis of frequency and content of text-messages.
BMC rheumatology · 2025

All 34 publications

Latest funding

The Cedar Project: Strengthening Our Spirit Intervention for Indigenous peoples who use drugs in Vancouver, BC
CIHR · 2023 · Co-investigator
$1,977,524
The Cedar Project: Strengthening Our Spirit Intervention for Indigenous peoples who use drugs in two Canadian cities
CIHR · 2022 · Co-investigator
$2,297,191
Tushirikiane-4-Uthabiti (Supporting Each Other For Resilience): A mixed-methods mobile health study to understand and address the social and health impacts of COVID-19 among urban refugee youth in Kampala, Uganda
CIHR · 2021 · Co-investigator
$482,800

All 31 grants and awards

34 publications.

Findings from the Tushirikiane-4-MH (supporting each other for mental health) mobile health–supported virtual reality randomized controlled trial among urban refugee youth in Kampala, Uganda

Logie CH, Okumu M, Admassu Z, MacKenzie F, Gittings L, Kortenaar J-L, Khan N, Hakiza R, Musoke DK, Nakitende A

Cambridge Prisms: Global Mental Health20254 citationsOpen Access

DOI: 10.1017/gmh.2025.3 PMID: W4406777310

Equitable access to essential medicines to treat neglected tropical diseases: Latest developments from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Fattah F, Lester R, Kalua K, Sharp B, Wasan KM

PLoS neglected tropical diseases2025

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0013854 PMID: 41433303

Text-based messaging to support rheumatoid arthritis care: an analysis of frequency and content of text-messages.

Sipley M, Zafar SN, Ester M, Hazlewood G, Dhiman K, Charlton A, Then KL, Dempsey E, Lester R, Hoens AM, Lacaille D, Sloss S, Barnabe C, Mosher D, Barber CEH

BMC rheumatology2025

DOI: 10.1186/s41927-025-00571-2 PMID: 41088348

Kukaa Salama (Staying Safe): a pre-post trial of an interactive informational mobile health intervention for increasing COVID-19 prevention practices with urban refugee youth in Uganda

Logie CH, Okumu M, Berry I, Kortenaar J-L, Hakiza R, Musoke DK, Katisi B, Nakitende A, Kyambadde P, Lester R

International Health20249 citationsOpen Access

DOI: 10.1093/inthealth/ihad051 PMID: W4384493302

"How are you?" Perspectives From Patients and Health Care Providers of Text Messaging to Support Rheumatoid Arthritis Care: A Thematic Analysis.

Zafar SN, Hazlewood G, Dhiman K, Charlton A, Then KL, Dempsey E, Lester R, Hoens AM, Lacaille D, Barnabe C, Rankin J, Mosher D, Barber CEH

ACR open rheumatology2024

DOI: 10.1002/acr2.11652 PMID: 38376004

Findings from the Tushirikiane mobile health (mHealth) HIV self‐testing pragmatic trial with refugee adolescents and youth living in informal settlements in Kampala, Uganda

Logie CH, Okumu M, Berry I, Hakiza R, Baral SD, Musoke DK, Nakitende A, Mwima S, Kyambadde P, Loutet M

Journal of the International AIDS Society202326 citationsOpen Access

DOI: 10.1002/jia2.26185 PMID: W4387728806

Implementation and impact of the global access principles at the University of British Columbia: current successes and future challenges.

Gallini N, Hancock REW, Lester R, Sharp B, Wasan KM

Frontiers in pharmacology2023

DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1271618 PMID: 38169728

Mobile Health–Supported Virtual Reality and Group Problem Management Plus: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Trial Among Urban Refugee and Displaced Youth in Kampala, Uganda (Tushirikiane4MH, Supporting Each Other for Mental Health)

Logie CH, Okumu M, Kortenaar J-L, Gittings L, Khan N, Hakiza R, Musoke DK, Nakitende A, Katisi B, Kyambadde P

JMIR Research Protocols202212 citations

DOI: 10.2196/42342

Digital mHealth and Virtual Care Use During COVID-19 in 4 Countries: Rapid Landscape Review.

Müller A, Cau A, Muhammed S, Abdullahi O, Hayward A, Nsanzimana S, Lester R

JMIR formative research2022Senior author

DOI: 10.2196/26041 PMID: 34932498

A text messaging intervention and quality of life in adolescents with solid organ transplants.

Rathgeber SL, Hutchison SM, De Souza AM, Lester R, Blydt-Hansen T, Human DG, Guttman O, Oberlander TF, Armstrong KR

Pediatric transplantation2022

DOI: 10.1111/petr.14219 PMID: 35142005

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2020

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Global Health Dear Professor Lester, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Findings from the Tushirikiane-4-MH (supporting each other for mental health) mobile health–supported virtual reality randomized controlled trial among urban refugee youth in Kampala, Uganda" (2025), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "Digital Virtual Support of Cases and Contacts to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19): Readiness and Knowledge Sharing for Global Outbreaks (WelTel PHM)" (2020), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]

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Richard Lester

Research

Latest papers

Latest funding

Findings from the Tushirikiane-4-MH (supporting each other for mental health) mobile health–supported virtual reality randomized controlled trial among urban refugee youth in Kampala, Uganda

Equitable access to essential medicines to treat neglected tropical diseases: Latest developments from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Text-based messaging to support rheumatoid arthritis care: an analysis of frequency and content of text-messages.

Kukaa Salama (Staying Safe): a pre-post trial of an interactive informational mobile health intervention for increasing COVID-19 prevention practices with urban refugee youth in Uganda

"How are you?" Perspectives From Patients and Health Care Providers of Text Messaging to Support Rheumatoid Arthritis Care: A Thematic Analysis.

Findings from the Tushirikiane mobile health (mHealth) HIV self‐testing pragmatic trial with refugee adolescents and youth living in informal settlements in Kampala, Uganda

Implementation and impact of the global access principles at the University of British Columbia: current successes and future challenges.

Mobile Health–Supported Virtual Reality and Group Problem Management Plus: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Trial Among Urban Refugee and Displaced Youth in Kampala, Uganda (Tushirikiane4MH, Supporting Each Other for Mental Health)

Digital mHealth and Virtual Care Use During COVID-19 in 4 Countries: Rapid Landscape Review.

A text messaging intervention and quality of life in adolescents with solid organ transplants.

Frequent collaborators

Lawrence Mbuagbaw

Gina Ogilvie

Mark Gilbert

Isha Berry

Melanie Murray

Diane Lacaille

Lesley Gittings

Naimul Khan

Glen Hazlewood

Cheryl Barnabe

Dianne Mosher

Kristian Thorlund

Lehana Thabane

Edward Joseph Mills

Mel Krajden

Penelope Brasher

Tom Blydt-Hansen

KHUMBO KALUA

James Rankin

Jennifer Gratrix

Nancy Gallini

Kendall Ho

Carmen Logie

Victoria Cook

Deborah Money

Mohsen Sadatsafavi

Kevin Schwartzman

Neora Pick