Rate My Professor Anita Palepu

Anita Palepu, MD, MPH, FRCPC, MACP, FCAHS, is a Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and serves as Head of the UBC Department of Medicine, holding the Eric W. Hamber Chair in Medicine. She earned her Master of Public Health from Boston University School of Public Health in 1996 and previously held faculty appointments at Boston University School of Medicine, where she contributed to research in the Section of General Internal Medicine. Currently, she is the Physician Program Director for the St. Paul’s Hospital Medicine Program, practices as a general internist at St. Paul’s Hospital, and conducts research as a scientist at the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences (CHÉOS). Her career also includes completion of the THNK School of Creative Leadership program in 2015. Dr. Palepu is actively involved in professional organizations such as the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine, Canadian Medical Association, and American College of Physicians.

Dr. Palepu's research specializations encompass urban health, with a focus on housing, homelessness, substance use, addiction treatment, social determinants of health, quality of life, and health data science ecosystems to improve patient care. She co-leads the UBC AI and Health Network and serves as Associate Editor for Annals of Internal Medicine. Her scholarly impact is evidenced by over 14,000 citations on Google Scholar. Key publications include "Minority Faculty and Academic Rank in Medicine" (JAMA, 1998), "Relation of Family Responsibilities and Gender to the Productivity of Academic Medicine Faculty" (Annals of Internal Medicine, 1998), "Housing First Improves Residential Stability in Homeless Adults With Concurrent Substance Dependence and Mental Disorders" (American Journal of Public Health, 2014), and "Substance Abuse Treatment and Emergency Department Utilization Among a Cohort of Homeless Persons With Alcohol Dependence" (Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 2004). Major awards and honors include Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (2021), Providence Health Care Research and Mission Award (2020), UBC Department of Medicine Shelley Naiman Award for Outstanding Teaching (2019), Inaugural Graydon Meneilly Award for Excellence in Mentoring (2017), Master of the American College of Physicians (2016), and multiple master teacher awards (2015). Her work has advanced interventions for residential stability and health outcomes in vulnerable populations.