About Us

The You Matter Lab is an applied public health research lab embedded at the British Columbia (BC) Centre for Disease Control (CDC). The lab is led by Dr. Sofia Bartlett, Scientific Director (Interim) for Clinical Prevention Services at the BC CDC and Assistant Professor (Partner) at the UBC School of Population and Public Health. Grounded in the principles of equity, harm reduction, and community-engaged research, the You Matter Lab focuses on improving population level health and well-being through reducing the impact of communicable diseases on people impacted by incarceration, substance use, and structural stigma. Our work focuses on addressing infections which most disproportionately impact this population, including sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs) such as HIV or hepatitis C virus, as well as COVID-19 and tuberculosis.

The You Matter Lab builds on the foundation of the STBBI Pathways Project — which was a collaboration between the BC CDC and BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services carried out from 2020-2022. This initial project was centered on the voices and preferences of people living with or at risk for STBBIs who experience incarceration in BC, in order to create person-centered and trauma-informed guidelines for how to provide STBBI testing and care in provincial correctional centres. The You Matter Lab expands this vision into a broader, long-term program of embedded and applied public health research, aiming to create systems and services where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued— and knows that they matter.

Our Goals

We strive to generate actionable evidence to inform interventions, programs, and policies using mixed-methods, community-based, and participatory research. Our work is shaped by close collaborations with community members, particularly those who have lived or living experience of STBBIs, peer researchers, clinicians, and decision-makers, and is guided by a foundational commitment to intersectional health equity. In fulfillment of our legally enshrined obligations under the BC Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the Government of Canada’s United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, we strive to uphold Indigenous sovereignty in all aspects of our work.

Our Values

• Collaboration, co-design, & co-leadership
• Trauma-informed and decolonial practices
• Elevating evidence that incorporates western scientific sources and methods with Indigenous Ways of Knowing as well as community expertise and knowledge
• Identifying & addressing the root causes of health inequities through focusing on the social determinants of health
• Fostering person-centered care and research that respects individuals, their choices, and their concerns
• The importance of engagement in care to mitigate morbidity and mortality for STBBIs and other health issues
• Striving to eliminate stigma
• Intersectionality
• Harm reduction