MD, FRCPC
Clinical Assistant Professor
Location
Vancouver General Hospital
Bio
Dr. Karen Tran is a General Internist in the Division of General Internal Medicine at UBC, and a Clinical Assistant Professor with the Department of Medicine. She completed her medical school, internal medicine residency, and General Internal Medicine fellowship at UBC. She completed additional hypertension and vascular medicine fellowship training at McGill University.
Dr. Tran currently works as a General Internist on the Clinical Teaching Unit and Hypertension Clinics at Vancouver General Hospital and with Obstetrical Medicine at BC Women’s Hospital. She is a certified hypertension specialist by the American Society of Hypertension, and is a member of Hypertension Canada Guideline committee for blood pressure measurement and resistant hypertension. Her research interests include blood pressure measurement in pregnancy.
Research
- Hypertension measurement in pregnancy
- Ethnicity and hypertension
- Medication adverse events and hypertension
Drs. Karen Tran and Wee-Shian Chan are developing and testing new methods to detect and monitor hypertensive disorders in pregnant women. Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy account for a majority of maternal, fetal, and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Key gaps exist in how blood pressure is measured in pregnant women compared to those who not pregnant. They are launching a national study to examine how modernized fully automated oscillometric blood pressure devices and home blood pressure monitoring may provide more accurate assessment of blood pressure in these high-risk women. With more accurate and earlier detection of high blood pressure, the researchers may be able to institute earlier interventions to improve health outcomes in moms and their babies. The next step is to see if they can innovate how blood pressure is monitored at home to ensure that women are provided with the best maternal care for themselves and their new baby.
Awards
Canadian Hypertension Congress Best Poster Presentation (2016)
North American Obstetrical Medicine Society Best Poster Presentation (2016)
Canadian Society of Internal Medicine Research and Education Fund Award (2016)