Dr. Joy Johnson

Joy Johnson is a Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia where she has served as the co-director of two research units: NEXUS (a multidisciplinary research unit focused on the social context of health behaviour) and NAHBR (Nursing and Health Behaviour Research Unit).

She has a long standing interest in women's health research. She served on the inaugural steering committee for the BC Centre of Excellence for Women's Health and as a co-leader on the BC Network for Women's Health Research. She served as the Chair of the Research Advisory Committee of Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. She has served on and chaired research review panels for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the National Cancer Institute of Canada.

Dr. Johnson has a highly productive program of research. She has obtained millions of dollars in research funding from national funding and has published over 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Her research focuses on health promotion and health behaviour change. Drawing on a broad array of theoretical perspectives her work explores the social, structural and individual factors that influence the health behaviour of individuals. A major thrust of her work focuses on sex and gender issues in substance use. She has a particular research interest in the development and treatment of tobacco dependence and other drug use. Her worked has been recognized with numerous awards including the UBC Killam Research Prize.