Dr. Brenda Lau receives the 2026 Doug Cochrane Leadership in Quality Award

Changepain Clinic is proud to share that our Medical Director, Dr. Brenda Lau, has been selected as the 2026 recipient of Health Quality BC’s Doug Cochrane Leadership in Quality Award.

This award recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to improving the quality, safety, and accessibility of health care in British Columbia.

Dr. Lau has spent decades shaping pain care at a clinical, educational, and systems level. Her career brought structure to a field that once lacked formal recognition in Canada. She helped establish the Royal College subspecialty in Pain Medicine, created UBC’s two-year post-graduate residency program, and has trained clinicians across hospitals and community settings.

Her work has influenced standards for safe procedural pain care, interdisciplinary collaboration, and provider education province-wide.

In 2013, Dr. Lau founded Changepain Clinic to address gaps in community-based pain care. The clinic has since evolved into a recognized centre for integrated pain management, where physicians, physiotherapists, kinesiologists, counsellors, and acupuncturists work together to provide coordinated treatment anchored in current evidence and patient needs.

During the pandemic, she led the rapid expansion of virtual pain services, ensuring continuity of care for people across BC.

This award also acknowledges her broader leadership in advocacy, resource development, and research. From co-founding PainBC to supporting the growth of multidisciplinary programs throughout the province, her work has improved access for patients who previously struggled to receive adequate pain care.

We celebrate this achievement and thank Dr. Lau for her continued commitment to advancing safe, collaborative, and effective pain care for our community.