Women’s Health Research Institute

Women's Health Researchwhri.org

Women's Health Research Institute is a Vancouver-based non-profit research institute embedded within PHSA and UBC, operating a free membership network of over 700 investigators and 1,000+ trainees across Canada to advance women's, newborn, and gender-diverse health research.

Company typePrivate
Founded2005
HeadquartersVancouver, Canada
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What Women’s Health Research Institute does

Women's Health Research Institute (WHRI) is a non-profit research institute based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that operates as a community and service organization for women's and newborn health research. Founded circa 2005 and embedded within the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) with dual reporting to the University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine, WHRI serves over 700 member investigators and over 1,000 research trainees as of 2025, making it the largest women's health research entity in Canada by membership. Its core offerings include the Digital Health Hub, the BC Perinatal Data Registry, WHRI Research Facilities (lab access), research funding and grant development services, and methodology resources including the Beyond the Binary gender-inclusive research guide and the Trauma and Resiliency-informed Practices (TRiP) Training for Researchers and Evaluators.

WHRI's go-to-market is community-led and free: researchers, trainees, and healthcare professionals join as members at no cost and gain access to research infrastructure, knowledge translation support, networking and mentorship, training, and internal grant competitions (Catalyst Grants, Graduate and Fellowship Research Awards, Trainee Travel Grants). The institute does not generate revenue from membership fees; instead it is funded through institutional support from PHSA and UBC and through grants administered to its members from agencies including CIHR, Michael Smith Health Research BC, and the BC Women's Health Foundation. Knowledge dissemination occurs through the Annual Women's Health Research Symposium, Lunch & Learn Series, Summer Scholar Series, BC Women's Hospital Virtual Research Rounds, Sabina's Stats Series, the @WomensResearch Podcast, and social channels. Recent strategic priorities include scaling the Beyond the Binary initiative nationally, advancing the Mapping Menopause Research Priorities initiative, and embedding trauma-informed and AI-assisted research methodologies.

WHRI's primary customers in the practical sense are its institutional and grant funding partners: PHSA (parent and operator), UBC Faculty of Medicine (academic host), CIHR and Michael Smith Health Research BC (federal and provincial research funders), and the BC Women's Health Foundation (grant funder). Secondary stakeholder communities include BC Women's Hospital + Health Centre, the BC Ministry of Health (via embedded fellowships such as Dr. Elizabeth Nethery's evaluation of BC's Universal Contraceptive Coverage policy), and national partners through the Partnership for Women's Health Research Canada (PWHR).

Women’s Health Research Institute firmographics

Firmographics

Name: Women’s Health Research Institute
Legal name: Women's Health Research Institute
Website: https://whri.org
Company type: Private
Founded year: 2005
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: Women's Health Research Institute is a Vancouver-based non-profit research institute embedded within PHSA and UBC, operating a free membership network of over 700 investigators and 1,000+ trainees across Canada to advance women's, newborn, and gender-diverse health research.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

Women’s Health Research Institute industry classification

Industry

Product category: Women's Health Research
NAICS: Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)
SIC: Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Health Services (8000)
akta.pro primary industry: Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)
akta.pro secondary industries: Interoperability Standards, Profiles & Implementation (HL7/FHIR/IHE) (HLACABAA), Health Technology Assessment (HTA) & Reimbursement Policy Bodies (HLAJACAF), Economic Evaluation & Health Technology Assessment (Public Programs) (HLAJANAL)

Keywords

Women's health research
Newborn health research
Clinical research institute
Academic health partnerships
Translational health research

Where Women’s Health Research Institute is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Vancouver
HQ country: Canada
HQ region: North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

Women’s Health Research Institute business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

Research Funding & Grant Development Services: WHRI supports researchers in securing grant funding from various agencies including CIHR, MSFHR, and BC Women's Health Foundation. The institute administers its own grant competitions including Catalyst Grants, Graduate and Fellowship Research Awards, and Trainee Travel Grants.
Institutional Funding: The institute operates as part of the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) and University of British Columbia, receiving institutional support for research infrastructure and operations.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Freemium	Annual	Free membership for researchers, trainees, and healthcare professionals

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Women’s Health Research Institute product offering

Product offering

Core offering

WHRI is a non-profit research institute that supports and conducts research in women's and newborn health. It provides research infrastructure, training, funding access, and collaboration opportunities to over 300 researchers, clinicians, and trainees, anchored at BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre in Vancouver and governed jointly with UBC and PHSA.

Product overview

The Women's Health Research Institute (WHRI) is a research network and service organization rather than a traditional product company. WHRI provides a coordinated portfolio of services including the Digital Health Hub, BC Perinatal Data Registry, and WHRI Research Facilities. Key resources include the Beyond the Binary Guide for gender-inclusive research practices and TRiP Training for trauma-informed research approaches. The organization facilitates knowledge exchange through multiple channels including the @WomensResearch Podcast, Annual Women's Health Research Symposium, Lunch & Learn Series, Summer Scholar Series, and Sabina's Stats Series. WHRI supports over 500 investigators through its membership network, providing research infrastructure, grant development support, and laboratory facilities to advance women's health outcomes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

Beyond the Binary: A guide and initiative driving gender equity through gender inclusive practices in women's health research, originally developed in BC and expanded nationally with Partnership for Women's Health Research Canada
TRiP Training
@WomensResearch Podcast

Products and services

Women's and newborn health research programs Research programs spanning women's and newborn health, conducted by WHRI's network of researchers, clinicians, and trainees and hosted at BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre in Vancouver.
Researcher and clinician membership program Free membership program that engages over 300 researchers, clinicians, and trainees in women's and newborn health research, providing access to WHRI's research community.
Training and research capacity-building programs Training and capacity-building offerings for researchers, clinicians, and trainees, delivered through WHRI's academic and clinical partnerships.
Funding access and grant support services Support services that help WHRI members navigate and access research funding opportunities in women's and newborn health.
Collaboration and knowledge translation services Collaboration and knowledge translation services that connect WHRI researchers with clinical practice at BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre, enabling research findings to inform care delivery.

Quantifiable outcome

49% increase in contraceptive uptake across BC following universal coverage policy, as documented by WHRI researchers in JAMA Health Forum
+2 more outcomes

Companies that use Women’s Health Research Institute

Customer profile

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Women’s Health Research Institute technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Women’s Health Research Institute partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.

Partnership for Women's Health Research Canada (PWHR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023WHRI is a founding member of PWHR, collaborating on national-level women's health research initiatives. The partnership led to the Beyond the Binary Canada guide, a nationally relevant resource for gender-inclusive health research practices.
BC Women's Health FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor funding partner supporting WHRI grant competitions including Catalyst Grants, Graduate and Fellowship Research Awards, and the Leveling Up: Women's and Newborn Health Research Action Grant. Provides dedicated funding for women's health research initiatives.
Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWHRI operates as part of PHSA. Dr. Gillian Hanley serves as Executive Director of WHRI, PHSA. The partnership provides institutional support, alignment with health authority priorities, and administrative infrastructure.
University of British Columbia (UBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Gillian Hanley serves as Director of WHRI, Faculty of Medicine, UBC. Many WHRI members are UBC faculty. Partnership enables academic research collaboration and trainee support.
BC Pomeroy/PHSAkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-time WHRI partner facilitating TRiP Training. BC Pomeroy is Medical Assistance in Dying Lead at PHSA and has been facilitating TRiP Training since 2017-2018.
Live Educate Transform Society (LETS)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerHEATHER MCCAIN is Founder & Executive Director. Partnered on Beyond the Binary project, with Heather serving on the Beyond the Binary Community Task Force.
Women's and Children's Health Research InstitutekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational research partner collaborating on Beyond the Binary Canada initiative and represented on the Research Task Force.
IWK HealthkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational research partner on Beyond the Binary Canada, represented by Dr. Robin Gauthier and Kathleen Leadon.
BC Children's Hospital Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research institute partner. Many researchers hold joint memberships. Partnership on clinical trials ecosystem development and AI Data Science Unit collaboration.
BC PomeroykeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerQueer researcher and engagement specialist facilitating TRiP Training for researchers and evaluators, adapted from Fraser Health Authority's original training program.
Fraser Health AuthorityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginator of TRiP Training program (developed by Marika Sandrelli). WHRI adapted the training for researchers and evaluators.
BC Women's Hospital + Health CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for WHRI. Many researchers conduct clinical research at this facility including maternal health, reproductive health, and complex disease programs.
Indigenous Equity LabkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed by Dr. Brittany Bingham, this lab centers Indigenous voices and traditional knowledge in health equity research. Dr. Bingham serves on WHRI's Beyond the Binary Community Steering Committee.
Trans Care BCkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerBC transgender health resource. Contributors Lorraine Grieves and Gwen Haworth participated in Beyond the Binary BC Community Steering Committee.
TransConnectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBC transgender health resource. Coordinator Nicola Hare participated in Beyond the Binary BC Community Steering Committee.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Women’s Health Research Institute competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Customer concentration

Women’s Health Research Institute financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Women’s Health Research Institute leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Women’s Health Research Institute funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Women’s Health Research Institute M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Women’s Health Research Institute

What does Women’s Health Research Institute do?

Is Women’s Health Research Institute a public or private company?

Women’s Health Research Institute is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was Women’s Health Research Institute founded?

Women’s Health Research Institute was founded in 2005. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is Women’s Health Research Institute based?

Women’s Health Research Institute is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, in the North America region.

How does Women’s Health Research Institute make money?

Two revenue lines are on record. Research Funding & Grant Development Services are the primary driver. The others are institutional Funding.

Does Women’s Health Research Institute have an API?

No public API is recorded for Women’s Health Research Institute.

What industry is Women’s Health Research Institute in?

Women’s Health Research Institute's product category is Women's Health Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGACAA, Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS), with a secondary code of HLACABAA, Interoperability Standards, Profiles & Implementation (HL7/FHIR/IHE). Its NAICS code is 5417 and its SIC code is 8731.