In this inspiring episode of LHS:STAT – Learning Health Systems: Speak Together, Act Together, host Candace Ramjohn welcomes Ingrid Nielssen, Patient Engagement Coordinator with the Alberta SPOR SUPPORT Unit, for a thoughtful conversation about what it truly means to engage people with lived experience as partners in research.

Together, they explore how arts-based approaches can transform patient-oriented research—not simply as creative outputs, but as intentional methods for building trust, strengthening relationships, honouring lived experience, and generating more meaningful evidence. Ingrid shares stories from the PaCER (Patient and Community Engagement Research) Program, reflections on co-designing research with Indigenous youth, and practical insights into creating equitable research environments where every voice is valued.

The discussion moves beyond methods to examine the foundations of excellent research: trust, transparency, collaboration, humility, and curiosity. Listeners will hear why research is both a process and a product, how arts-based knowledge mobilization can make evidence more accessible, and why patient-oriented research is strongest when it embraces collective knowledge and multiple ways of knowing.

Whether you are a researcher, patient partner, clinician, student, or knowledge mobilizer, this episode offers practical wisdom and powerful reflections on creating research that is not only rigorous, but deeply human. Join us for a conversation that reminds us that impactful research begins with relationships—and that when we create space for diverse perspectives, we create stronger science for everyone.