Community Members

Meet the Community Members of our Cluster

  • Dr. Najah Adreak MD, MSc

    Study Coordinator

    Dr. Najah Adreak is an aspiring heart surgeon and clinical researcher with a Master of Science in Surgery degree from UBC. She earned her medical degree from Tripoli University and trained in the Cardiac Surgery residency program in Libya before moving to Canada for further education and training. Najah is the Trainee Representative for the  Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance and is an active member of the education and training working group.

  • Sahar Ahmadi

    Midwife

    Mousavi Hospital

    I'm Sahar Ahmadi. I'm from Iran. I graduated with a bachelor's degree in midwifery from Zanjan University of Medical Sciences.

  • jenalene

    Jenalene Antony

    Senior Writer

    CBC

    Jenalene Antony opened a design studio in Saskatchewan with a focus on rural issues. As a designer she has worked on teams with Environment Canada, the University of Saskatchewan and the University of Calgary telling stories about sustainability and social change. She previously worked on a largely Ukrainian settlement that was one of the poorest and fastest aging communities in Canada. It had issues such as a lack of basic health care services and violence towards women.

  • Andrea

    Dr. Andrea Araujo PhD, RCC

    Neurofeedback Therapist, Registered Clinical Counsellor

    Empower Health

    Dr. Andrea Araujo, RCC holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and is a Registered Clinical Counsellor (RCC). Dr.

  • Claudia

    Claudia Barth

    Researcher

    Diakonhjemmet Hospital

    Dr. Claudia Barth is a biologist by training who majored in neurobiology.

  • Dr. Tamara Bodnar

    Research Associate

    Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences

    University of British Columbia

    Dr. Tamara Bodnar is a Research Associate in the Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences at The University of British Columbia (UBC), supervised by Dr. Joanne Weinberg. Her research examines the impact of prenatal alcohol exposure and other early-life environmental manipulations on immune function across development. Her research involves animal models of prenatal alcohol exposure, as well as human studies examining the impact of in utero alcohol exposure.

  • Robyn Bresler

    Registered Nurse

    Vancouver Coastal Health

    I am a Registered Nurse & Board Certified Health & Wellness Nurse Coach. I primarily work with women to heal through nervous system dysregulation & stress hormone imbalances. I want to help revolutionize healthcare by assisting to emphasize the importance behind hormonal health.

  • Brianna

    Brianna Bristow

    Lab Technician

    University of British Columbia

    She is currently a lab technician in the Cembrowski lab at UBC, where she performs circuit-mapping and molecular techniques on rodent and human brain tissue to characterize new cell subtypes and explore cell-type heterogeneity in regions associated with memory. Before graduating with a BSc in biochemistry at UBC in 2020, she completed her thesis in the Ciernia lab, which focused on developing functional assays to measure microglial activation in vitro and optimizing media conditions for primary microglia cultures to best model the brain microenvironment.

  • Santa

    Santa Chow

    Co-chair

    Legacy for Airway Health

    Santa Chow is the Public/Patient Representative at the Legacy for Airway Health (LAH). LAH is rooted in the philosophy that remediating the huge burden of asthma and COPD requires strategic research to understand and apply evidence-based tactics for prevention and delivery of optimal care for those who suffer from these airway diseases.

  • Angelica

    Angelica Colombo

    Teacher

    IFPR- Brazil

    A proud graduate in Philosophy, I pursued my passion further, achieving a master's degree in Philosophy and later, a Ph.D. in Science and Mathematics Education. Today, I stand as a full professor at the prestigious Federal Institute of Paraná in Brazil.

  • Mariana

    Mariana Correa dos Reis

    Registered Holistic Nutritionist

    Mariana Reis Holistic Nutrition and Low Entropy Foundation

    I'm a Registered Holistic Nutritionist deeply passionate about Women's Health. My studies focus on the vital role of nutrition in fertility, prenatal/postnatal health, and childhood development. I aim to empower women to enhance their well-being through food, working in collaboration with healthcare experts. I run a private practice, collaborate with doulas and other professionals, and offer workshops and webinars to educate women and parents on the significance of nutrition in female health.@holisticmariana

  • Dr. Janet Currie

    Co-Founder

    Independent Voices for Safe and Effective Drugs

    Janet Currie was a founder and principal of Focus Consultants, (Victoria BC), where she completed over a hundred major research and evaluation projects for the federal, provincial and territorial governments. This research addressed women’s health and addictions, regulation of pharmaceutical products, and government programs for domestic violence, child support, separation and divorce, victims of crime and access to justice.  

  • Farah

    Farah Dehmouni

    Founder

    IAMENO

    Passionate about women's better health and its impact on communities, Farah is an entrepreneur with a mission. Bringing 20+ years of experience in top-level positions in the technology and digital media sectors in Europe and the Middle East, Farah is now the founder of IAMENO, a femtech company and platform dedicated to the modern menopausal women. Her goal is to empower women with knowledge and tools while positively contributing to the change of mindset around women's health matters.

  • Piper

    Piper Dickhout

    Research Coordinator

    British Columbia Centre on Substance Use

    Piper graduated from the University of British Columbia with a BSc in Biology in 2021. She is now a Clinical Research Coordinator at The British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, as well as the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Advisor for Shoelace Learning. 

  • Lauren

    Lauren Drogos PhD

    Director of Operations

    University of Calgary

    Lauren finished her doctorate in Psychology in 2014. She began working as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Women’s Mental Health Research Program in 2005 and completed her Master’s Thesis in 2009 on “Endogenous Oxytocin across the Menstrual Cycle and with Oral Contraceptive Use: Effects on Verbal Memory and Mood (Advisor: Dr. Pauline Maki)” Lauren continued her training at UIC with the WMHRP and did her dissertation on “Autonomic Nervous System Activity and Menopausal Symptoms (Advisor: Dr.

  • Ashton Ellis

    Study Coordinator

    Ashton obtained her BSc from Simon Fraser University. She is a research coordinator with the BC Children's Hospital BioBank where the primary focus is on the collection and storage of maternal samples for use in future research. Examples of these biospecimens include both preterm and full-term cord blood, placenta, and maternal blood, all of which are available to researchers both locally and worldwide.

  • nicole

    Nicole Fofonoff

    Registered Clinical Counsellor

    Simon Fraser University

    Nicole completed her MEd in Counseling Psychology from Simon Fraser University in May of 2022. She is a Registered Clinical Counsellor in Vancouver.

  • Elisa

    Dr. Elisa García Lara PhD

    Neuroscientist

    Institute for Research in Biomedicine

    I am a Neuroscientist who recently completed her PhD in Biomedicine at the University of Barcelona. I currently work at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Barcelona, in Dr. Salvador Aznar Benitah's lab. Here, I work as a research assistant supporting projects related to circadian rhythms research, tissue communication and its alteration in aging.

  • Brady

    Brady Greening

    Head Athletic Therapist

    Edge School for Athletes

    Brady's entire athletic therapy career has focused on youth athletes in hockey, dance, soccer, figure skating and basketball. Her experience, professionalism, and knowledge as the Head Athletic Therapist of Edge School is wide ranging. Between working on the bench with hockey and basketball, spending hours to understand the world of dance, and years as a senior high sports medicine teacher have accumulated into an all-encompassing amount of experience that she leans on to provide the best experience for her patients.

  • veronica

    Dr. Veronica Guadagni PhD

    Senior Research Scientist

    Cerebra

    I am a Senior Research Scientist at Cerebra. Previously, I was a postdoctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Human Cerebrovascular Physiology in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, under Dr. Marc Poulin.

  • hannah

    Hannah Heselton

    Research Coordinator

    University of New Hampshire

    Hannah is a research coordinator for the Dao Research Lab at the University of New Hampshire. She studied community health and environmental science at Tufts University and hopes to begin medical school in the future. 

  • Amy Hobbs RN

    Epidemiologist

    University of New Hampshire

    Amy Hobbs is a Registered Nurse and an epidemiologist with ten years of monitoring and evaluation experience in maternal and newborn health (MNH) within local, national, and international contexts. She has expertise in clinical and non-clinical research methods, including the development and coordination of research studies and the collection, compilation, maintenance, and analysis of complex data sets.

  • Parker

    Parker Holman

    Research Associate

    Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences

    University of British Columbia

    My research focuses on investigating social behaviour and its underlying neurobiology during the key developmental period of adolescence. Specifically, I’m interested in understanding the role of oxytocin and vasopressin - two proteins produced in the hypothalamus - in mediating social behaviour development, especially in the context of prenatal alcohol exposure.

  • Muna

    Muna Ibrahim

    Research Assistant

    Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health

    Muna has a BSc in Biological Sciences from the University of British Columbia. She is now a Research Assistant at the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. 

  • Shermeen

    Shermeen Imtiaz BSc

    Research Assistant

    University of British Columbia

    Shermeen Imtiaz holds a Bachelor of Science in Behavioural Neuroscience from the University of British Columbia and is interested in knowledge translation for sexual health, exploring the mechanisms of the menstrual cycle, and the psychological influences on female sexual health. She currently works for the Women's Health Research Institute and has previously explored dyspareunia in some women with endometriosis at the UBC Endometriosis and Pelvic Pain Lab. Shermeen has also been a part of the UBC Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Lab.

  • Firat

    Dr. Firat Kara PhD

    Research Associate

    University of British Columbia

    Dr. Firat Kara has been studying biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease in human and animal models for more than 13 years. He obtained his Doctorate at Leiden University in the Netherlands, in the field of Chemistry where he studied magnetic resonance imaging markers of Alzheimer’s disease in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease at ultra-high magnetic field strengths (9.4 T and 17.6 T). Since his appointment at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Kara has shown great interest in clinical and translational research. He has enrolled Mayo Clinic Translational and Certificate Program. Dr.

  • Janny Xue Chen

    Janny Xue Chen Ke MD, FRCPC

    Anesthesiologist, Researcher

    University of British Columbia

    Janny Xue Chen Ke, MD, FRCPC, is an anesthesiologist and researcher with an interest in improving outcomes after surgery through patient engagement and analysis of population datasets. She has been involved in research in the development and implementation of a mobile application for women after Cesarean delivery, focused on education and self-monitoring.

  • Banin completed her bachelor's degree in midwifery and has since helped 100 women during their deliveries. She acquired her Master's in Reproductive, Perinatal and Sexual health from Lund University, Sweden, and has a keen interest in e-health. Banin's major concerns are maternal mortality and morbidity specifically in poor developed countries, in addition to sexual health education.

  • kira

    Kira Knight

    Community Member

    University of British Columbia

    Kira Knight (she/her/hers) is a recent graduate from the University of British Columbia in Global Resource Systems focusing on sexual health. Her interests focus on access to sexual health and family planning resources, the intersection of sexual health and the law, as well as systems of support for survivors of sexualized violence.

  • stephanie

    Stephanie (she/her) has a Ph.D. in Behavioral Neuroscience in Psychology. Her research interests include the cognitive and neurobiological effects of reproductive hormones in the context of menopause, memory, and aging. This includes the natural fluctuations in reproductive hormones across the lifespan as well as exogenous hormone exposures (e.g., hormone-containing contraceptives and hormone therapies). Her doctoral research focused on the impacts of variations in surgical menopause, including hysterectomy, on spatial learning and memory in a preclinical rat model.

  • Carly La Berge (she/her) is a Senior Policy Analyst at the First Nations Health Authority. She has a Master of Public Health (MPH) in social policy from the University of Victoria (UVic) and a Bachelor of Science from UBC Okanagan.

  • Erika

    Erika Lachance

    Administrative Support Specialist

    University of British Columbia

    Erika Lachance, Support Services Assistant II, Campus Planning and Development Erika Lachance works as a Support Services Assistant II at UBCO and is a passionate ambassador for Women’s Health.  She looks to promote awareness in her community by participating, engaging and receiving continued training on women’s health research topics.

  • Sabrina

    Dr. Sabrina Luke

    Epidemiologist

    Provincial Health Services Authority

    Sabrina Luke is an Epidemiologist in the Research and Surveillance group at Perinatal Services British Columbia. She holds a doctoral degree in public health from the University of South Florida with a focus in perinatal epidemiology and has co-authored publications in the areas of tobacco and cannabis use in pregnancy. She has taught courses on health behaviour theory and women’s health and worked with community organizations to improve access to and delivery of services among vulnerable populations. She has collaborated on research projects with U.S.

  • Stephanie

    Stephanie Masina

    Research Coordinator

    School of Nursing

    University of British Columbia

    Stephanie has an MSc in Epidemiology from the University of Guelph and currently works as a Research Coordinator for Dr. Marie Tarrant in the School of Nursing at UBC-Okanagan. She supports research activities focused on maternal and child health, specifically in the areas of childbirth experiences, breastfeeding, and maternal and child vaccinations.    

  • Karen

    Karen Mason

    Co-Founder and Director of Community Practice

    Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury through Research (SOAR)

    Karen Mason is co-founder and director of community practice for SOAR (Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury through Research), and former executive director of Kelowna Women’ Shelter in Kelowna, B.C. A seasoned and passionate non-profit leader, communicator, and community collaborator, Karen brings 30+ years of career experience to her work advocating for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV).

  • Nicole Moreira

    Research Associate

    I am a Registered Social Worker working at VHA Home HealthCare as a Research Associate. My area of research primarily focuses on engaging clients and point-of-care providers in research as partners (rather than participants), as well as investigating the mental health barriers faced by point-of-care providers.

  • Heather Noga

    Research Manager

    Women's Health Research Institute

    Heather Noga has a Master's Degree in International and Comparative Criminal Justice from the University of Leeds. She works as a Research Manager at the Women's Health Research Institute. 

  • Rachel

    Dr. Rachel Ollivier PhD, NP(F)

    Clinician Scientist, Nurse Practitioner

    BC Women's Hospital

    Dr. Rachel Ollivier holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from UBC Okanagan (2016), a PhD in Nursing from Dalhousie University (2022), and a Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Diploma from Queen’s University (2023). She currently works as a full-time Nurse Practitioner and clinician scientist at BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre, providing care to underserved populations in the areas of cardiac health and complex gynecology.

  • Jodi

    Jodi Pawluski

    Behavioural Neuroscientist, Therapist

    University of Rennes 1

    Jodi Pawluski is a behavioral neuroscientist and a therapist. For over a decade her research has focused on the neuroscience of motherhood and the effects of maternal mental illness and antidepressant medications on the mother and offspring. One key theme that has come from her research experience is that effective treatment to maintain maternal mental health is necessary. She regularly speaks nationally and internationally about her research findings as well as the fascinating effects of motherhood on the maternal brain.

  • Sydney

    Sydney Penner

    Research Assistant

    Work Wellness Institute

    Sydney works as a Research Assistant at the Work Wellness Institute. She has a BA in psychology from Simon Fraser University. Her focus was in the critical analysis of research methods and theoretical models in biopsychology. In her degree, she studied the the fields of psychopharmacology, behavioral endocrinology, and health psychology and their respective relationships with gender and sexuality. She is also a Research Assistant with UBC's BRAIN lab, and previously worked as an editor at Her Campus Magazine.

  • misty

    Misty Pratt

    Freelance Writer, Science Communications

    ICES

    Misty Pratt is a communications officer in the field of health research and medicine. She is hard at work on her first book about gender bias in mental health care, which explores the bio-psycho-social factors that impact women's mental health.

  • Harlan

    Harlan Pruden

    Educator

    BC Centre for Disease Control

    Harlan Pruden (Nēhiyo/First Nations Cree), works with and for the Two-Spirit community locally, nationally and internationally. Currently, Harlan is an Indigenous Knowledge Translation Lead at Chee Mamuk, an Indigenous health program at BC Centre for Disease Control and is also a co-founder of the Two-Spirit Dry Lab, Turtle Island’s first research group that exclusively focuses on Two-Spirit people, communities and/or experiences.

  • Reins R

    Transformation Strategist

    National Health Service (NHS)

    Leadership group to establish a culture of co-production at all levels of commissioning and influence provision of mental health care and support across North West London. Advise the North West London Mental Health and Wellbeing Transformation Board of Commissioners. Challenge, inform and drive the redesign of services, improving delivery of the Crisis Concordat standards for care and support.

  • Stephanie

    Stephanie Ragganandan

    York University

    Stephanie has completed an Honours Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Health Science from York University. She is passionate about public health, tackling health inequities, as well as exploring the biological, psychological, and social aspects of women's health.

  • Rebecca

    Rebecca Rechlin

    Research Assistant

    University of British Columbia

    Rebecca Rechlin is a research assistant in the Galea Lab. She recently completed her B.Sc. in Behavioural Neuroscience at UBC. She is currently working on a project with Dr. Galea to examine the inclusion of sex based analysis in neuroscience literature.  

  • Amber

    Amber Ruigrok

    Research Associate

    Department of Psychiatry

    University of Cambridge

    Amber Ruigrok is a researcher at the Autism Research Centre, Dept of Psychiatry. Amber's PhD research investigated how testosterone and variation in the androgen receptor may be involved in the development of sex differences in human brain white matter in the typically developing population. Based on these findings and previous work on sex differences in autism brain structure, her current research mostly focusses on sex differences in brain structure in typically developing individuals and individuals with autism.

  • Sergio A.

    Sergio A. Silverio

    Academic Psychologist

    King's College London

    Sergio A. Silverio is an academic Psychologist with a research interest in women’s mental health over the lifecourse. He first read for a Masters in Psychological Sciences at the University of Liverpool, where he specialised in Clinical and Health Psychology. His work at the University of Liverpool focused on key life transitions such as pregnancy, motherhood, and widowhood. Here, he developed an interest in Lifecourse Analysis and qualitative methods and was trained in Grounded Theory – a methodology he later employed to analyse his thesis data.

  • Mary

    Mary Stern

    Physiotherapist

    Women's Hospital

    She works as a physiotherapist clinician at Women's Hospital in the area of obstetrics. They support women's health at a critical time in their lives from both a biomedical and psychosocial perspective. As a provincial resource we aim to expand our capacity to treat vulnerable mothers perinatally in remote areas, as well those locally. We welcome collaboration through research, referral and resource sharing.

  • Reena

    Reena Titoria

    Epidemiologist

    Provincial Health Services Authority

    I am an epidemiologist with a master’s in Clinical Epidemiology from the School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia. With a thorough knowledge of epidemiological principles and research methodology, I identify knowledge gaps and support scientific evidence building. My work revolves around the improvement of maternal and child health.

  • Sarah

    Sarah Towle

    Research Associate

    McGill University

     iMPACTS is a multi-year project to address sexual violence on university campuses across Canada and internationally. Sarah began working with iMPACTS in 2019, researching patient representation and trauma-informed gynaecology practices. She continues to serve as an equity facilitator in McGill's Faculty of Medicine and helps develop workshops for medical students on gender, sexuality, and consent. Her more recent work has explored supports available for sex workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the role of no-visitor policies in labour and delivery wards.

  • Anaisa

    Anaïsa Visser

    Executive Director, Filmmaker

    Gender Equity in Media Society Vancouver

    Anaïsa is a biracial (Dutch and Pakistani) filmmaker based in Vancouver, BC. She grew up all over the world, namely in Mozambique, the United States, then France, before moving to Vancouver to pursue an undergraduate degree at Emily Carr University. She graduated in 2013 with a BFA in Film, Video and

  • Dr. Danielle Watson

    Founder

    The Mother Doctor

    Dr. Danielle Watson is a naturopathic doctor & creator of The Mother Doctor. In her private practice, she treats mothers from preconception to pregnancy & through to the postpartum. Dr. Watson has made it her goal to change the dynamic in healthcare so that new mothers feel supported as they navigate their motherhood journey. Dr. Watson is a speaker, educator & activist for motherhood, looking to spread the message that ‘being a mom is not a diagnosis’. Dr. Watson sees patients in Bradford, and online (Ontario residents only.)

  • Charlie

    Dr. Charlie Waugh

    Research Associate

    Department of Physical Therapy

    University of British Columbia

    My research interests lie in the broad area of musculoskeletal health and rehabilitation and focus on 1) the adaptability of the system to mechanical and biological stresses, and 2) optimizing the system for movement outcomes and injury prevention. Research Areas: Biomedical, Clinical, Medical Education Keywords: musculoskeletal adaptation, sex hormones, injury

  • Margarita

    Dr. Margarita Zachariou PhD

    Associate Scientist

    Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics

    Dr Margarita Zachariou is an Associate Scientist at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics. She holds a BSc in Applied Mathematics from the University of Cyprus and a PhD in Mathematics (focus in Mathematical Neuroscience) from the University of Nottingham. Her research lies in the computational biology area with a strong emphasis on computational neuroscience. In particular, she focuses on developing computational models to integrate information from both genetic and neural data to investigate the link between genes and behaviour, the brain and neurological diseases.

  • Sandy

    Sandy Zhang MPH

    Public Health Researcher

    Women's Health Research Institute

    Sandy Zhang is a public health researcher with the Global Control of HPV Related Diseases and Cancer team at the Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI). She completed both her Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences (2016) and Master of Public Health (2019) at Simon Fraser University. Her projects focus on examining the feasibility and acceptability of CervixCheck, a web-based application which utilizes HPV self-collection kits to improve cervix screening among under-screened women in BC.

  • yinshan

    Yinshan Zhao

    Senior Statistician

    Population Data BC

    Accomplished scientist with solid theoretical foundation, strong analytic skills, and astute ‘data sense’. Expert in health care research with broad experience in complex study design and data analysis. Collaborative problem-solver, with abiding curiosity for health science and a keen interest in developing statistical tools to answer real-world questions.

First Nations land acknowledegement

We acknowledge that the UBC Point Grey campus is situated on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people.


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