Staff Team
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Romina is a PhD student in Neuroscience at the University of Toronto and CAMH under the supervision of Dr. Liisa Galea in the Laboratory of Behavioural Neuroendocrinology. Broadly, Romina wishes to investigate reproductive periods and the neurobiological underpinnings that increase stress vulnerability and depression in females, and subsequently their offspring. Her research focus is on postpartum depression (PPD) and whether immune modulations improve antidepressant efficacy in a rodent model of PPD and increase stress resilience in offspring.
Our Sex and Gender Based Analysis (SGBA) Grant Facilitator has a Ph.D in Environmental Science and her work focused on climate change research in agroecosystems in US and Canada. She has extensive grant writing experience and has provided project management support to research teams in the fields of healthcare and environmental science both in university and private sector settings. In her previous role as a research administrator, she had facilitated Tri-Agency grant applications for Engineering and Health Sciences researchers.
Bonnie Lee is our Events & Communications assistant, Trainee Cluster Lead, and Trainee Member. She is a Neuroscience PhD Candidate at the University of British Columbia studying with Dr. Liisa Galea in the Laboratory of Behavioural Neuroendocrinology.
Katherine's career has focused on advancing the health and wellbeing of all youth in BC. Working towards this goal, she has contributed to various projects in the healthcare, education and public sectors relating to health promotion, community engagement and research.
Emily Anne holds a Master of Science from McGill University, where she studied stress in the brains of postpartum rat mothers at the Douglas Research Institute. She also holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto and a Project Manager Professional designation. Her professional experience includes face-to-face fundraising for NGOs such as Médecins Sans Frontières and Amnesty International and providing substance use counselling and case management in a women’s supportive housing program.
I'm Tanvi Puri, a Ph.D. candidate in the Galea Lab in the Neuroscience Program at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Janielle Richards is one of two Blog Coordinators at the Women’s Health Research Cluster. She is a 5th year PhD candidate in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Toronto, St. George Campus. Specializing in Behavioural Pharmacology, Neuropharmacology and brain drug metabolism, her research is focused on identifying the role of brain CYP2D enzymes in local drug concentrations and response to centrally-acting prescription opioids.
Past Staff
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Rebecca Baron
Podcast Co-host
Rebecca Baron is a third-year undergraduate student studying Global Health & Nutrition at the University of British Columbia. Her passion to advance girls' education took her to the Bidi Bidi refugee settlement in Uganda, where she worked to improve reproductive health education with the Simbi Foundation. Rebecca's advocacy work has also led her to give a TEDx talk titled Conquering the Gender Gap in STEM and her passion for scientific research has led her to win the 2015 national science fair.
Maddi is a second-year Master of Journalism student at UBC, specializing in public health.Maddi has a background in radio and podcasting and loves working on stories that explore socioeconomic determinants of health, disability, and drug policy. She was previously involved in researching and editing audio as the Women’s Health Interrupted Season 1 Podcast Coordinator, and is excited to join on as co-host of Season 2.Thank you for all your contributions to the WHRC Maddi!
Avani is a fifth-year undergraduate student studying English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. Avani has a background in managing an undergraduate literary journal and is passionate about playing a part in the process of bringing important, diverse stories to light. She worked effortlessly to help the Women's Health Research Cluster highlight research and initiatives that helped bridge the gap in women's health.
Muna has worked in women's health and behavioural neuroscience research for 6 years. As a research technician at the Galea lab, she manages the lab's finances, and is actively involved in studies exploring sex differences in the affects of exercise on cognition, as well as the impact of motherhood and diet on neuroplasticity in an Alzheimer's disease model. As an Office Administration & Finance Assistant with the Women's Health Research Cluster, Muna works closely with Katherine Moore to manage Cluster finances and coordinate working groups.
Alex is a second-year MSN student at UBC Okanagan. She is also currently practicing as a Registered Nurse at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver in cardiology and cardiac surgery. Alex’s research passions include applying technology to improve patient self-care and improving women’s health equity with population-based data. Alex’s thesis research is focusing on improving heart failure patient self-care through gamified education. She is also a recipient of the CIHR Women’s Health Clinical Mentorship Grant.
Victoria Mann
Podcast Coordinator
Victoria is a first-year Master of Journalism at UBC. Born in Canada but educated in the UK, she’s excited to be back on home soil. Having spent all four of her undergraduate years working for her student radio station at the University of Exeter and creating podcasts, she jumped at the opportunity to help out with the Women’s Health Interrupted podcast. Her main tasks for the podcast include editing and research, allowing her to exercise her skills in knowledge translation and creating educational, but engaging, content.
Amanda is a first year Neuroscience MSc student at The University of British Columbia investigating the sex-specific neurobiological mechanisms underlying stress disorders and depression, which disproportionately impact women. For the WHRC, Amanda conducted an analysis of the integration of SGBA, or sex- and gender-based analysis, into research funding proposals in Canada. Outside of the lab, she enjoys any activity that will get her outside, weightlifting, reading, dancing (especially at concerts!), and listening to podcasts.
Negin was our first ever Events & Communications Specialist who was in charge of leading all our knowledge translation initiatives including overseeing the Women's Health Blog, producing the Women's Health Interrupted podcast, newsletter, social media, conferences, and events. Before she took on this role, she was our Blog Co-coordinator.
Tallinn Splinter completed her B.Sc. in Biology at UBC, and is a former research assistant for the WHRC. She is assisted with conducting a Sex and Gender Based Analysis (SGBA), into research funding proposals in Canada. Tallinn also supported our podcast Women's Health Interrupted by conducting episode research, creating show notes, updating our podcast website and promoting each episode.
Jessica Stewart
Data & Evaluation Specialist, PhD Candidate
Department of Psychology
University of British Columbia
Jessica is a fourth-year PhD student in Health Psychology at UBC. She is studying likeability as a stable trait across the lifespan and its relationship with social ties and downstream health outcomes. Jessica also has a background working as a content strategist, where she focused on user experience research for non-profit organizations. As a former Data & Evaluation Specialist with the Women’s Health Research Cluster, Jessica generated and implemented metrics for each of WHRC’s initiatives.
Tori is a first year PhD student in the Faculty of Health and Social Development, under the supervision of Dr. Paul van Donkelaar at UBC Okanagan! Joining the SOAR (Supporting Survivors of Abuse and Brain Injury Through Research) Project, Tori’s work focuses on brain injury resulting from intimate partner violence in the queer community. Tori has joined the WHRC to aid in the Sex and Gender Based Analysis project. In her spare time she enjoys exploring British Columbia with her partner and dog!
Shayda is a our Blog Co-coordinator for the Women's Health Blog. She is a graduate student and Vanier scholar at the University of British Columbia in the combined Doctor of Medicine/Doctor of Philosophy (MD/PhD) program. She has a keen interest in HIV, women’s health, and endocrinology. Her thesis work is exploring the impacts of HIV and social factors on hormonal dysregulation and healthy aging in women.
Amy is a graduate student at the University of British Columbia, pursuing her masters degree in experimental medicine. Her work focuses on biomarkers of rejection in kidney transplant recipients. Amy has a strong interest in medical research and is keen to explore research topics with relevance to clinical care. She is excited to work with the Women’s Health Research Cluster to highlight topics and issues that pertain to women’s health.
Arrthy Thayaparan
Blog Co-coordinator
Arrthy is a first-year UBC Master of Journalism student, based on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-waututh nations. She is endlessly curious about science and social justice, and hopes to bridge the gap between the public and experts in her work. She also has an immense passion for multimedia journalism and strives to assist marginalized communities share their stories.
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.