People
Core Faculty
- Penny Brasher, Director
Penny is a Senior Research Scientist at C2E2. She completed a Ph.D. in Biostatistics at The University of Toronto and post-doctoral training at The University of Western Ontario. Originally from Ontario, Penny came to Vancouver via Calgary (Tom Baker Cancer Centre). Dr. Brasher was the first Statistical Editor for The Canadian Journal of Anesthesia and has served on provincial and national grant review committees. Dr. Brasher’s research interests include clinical research methodology with an emphasis on randomized trials, secondary use of administrative data, and statistical education. Among her current collaborations is a randomized trial investigating a novel treatment for mild traumatic brain injury led by Dr. Noah Silverberg (Rehabilitation Research Program, VCHRI) and a study investigating the effect of VV-ECMO on cerebral blood flow led by Dr. Don Griesdale (C2E2, Anaesthesia & Critical Care).
- Stirling Bryan
Dr. Stirling Bryan is a health economist with extensive experience of engagement with the health policy and decision-making worlds. He began his career in the UK (St Thomas' Hospital Medical School, Brunel University, University of Birmingham) and in 2005/6 spent a year at Stanford University as a Harkness Fellow. 2008 saw Stirling move to Canada to be professor in UBC's School of Population & Public Health, and director of the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology & Evaluation (C2E2). He provided leadership for C2E2 through until 2018.
His recent appointments include Co-editor for the Wiley-published journal, Health Economics (2019-date); President, BC Academic Health Science Network (2020-2021); Chief Scientific Officer, Michael Smith Health Research BC (2021-date); and President, Canadian Association for Health Services & Policy Research (2023-25). Also, Stirling is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.
Over recent years, Stirling has become a strong advocate for, and practitioner of, patient-oriented research, and now partners with patients in all his research activities. His current research involves two genomic-focused projects, one exploring the use of pharmacogenomics in the clinical context of major depression and the other investigating the cost-effectiveness of epitope compatibility to guide organ allocation in kidney transplantation.
Stirling and his partner have two sons and one dog! Weekends are typically spent experiencing the beauty and wonders of British Columbia through hiking, snowshoeing and skiing.
- Donald Griesdale, Assistant Director
Don is an anesthesiologist and intensive care physician at Vancouver General Hospital and Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics at the University of British Columbia. Following his clinical training, he completed a Masters of Public Health in Quantitative Methods from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2008. His clinical and academics areas of interest include neurocritical care of patients with traumatic brain injury and hypoxemic ischemic brain injury following cardiac arrest. He is an active member of the Canadian Critical Care Trials Group. He is an co-investigator with his research partner and Principle Investigator, Dr. Mypinder Sekhon, on a CIHR Project Grant to help delineate pathophysiologic phenotypes in patients with hypoxic ischemic brain injury. Collaborating with Dr. Penny Brasher, he is the Principal Investigator on a 2023 /2024 Grant-in-Aid from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada that will investigate the effect of VV-ECMO on cerebral blood flow in patients with ARDS.
- Sunil Kalia
Dr. Sunil Kalia is the national chair of the CDA sun awareness working group and an associate professor in the Department of Dermatology and Skin Science at the University of British Columbia. He also works with the Photomedicine Institute and Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation at VCHRI.
- Andrea MacNeill
Dr. Andrea MacNeill is a surgical oncologist at Vancouver General Hospital and BC Cancer, and a clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia where she specializes in sarcoma and peritoneal malignancies. She holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Change and Management and has published a number of studies investigating the environmental impacts of healthcare activities. She is the international working group lead for sustainable healthcare for CODA, a global health community mobilizing around climate and health issues. She has designed quality improvement initiatives for clinical services and hospitals around minimizing the environmental costs of care, and is currently studying the planetary impacts of hospital food services. She is committed to designing health systems for optimal planetary health and educating health professionals to be agents of change.
- Margaret J. McGregor
Dr. Margaret McGregor, BA, MD, CCFP, MHSc is a family physician in Vancouver, BC. She is a clinical associate professor with the University of British Columbia, Department of Family Practice. She is a research associate with the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute’s Centre for Clinical Epidemiology & Evaluation and the UBC Centre for Health Services Policy Research. Her research interest interests include the healthcare of frail seniors in primary and community care settings and the health effects of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
- Craig Mitton
Dr. Mitton’s research is focused on the application of health economics to impact health policy and to inform clinical practice. He has worked extensively with health authorities in numerous countries on the development and implementation of priority setting and resource allocation processes.
He is the lead author on a book titled “The Priority Setting Toolkit: a guide to the use of economics in health care priority setting” and is the lead or co-author on more than 170 peer reviewed journal articles. In addition, he has delivered over 200 presentations across many different countries and regularly runs workshops and short courses on health economics and health care priority setting.
In 2015, he was awarded a Killam Teaching Prize from the University of British Columbia. Dr. Mitton is a Professor in the School of Population and Public Health and Senior Scientist at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation.
Current CIHR funding includes work with Island Health on setting priorities for upstream activities as well as assessing uptake of health technology assessments in Canada.
- Boris Sobolev
Boris is a Senior Scientist at C2E2 and Professor in the UBC School of Population and Public Health. From 2003-2013, he held a Canada Research Chair in Statistics and Modeling for Health Care. In 2018-2021, he held a Visiting Professorship at Oxford University. His research examines access to healthcare, treatments received, and patient outcomes. Boris co-authored two Springer books: Analysis of Waiting-Time Data In Health Services Research and Health Care Evaluation Using Computer Simulation. His research interests include causal attribution in health services research, methodology for analysis of waiting times, risk of adverse events while awaiting medical services, and the use of simulation experiments in policy evaluation. He teaches Causal Inference in Public Health Sciences, an advanced course developing competency in causal inference methodology. In this YouTube course, Prof. Sobolev discusses causal inference.
- Olivia Tseng
olivia.tseng@ubc.ca (604) 875-4111 ext 62470Olivia Tseng is a practicing family physician, a Clinical Assistant Professor at the UBC Department of Family Practice, and a research member of the Centre for Clinical Evaluation and Epidemiology. She supervises Family Practice residents and medical students at the UBC Health Clinic. As a clinic leader, she promotes office efficiency through strategic planning in EMR and payments. Outside her clinic and research work, she serves professional organizations that includes the Vancouver Division of Family Practice, BC Family Doctors, and the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Care.
Dr. Tseng’s research interest is to promote quality evidence-based, and patient-centred primary care in a multi-disciplinary team setting. Her research generates evidence to inform healthcare planning and facilitates care with health technology and billing models. She is a co-investigator for research projects associated with virtual and health technology assessments.
Dr. Tseng has received multiple research awards, including an investigator award from the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institution in 2020 and a national Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation fellowship. She completed her residency training at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, BC, and PhD and Clinician Scholar Training at UBC.
Finance & Administrative Staff
- Pamela Lee
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pamela.lee@ubc.ca 604-875-4111 ext. 66937
Pam is a part-time Administrative Assistant and has been with C2E2 since September 2016.
Research Staff
- Herbert Chan
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herbert.chan@ubc.ca (604) 875-4509
Herbert Chan is a Research Associate with Dr. Jeff Brubacher at the Department of Emergency Medicine and an associate member of the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation. His research interests include emergency department visits, road traffic trauma surveillance, and alcohol/drug impaired driving.
Learn more about the Department of Emergency Medicine’s Road Safety & Public Health Research program.
- Michelle Cox
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Michelle Cox is a health researcher and data analyst at C2E2. She holds an MSc in Health Care and Epidemiology from the University of British Columbia. Michelle’s research interests focus on health outcomes in vulnerable populations including frail elders in community and long-term care settings, pregnant women, people who use substances, and those living near hydraulic fracturing sites. Michelle has been part of numerous research teams, and has a strong background in quantitative health research and data management. Her expertise includes working with linked health administrative data, and performing statistical analysis/modeling.
- Amber Cragg
Amber Cragg is a Research Manager with the UBC Department of Emergency Medicine. She has a Master’s of Science in Community Health and Epidemiology from Dalhousie University. Amber’s research interests focus on improving drug safety through harm reduction, surveillance, and health policy and service innovation, with a current emphasis on improving detection, treatment, and reporting of adverse drug events.
- Jamie Dhami
Jamie is a Research Administrative Assistant for the School of Population and Public Health at UBC. She is currently working with Dr. Stirling Bryan and Dr. Jehannine Austin to help facilitate the Pharmacogenomics for Depression (PGx) Project. Jamie has just recently joined the C2E2 team in July 2024. She has previously completed a Bachelor’s degree from UBC in Sociology and is interested in pursuing law as a future career, working somewhere in the vicinity of environmental law/ public health policy. She is interested in facilitating and fighting for equitable and accessible healthcare. Her weekends are spent painting, watching movies, and spending time in the beautiful outdoors of British Columbia!
- Louisa Edwards
louisa.edwards@ubc.ca (604) 875-4111 ext 66428Louisa was awarded a PhD in from the University of Melbourne (Australia) in 2009, and is currently a Research Program Manager at the School for Population and Public Health (UBC) and C2E2. She is currently working with Dr. Stirling Bryan on investigating the social, ethical, legal, and economic issues with using genetic technologies (eplet/molecular compatibility) to improve the kidney donor-transplant recipient match, and also with Dr. Jehannine Austin on examining similar issues with pharmacogenomic testing to improve antidepressant treatment for major depressive disorder. Louisa is broadly interested in the use of technology to support patients with their health, including making lifestyle changes and promoting self-management. Other areas of interest are the interplay between motivation for seeking treatment, patient expectations, engaging with a treatment approach, and how these affect health and well-being outcomes. In every project, Louisa is committed to patient-oriented research.
- Nora Fripp
Nora is a Research Scientist, Economic Modelling within the Health Technology Assessment unit at C2E2. She holds a BSc from McGill University and a MPH with a concentration in health economics from the University of British Columbia. Previously Nora worked in health research and healthcare administration and has interests in health policy, health economics, digital health and learning health systems.
- Shahzad Ghanbarian
shahzadg@mail.ubc.ca 604-875-4111 ext. 66469Dr. Shahzad Ghanbarian works at C2E2 as an experienced Mathematical Modeller and Health Economist. She informs decision-making in health policy science through her expertise in statistical modeling, particularly microsimulation and discrete event simulation. She earned a Ph.D. in Computational Biophysics focusing on atomistic simulations of DNA electrostatics. During her post-doctoral fellowship, she applied her analytical skills to health sciences, focusing on mathematical modeling of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and Osteoarthritis (OA). Since joining the C2E2 HTA team in 2017, Shahzad has worked on statistical modeling, cost-effectiveness evaluation, and budget impact analysis of different health technologies for the BC Ministry of Health.
Currently, as a lead statistical modeler, Shahzad collaborates closely with Dr. Stirling Bryan and Dr. Jehannine Austin on a research project investigating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of pharmacogenomic testing to enhance antidepressant treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). Additionally, Shahzad works alongside Dr. Stirling Bryan and Dr. Paul Keown to develop a discrete event simulation specifically focused on assessing the cost-effectiveness of genetic technologies such as eplet/molecular compatibility to enhance the matching of kidney donors and transplant recipients.
Her research contributions have the potential to revolutionize treatment strategies, improve patient care, and optimize resource allocations within the healthcare system.
- Jeffrey Hau
Jeffrey.hau@ubc.ca (604) 875-4111 ext. 62270Jeff is a research coordinator for the ActionADE project headed by Dr. Corinne Hohl at C2E2. His work, through the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia, involves the recognition and prevention of adverse drug events in emergency departments. His current work also involves looking at opioid addiction and dependence in patients presenting to the emergency department requiring opioid prescriptions. Prior to his current role at C2E2, Jeff graduated in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and spent over a year working as a research assistant at the Medical Research Council/Uganda Viral Research Institute for HIV/AIDS in Entebbe, Uganda. He also volunteers his time for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) as a research communication volunteer. His research interest includes improving the health outcomes of vulnerable populations.
- Nicole Hu
Nicole Hu is a Junior Statistical Analyst at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation. She holds a Master of Science in Statistics from the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include the analysis of healthcare administrative data, survival analysis, causal inference, and statistical learning algorithms.
- Lisa Kuramoto
Lisa Kuramoto is a Statistical Analyst at C2E2. She has a Master of Science in Statistics from the University of British Columbia. Her interests include working with concepts to operationalize study questions, analyzing real-world data to generate scientific evidence, statistical methods for causal inference, and statistical education. Lisa has contributed to research in various areas, such as access to care and their impact on patient outcomes, and factors relating to disease progression.
- Chris Niosco
Chris is working as a project coordinator for ActionADE under Dr. Corinne Hohl. He holds a Master of Public Health degree from Simon Fraser University. He is interested in population health determinants, producing information from health data, and translating knowledge into practice.
- Iraj Poureslami
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Dr. Iraj Poureslami is a senior health evaluation research scientist at the Centre for Lung Health and a research associate at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation. He is a World Health Organization (WHO) mentor of health promotion, a member of the WHO Early Childhood Development Knowledge Network and a member of the Canadian National Health Literacy Expert Panel. His main research goal is to address socio-cultural and environmental determinants of health and inequity in Canada. Dr. Poureslami has conducted various health promotion and health literacy intervention projects, applying behavioural modification strategies and stage of change models. He has extensive knowledge and expertise in developing conceptual framework for community-based, patient-oriented, and knowledge-to-action research.
- Neale Smith
Neale Smith is a Study Coordinator with the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor with the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health. He has over 25 years experience in research and evaluation in both practice and academic settings. His interests include healthcare policy and politics; public administration and public policy processes and theory; public engagement; and qualitative research and evaluation methodologies. Neale holds an MA in Political Science from the University of Western Ontario and a Masters in Environmental Design (Urban and Regional Planning) from the University of Calgary.
- Anne Nguyen (Science Co-op Student)
Anne is a BSc student at the University of British Columbia. She is working with Dr. Penelope Brasher and Dr. Donald Griesdale on a variety of projects as a student research assistant. Her current work involves examining health administrative data.
- Nitya Suryaprakash
nitya.suryaprakash@ubc.ca (604) 875-4111 ext 68341Nitya Suryaprakash PhD is a qualitative researcher with over 20 years’ experience managing complex multi-site research projects. Her work spans various health care disciplines with members of diverse cultures. Nitya’s current research interests include patient engagement in research, innovative qualitative and mixed method methodologies, knowledge translation, and research ethics.
- Noeleen Venter
Noeleen Venter is a Qualitative Research Assistant in the Department of Emergency Medicine, contributing to Dr. Corinne Hohl’s team on the ActionADE project (visit actionade.org for details). She holds a Master’s of Public Health from the University of Otago, New Zealand. Noeleen is passionate about advancing effective and equitable health service delivery and driving impactful and sustainable systemic change.
- Gavin Wong
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Gavin completed his bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy at the Ohio State University in 2006 and his Ph.D. in pharmacology at UBC in 2014. He has been a registered respiratory therapist with the Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists since 2009. He has extensive experience in conducting systematic reviews and indirect comparison. He authored numerous reports that were sent to the government to help health policy decisions at both federal and provincial levels. He is a Cochrane editor with the Cochrane Hypertension group as well as the author of several Cochrane reviews. His research interest included systematic review, network meta-analysis, and applying evidence to the care pathway.
Trainee: Masters
- Mary Bunka
Mary is an MSc student at the School of Population and Public Health at UBC, supervised by Dr. Stirling Bryan. Mary completed her BA in psychology at the University of British Columbia in 2017 and has since worked on several studies around mental health and treatment optimization with the Department of Family Practice and School of Population and Public Health. Mary joined the C2E2 team in September 2020 as a Research Assistant, working with Dr. Stirling Bryan and Dr. Jehannine Austin’s team on systematic reviews, modelling, and patient engagement for the Pharmacogenomics for Depression project. Mary’s research interests include adolescent mental health and relationships, depression care optimization, and patient-oriented methodologies. Her thesis will examine treatment patterns in children and youth with depression in BC. Mary is grateful to be supported in her MSc by a CGS-M award from CIHR.
- Maryann Rogers
Maryann completed her BSc in Honours Biology at UBC in 2022 and is currently an MSc student in the School of Population and Public Health at UBC. Maryann joined C2E2 in 2024 as a Graduate Academic Assistant working with Dr. Craig Mitton. Maryann works on a variety of projects related to health economics. Maryann's research interests include health economics, health care systems analysis, pharmaceutical policy, and health care decision making.
- Smita Roy
Smita Roy is a MSc student in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia, under the supervision of Dr. Craig Mitton. She completed her BS and MS in Nutrition and Food Science from University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Smita joined the C2E2 team in September 2023 as a Graduate Research Assistant working with Dr. Craig Mitton. Before that she worked for 4 years in malnutrition treatment and prevention program at UN-WFP, Bangladesh. Smita’s research interests include health economics, malnutrition, epidemiology, and policy research.
Trainee: PhD
- Amarildo Ceka
Amarildo Ceka is a PhD student in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia, under the supervision of Dr. Craig Mitton. Amarildo holds a BS in biochemistry and an MBA in healthcare management with a final project focused on laboratory test utilization, both from Utica College in NY. After working for 3 years at the St. Elizabeth's Medical Center as a laboratory scientist, Amarildo returned to his home country to serve as an advisor to the Albanian Minister of Health and Social Protection, part of LEAD Albania fellowship. Through his PhD, he will focus on analyzing the responsiveness of the Province of British Columbia versus the Province of Alberta during the COVID-19 pandemic. His research is supported by the Mitacs Accelerate Fellowship.
- Hayley Lawrence
Hayley is a PhD student at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health with Dr. Craig Mitton as her supervisor. She holds a Masters in Health Sciences from St. George’s University of London and a Masters in Law, Legal Aspects of Medical Practice, from Cardiff University. She has gained a unique skill set through her clinical experience as a dental hygienist and quality assurance inspector in the United Kingdom, which was integral in obtaining the CIHR Health System Impact Fellowship in 2024. Her quality improvement expertise is in evaluating healthcare providers for quality, safety, and regulatory compliance. Hayley is particularly interested in the ethical allocation of limited healthcare resources, which inspired her to pursue her PhD. Her research interests include health economics, pharmaceutical policy, quality improvement, and health services research.
- Zeina Waheed
Zeina is a PhD Candidate at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health with Dr. Stirling Bryan as her supervisor. She previously completed her BSc in Cell and Developmental Biology and MSc in Neuroscience. Zeina joined the C2E2 team in October 2021 as a Graduate Research Assistant working with Dr. Stirling Bryan, Dr. Jehannine Austin and Dr. Kim McGrail’s team on the Pharmacogenomics for Depression project. Zeina’s research interests include health economics, patient outcomes, health care systems analysis, epidemiology, patient-oriented research, knowledge mobilization, and health services and policy research. Zeina’s PhD research will focus on identifying, developing and evaluating alternative implementation strategies for pharmacogenomic testing for major depressive disorder. Zeina will be using qualitative and quantitative methodologies (e.g., administrative data analysis, simulation modelling) during her PhD research.
Trainee: Post-Doctoral Fellow
- Erica Lau
Erica is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of British Columbia. She is interested in improving the quality and impact of behavioral health and health service interventions. Her research has focused on identifying barriers and facilitators to integrating evidence-based health interventions into real-world settings, developing effective implementation strategies, and advancing methods to monitor and evaluate program implementation and scale-up. Erica has worked as an implementation evaluator on several population-based health interventions funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada and BC Ministry of Health (e.g., UPnGO with ParticipACTION, Carrot Rewards App, Choose to Move). Her postdoctoral research is supported by a MSFHR Research Trainee Award.
Associates
- Riyad Abu-Laban
Dr. Riyad B. Abu-Laban is an Emergency Physician at Vancouver General Hospital, Professor in the UBC Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM), and Scientific Director of the BC Emergency Medicine Network. He holds a MHSc in epidemiology, and has a wide range of publications including first authorship on randomized trials in the NEJM and Lancet. Riyad has a longstanding commitment to the advancement of Emergency Medicine as an academic discipline in Canada and internationally. His professional contributions include 10 years as Senior Associate Editor for the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, 8 years as a member of the Royal College Emergency Medicine Specialty Committee, participation as one of seven members on the Collaborative Working Group on the Future of Emergency Medicine in Canada, and ongoing membership on both the Governance and Specialty Implementation Committees of the International Federation for Emergency Medicine. As Research Director of the UBC Department of Emergency Medicine from 2009-2020, Riyad provided academic mentorship and methodologic support to numerous DEM trainees, faculty members and career award recipients, and has taught on clinical trials for C2E2. In 2011 he developed an innovative one-month research education program that has continued annually and involves several C2E2 members as faculty. Riyad currently oversees a wide range of activities in the EM Network Scientific Program related to data access and the functioning of the EMN as a Learning Health System. His most recent first author publications include a study on the relationship between Canadian medical student career interest in EM and post-graduate training disposition (Canadian Medical Education Journal, 2017), an overview on the background and structure of the BC Emergency Medicine Network (Cureus, 2018), a paper on the process and findings informing the development of the BC Emergency Medicine Network (Healthcare Management Forum, 2019) and an editorial on the evolution of emergency medicine internationally (CJEM, 2020).
- Laurie Goldsmith (Affiliate)
Laurie is an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University and a Senior Research Fellow in the Primary Care Research Network at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. She is a qualitative and mixed methods health services and health policy researcher. She has conducted research in Singapore, Canada, and the United States on a variety of topics related to the patient and physician experience of receiving and delivering health care and the influence of health care structure on health care delivery. Additional research interests include access to health care from empirical, policy, and theoretical perspectives; patient and public involvement in research; and advancing the use of research methods. She has a PhD in Health Policy from the University of North Carolina and a MSc in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University.
- David Evans (Affiliate)
david.evans@vch.ca (604) 875-4559Dr. David Evans is a trauma and general surgeon at Vancouver General Hospital, and is the Medical Director of Trauma Services B.C. Dr. Evans is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and has served on the executive committees of the Trauma Association of Canada and the Canadian Association of General Surgeons, and the examination board of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. With a strong clinical and academic interest in trauma, general surgery and critical care medicine, Dr. Evans is actively involved in trauma research. In 2001 he founded the Canadian Trauma Trials Collaboration, a national multidisciplinary trauma research group, which he chaired until 2006, and he currently holds a CIHR PHSI grant to evaluate performance in regional trauma systems. His research interests include performance measurement and quality improvement in trauma care, including process mapping, evaluation of indicator use, and development of reporting strategies.
- Sonya Cressman (Affiliate)
Dr. Cressman is a health economist at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation and an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at Simon Fraser University. She uses methods from health economics to identify disparity in healthcare decisions and partners with research users to find ways to mitigate it. Her research has supported decisions about the adoption of high-impact technologies and provided guidance on payout from future research investment. Her work on lung cancer screening has supported Canada’s first lung cancer screening program and she leads the provincial AIRWISE study, aimed at improving access to screening and lung health services. Dr. Cressman’s research at C2E2 is focused on the societal costs of depression, economic evaluations in depression and kidney transplantation and equity impact analysis.
- Amira Aker (Affiliate)
Amira Aker is an environmental epidemiologist focused on interdisciplinary research to identify risks associated with exposure to contaminants of emerging concern. Her community-based participatory project centers around the health effects of PFAS exposure in Inuit communities in Nunavik. She is also studying the health effects of living in proximity to unconventional wells in British Columbia. Amira received her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in Environmental Health Sciences and her MPH in Environmental Health and Policy from George Washington University.
- Élyse Caron-Beaudoin (Affiliate)
Élyse Caron-Beaudoin is an Assistant Professor in environmental health at the University of Toronto – Scarborough. Her research is focused on the development of transdisciplinary research projects in partnership with communities to assess the impacts of anthropogenic pressures on health by combining information from multiple levels of biological organization. Élyse holds a PhD in biology with a specialisation in toxicology from the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique – Armand-Frappier Institute in Laval, Quebec. From 2018 to 2020, she was a CIHR-funded postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health at the Université de Montreal. During her fellowship, Élyse investigated the associations between density and proximity to hydraulic fracturing wells and birth outcomes in Northeast British Columbia. She also instigated with Dr. Verner and in partnership with First Nations from the region, the first biomonitoring studies on exposure to environmental contaminants associated with unconventional natural gas exploitation in Canada. She is a collaborator and co-investigator on several other research projects on environmental and Indigenous health, including in the Arctic.
Her research interests are at the nexus of toxicology, molecular biology, public and environmental health, and community-based research.
- Tania Conte (Affiliate)
Tania is a Health Economist, Modeller and Registered Nurse. She holds an MSc degree in Population and Public Health from the University of British Columbia. She has substantial experience in clinical practice, health care management and health technology assessment (HTA). Her main interests include health services research, health technology assessment, and health economics and modelling applied to decision-making processes.
She worked with the C2E2 HTA team since 2015 on several projects with Dr. Stirling Bryan, Dr. Mohsen Sadatsafavi, and Dr. Craig Mitton, mainly focused on systematic reviews, cost-effectiveness analysis, and budget impact of non-drug health technologies. She is currently working with Canada’s Drug and Health Technology Agency (CADTH).
- Nick Bansback (Affiliate)
Nick has a BSc in Mathematics majoring in Operations Research, a MSc in Health Services Research and in 2010 completed a PhD in Health Economics and Decision Sciences, from the University of Sheffield. His research is focused on using decision science to better inform policies and practices in health. Methodological areas of research include measuring and valuing health, economic evaluation and network meta-analysis. Specific areas of interest include the economic implications of biologics in Rheumatoid Arthritis, and the economics of patient centred care.
- Glory Apantaku (Affiliate)
Glory is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Institute of Resource, Environment, and Sustainability of the University of British Columbia. She holds a master's in Population and Public health from the University of British Columbia. Her research explores health vulnerability to climate change and public preferences for adaptation interventions. She has led and supported research projects evaluating health policies and exploring public and patient preferences for health services. She is also experienced in designing and deploying surveys and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data.
- Jeff Brubacher
Jeff is Scientist at C2E2, Associate Professor in the UBC Department of Emergency Medicine (Faculty of Medicine), and Director of the Vancouver General Hospital Emergency Medicine Research Program. He practices clinically as Emergency Physician in the Emergency Department at Vancouver General Hospital and as Clinical Toxicologist at the BC Drug and Poison Information Centre. Jeff holds a Clinician Scientist award from the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Foundation. His research interest focuses broadly on injury prevention with a special interest in drug impaired driving, substance abuse and injury, and patient safety in the emergency department.
Learn more about the Department of Emergency Medicine’s Road Safety & Public Health Research program.
- Corinne Hohl
Corinne is an Associate Professor in UBC’s Department of Emergency Medicine and a Scientist at the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation. Her main research interests are in emergency medicine, drug safety and effectiveness and adverse drug event surveillance. Together with her team, she has developed interventions to improve the recognition and treatment of patients affected by adverse drug events in Emergency Departments. She is presently working on validating and implementing improved adverse drug event case identification and reporting methods to improve clinical care, provide better data for research in drug safety and effectiveness, and for post-marketing surveillance of newly licensed medications.
For her work on adverse drug events, she was awarded a Best Paper Award from the American College of Emergency Physicians in 2011, and in 2012, a New Investigator Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In 2013, Corinne was awarded the Teacher of the Year Award by the UBC FRCPC Emergency Medicine Residency Program. Corinne practices Emergency Medicine at Vancouver General Hospital, and is a member of the Canadian Drug Safety and Effectiveness Research Network and of the Canadian Network for Advanced Interdisciplinary Methods for Comparative Effectiveness Research.
- Lisa Ronald
Lisa Ronald is an epidemiologist and public health researcher, with a PhD in Epidemiology from McGill University, and MSc degrees in Biology (University of Liverpool) and Epidemiology (UBC). She has worked across a range of disciplines in public health, including occupational and environmental health, infectious diseases, and global health. Her research interests focus on the application of epidemiologic data to support public health policy development.
