Alumni

2007 - 2009

Intan Schrader

Intan was born in Melbourne, Australia, however grew up here in Vancouver, BC. After a semester at UBC, she returned to Australia to study medicine at the University of Melbourne and commenced a six and a half year commute to Australia. Having completed her medical degree, she returned to Canada in 2004 to begin her residency in Medical Genetics and has thus far completed her third year of clinical training. In 2007 she was accepted into the CIP where she is obtaining her MSc in Pathology. Intan is currently investigating the association of germline mutations in the E-cadherin gene with lobular breast cancers under the mentorship of Dr David Huntsman at the BCCA.

Carolyn Taylor

Born and raised in Vancouver, Carolyn completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of British Columbia before pursuing graduate study at Stanford University in Human Biology. Following medical school and a residency in Internal Medicine, Dr. Taylor commenced a fellowship in Cardiology at the University of British Columbia. During her three years of Cardiology training, Carolyn developed a strong interest in Preventative Cardiology and risk factor modification. Following completion of her clinical training in June 2007, Carolyn is initiating a research fellowship in Preventative Cardiology, with an emphasis on risk factor modification in ethnic minorities and under-serviced populations and non-invasive detection and monitoring of coronary artery disease. Carolyn’s research work will be carried out in Vancouver, BC, through the Healthy Heart Program at St. Paul’s Hospital, and Boston, MA, at Massachusetts General and Harvard University. While in Boston, Dr. Taylor will also be completing a Masters in Public Health at Harvard University’s School of Public Health.

Manda Ghahremani

Catherine Weber

Connie Chu

Connie was born in Hong Kong and raised in Hamilton, Ontario.  She completed her Medical Doctorate training at the University of Toronto, and is currently a Senior Resident in General Surgery at the University of British Columbia and a student in the UBC Masters of Science in Surgery program.   Connie’s research interest involves study of novel molecular signaling pathways and identification of molecular markers implicated in the development and progression of breast cancer.  In particular, her laboratory work has focused on cell membrane microdomains in EGFR signaling.  Connie has also characterized the role of EGFR and the entire Type-1 Growth Receptor family expression in a group of over 4200 breast cancers utilizing a tissue microarray.  In addition, she is also involved in the study of diagnostic methods and molecular markers in thyroid cancer.  She also has particular interest in cancer in the HIV/AIDS population.  When not at work, her friends and family keeps her grounded.  Being the daughter of a graphic designer, Connie is a gifted painter and sculpturer.  She can be found at local art galleries, live theatre performances, and classical and contemporary concerts.  After her residency and research training, Connie plans to pursue a fellowship in Surgical Oncology.  Alongside her clinical training, she plans to continue research in molecular markers and targeted therapeutics in breast cancer.  To sum up her experience, Connie states, “I am extremely grateful for the opportunities and support that I have been offered by the CIP program and the Department of Surgery, and for the privileged mentorship by Dr. Wiseman and Dr. Nabi.  I am excited to combine research in my clinical training, and to bring science from the bench to bedside.”  We are extremely proud of Connie’s accomplishments and wish this young, promising researcher and surgeon all the best.

2006 – 2008

Genevieve Eastabrook

Genevieve grew up in Canmore, Alberta before moving to Kingston, Ontario to complete her Bachelor's in Life Sciences at Queen's University. Her Honour's year research project was in tumour immunology, with a focus on the role of natural killer cells. While attending medical school in Calgary, Genevieve developed a keen interest in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and was pleased to match to the UBC residency program in that specialty. After a one-year internship in Victoria, Genevieve returned to Vancouver, where she became involved in a research project with Dr. Peter von Dadelszen, which has allowed her to combine her interests in both immunology and in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. She entered the Clinician Investigator Program in July, 2006, and is currently investigating the role of decidual natural killer cells in the process of implantation. This past summer, Genevieve presented a poster at the International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy meeting in Lisbon , Portugal . She is also the recipient of a two-year STIRRHS scholarship. In addition to her research activities, Genevieve is expecting her first baby in the New Year.

Jag Gill

Dr. Jagbir Gill: Born and raised in Vancouver, Jag completed his undergraduate and medical training at the University of British Columbia. He completed his Internal Medicine residency and continued his clinical training in Nephrology, during which time he developed a keen interest in kidney transplantation and clinical epidemiology. Having completed his clinical training in June, 2006, Dr. Gill moved to Los Angeles to complete a 2-year kidney transplant research fellowship at the UCLA Medical Center. His primary research focus is health outcomes and organ allocation in kidney transplantation, particularly in the context of living donors. During this period, Dr. Gill will also be completing a Masters in Public Health at the Harvard University in Boston, MA.

Tony Ng

Born in Hong Kong, but raised in Vancouver, I grew up leading the typical life of a Chinese-Canadian youth, playing badminton, going to piano lessons and eventually sporting around the city in a Toyota Corolla. I received my undergraduate degree at Simon Fraser University in Biochemistry, and went on to complete medical school here at UBC. During medical school, I worked with Dr. Torsten Nielsen at the Genetic Pathology Evaluation Centre, looking at immunohistochemical markers in sarcomas using tissue microarrays. I have since completed two years of residency in Anatomical Pathology at UBC, but was inspired by Dr. Nielsen and others to pursue a career as a clinician-scientist. Undeterred by the possibility of becoming a perma-student, I entered the Clinician Investigator Program in July 2006, and have started a PhD with Dr. Poul Sorensen at the BC Cancer Research Centre, looking at signal transduction and characterizing novel therapeutic targets in Ewing sarcoma. I am also involved in using high-throughput RNA interference screening to identify further targets in Ewing sarcoma. My spare time is spent touring the city with my wife for the wonderful cuisine and culture, and going fencing to relieve the frustrations of failed experiments in the lab.

Stephen Yip

Stephen spent an inordinate amount of time in the west coast. After completion of his BSc in microbiology and immunology at the University of British Columbia, he was accepted into the combined MD-PhD program at UBC. There he worked with Julia Levy's group on photodynamic therapy or PDT. Specifically, he was interested in combining the use of PDT with other chemotherapeutic agents in ridding bone marrow of contaminating leukemic cells in the context of autologous bone marrow transplantation. He did quite a bit of climbing during those years and almost climbed Mount Robson, but luckily not. He thought he wanted to become an internist but changed his mind (a troubling trait) and applied to various neurosurgery programs in the country. He was fortunate to be accepted into the VGH Neurosurgery program. The four years that he stayed with the program was one of the most challenging and demanding, yet fulfilling time in his life. Eventually, he realized that this was really not what he wanted and transferred to the neuropathology program at Vancouver General Hospital. He was able to use his clinical knowledge in the previous four years to make an already interesting field even more challenging. Stephen obtained his FRCPC in neuropathology in May 2006 and was lucky to be accepted into the Clinician Investigator Program. He decided to pursue molecular neuro- oncology research at the Massachusetts General Hospital under the guidance of David Louis for the next two years. He will also take part in some clinical neuropathology activities in addition to participation in various clinical molecular pathology projects at MGH. However, he spends the majority of his time at the molecular pathology unit at MGH Charlestown where he is studying mismatch repair defects in primary gliomas. The project utilizes the immense brain tumor bank maintained in the lab and takes advantage of the local expertise and resources.
Stephen is primarily looking at the role of MSH6 on sensitivity to Temozolomide, an alkylating agent used in neuro- oncology. Curiously, he is back to using the same assays that he used during his PhD years for his current project. Nevertheless, there is a re- learning curve (especially in the finer points of molecular biology... it does not work by "just follow the recipe"...) in the lab but he is definitely happy to be planning and doing experiments again. He wants to combine a research career with clinical neuropathology."

Raymund Yong

Dr. Raymund Yong was born in Toronto and grew up in Calgary. He received his undergraduate education and attended medical school at the University of Calgary. Upon graduating in 2002, Raymund joined the neurosurgery residency training program at the University of British Columbia. He became interested in brain tumour research after doing rotations at the BC Cancer Agency and joined the UBC Clinician Investigator Program in 2006 to pursue translational research in glioma therapeutics. The CIP provided him the opportunity to relocate to Houston, Texas to work at the Brain Tumor Center at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center under the mentorship of Dr. Frederick Lang, Director of Clinical Research in the Department of Neurosurgery. He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in cancer biology and neuroscience and working in the lab to develop mesenchymal stem cell-mediated gene and viral therapies for malignant glioma. He plans on returning to Vancouver in 2008 to complete the remaining two years of his residency.

2005 – 2007

Greg Haljan

Greg hails originally from Alberta, but most people in Vancouver don’t seem to hold that against him. He surprised his parents by graduating from Medicine in 1999 at the University of Alberta and moved to the University of Calgary to complete residency in Internal Medicine, a clinical fellowship in Critical Care and then a research fellowship focused on brain injury. He is an alumnus of the ski bum program at the University of Banff, and was ranked second in the fifth International Competition for the Creative Use of Industrial Quantities of Jello. His favourite ice cream is “Chunky Monkey.” Research interests include the cellular response to hypoxia, brain injury and behaving badly. He is currently pursuing these interests in Keith Walley’s lab, and attending in the ICU at Mount St. Joseph’s Hospital.

Kristin Houghton

Kristin graduated in medicine from UBC in 1998, completed residency training in Pediatrics at Isaac Walton Killam Hospital in Halifax and fellowships in Pediatric Rheumatology and Sports Medicine in Vancouver. She is currently completing her masters of science in Human Kinetics at UBC and working part-time at BC Children’s Hospital in the Division of Rheumatology and at the University of British Columbia’s Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre. Research interest areas include exercise science and chronic illness. There is increasing evidence that aerobic capacity has a positive relationship with general health and this has raised awareness of the importance of physical fitness in chronic disease states. Anaerobic fitness may be related to the ability to perform activities of daily living. Current rehabilitation strategies for children with chronic rheumatic disease are not evidence based.Currently our pediatric rheumatology population is involved in 2 studies; one study looking at the relationship between fatigue and fitness in youth with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and another looking at the limitations to aerobic fitness in youth with chronic arthritis. Kristin is also working with researchers at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto to write a proposal for a CIHR seed grant submission for establishment of an international working group to study exercise therapies in children with arthritis and other rheumatologic diseases. We aim to include researchers from a variety of backgrounds including physiotherapy, exercise physiology, rheumatology, immunology, radiology, and clinical epidemiology. Kristin is excited at the prospect of developing and participating in multicentre studies with international colleagues to help advance exercise therapy in chronic rheumatic diseases of childhood.

Mark Hull

Mark Hull completed his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Saskatchewan before completing his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Calgary. Dr Hull moved further west to undertake a Fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia, and has remained here to complete an MHSc degree in the Department of Healthcare and Epidemiology, with research interests in antimicrobial resistance, and HIV. Currently his research projects include the study of the spread of Methicillin-resistant S.aureus (MRSA) in the inner-city population of the down-town eastside of Vancouver. HIV-related training continues through the Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS with a focus on treatment and treatment-related complications in antiretroviral-experienced individuals.

John Swiston

Dr Swiston completed a BSc in Biochemistry and MSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Calgary before going on to study Medicine at the University of Alberta. After completing his medical degree Dr Swiston relocated to Vancouver British Columbia for a medical residency in Internal Medicine and a subsequent fellowship in Respirology at the University of British Columbia. Pursuing an interest in pulmonary hypertension and clinical research, Dr Swiston then enrolled in the Clinician Investigator Program at the University of British Columbia and trained at the University of Toronto in the Toronto General Hospital Pulmonary Hypertension Program. Dr Swiston’s research interests focus on pulmonary hypertension and include investigations into factors that predict mortality in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and systemic sclerosis associated PAH. He is also currently exploring the utility of exhaled nitric oxide in the assessment and management of patients with PAH as well as aberrations in sympathetic nervous system activity in PAH. Dr Swiston currently resides in Boston Massachusetts where he is enrolled in a Master of Public Health program at the Harvard School of Public Health.