Alumni

Dr. Marcel Arcand, was a 2011-2012 CDKTN Visiting Scholar at the Core. He is a Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Sherbrooke, Quebec and a researcher at the Sherbrooke Research Center on Aging. Dr. Arcand has developed an interest in geriatric palliative care, particularly in advanced dementia, and co-authored a booklet to help families understand the clinical and ethical challenges of late-life dementia. The booklet was well accepted by surveyed Canadian families and healthcare practitioners (mostly long term care nurses), translated and adapted for the Netherlands, Italy and Japan, and has recently been accepted by World Health Organization as an example of better practice in Geriatric Palliative Care.  At the Core, Dr. Arcand developed new educational materials for health care practitioners and researchers about end-of-life care in advanced dementia.

Yemi Banjo, B.Sc., M.Sc., joined the Core in June, 2009 as a Research Fellow, and coordinated the ‘International Neuroethics: Enhancement, Drugs and Devices’ study led by Dr. Peter Reiner (UBC) in collaboration with Dr. Thomas Metzinger (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz). She graduated from the University of California, Davis in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior and recently completed a Master’s degree in Neuroscience at UBC. As a graduate student she studied the effects of brief fetal exposure and subsequent adult re-exposure to cycad neurotoxins in mice based on the fetal basis of adult disease (FeBAD) hypothesis. Ms. Banjo also co-managed the International Neuroethics Network .

Emily Borgelt, B.Sc., M.A., was a Research Consultant based in Palo Alto, California.  She worked on a NIH/NIMH- funded study of stakeholder perspectives on the potential clinical use of functional neuroimaging in mental health care, for which she was a Research Coordinator at the Core from 2009-2010.  In addition, Ms. Borgelt also currently works on a complementary study titled "Neuroimaging, Participants with Mental Health Disorders, and Incidental Findings."  This study examines how incidental findings are handled in neuroimaging research involving participants with mental health disorders. Previously, from 2009-2010, Ms. Borgelt also managed the Core's Clinical Neuroethics program.  Ms. Borgelt graduated from Emory University  with a degree in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology and from Case Western Reserve University with a Masters degree in Bioethics.

Noah Castelo was a Research Intern at the Core, having joined Dr. Reiner’s group in May 2011. Noah is in his third year of study at the University of Toronto, majoring in psychology and philosophy. His research focuses on the effects  of mindfulness on moral decision making, a sub-project in the larger effort to gauge the impact that an increasingly neuroscientific culture might have on the public's moral intuitions, including the implications that might have for criminal law and other domains of social life.

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Neil Chahal, B.Sc., M.H.A., was the Dementia Knowledge Translation Coordinator at the National Core for Neuroethics. With a background in Human Physiology, Mr. Chahal moved on to complete a Masters degree in Health Administration at UBC. His thesis explored the intricacies of ethical and sustainable dementia care for patients as they apply to healthcare program administration. In his new role as the Dementia Knowledge Translation Coordinator, Mr. Chahal will be developing tools to bridge the gaps in knowledge and understanding that have traditionally divided dementia researchers, care providers, and patients.

Kevin Comerford, M.F.A., M.I.S., joined UBC in the fall of 2008 as a graduate student with Prof. Edie Rasmussen in the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies. In a collaborative effort with Prof. Rasmussen, Mr. Comerford examined changing trends in how ethics is represented in the neuroscience literature and vice versa.

Carole Federico, B.Sc., was a Research Coordinator at the Core. She coordinated two studies examining the needs of neuroimagers and neurodegenerative disease researchers for incorporating neuroethics into their research. Ms. Federico also organized a number of events that the Core hosted in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Ms. Federico is the assistant editor, and a contributing author, of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Neuroethics publication, to be released in the fall of 2010. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of British Columbia in Biopsychology with and interest in Philosophy and will be pursuing a Masters degree in Bioethics at McGill University in the fall of 2010.

Gidon Felsen, Ph.D., was a Visiting Scholar at the Core. His postdoctoral work at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory focused on the neural mechanisms of decision making, using electrophysiological recordings in behaving rodents. In October 2009 he will be joining the faculty in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Colorado, Denver, where his lab will apply similar techniques to study movement disorders. At the Core, he studied how recent findings in the neuroscience of decision making can affect the quality of patient care through improved doctor-patient interactions.

Alex Garnett, B.A., M.L.I.S., was a Research Intern at the Core, recently completing his Masters degree and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Library and Information Science at UBC. He studied Cognitive Science and Linguistics at the University of Connecticut. In a collaborative effort with Edie Rasmussen of the School of Library, Information, and Archival Studies, he is currently working on investigating the penetration of ethical concepts into neuroscience literature, using natural language processing methods.

Patricia Lau, B.Sc., was the Coordinator of the Clinical Neuroethics Program at the Core from 2007 to 2008. She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in Biochemistry where she was a basic scientist, focused on the olfactory system. Now her research interests are in "translational neuroethics" in the context of clinical applications of neuroscience and the potential to harness the power of neuroethics toward advancements in health policy. Ms. Lau began attending the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the fall of 2008. 

Sofia Lombera, B.Sc., was the Core's Manager for Research and Global Partnerships. She graduated from Stanford University with honors in Science, Technology and Society in 2007. While at the Core, Ms. Lombera’s specific research interests were the international dimensions of neuroethics. Ms. Lombera also managed the International Neuroethics Network which is headquartered at the Core. Ms. Lombera will begin a Master’s program at the BIOS Centre at the London School of Economics in September 2009.

Emily R. Murphy, Ph.D., was a Fellow Affiliate with the Core from 2007 to 2008. Her professional home is at the Stanford Law School Center for Law and Biosciences. She is also Research Fellow on the MacArthur Law and Neuroscience Project based at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Murphy graduated from Harvard University and completed her doctoral work in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Cambridge while on a Gates Cambridge Scholarship (2007). Her current research in collaboration with the Core is on issues surrounding the application of neuroscience and neuroimaging to criminal and civil law and individual concept. 

Chris Ng, was a Research Intern at the Core for both the summer of 2009 and 2010. He is a medical student in a 6-year B.Sc. (Hons) and MBChB integrated program between the University of St. Andrews and the University of Edinburgh. Under the guidance of Dr. Peter Reiner, Chris has been working on topics such as the medicalisation of normal cognitive decline and public attitudes towards modafinil use. He wishes to pursue neurology as a specialty in his medical career

Altaira Northe, B.Sc., was the Research Administrator and Coordinator at the Core. She completed her undergraduate studies in the field of Environmental Sciences, with a special interest in human impact and policy, at the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining the Core, she worked in the Research and Technology Development Office at the Child and Family Research Institute. 

Sara Parke, B.A., was a research intern at the Core. She studied Human Biology at Stanford University with a concentration in Neurobiology and Behavior and joined the Core in September 2009 on a Fulbright Scholarship investigating stakeholder perspectives on stem cell therapy for spinal cord injury (SCI). Ms. Parke will begin medical school in the fall of 2010 at the University of Colorado and hopes to specialize in Neurology or Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, such that she may continue her work in SCI. In addition to her interest in regenerative medicine, Ms. Parke also enjoys reading and writing poetry. Following medical school she plans to pursue a degree in Medical Humanities, where she can combine her interests in medicine, ethics and poetry.

Dr. Kevin Peters, was a 2010-2011 CDKTN Visiting Scholar at the Core. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Trent University. His research interests span several different areas.  First, he is interested in ethical issues surrounding the diagnosis and treatment of  dementia and mild cognitive impairment.  Second, he is interested in ethical issues associated with pharmacological enhancement in healthy adults. Lastly, he is interested in the relationship between sleep and memory in young and older adults.  His research is, and has been, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Alzheimer Society of Canada, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Robin Pierce, J.D., Ph.D., was a Senior Research Fellow with the Core in 2008. Dr. Pierce studied law at the University of California, Berkeley, and recently received her Ph.D. from Harvard University where her work involved interdisciplinary approaches to policy and ethical issues regarding genetics and privacy. Her research interests build on those conceptual frameworks in the exploration of ethics, law, and public policy challenges regarding biomedical interventions for neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Pierce has taught across disciplines including law, ethics, and most recently in a course exploring social issues in biology at Harvard Medical School.

Heather Piwowar, M.Eng., M.Sc., Ph.D., was a Research Intern at the Core and a Ph.D. student in the Department of Biomedical Informatics at the University of Pittsburgh. For her dissertation, she investigated the patterns and prevalence with which researchers share their raw research datasets: when the data shared, when it isn’t, which incentives have a demonstrated impact on data sharing behavior, and what can be learned from this to inform future policy? This research used bibliometric and natural language processing methods to quantify gene expression microarray data sharing. In a collaborative effort with Edie Rasmussen of the School of Library, Information, and Archival Studies, Ms. Piwowar applied similar techniques to study patterns in the neuroethics literature.

Umamon Puangthong, M.D., was a Visiting Scholar with the National Core for Neuroethics, as well as a Clinical Fellow with the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorder Centre at UBC Hospital. She obtained her medical degree and psychiatric diploma in Bangkok, Thailand, where she worked as a geriatric psychiatrist. Her specific research interests relate to cross-cultural challenges in brain research with special focus on dementia.

Joanne Reimer, R.N., M.N., was the Research Coordinator for the Spinal Cord Injury Stakeholders Initiative Project that is focused on eliciting patients’ interests and preferences, along with those of their caregivers and physicians, on the use of stem cells in the treatment of spinal cord injury. The goal of the project is to advance clinical trials informed by these perspectives. Ms. Reimer brings over 25 years of experience in health care as a clinical specialist in palliative care and life–threatening illness, education, and research.

Mohsen Sadatsafavi, M.D, M.H.Sc., is a PhD student at the Collaboration for Outcome Research (CORE) and the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation (CCEE) at UBC. His research interest is in the application of statistical techniques in economic evaluation and medical decision making. He was working with members of the Core to continue to elucidate the problem of incidental findings in brain imaging.

Kevin Sauve, B.Sc., was a research intern at the Core and a graduate student of Science Journalism at UBC. He studied neurobiology at the University of Guelph and is a recipient of the Health Research Communications Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for health science communication as well as a CTV Globemedia fellowship for academic excellence from UBC. He was the student intern for the neuroscience communication workshop led by Dr. Judy Illes and Jay Ingram of the Discovery Channel. Mr. Sauve’s work with Dr. Illes included the assessment of the nature of contemporary public discourse regarding neuroscience and ethics.

Kate Tairyan, M.D., M.P.H., was a Senior Research Fellow with the Core. Dr. Tairyan obtained a medical degree in preventive medicine from the Armenian State Medical University and a diploma in health management from the National Institute of Health. She received the Ed Muskie graduate fellowship award to obtain a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration on global health leadership from Emory University. Her public health expertise and work experience includes several positions at the Ministry of Health of Armenia and collaborations with international experts on health policy development and poverty reduction issues at national and local levels. Dr. Tairyan is spearheading a project to evaluate investigator needs for integrating neuroethics into neuroscience using imaging as the model. In addition to her work at the Core, Dr. Tairyan is the Content Director for the Health Sciences Online (HSO) program and teaches courses on global health at Simon Fraser University.

Jason Valerio, M.Sc., M.D., graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a Bachelor’s degree in neurophysiology and a Master’s degree in Neuroscience in 2004. Dr. Valerio’s main focus of research was functional MRI in young healthy subjects with varying physiological responses to mental stress. He obtained his medical degree from the University of Ottawa in 2008 and is currently a neurology resident at the University of British Columbia. His project with the Core dealt with new neuroimaging modalities for concussion in sport and the neuroethical questions this raises.

Ranga Venkatachary, Ph.D., was the coordinator for the Canadian Dementia Knowledge Translation (CDKTN) program at the Core and has moved on as Director of the Learning Centre for the Faculty of Land & Food Systems at UBC. She has a successful track record in designing curricula and assessment processes for problem-based learning and inquiry-based learning, In addition, she has been preparing professional development programs for faculty and instructors to strengthen teaching-research links.

Louise Whiteley, Ph.D., was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Core, and is currently Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen. Following a BA in Psychology and Philosophy at Oxford University, she completed her PhD in Theoretical and Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London in 2008. Dr. Whiteley then completed an MSc in Science Communication at Imperial College London, with a focus on ethics and the visual and material representation of contemporary science. Her dissertation research explored the representation of functional brain imaging in popular media, and at the Core she is using similar techniques to analyze websites that sell direct-to-consumer diagnostic and treatment products. Dr. Whiteley is also leading a project investigating perceptions of brain scanning amongst parents of children with OCD, and investigating the online representation of scientific information about gene therapy and treatments for neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Whiteley also organizes events for the Core’s Café Neuroéthique, including a series of film screenings of Interior Traces, a new multimedia drama that she co-wrote with the support of a Wellcome Trust grant in the UK. Interior Traces explores how new ways of seeing the brain and gene might affect how we see ourselves