CIHR Sex and Gender Science Chair
Canadian Institute of Health Research Sex & Gender Science Chair: Dynamics of Caregiving in an Aging Society (2020 – 2024)
Jennifer is a professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Nursing and a Research Thread Lead with the Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship. Her research and scholarship focuses on enhancing person- and family-centered care for older adults and people with lifelong disabilities. She is an expert in qualitative research methods and community-engaged research. Her community service includes being a member of the Canuck Place Children’s Hospice Board of Directors.
The emerging field…
…of sex and gender science aims to deepen our understanding of how biological and social influences interact to affect health and disease. The purpose of the Sex and Gender Science Chairs funding opportunity is to support in-depth investigations in the field of sex and gender science by promoting a cadre of discipline-specific Chairs to increase visibility and drive innovation in their respective fields. The Chairs will investigate sex and/or gender as a primary research question within the investigator’s field of research, while also building capacity and sharing findings within and outside of their research communities.
Dr. Sarah Wu
Sarah is a Research Coordinator for the Extended Hours-Adult Day Services Study and a data analyst for the Family Care Partner Study. Her own research focuses on improving mealtimes in long-term care, in particular for residents living with dementia, their families, and racially marginalized residents. Sarah is also the co-creator of CHOICE+, a complex relationship-centred mealtime intervention for long-term care.
Dr. Koushambhi Basu Khan
Koushambhi Khan is a qualitative data analyst on the study “Negotiating care and navigating health care services: The experiences of community-dwelling people living with dementia and their family caregivers”. Koushambhi has over a decade of experience in managing research studies on immigrant health, social pediatrics, women’s health, and in working with Indigenous communities. Her primary interest lies in understanding health and health care inequities, particularly as they relate to populations most in need.
Isabel Sloan Yip
Isabel is a research coordinator and supports a variety of projects for both the CREATE and GERO research programs. She is also a social worker with Providence Health Care. Her interests include the impact of larger systems on formal and informal care and the experiences of patients and and their families in care settings.
Lucy Kervin
Lucy is a PhD candidate in SFU’s Gerontology Department. Her research focuses on the challenges experienced by old
Kishore Rajaram Seetharama
Kishore is a graduate research assistant. He works on the ‘Negotiating Care and Navigating Health Services: The Experiences of Community-dwelling People Living with Dementia and their Family Caregivers’ study. Kishore’s graduate research focuses on neighbourhoods and dementia and looks specifically at the out-of-home mobility experiences of people living with dementia. Kishore’s research interests are at the intersection of architectural design and disability.
Dr. Vanessa Fong
Vanessa has recently completed her PhD in Developmental Psychology at SFU. Her research focuses on improving quality of life and access to services and supports for families of neurodivergent children. In her spare time, she enjoys running outdoors and watching nature
Trainees
Lea Liang
Lea is enrolled in the PhD Program of Nursing at UBC. Her research focuses on improving quality care for immigrant older adults living in long-term care settings. She likes running and spending time in nature.
Caitlyn Pirker
Caitlyn is enrolled in the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Program at UBC. Her research focuses on the experience of young adults with medical complexity and their caregivers transitioning from pediatric health services to adult health services. Caitlyn works as a pediatric nurse and wants to further apply her academic work towards program planning and service delivery for children, youth and young adults living with complex medical needs and their families.
Ngoc Huynh
Ngoc is enrolled in the PhD Program of Nursing at UBC. Her research focuses on improving the social wellbeing of children with disabilities and their families. She enjoys many types of fiction and is an intermittent runner.
Previous Team Members
Dr. Heather Cooke
With 20 years’ experience in the field of dementia care – in a front-line, volunteer and research capacity – my career path has been greatly influenced by my desire to make a difference in the lives of persons with dementia, their family members, and their caregivers. I hold a PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from UVIC; my doctoral research, which was funded by SSHRC and the Alzheimer Society of Canada, examined the experiences of staff and re
Erin Baird
Erin was a part of the Mental Health Research Canada (MHRC) project. She has a master’s degree in Environmental Studies for York University. Her research focuses on the social and environmental harms of Canadian extractive industries, and uses creative visual
Scott Ramsay
Scott is a Research Assistant. He works on the study looking at the experiences of providing care for children and youth with medical complexity during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Scott is a registered nurse by training, having worked at BC Children’s Hospital in various capacities since 2015. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate in the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia, where he is exploring the care of concussed children and youth.