Former students

Victoria Arrandale

Victoria completed an MSc in the UBC School of Environmental Health (now part of the School of Population and Public Health) and a PhD with the Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease at the University of Toronto. Her graduate work focused on the relationship between occupational exposures and respiratory and skin diseases. During her time with the Partnership, she worked on the surgical outcomes project investigating the effect of surgical setting and wait times on return to work outcomes. Victoria is currently a Senior Research Associate at the Occupational Cancer Research Centre (OCRC) in Toronto where she is supported by a Career Development Award in Prevention from the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute (CCSRI). For information on the results of her research: The effect of surgical setting and expedited status on disability duration among injured workers.

Michelle Chen

Michelle participated in UBC’s Research Involvement Fair in 2021 as a BSc student in the Department of Chemistry and was connected with PWHS. Under the supervision of postdoctoral fellow Dr. Sonja Senthanar, she learned how to analyze Statistics Canada survey data to inform a research brief on how immigration status and gender affects workers’ attitudes towards returning to their physical workplace during COVID.

Rahul Chhokar

Rahul completed his MSc in the Department of Health Care and Epidemiology at UBC (now the School of Population and Public Health). While with the Partnership, Rahul worked with Victoria Arrandale on the surgical outcomes project investigating the effect of surgical setting and wait times on return to work outcomes among workers in BC. Rahul is currently an Epidemiologist with Health Promotion & Prevention, Fraser Health Authority. For information on the results of his research: The effect of surgical setting and expedited status on disability duration among injured workers.

Kelvin Choi

Kelvin completed his MSc in Occupational and Environmental Hygiene in the UBC School of Population and Public Health in April 2018. His thesis work examined how workplace violence plays a role in affecting return-to-work outcomes. Kelvin also worked with the Partnership on a project exploring leading and lagging indicators of risk of workplace violence, where he focused on narrative literature review and engages with various stakeholders to research both academic and real-world knowledge on the effects of workplace violence. Kelvin is currently working with Fraser Health.

Jonathan Fan

Jon examined the effect of expedited surgeries on surgical wait-time and work-disability outcomes for injured workers as a student working with the Partnership. After graduation, he rejoined PWHS as a research coordinator. In that role he analyzed data and managed projects ranging from surveillance of the rates and distribution of serious injuries and fatalities in BC to comparative analysis of return to work outcomes in Canadian provinces and Australian states. Jonathan holds a BSc in Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University, a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a PhD in epidemiology from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto.

Wenqi Gan

Wenqi completed his PhD in the School of Environmental Health at UBC (now part of the School of Population and Public Health) with a focus on air pollution exposures and cardiovascular outcomes. During his time with the Partnership, he worked on the surveillance of occupational respiratory diseases in BC, including asbestosis. Wenqi is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Population Health, and a Researcher of Epidemiology in the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, New York. For information on the results of his research: Asbestosis surveillance.

Amy Hall

Amy completed her PhD in the UBC School of Population and Public Health in 2017. Her dissertation research focused on organizational decision making related to shiftwork schedules, shiftworkers’ exposure to light at night, and the effects of shiftwork on mental health. Her other research interests include shiftwork and nutrition, and occupational exposures in healthcare settings. Amy holds a BScN from the University of Toronto, and worked as a Registered Nurse in acute and critical care settings prior to obtaining her MSc in Occupational and Environmental Hygiene from UBC. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Andrea Jones

Andrea completed her PhD in the UBC School of Population and Public Health in 2019. Her thesis investigated the epidemiology and work disability impacts of anxiety and depression disorders after work-related musculoskeletal injury. Andrea is now a PWHS Technical Writer/Research Coordinator.

Tracy Kirkham

Tracy successfully defended her PhD thesis in 2011 in the UBC School of Population and Public Health. She investigated exposures to work-related cardiovascular hazards, physiological response, and adverse cardiovascular events among BC firefighters. While with the Partnership, Tracy also did work on compensation of mesothelioma. Tracy is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Montréal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) where she is developing a job exposure matrix for occupational carcinogens. For information on the results of her research: Mesothelioma awareness and compensation.

Rakel Kling

Rakel completed her MSc in the School of Environmental Health at UBC (now part of the School of Population and Public Health). Her MSc research evaluated the effect of a hospital intervention on incidents of workplace violence among health care workers. During her time with the Partnership, her research investigated the effect of different shift schedules on risk of injury and how this relationship varied among male and female workers. Rakel is currently a public health and preventive medicine resident at UBC. For information on the results of her research: Sleep problems and injuries.

Kim McLeod

Kim completed her PhD in the UBC School of Population and Public Health in 2019. Her dissertation examined the effect of of prevention activities, including punitive measures such as inspections and orders and more cooperative measures such as education and consultations, on workplace injury rates. She also holds a BSc in Environmental Engineering from the University of Alberta, a JD from UBC, and an MSc in Occupational and Environmental Hygiene from UBC.

Anita Minh

Anita completed a joint PhD in the UBC School of Population and Public Health and the University of Groningen in The Netherlands in 2021. She has a background in social and life-course epidemiology with interest in diverse topics related to child, youth, and maternal health. Her PhD research focused on youth mental health in the psychosocial context of the transition to adulthood and how youth fare in the labour market entry period in countries across North America and Europe. Anita is now conducting research on the gendered health effects of precarious work as a post-doctoral researcher at the BC Centre on Substance Use and at the University of Washington, where she is supported by a CIHR Fellowship Award.

Minal Pachchigar

Minal is enrolled in the MSc OEH program in the UBC School of Population and Public Health. She holds a BSc in Health Sciences from SFU and has previously worked as a Project Assistant at the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction. At PWHS, Minal worked on a literature review and a policy and legislative scan for a project on return to work in the construction sector.

Cheryl Peters

Cheryl successfully defended her PhD thesis in the UBC School of Population and Public Health in 2015. Her dissertation research focused on occupational exposure to ultra violet radiation (UVR) among BC workers. Approximately one-third of BC workers are employed outdoors and exposed to UVR, which is associated with skin cancer risk. Cheryl’s research includes the measurement of UVR exposure levels and the determinants of these exposure among a sample of outdoor workers, as well as self-reported sun protection behaviours among a male-dominated segment of the labour force. Cheryl completed a post-doctoral fellowship at Carleton University and is now an Occupational Hygienist and Epidemiologist in the Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research at Alberta Health Services.

Sharon Provost

Sharon successfully defended her PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies, combining Population and Public Health, Organizational Behaviour/Human Resources, and Nursing, in 2021. Her research explored factors contributing to sustaining a psychologically safe and healthy work environment for health care workers. With a BSN from UBC, a Masters of Leadership from Royal Roads and a 32 year career in healthcare leadership, scheduling and human resources, Sharon is interested in contributing to research and knowledge that can be applied by healthcare leaders to create and sustain healthier workplaces.

Eline Reiff

Eline was a visiting student at UBC while pursuing her MSc in Medicine in the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. Her research with the Partnership examined associations between sociodemographic, work and employer characteristics and different return-to-work trajectories among injured workers with musculoskeletal injury.

Niloufar Saffari

Niloufar completed her MSc in Occupational and Environmental Hygiene in the UBC School of Population and Public Health in 2016. She linked administrative data from Citizenship and Immigration Canada to injury claim data from WorkSafeBC to find out if immigrant- and Canadian-born workers in BC have different disability outcomes for the same types of injuries. She also holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts in Psychology from Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Dan Sarkany

Dan successfully defended his MSc thesis in 2011 in the UBC School of Population and Public Health. He investigated the impact of mandatory certification among manual tree-fallers on workplace injuries. For more information on the results of his research: Certification and injury risk in tree fallers.

Imelda Wong

Imelda successfully defended her PhD thesis in 2012 in the UBC School of Population and Public Health. She investigated the association between workplace stress and heart disease among paramedics. She also received widespread media attention for her study on the association of shift work and the risk of worker injury as part of her work with the Partnership. Imelda currently holds the Mustard Post-doctoral Fellowship at the Institute for Work & Health (Toronto). For information on the results of her research: Shift work and injuries.

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