DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY & LABORATORY MEDICINE MAGAZINE
DATE:October 2019
New Faculty Members
Ramon I. Klein Geltink, PhD
Assistant Professor, UBC
BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital
Short bio:
I grew up in the East of the Netherlands, and obtained my Bachelor’s in biomedical sciences in Deventer, The Netherlands. I left the Netherlands in 2005 for my PhD training in molecular biology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN, USA, in Prof. Gerard Grosveld’s lab, in the department of Genetics, studying the role of mTOR signaling in tumorigenesis.
In 2015 I started my post-doctoral training in T cell metabolism at the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg, Germany in the department of Immunometabolism. I was trained by Prof. Erika Pearce, one of the world leaders and pioneers in the field of Immunometabolism.
In 2019 I was recruited to Vancouver to join the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and BCCHRI to start my own research program in immunometabolism. My research program at UBC/BCCHRI aims to characterize nutrient-sensing pathways in T cells. We use biochemical and metabolomic techniques to understand what fuel is needed for immune cell function, and how immune cells sense the fuel that is available in their environment.
By closely collaborating with Clinicians and Clinician Scientists at BCCHR we are aiming to apply the findings to design better treatments for children with immune related diseases. Outside of the lab I am a (very) amateur photography enthusiast, with a special interest in wildlife photography.
I received my BSc degree in Electrical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology (SUT), Iran in 2000, the MSc degree in Biomedical Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran polytechnic), Iran in 2002, and the PhD degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of British Columbia, Canada in 2007. I am currently the Director of artificial intelligence (AI) Research in the Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OVCARE) of BC Cancer/UBC as well as a faculty member in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine and the School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME).
My research area lies at the interface between computational, engineering and biomedical sciences. I am interested in developing AI/machine learning, statistical and signal-processing algorithms and software infrastructure to combine various sources of omics and imaging data with major emphasis on genomics and digital pathology in cancer.
Born and raised in Alberta, I obtained my undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of Toronto and my Master’s degree in Pathology at the University of Manitoba. I moved to Ireland where I attended medical school at University College Cork. Upon graduating medical school I moved to Boston, Massachusetts where I completed 5 years of postgraduate training at Harvard Medical School, which included a 3-year Anatomic Pathology residency, a 1-year fellowship in Breast Pathology and a 1-year fellowship in Dermatopathology. In addition to my clinical work, I enjoy teaching medical students, residents and technical staff. Starting in 2018, I joined the Department of Pathology at the Royal Columbian Hospital where I work as an Anatomic pathologist. Outside of work, I enjoy hiking, swimming, yoga, traveling and spending time with my family and friends.
Thomas Covello, MD
Clinical Instructor, UBC
BC Biomedical Laboratories
Short bio:
I was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and have been gradually moving my way westward after completing my MD at the University of Saskatchewan and my residency training in Hematological Pathology at the University of Alberta in 2018. Currently, I am a partner with the C. J. Coady Group, which provides laboratory medicine services to Fraser Health hospitals and LifeLabs. My professional interests include coagulation, transfusion medicine, laboratory informatics and teaching residents and medical students. Outside of work, I enjoy learning new languages, trying new places to eat, occasional outdoor adventures, and trading card games.
Jeffrey William Craig, MD, PhD
Clinical Instructor, UBC
Pathologist, Lymphoma Group, BC Cancer Research Centre
Short bio:
I was born and raised in Southeastern Pennsylvania and went to college in Baltimore to study biophysics. An interest in translational science then led me to New York City, where I attended medical school at Weill Cornell Medical University and defended my doctoral dissertation in the Laboratory of Genetically Encoded Small Molecules at Rockefeller University. I completed my residency training in anatomical and clinical pathology and my fellowship training in hematopathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston before moving to Vancouver in 2018 to join the Lymphoma Group at BC Cancer. My main areas of clinical practice include lymph node and bone marrow pathology and flow cytometry. I also participate in a multitude of lymphoma-oriented research activities. Outside of work, I enjoy keeping current with American news and sports, traveling and spending time with my wife and daughter, and exploring all that our wonderful new home has to offer.
Joshua Dubland, MSc, PhD
Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC
Laboratory Scientist (Development Lead), BC Children's Hospital
Short bio:
I completed a BSc in chemistry at Simon Fraser University in 2007, followed by completion of a MSc in organic chemistry at the University of Toronto in 2010. I was then employed as a research associate in the pharmaceutical industry for 4 years, working at both BRI Biopharmaceutical Research Inc. and QLT Inc. My work in the pharmaceutical industry focused on bioanalytical mass spectrometry development, validation, and data acquisition to support clinical and preclinical drug trials. I then returned to academia and completed a PhD in Experimental Medicine at UBC (located at the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation) where my research focused on cellular mechanisms of arterial lipid accumulation and removal in cardiovascular disease. In January 2019 I joined the Newborn Screening and Biochemical Genetics Laboratories at BCCH as a Laboratory Scientist. My work focuses on the development and integration of mass spectrometry-based assays for clinical diagnosis of inborn errors of metabolism. Research interests also include applications of mass spectrometry and other next-generation analytical technologies for biomarker and drug target discovery. Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my family, skiing, playing music, hiking, and traveling.
Nancy Matic, MD, FRCPC, D(ABMM)
Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC
Medical Microbiologist, St. Paul’s Hospitalr
Short bio:
I was born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario and studied microbiology (Honours Bachelor of Science) at the University of Guelph. I earned my MD from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario and then completed residency in Medical Microbiology at the University of Toronto. After my training, I joined the team at Providence Health Care as a Medical Microbiologist with a focus in virology. I am also involved in infection prevention & control, antimicrobial stewardship, and teaching medical students and residents. Outside of work, I enjoy tennis, music, concerts and exploring BC.
Sergey Pyatibrat, MD, DABP, FCAP, FRCPC
Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC
Anatomic Pathologist, Royal Columbian Hospital
Short bio:
I was born and raised in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, where I received my medical degree. After graduation, I moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where I completed a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology followed by a fellowship in gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary pathology at Harvard Medical School. Upon completion of my pathology training, I joined the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Ottawa. While in Ottawa, I established myself as an expert inastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, and breast pathology over three years of subspecialty sign-out. I have always been passionate about teaching and I am always ready to share my knowledge with trainees. Another area of interest is Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement in Anatomic Pathology. I joined the Royal Columbian Hospital as an Anatomic Pathologist in 2018. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with family, traveling, hiking and road cycling.
Steven White, MD, PhD, MPH
Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC
Lead Forensic Pathologist, BC Coroners Service, Abbotsford Regional Hospital
Short bio:
I obtained my BS in Molecular Biology and MPH in Epidemiology from Tulane University in New Orleans. I then completed an MD/PhD program at Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. My research involved studying cellular differentiation of the cardiac pacemaking and conduction system using embryonic stem cells. I then completed my residency in anatomic pathology at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), followed by a forensic pathology fellowship at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office in Chicago. I recently relocated from Chicago, where I worked as a Forensic and Cardiovascular Pathologist at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, as well as Attending Autopsy Pathologist at Northwestern University. I enjoy teaching students and trainees and look forward to collaborating on projects related mechanisms of sudden, unexpected death and traumatic injuries. In my spare time, I enjoy playing piano and discovering the beauty of BC.
Tara Caffrey, DPhil
Research Associate, UBC
Supervisor: Dr. Cheryl Wellington
Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health
Short bio:
Originally from Vancouver, I completed a BSc Microbiology at UBC before moving to the UK to complete my MSc in Medical Genetics at Brunel University. Thereafter, I did my doctoral research at the University of Oxford where I stayed to continue my postdoctoral work as an Alzheimer’s Research UK Fellow examining the functional effects of haplotype variation at the MAPT locus. I then joined the IMI StemBANCC project as a Career Development Fellow working as part of a large collaborative effort to advance the use of stem cells for drug discovery. I have returned to UBC and am currently a Research Associate using iPSC-derived cells to build models of the neurovascular unit to better understand the role of the vasculature in dementia. Outside of work, I spend my time enjoying life with my kids and taking advantage of the beauty of BC.
Emma Griffiths, BSc, PhD
Research Associate, UBC
Supervisor: Dr. William Hsiao
BC Centre for Disease Control
Short bio:
Born in Montreal, raised in Mississauga (Ontario), earned a PhD in Biochemistry (Phylogeny and Comparative Genomics) at McMaster University, and postdoc’ed in Vancouver at UBC and SFU (fungal genetics and public health genomics, respectively). Hi, my name is Emma Griffiths and I’m a research associate working with Dr. Will Hsiao at the BC Centre for Disease Control, working to develop human and machine-readable languages to help better harmonize and integrate public health genomics contextual data for infectious disease surveillance and outbreak investigations. I love my job! In my spare time I enjoy going to plays and volunteering at the David Suzuki Foundation to help protect the environment.
Weiwei (Michael) Chen, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Clinical Instructor, UBC
Anatomic Pathologist, St Paul's Hospital
Short bio:
Following medical school in China and graduate school (PhD in Experimental Medicine and Pathology) at the University of British Columbia, I started my residency in Pathology (combined anatomic pathology and clinical pathology program) at the State University of New York at Buffalo in 2011. After residency, I completed two fellowships (Oncologic pathology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer center and Breast pathology at MD Anderson Cancer Center). I started my practice with Dr. CJ Coady Associates, where I worked as an Anatomic Pathologist at Surrey Memorial Hospital. I joined St Paul’s Hospital in July 2018.
I am interested in all aspects of Anatomic Pathology, with particular interest in breast pathology. Besides clinical services, I participate in teaching residents as a clinical instructor and collaborate with research partners in the study of breast cancer.
Amal M EL-Naggar, MD, PhD
Research Associate, UBC
Supervisor: Dr. David Huntsman
BC Cancer Research Center
Short bio:
Hello, my name is Amal, meaning hope in English, and I am a Research Associate with Dr. David Huntsman at the BC Cancer Research Centre. I was born and grew up in the Cradle of Civilization, Egypt, where I completed my medical degree, pathology residency, as well as my master degree prior to joining Dr. Poul Sorensen’s lab in January 2009 for pursuing my PhD—and later my postdoctoral training—which focused on deciphering molecular mechanisms underlying metastatic spread of childhood cancer. My work characterized a previously-unrecognized pathway involved in sarcoma metastasis. Targeting vulnerable components in this pathway is currently under investigation. Recently, I’ve joined the highly dynamic team of Dr. David Huntsman where I’m going to investigate the course and molecular determinants underpinning ovarian cancer progression using organoid culture as a modelling system with the hope of providing new therapeutic options for patients with aggressive disease. I am a proud mother of a wonderful 12-year old son, Abdalrahman. He is my hero! He inspires, supports, and encourages me all the time! I cannot thank him enough for his understanding and incredible patience for the countless hours I am spending in the lab. We enjoy walking, reading, listening to music, and watching the stunning sunset! I am really thankful to all amazing people in my life, in Egypt and in Canada, who generously support me and believe in me and in my work, especially my parents and my godfather Dr. Hesham EL-Naggar for teaching me to always aim high and strive for the best.
Gurinder Gosal, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, UBC
Supervisor: Dr. William Hsiao
BC Centre for Disease Control
Short bio:
I earned my MSc (Computer Science) from the University of Georgia, USA, and a PhD (Computer Science) from Punjabi University, India with coursework done at the University of Georgia. I have worked as an Assistant Professor (Computer Science) at Punjabi University, India and also as a Research Professional at the University of Georgia. I had previously designed and developed a very large and comprehensive ontology, ProKinO, at the University of Georgia, that serves as a useful representation of the integrated knowledge about protein kinases. I have led a few NLP projects that are part of breakthrough natural language understanding technology used in a video game - the application where a person can speak freely with a machine. My current research interests include Bio-NLP, Bio-Ontologies, Machine Learning, Data Science and Semantic Technologies. I am currently working on a project for developing an open-source, ontology-driven, rule-based, text-mining system LexMapr to harmonize short phrase sample descriptions. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family, meeting friends, writing and watching sports.
Hello everyone! My name is Mona, and I was born and raised in Iran. I am so excited to join the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. I’ve just completed my PhD in Iran at the High Institute for Education and Research in Transfusion Medicine, studying Laboratory Hematology and Transfusion Medicine. I’ve been involved with blood research since 2007 in field of genotyping, stem cells, molecular biology, blood component production, storage and distribution, hemovigilance and transfusion Medicine. I am now continuing my interest in blood products research in Dr. Devine’s lab at CBR. Besides my career, I enjoy water sports, biking, cooking, reading, nature and shopping!
Chen Seng Ng, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, UBC
Supervisor: Dr. Honglin Luo
St. Paul's Hospital
Short bio:
I received my undergraduate degree from the University of Malaysia Sabah. I then obtained both my MSc and PhD from Kyoto University of Japan, under the supervision of Professor Dr. Takashi Fujita (who is the discoverer of transcription factor, IRFs for Type I Interferon gene, and the cytoplasmic viral sensor, RIG-I families). After finishing my postdoctoral training in University of California, Los Angeles, I then joined St. Paul’s Hospital to pursue my interests in the field of viral-host interaction. In my spare time, I enjoy photography, music and travelling.
Meng Wang, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, UBC
Supervisor: Dr. Mari DeMarco
St. Paul's Hospital
Short bio:
Hi everyone! I am a new postdoc in Dr. Mari DeMarco lab doing clinical chemistry research. We are developing diagnostic assays using mass spectrometry. I completed my PhD in the Department of Chemistry at UBC with Dr. Raymond Andersen, looking for novel natural products as potential pharmaceuticals from the marine environment. Then I worked at the pharmaceutical company IntelliSyn in Montreal for about two years. I am very excited to be back in Vancouver joining the great team. Outside of work, I enjoy hiking, yoga and indoor climbing.