Director

Ian Pike, PhD
Director
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, UBC

Dr. Ian Pike is the Director of the British Columbia Injury Research and Prevention Unit, a position he has occupied since April, 2004.  Before that he served five years as the Regional Director for the Canadian Red Cross Society in the BC lower mainland, five years as the Director of Employee Health and Safety Services at the Healthcare Benefit Trust, and 13 years at the University of Regina as the Director of the Dr. Paul Schwann Centre, an applied health and research centre.  Dr. Pike is a dynamic leader with a strong record of achievement combining skills in diverse areas of organizational development; group/staff leadership; resource development and fundraising; program development,  management and evaluation; building partnerships and community relations; and applied research and resources to maximize productivity.  His current research is focused on the development of injury indicators for Canadian children and youth, the promotion of health and injury prevention in the workplace, and the development of social marketing campaigns to reduce preventable injuries in BC.

ipike@cw.bc.ca

 Associate Director

Shelina Babul, PhD
Associate Director / Sports Injury Specialist
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, UBC
Dr. Shelina Babul has been with BCIRPU for the past 12 years and is involved in various injury prevention strategies and initiatives as well as sport & recreational research development, with a particular specialization in head injuries. She is also a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and teaches a graduate level course in the School of Population and Public Health. Dr Babul is involved in: 1. addressing critical gaps in the field of injury prevention, 2. identifying the need for quality and comprehensive injury data, 3. injury prevention research and 4. the coordination of injury prevention efforts in the province.
sbabul@cw.bc.ca

Research Staff

Vicky Scott, PhD, RN
Senior Advisor - Falls & Injury Prevention
Dr. Scott is the Senior Advisor for Falls and Injury Prevention with the BC Injury Research & Prevention Unit and the Office of Injury Prevention of the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport in Victoria, BC, Canada. She is the Director of the Centre of Excellence on Mobility, Fall Prevention and Injury in Aging (CEMFIA - http://www.hiphealth.ca/CEMFIA), Clinical Associate Professor at the UBC School of Population and Public Health, and Chair of the BC Fall and Injury Prevention Coalition. Dr. Scott fosters the objectives of BCIRPU to conduct original research at the National and Regional levels, and to collaborate with BC Health Authorities to support evidence-based practice for reducing falls and injuries among older adults. She assists the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport in transferring knowledge from falls and injury prevention research initiatives into policy development.

Vicky.Scott@gov.bc.ca

Ediriweera Desapriya, PhD
Research Associate
Ediriweera Desapriya, PhD. is a Research Associate, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of British Columbia. His area of expertise is within the field of injury control and safety promotion, with a focus on road safety. He has completed several research studies and he is nationally and internationally recognized within his field. Currently, he holds several national grants on injury prevention and safety promotion.                                                                                       edesap@cw.bc.ca

Guanghong Han, PhD (currently on leave of absence)
Researcher
Dr. Guanghong Han has doctorate degree in epidemiology and health statistics, with academic training in preventive medicine and public health. He is a research coordinator involved in various research programs and prevention strategies on injury, including EDISS, CHIRPP, AUTO21, falls prevention, intentional injuries, SAIL, motor vehicle crashes, etc. Dr. Han is currently working on the data management, integration, analysis and interpretation of injuries and events that resulted in injury. He also provides consultations in methodology. Dr. Han’s previous professional experience spanned public health surveillance, epidemiological investigation, population–based research, disease prevention and control, GIS application, data management and analysis, and providing consultations, with a focus on communicable diseases.
ghan@cw.bc.ca

Hansdeep Bawa, BSc (currently on maternity leave)
Researcher
Hansdeep holds a Baccalaureate degree in Health Information Sciences (HINF) from the University of Victoria. At present, she is working with Dr. Vicky Scott on Falls Prevention projects. Hansdeep is the current project coordinator for the SAIL (Strategies and Actions for Independent Living) and PAL (Promoting Active Living) projects. She is also involved in various other injury prevention projects at the Unit, and coordinated the information analysis and data dissemination of the EDISS project.
hbawa@cw.bc.ca

Shannon Piedt, BA
Researcher
Shannon is a research coordinator with the Unit focused on the Canadian Injury Indicators Team: Children and Youth projects, including: injury indicators, policy indicators, and the First Nations and Inuit child and youth injury indicators. In addition, Shannon ensures that the BCIRPU teleconference offers excellent topics and speakers to the injury prevention community (you can register on the homepage).
spiedt@cw.bc.ca

Dorry Smith, MPH (currently on maternity leave)
Researcher
Dorry Smith is a Researcher with the BC Injury Research & Prevention Unit and BC Provincial Liaison for Safe Communities Canada. Dorry is also the liaison between the Unit and Vancouver Island Health Authority. She obtained her Master's degree in Public Health with a focus in Epidemiology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
dbsmith@cw.bc.ca

Fahra Rajabali, MSc
Researcher
Fahra has been a researcher with BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit since 2000, following the completion of her Master's degree in Health Information Science at University of Warwick, England. She has experience in injury surveillance and data analyses, conference planning and project management. Primary duties within the unit are to carry out Information/Data analysis for specialized reports and different projects. Fahra is the liaison between the Unit and Interior Health Authority.

frajabali@cw.bc.ca

Mhairi Nolan, RN
CHIRPP Program Coordinator
Mhairi is the Canadian Hospital Injury Reporting & Prevention Program (CHRIPP) Coordinator. This is an injury surveillance program run by Health Canada tracking all injuries and poisonings seen in the Emergency Department of British Columbia Children’s Hospital. For any requests concerning injury statistics associated with children up to the age of 17 years, please contact Mhairi for a report.
mnolan@cw.bc.ca

Kate Turcotte, MSc
Researcher
Kate has been a researcher with BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit since 1999, after completing her Master's degree at the University of Ottawa specializing in epidemiology. She has experience in injury surveillance and evaluation, conference planning, grant and report writing, and project management. Kate is currently the liaison between the Unit and Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.

kturcotte@cw.bc.ca

Giulia Scime-Beltrano, MA (currently on maternity leave)

Researcher

Giulia has a master's degree in health promotion and has been with the Unit since 2006, collaborating on various projects related to initiatives that have contributed to decreasing injury trends in BC and across Canada. She is also seconded to The Community Against Preventable Injuries as the program coordinator (www.preventable.ca). Contact Giulia regarding collaborating with Fraser Health Authority, The Community Against Preventable Injuries, and the Unit’s website.

gscime@cw.bc.ca

Khairun Jivani, DDS, MPH, MBA Candidate

Researcher

As the Senior Program Manager for The Community Against Preventable Injuries (The Community), Dr. Khairun Jivani manages a multi-partner, multi-year social marketing strategy aimed at reducing preventable injuries in BC. She contributes expertise in social marketing, project management, program evaluation, strategic planning, policy analyses and research. Dr. Jivani also an international dentist, has worked extensively in dental public health both in Canada and internationally.

kjivani@cw.bc.ca

Dian L Leung, MEd
Research Assistant

Dian provides administrative and research support to the BCIRPU researchers. She has a Master's degree in Education Administration with a concentration in higher education. Conctact Dian regarding general questions about the Unit, the website, the 2010 BCIRPU Teleconference Series, and the BC Injury Prevention Leadership and Action Network.
dleung4@cw.bc.ca

Robin Yates, MSc

Injury Prevention Policy Analyst

Robin is an Injury Prevention Analyst who works with the team at the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport in Victoria, BC. She provides support to the Ministry and BCIRPU with respect to policy related to intentional and unintentional injury. Robin has a MSc. in Psychology from the University of Victoria. development related to all areas of intentional and unintentional injury.

robin.yates@gov.bc.ca

Alison Sum, MA

Fall Prevention Policy Analyst

Alison is a Fall Prevention Policy Analyst at the Chronic Disease/Injury Prevention and Built Environment Branch at the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport. Alison works with Dr. Vicky Scott on the development of policy, programs and initiatives relating to Seniors’ Fall prevention. Her main roles include developing cross-government partnerships related to seniors' fall and injury prevention, supporting activities of the Centre of Excellence in Mobility, Fall Prevention and Injury in Aging (CEMFIA), and facilitating the translation of research produced by members of the BCIRPU, the BC Fall and Injury Prevention Coalition, CEMFIA and other fall prevention stakeholders into evidence-informed policy and practice at provincial and regional levels. 

alison.sum@gov.bc.ca

Sarah Elliott, BSc
Falls Prevention Research Assistant

Sarah is the Falls Prevention Research Assistant, based in Victoria, BC at the Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport.  Her responsibilities inclue providing fall prevention research, project coordination and administrative support to Dr. Vicky Scott and the BC Injury Research & Prevention Unit, BC Fall and Injury Prevention Coalition, and the Centre of Excellence on Mobility, Fall Prevention and Injury in Aging. She is also the National Coordinator of the Canadian Fall Prevention Education Collaborative. Sarah joined the BCIRPU in 2008 and has a BSc in Biology and Epidemiology/Population Health from the University of Victoria.

sarah.elliott@gov.bc.ca

Affiliated Faculty

Mariana Brussoni, PhD
Academic Scientist 
Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, UBC
Dr. Brussoni has a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms of injury risk for high risk populations and developing evidence based policies, programs and interventions that are relevant to their social, cultural and behavioural contexts. Dr. Brussoni is the Board Member Representative for the Americas for the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention, and is the Chair of the Safe Kids Canada National Expert Advisory Committee. mbrussoni@cw.bc.ca

Affiliated Staff

Lise Olsen, BSN, MPH, PhD
Researcher
Lise Olsen completed her PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of British Columbia in addition to degrees in Public Health Nursing. Dr. Olsen's research is focused on childhood injury prevention. She is currently involved in studies addressing child safety among children with disabilities and chronic conditions, and injury prevention attitudes and practices among fathers with young children. Dr. Olsen's research experience includes use of qualitative methods, survey research, program evaluation studies and systematic reviews of literature.                                         lolsen@cw.bc.ca

Management & Administration

Ruth Wilson,
Office Manager

Mike Gottenbos, 
Finance Manager