Research Interests

• Concussion
• Traumatic brain injury
• Sports and recreation injuries
• Knowledge implementation, awareness, education, translation

Shelina is the Director of the BCIRPU. She focuses primarily on sport and recreational evidence-based research and knowledge implementation, with a particular specialization in concussion/traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and their prevention, recognition, treatment and management. Shelina created the Concussion Awareness Training Tool (CATT), a series of online educational modules and resources addressing concussion recognition, diagnosis, treatment, and management.

She is the Director of BC Children’s Hospital Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (BC CHIRPP), a Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, the University of British Columbia; an Investigator with both BC Children’s Hospital and the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, UBC. She is the chair and/or committee board member on numerous provincial and national injury and concussion advisory committees. She was recently nomiated for the 2019 YWCA Women of Distinction Award and has also received the Safety Award by BC Hockey and the Prevention and Awareness Award from the Brain Injury Association of Canada.

Publications:

• ORCID – https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0227-2574
• Research Gate – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shelina-Babul

Research Interests:

• Children and youth
• Indigenous injury prevention
• Child passenger safety
• Risky play
• Social marketing
• Injury indicators
• Social innovation

Ian is an Investigator and former Director of the BCIRPU; Professor of Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia; Investigator and Co-Lead of the Evidence to Innovation Research Theme at the Research Institute at the BC Children’s Hospital; Director of the Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome BC Program; and, Scientific Director, The Community Against Preventable Injuries. He holds adjunct appointments at York University, Vancouver Coastal Health, and Fraser Health Research Institutes, and is a member of the Board of Directors of Parachute.

He completed his PhD at the University of Alberta, and has held positions at the University of Regina, The Healthcare Benefit Trust, and the Canadian Red Cross, and was appointed Director, BCIRPU in 2004. Ian’s research is funded by CIHR, AUTO21, Transport Canada, and Public Health Agency of Canada, where he has co-led three national teams to conduct projects to develop and validate injury indicators for Canadian children and youth; injury prevention among First Nations and inuit children and youth; child passenger safety; risky play; and, the efficacy of social marketing to reduce preventable injuries.

He has published his research extensively and is a sought-after speaker and media spokesperson. Ian is the recipient of the UBC President’s Award for Public Education Through the Media, the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs Researcher of the Year, and the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, Research Fellowship. His current research is focused on social and systems innovation to reduce preventable injuries.

Publications:

• ORCID – https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6860-7760
• Research Gate – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ian-Pike-2

Research Interests

• Risky play
• Outdoor play
• Parenting
• Risk-benefit assessment
• Child-friendly neighbourhoods

Mariana is BCIRPU’s Academic Scientist, a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia, and an investigator with the British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research Institute. Mariana is a board member of the Child & Nature Alliance of Canada and on the leadership team of Outdoor Play Canada. Mariana completed her PhD in developmental psychology at UBC. She joined BCIRPU as Associate Director from 2001-2004, after which she went on to post-doctoral training in England. In 2007, she returned to BCIRPU as Academic Scientist.

Mariana’s research foci include parenting attitudes related to risk and safety; developmental importance of children’s risky play; design of children’s communities and play spaces; and policy to support children’s outdoor play. She has published her research extensively and been widely featured in international media. Her work was featured in CBC’s The Nature of Things 2019 documentary, The Power of Play. Mariana was a Michael Smith Foundation Scholar and received the 2019 inaugural Outdoor Play Canada Dr. Mariana Brussoni award. Mariana spends her free time supporting her two children’s outdoor risky play so that she can take pictures for her presentations.

Learn more about Mariana’s work at brussonilab.ca.

Publications:

• ORCID – https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1495-816X
• Research Gate – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mariana-Brussoni/2

Research Interests:

• Child, youth, and family safety
• Pediatric injury prevention
• Childhood development
• Qualitative methodologies
• Health disparities

Michelle is a research associate with the BCIRPU. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in 2024 after 3 years in the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, at the University of British Columbia. Her research is conducted with the goal of understanding how child, youth, and family exposure to high-risk environments, trauma, and injury, shape at-home safety practices and opportunities for healthful child and youth development through play. As a passionate qualitative methodologist, Michelle frequently works to develop and strengthen approaches researchers use to partner with families who experience disproportionate burdens of injuries.

Her research has been supported through the receipt of awards, including more recently the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute postdoctoral fellowship awards, a clinical and translational research seed grant, and a research methodology training grant for work overseas. In 2022, she was selected to join the Empowering Next-Generation Researchers in Perinatal and Child Health (ENRICH) national program, where she has since been involved in collaborative efforts across Canada to improve evidence-based pediatric safety communications. Her partnerships with the Middle-Eastern and North African Program for Advanced Injury Research in Lebanon, the University College Cork in Ireland, and local charities and NGOs in BC, have helped findings from her work reach a diversity of audiences.  

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Publications:

• ORCID – https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3732-0449

Research Interests:

• Implementation science
• Primary and secondary injury prevention
• Musculoskeletal conditions
• Physical activity and exercise
• Digital health innovation

Dr. Allison Ezzat is a physiotherapist and implementation scientist at the BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia (UBC).

Her research applies implementation science methodologies to advance the primary prevention of knee injuries in adolescents in real-world settings. She has a focus on reducing gender disparity for girls/women in injury risk and decreasing the long-term injury burden (e.g., knee osteoarthritis). She prioritizes meaningful engagement with research users across the research process to maximize impact. 

Dr. Ezzat completed her PhD in School of Population and Public Health, UBC in 2019, followed by post-doctoral training at UBC Centre for Health Services and Policy Research and La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. She obtained a Graduate Certificate in Implementation Science, University of California. She is a Fellow in the Canadian Academy of Manipulative Physical Therapists (FCAMPT) and has practiced clinically throughout her academic training specializing in management of knee injuries across the lifespan.

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Publications:

• ORCID – https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2576-0412

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Anita received her Bachelor of Sciences Degree from the University of British Columbia and joined BCIRPU as a Research Assistant. Now as a Research Coordinator, Anita is responsible for the overall management of administrative and financial operations around the unit. She also organizes the BCIRPU Webinar Series, and coordinates the Brain Waves program, a national brain and spinal cord injury prevention program overseen by Parachute with Mojgan Karbakhsh.

When she is not working, she can be found scouting out a good sushi joint around Vancouver and often has a cup of hot milk tea in hand.

Research Interests

• Data analysis and manipulation
• Data visualizations
• Injury surveillance
• Injury prevention
• Abusive head trauma
• Cost of injury

Fahra Rajabali has been at the BCIRPU since 2000. She is a specialist in injury data, epidemiology, visualizations, and evaluation. Fahra manages the data at the BCIRPU and is responsible for the data and interface for the Injury Data Online Tool (iDOT). She is the evaluation manager for the Period of PURPLE Crying program in BC. She wears many other “hats” in her work on injury surveillance and conference planning. She is also the BCIRPU’s liaison for Northern, Interior, and Island Health Authorities. Along with her co-workers, Fahra was a recipient of the UBC President’s Staff Award in 2014.

Publications:

Research Gate –

Research Interests

• Health Promotion and Injury Prevention
• Determinants of Health and Health Equity
• Cognitive and Behavioral Factors in Injury
• Rural Injury Prevention

Jeanette Foreman joined the BCIRPU in April 2022 as Lead, Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion for the Northern Region.  Prior to joining the unit, Jeanette worked in applied health services research, evaluation, and quality improvement for over 20 years.  She has supported Northern Health’s fall prevention strategy since 2011 and will continue to support seniors’ fall prevention along with other provincial priorities including road safety and youth suicide and self-harm.  She will also work on injury prevention priorities determined by communities and partners in the North.

Jeanette has a BA (Hons) in Psychology from the University of Saskatchewan and a MPH in Health Promotion from the University of Alberta. She is interested in the development of effective strategies to reduce injury burden and improve health equity, based on the socio-ecological model.

Research Interests

• Injury surveillance
• Program evaluation
• Project management
• Injury prevention
• Knowledge translation

Kate has been at the BCIRPU since 1999, following the completion of her Masters of Science in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa. Her role at the Unit comprises supporting Dr. Shelina Babul’s concussion knowledge implementation program, as well as project management, grant and report writing, injury surveillance, program evaluation, and conference planning. Kate is the Unit Liaison for Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health, and she provides secretariat support for the BC Injury Prevention Committee. Along with her co-workers, Kate was a recipient of the UBC President’s Staff Award in 2014.

Publications

https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Kate-Turcotte-38609212

Research Interests

• Data analysis and visualization
• Cost modeling
• Prediction modeling
• Injury prevention and surveillance

Alex joined BCIRPU in October 2017 as a Biostatistician/Researcher. A graduate of the Master of Science in Biostatistics program at the University of Toronto, Alex brings over eight years of research experience from his time at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto and at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. His main role is to provide statistical support and analytical prowess to the many projects conducted at the Unit. Alex also spends some of his time supporting other investigators at BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

Publications

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6595-3580

Atousa is the Coordinator of the Canadian Hospital Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver, and a member of the BCIRPU. CHIRPP is an injury and poisoning surveillance system that collects and analyzes data on injuries to people who are seen at the emergency rooms of 11 pediatric hospitals and 8 general hospitals in Canada. Atousa obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Tehran, Iran, and completed a Health Information Management (HIM) program in Vancouver, Canada.

Publications:

• ORCID – https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3722-3307
• Research Gate – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Atousa-Zagaran

Research Interests

• Child development
• Child abuse prevention
• Infant crying
• Abusive head trauma

In 2017, Karen joined the Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome BC team as its Manager. Her responsibilities include training, outreach, and community education to professionals supporting families. She is the point person for knowledge translation initiatives with PSBSBC. In 2005, she received her Master of City Planning from the University of Manitoba. Karen has come from the early years sector specializing in collaborative approaches to community planning and cross sectoral integration.

Kirvy Quiambao joined the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) in March 2022 as Lead, Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, with varying experience in areas of public health (e.g. immunization, tuberculosis, harm reduction, sexual health, injury prevention, disaster management). He holds a B.A. Psychology and Developmental Studies from the University of Winnipeg (2012), and a Master of Public Health (International) from the University of Liverpool, UK (2017). In collaboration with the BCIRPU and other health authority leads, Kirvy will support and lead some of the injury prevention initiatives within the province of BC, focusing on the VCH region. Outside of work, he plays competitive badminton, goes hiking, paddle boarding and camping.

Research Interests

Children’s injuries and poisonings, 0-17 years old

Maureen holds a certificate in Office Administration from the British Columbia Institute of Technology and has been part of the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program team since 2009. She is responsible for injury data collection from the BC Children’s Hospital Emergency Department, as well as assisting with various ongoing injury and poisoning studies.

Megan joined the BC Centre for Disease Control and the BCIRPU in 2016 as Provincial Manager for Injury Prevention, with 15 years of experience working in Public Health in Canada, Australia, Cambodia, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Megan is the current co-chair of the BC Provincial Public Health Injury Prevention Committee, which provides guidance and recommendations on injury prevention to the Provincial Public Health Executive Committee, the Ministry of Health, and the Provincial Health Officer. She also co-chairs the BC Injury Prevention Alliance, chairs the BC Falls and Injury Prevention Coalition, and is an active member of the BC Road Safety Strategy. Megan holds an MSc in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, and a BHK in Exercise Science from the University of British Columbia.

Research Interests

• Data analysis
• Data visualizations
• Cost of injury
• Injury surveillance and prevention

Melody joined BCIRPU in April 2023 as a Research Assistant. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Master of Science degree in Resource and Food Economics from UBC. Her passion lies in utilizing data to inform injury costing and prevention strategies for BCIRPU. She is responsible for providing data support for many projects at the Unit. When she’s not working, Melody enjoys playing guitar on the beach.

Research Interests

• Community-based injury prevention
• Predictive analytics
• Injury surveillance
• Safety education & behaviour modification
• Social Determinants of Heath (SDH)

Mojgan Karbakhsh has a passion for decreasing the burden of injury and violence by implementing community-based models and predictive analytics. Specialty training in Community Health and Preventive Medicine and several years of work with injury data have enabled her to implement the social-ecological model as a framework for injury prevention. Mojgan’s quantitative research skills has facilitated a multitude of scientific publications in various injury prevention domains including transport injuries, trauma systems, self-harm, and interpersonal violence.

Mojgan joined the BCIRPU as the Community Mobilizer in 2021, and is responsible for mobilization and coordination of the BC injury prevention network by working with various injury prevention partners active in the province. Mojgan also serves as a coordinator for BCIRPU’s Brain Waves program, a national brain and spinal cord injury prevention program overseen by Parachute.

Olivia Aguiar (she/her) is an Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion Lead with the BC Centre for Disease Control, embedded in Island Health Authority and member of the BCIRPU. She has a PhD in Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, from the Injury Prevention and Mobility Lab at Simon Fraser University, and a certificate in Biomedical Visualization and Communication. Olivia is a multidisciplinary researcher with experience inquantitative and qualitative methods and analyses, science, and scholarly communication, data visualization, and community outreach. She brings expertise in sport-related head impacts and concussions, fall prevention, and fall-related injuries.

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Phoebe joined BCIRPU in 2018 as a UBC WorkLearn student with the Canadian Hospital Injury Reporting & Prevention Program (CHIRPP). For three years, she supported the surveillance into alcohol and cannabis poisonings at BC Children’s Hospital. Now, she splits her time between the Research Coordinator role for the SHRed Concussions Study and the Evidence to Innovation Theme at the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute.

Outside of work, she is an avid runner, houseplant enthusiast, and connoisseur of useless facts.

Publications:

• ORCID – https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5917-3470
• Research Gate – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Phoebe-Cheng-4

Samantha has led the BCIRPU’s communications and knowledge translation activities since 2017. She supports a variety of projects through strategic planning, content creation, media relations, social media, and promotion. Samantha also works as Program Manager for The Community Against Preventable Injuries.

Samantha obtained her Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia and holds a certificate in Public Relations and Marketing Communications from the British Columbia Institute of Technology. She has over ten years of experience specializing in health care communications, having held positions at Pain BC and the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences at St. Paul’s Hospital.

In her spare time, Samantha loves running, eating good food, playing board games, and watching movies.

Publications

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Samantha_Bruin

Shazya joined the BCIRPU team in December 2019 as a Research Manager. She completed her PhD in Health Promotion at Western University in February 2020, where she studied healthy behaviours within the family unit, specifically focusing on physical activity and nutrition behaviours of parents with overweight/obesity and their children. Shazya’s role at the Unit involves project management, grant writing, and program evaluation. She is also coordinating the SHRed Concussions Study, a pan-Canadian research study in investigating the prevention, recognition, and treatment of concussion in high-school athletes who play sports associated with a higher risk of concussion.

Publications:

• ORCID – https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7164-9366
• Research Gate – https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shazya-Karmali

Shianne is the Injury Prevention Lead for Interior Health Authority. Prior to joining the BCCDC, Shianne was the Coordinator for the Fall Prevention Team at Fraser Health where she led the Mobile Clinic. She completed her BSc in Health Sciences from Simon Fraser University in 2018, and is currently working towards her MA in Community Development from the University of Victoria. Among other extracurriculars, Shianne is a Board Member for the Canadian Red Cross Council for First Aid Education. Outside of work, Shianne loves to go on outdoor adventures, travel and play soccer.

Tobin has a MA in Medical Geography from McMaster University. Prior to coming to Fraser Health in 2015, Tobin had been a career-long population health researcher with a focus on prevention, both at UBC at the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research and later spending over a decade running his own applied social research firm.

In his new role, Tobin will work with the Fraser Health Environmental Health Services & Healthy Built Environment Program, and provincial, local, and regional key partners. He will receive co-leadership from Megan Oakey, BCCDC Provincial Injury Prevention Manager, and Sandra Gill, Fraser Health Manager for Environmental Health Services & Healthy Built Environment Program.

Tobin lives in Vancouver. He lives to be active and outside. Tobin has spent decades riding bicycles for transportation, recreation and competition, and supporting youth high performance athlete development. He used to be fast. He also enjoys skeleton, and skate skiing badly.