Raveena Gowda
she/her
Clinical Research Coordinator
Raveena graduated from the University of British Columbia with a B.Sc in 2022. Since then, she has been working in the field of women’s health research. As the lab research coordinator, Raveena facilitates students and oversees the coordination of various projects within our program, including longitudinal prospective studies, retrospective chart reviews, and randomized controlled trials.
She is passionate about women’s health research, firmly believing in its power to advocate for change. Specifically, she is dedicated to research that enhances quality of life, improves health outcomes, and addresses inequities in accessing high-quality care. Under the guidance of Dr. Isaac, she is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this vital work and to learn from compassionate and dedicated individuals in this field.
Fun Fact: Raveena enjoys doing yoga and going for walks with her cat!
Sophia Tan
she/her
Clinical Research Assistant
Sophia is a recent graduate from the University of Waterloo, BSc in Honours Life Sciences Biology, Co-op. As a clinical research assistant, she leads and supports the work of the following projects: ADM, pTRAMvsLAT, NRT, ML Prediction Program, GIBCC, VascuLens.
Sophia’s research interests centre around women’s health-related quality of life and health equity, from identifying barriers for inclusive cancer care to investigating clinical integration of machine learning nomograms to predict the risk for breast complications and the need for post-mastectomy radiation therapy.
Fun Fact: She is a former alpine ski racer and has trained and competed on mountains across 3 continents. Some of her fondest memories being from her time in Hintertux, Austria!
Hannah Wells
she/her
Clinical Research Assistant
Hannah is a recent graduate from the University of British Columbia, BSc Combined Major in Science: Chemistry, Life Sciences, and Environmental Sciences Program. In her role as a clinical research assistant, she supports and works on the following projects: Pre-Pec/Pre-Prom, Flap-Database/Flap-Prom, Nerve Block, Mixed Methods, Flap Comparison, and Capsular Contracture.
Hannah is passionate about working alongside like minded individuals with the goal of improving the care, experience and outcomes of a patient’s breast cancer journey. Within her work, she is driven to help improve the quality of life and care delivered to women in BC.
Fun Fact: In her free time she loves being outdoors and all things related to exercise. She hopes to complete a triathlon in the near future!
Jaimie Lee
she/her
Clinical Research Assistant
Jaimie recently graduated from the University of British Columbia, BSc Pharmacology Program. As a clinical research assistant, Jaimie works on Lymph Qol, PMRT Validation and various NLP projects. More specifically, automating breast cancer relapse detection from imaging/pathology reports using natural language processing, predicting post-mastectomy radiation therapy necessity following immediate breast reconstruction using machine learning, and evaluating the effectiveness of immediate lymphatic reconstruction in preventing the development of lymphedema.
Jaimie’s specific research interests are centred around Breast Cancer with focuses on aspects such as lymphedema, surgery, machine learning, and natural language processing.
Fun fact: She is an avid fan of the arts. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, producing music, and creating pottery!
Muhammad Assad
he/him
Volunteer
Muhammad is entering his fourth year at the University of British Columbia, in Computer Science and Microbiology + Immunology. Muhammad is currently working on a systematic review of Capsular Contracture.
His interest in research is driven by the following areas immunology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and mathematical modelling which are major focuses of the Capsule project.
Fun Fact: He loves cats but was allergic to them (not anymore, yay!).
Michelle Ho
she/her
Volunteer
Michelle is entering her fourth year at the University of British Columbia, in Microbiology and Immunology, with a Minor in Data Science. Michelle is currently working on a systematic review of Capsular Contracture.
Michelle’s research interests include immunology, mechanisms of disease, cancer, microbial pathogenesis, bioinformatics, and various others.
Fun Fact: In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, going on hikes, playing guitar, and running.
Jonathan Chan
he/him
Clinical Research Assistant – Work Learn Student
Jonathan is entering his third year at the University of British Columbia, in Pharmacology. As a Work Learn student, Jonathan is working as a research assistant alongside our data science team, on various Natural Language Processing (NLP) projects.
Some of his research interests include how artificial intelligence models, specifically natural language processing, can be used to improve patient outcomes and treatment times. As a Pharmacology student, he is also interested in how the benefits and side effects of pharmacological interventions can be better balanced.
Fun Fact: In his free time, he writes for a non-profit news organization covering underreported political and human rights issues around the world.
Suri Zheng
she/her
Clinical Research Assistant – Work Learn Student
Suri recently finished her first year of university in the Faulty of Science at UBC and is hoping to major in Cellular, Anatomical, and Physiological Sciences.
Suri is working to help support various prospective database studies and create content for our various social media platforms. She provides creative inspiration and generates ideas to help us better spread knowledge about all things breast related.
Fun Fact: She loves to snowboard and is a snowboard instructor so you can always find her on the local slopes during the season!
Hong Hao Xu
he/him
Master’s Student
Hong Hao is a medical student from Montreal who completed an MD-MBA program. He is currently pursuing an MSc in experimental medicine at UBC as Dr. Isaac first master’s student! He is currently involved in simulation modelling of BC cancer pathways, and will eventually expand into other projects of the Program.
Hong Hao is interested in research surrounding health outcomes, services, and innovation.
Fun Fact: Hong Hao is passionate about sports and arts, enjoying boxing, working out, mixing and making music, among others!
Gina Zhang
she/her
Clinical Research Assistant
Gina is entering her fourth year of Microbiology and Immunology. She is involved with various prospective studies: Pre-Pec, Pre-Prom, Flap Database and Flap-Prom.
Gina comes to the lab with an interest in improving women’s health care and research. With a focus on breast cancer and bettering the experience of patients undergoing treatment and recovery.
Fun Fact: In her spare time, she tries keeping her mini garden of plants alive!
Keith Wu
he/him
Clinical Research Assistant – FLEX student
Keith graduated from the University of British Columbia with a B.Sc in Pharmacology and is now entering his second year at UBC’s medical school. As a FLEX student, Keith is working alongside the data science team on various Natural Language Processing (NLP) research projects.
Keith is interested in learning about artificial intelligence and machine learning applications in clinical practice. As such, he hopes to work on new technological tools that will improve quality of care and reduce morbidity and mortality for breast cancer patients.
Fun Fact: Keith is a big fan of basketball/NBA and enjoys competing in 10K and half-marathon running events.
Taylor Bootsma
she/her
Clinical Research Assistant – FLEX Student
Taylor graduated from the University of British Columbia with a major in Microbiology and Immunology and a minor in Health and Society. She is now entering her second year of medical school at UBC. In her role, Taylor is working on the Prediction Program study, working to validate machine learning models that help predict outcomes following breast reconstruction. The goal is for these programs to be implemented clinically to help patients and physicians make more informed decisions regarding breast reconstruction.
She is interested in health equity, particularly in understanding and addressing barriers to care and improving patient experiences within the healthcare system. Her research interests also include women’s health, knowledge translation to enhance system effectiveness, and the integration of artificial intelligence to support evidence-based, patient-centered care.
Fun Fact: Taylor loves to paint in her spare time, and one of her paintings is at Vancouver General Hospital!