Dr. Linda Li is Professor and Harold Robinson/Arthritis Society Chair at the Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia, and Senior Scientist at Arthritis Research Canada. She holds a Canada Research Chair in Patient-oriented Knowledge Translation. Dr. Li’s research centers on improving the care for people with arthritis and supporting patient self-care. Her work focuses on the integration of online, mobile, and wearable tools in health care. Examples include the use of interactive decision aids for improving communication between patients and health professionals, and the use of wearables and apps to promote physical activity in people with chronic bone and joint diseases. Dr. Li’s work in knowledge translation and implementation science has led to a new line of studies on the benefits of engaging patients and the public in the research process. Her work has been recognized by a Distinguished Scholar Award and a Distinguished Educator Award from the Association of Rheumatology Professionals (a division of American College of Rheumatology).
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Catherine Backman, PhD, OT(C), FCAOT
Prof. Catherine Backman is a Professor Emerita in the Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia, a Senior Scientist at the Arthritis Research Canada and an Affiliated Researcher at Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.
Catherine’s research interests cluster in two broad areas: (a) occupational disruption and the impact of chronic illness on participation in paid and unpaid work and social roles. Recent studies relate to parenting, employment, and creative occupations, with an emphasis on balancing occupations to promote health and well-being; (b) evaluating the outcomes of occupational therapy and rehabilitation interventions, including use of e-health tools, and the ethical tensions that arise in delivering competent care..
To date, she has published over 200 papers, abstracts and book chapters.
In 2004, Catherine was awarded the Catherine Muriel Driver Memorial Lectureship and named a Fellow (FCAOT) by the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists in 2004. She was also the recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Association of Rheumatology Professionals, a Division of the American College of Rheumatology.
Recognized as an exceptional mentor, Catherine received the prestigious Killam University Teaching Prize in 2002 and currently supervises MSc and PhD students in rehabilitation and interdisciplinary studies.
Aileen Davis, PhD, M.Sc., B.Sc. (P.T.)
Aileen Davis trained as a physiotherapist and clinical epidemiologist and received her doctorate from the University of Toronto. Currently, she is a Senior Scientist in the Division of Health Care and Outcomes Research, Toronto Western Research Institute and is an investigator with the Arthritis and Community Research and Evaluation Unit and the Arthritis and Autoimmunity Research Centre at UHN. She is a Professor at the University of Toronto in the Departments of Physical Therapy and Surgery and the Graduate Departments of Rehabilitation Science, Health Policy, Management and Evaluation and Institute of Medical Science.
Dr. Davis’ primary research focus is in musculoskeletal disease, particularly in identifying modifiable predictors of patient outcomes. She also has extensive experience in outcome measure development and evaluation Recent work focuses on models of care for arthritis including development and evaluation of care pathways to improve access to services for people with mild to severe osteoarthritis and hip fracture.
She is a past member of the CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis Advisory Board and past Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee and member of the Board of The Arthritis Society. She is an associate editor and on the editorial board for Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. She is the National Director for Osteoarthritis Initiatives for Bone and Joint Canada.
Diane Gromala, PhD
Diane Gromala, PhD, is a Full Professor in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT). She builds bridges spanning technology (design, HCI, and engineering) and health (researchers, clinicians, patients and their advocates). Prior to joining SFU, Dr. Gromala developed transdisciplinary technology curricula as a faculty member at Georgia Tech, the University of Washington, and the University of Texas.
Dr. Gromala designs and builds innovative interactive health technologies, and tests them in a two-pronged approach: with health experts in clinical domains, and in patients’ homes. Currently, she is working to certify two of her VR systems with Health Canada and the FDA in order to deploy them in the real world.
As the Founding Director of the Pain Studies Lab, Dr. Gromala and her team of graduate students and post-doctoral researchers closely collaborate with health experts in pain medicine, neuroscience, psychology, and kinesiology to name a few. Dr. Gromala’s research projects combine qualitative and quantitative research methods including: patient-centred design, participatory design, and microethnographies to the evidence-based biopsychosocial approaches common in pain medicine. Ultimately, Dr. Gromala’s interactive health technologies are tested in RCTs (randomized control trials), the gold standard for health research. Increasingly, she is working with neuroscientists to explore long-lasting, neuroplastic brain changes via fMRI studies
Lynne Feehan, BScPT, MSc, PhD
Dr Feehan is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of British Columbia. Lynne is a licensed physical therapist with a specialization in upper extremity rehabilitation. She is a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT), with over 40 years of clinical experience working in private and public care settings in Alberta and British Columbia (BC).
Lynne received her PhD in Interdisciplinary studies from the University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, funded through a MSFHR doctoral training award. She has completed two post-doctoral fellowships in the Department of Physical Therapy at UBC, including a CIHR funded knowledge translation project and a MSFHR post-doctoral fellowship award. Her research focus is primarily in arthritis, bringing her expertise in implementation practice informed by implementation science, objective measurement of physical activity and sleep, and meaningful engagement of stakeholders / patients in health research in BC.
Antonio Aviña-Zubieta, MD, MSc, PhD
Dr. Antonio Aviña-Zubieta is an Professor and Head of the Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, and a Senior Scientist at the Arthritis Research Canada
Born in Mexico, Dr. Antonio Aviña-Zubieta graduated as a Medical Doctor from the University of Guadalajara in 1989. He did his Internal Medicine training from 1990 to 1991 at the University of Guadalajara, and from 1991 to 1993 he pursued a rheumatology fellowship at the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM). He has been a National Scientist in Mexico since 1998.
After his formal training in Mexico, Dr. Aviña did a Clinical Research Fellowship at the University of Alberta from 1993 to 1995, and subsequently completed a Master’s Degree in Experimental Medicine at the same university in 1997. In 2010, Dr. Aviña received his PhD in Experimental Medicine/Epidemiology from the University of British Columbia and began a faculty appointment as an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Medicine at the same university on July 1st of that year.
To start his career as a New Investigator, Dr. Aviña was granted a Network Scholar research training award from the Canadian Arthritis Network and The Arthritis Society. He was also named the first ever BC Lupus Society Scholar (a title he continues to hold). He was also a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research scholar.
His areas of research include (1) the current epidemiology of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD) at the population level, (2) the disease burden of SARD including risks of co-morbidities associated with SARD and (3) the impact of SARD on overall and cause specific mortality.
Diane Lacaille, MD, FRCPC, MHSc
Dr. Diane Lacaille is the Scientific Director and Senior Scientist at Arthritis Research Canada; as well as a Professor, Division of Rheumatology, and Associate Head of Academic Affairs, Department of Medicine, at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver. She has a rheumatology practice in Richmond, BC. She holds the Mary Pack Chair in Rheumatology Research from UBC and The Arthritis Society of Canada.
She completed medical school and internal medicine training at McGill University in Montreal, and her Rheumatology training and a Master’s in Health Sciences, clinical epidemiology, at the University of British Columbia.
Her research focuses on two areas: 1) Studying the impact of arthritis on employment and preventing work disability. To that effect, she has developed Making-it-WorkTM , an online program helping people with arthritis deal with employment issues. 2) Evaluating the quality of health care services received by people with RA and conducting pharmaco-epidemiology studies, using BC administrative health data. Her research has been supported by peer reviewed grants from the Canadian Institute for Health and Research, the Canadian Arthritis Network, The Arthritis Society of Canada and the Canadian Rheumatology Association. She was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in 2013 for her research contributions
Teresa Liu-Ambrose, PhD, PT
Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose, PhD, PT, Professor, is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair and a physical therapist at the University of British Columbia, Department of Physical Therapy. She directs the Aging, Mobility and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory as well as the Vancouver General Hospital’s Falls Prevention Clinic.
Her research program focuses on defining the role of exercise to promote healthy aging, with a particular focus on cognitive and neural plasticity, as well as mobility. Various methods are utilized, including randomized controlled trials, functional neuroimaging, and actigraphy,
Dr. Liu-Ambrose works collaboratively with faculty in Psychology, Neurology, Family Practice, Geriatric Medicine, and Health Care and Epidemiology. Dr. Liu-Ambrose is an investigator with the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility and the Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health. She also co-leads the UBC data collection site for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging.
Jolanda Cibere, MD, FRCPC, PhD
Dr. Jolanda Cibere is an Associate Professor in the Division of Rheumatology at the University of British Columbia and a Research Scientist at the Arthritis Research Canada. She is a rheumatologist specializing in the research of osteoarthritis, a degenerative disease that is affecting an increasing number of Canadians.
After completing her medical and internal medicine training at the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Cibere completed her clinical rheumatology training at the University of British Columbia. She also trained in the University of British Columbia ‘s Department of Health Care and Epidemiology, completed a doctoral program focusing on osteoarthritis, and was awarded an MRC (now CIHR) Clinician Scientist Fellowship award for her studies.
Dr. Cibere pioneered a study on the current use of glucosamine sulfate by osteoarthritis sufferers, the results of which have been widely disseminated to consumers across North America. Dr. Cibere was the principal investigator for a research study on the early diagnosis of osteoarthritis. Her research led to the development of a standardized knee exam that has since become part of a clinical standard for early detection. She has reported that early knee osteoarthritis can be detected by findings of either joint swelling, gait abnormality or flexion contracture in the knee. In addition, her study found that specific blood and urine tests, which detect cartilage breakdown, are useful to identify early osteoarthritis of the knee. She is the principal investigator for ongoing research to investigate the progression of osteoarthritis of the knee after 3 and 6 years, and is involved with similar research on osteoarthritis of the hip.
Dr. Cibere received the Networks of Centres of Excellence Young Innovator Award early in her career. She was awarded a six-year Clinical Scientist Phase II Scholar Award (the highest level salary award given by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research), and received both the UBC’s Departmental Faculty Scholar Award and the J. W. McConnell Family Foundation Scholar
Jasmin Ma, PhD
Dr. Jasmin Ma is a Clinician Investigator with Arthritis Research Canada, an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the School of Kinesiology at the University of British Columbia, and a Practicing Kinesiologist. Her teaching and educational leadership activities involve 1) the co-development and knowledge translation of inclusive physical activity counselling and prescription approaches and 2) the implementation of experiential learning opportunities in community-based exercise settings. Her research focuses on supporting strength training behaviour change and developing methods for tailored physical activity interventions among people with chronic disease and disability.
Clayon Hamilton, PhD
Dr. Hamilton is the Manager of Policy, Learning, and Evaluation at Community Action Initiative, an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University, and an Affiliate Scientist as Arthritis Research Canada. Trained as a health services researcher, Clayon takes an evidence-informed and partnership approach to leadership in healthcare sectors.
Clayon obtained his PhD in Health and Rehabilitation Sciences in two fields: Measurement & Methods and Musculoskeletal Research at Western University, supported by Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) awards. He completed postdoctoral training in health services and knowledge translation at the University of British Columbia and Arthritis Research Canada, funded by both CIHR and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR). He spent 2 years as a Health System Impact Fellow at the BC Ministry of Health, supporting evaluation within the primary care sector. Clayon was then the Regional Practice Lead for Research and Knowledge Translation for long-term care in BC’s largest regional health authority.
His research focus includes patient engagement in health research and decision-making, development of self-report measures for evaluation, and knowledge translation in health services. His work has contributed evidence-based tools to support the practice and evaluation of patient engagement. Notably, he led the development of the validated Patient Engagement In Research Scale (PEIRS), a significant resource for measuring meaningful patient and family engagement in research. Dr. Hamilton has received several highly competitive awards and co-authored over 20 articles in respected peer-reviewed journals. In his spare time, he enjoys going for runs with his family.