Yousef Shahin – Research Assistant
Yousef was a Research Assistant with the Perinatal Wellbeing Research Team from September 2021 to December 2021. He received his Bachelor of Science in Psychology from UBC and is currently a medical student. Yousef’s research interests include mental health, substance use, and addiction medicine. His goals are to broaden his understanding of these fields and how they intersect with perinatal health.
Ianna Folkes – Research Assistant
Ianna was a Research Assistant with the Midwifery Program in the Department of Family Practice from July 2019 to December 2021. She worked with the team while completing her Master’s studies in the Reproductive and Developmental Sciences Program at UBC. She graduated from McGill University in Montreal in 2019, where she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacology and Psychology. Ianna’s research interests focus on the areas of perinatal/postpartum mental health and the impacts of pharmaceutical use during pregnancy.
Emily Tsui – Research Assistant
Emily was a Research Assistant with the Midwifery Program from September 2020 to August 2021. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from UBC, in both Biology and Psychology. Emily’s research interests lie in the interplay between genetics and mental health, as well as examining environmental factors that predispose individuals to genetic and psychological disorders. After graduation, her goal is to pursue a career in healthcare where she can contribute to ongoing research in these areas of interest. To work towards this goal, Emily started her position as a genetic counselling assistant in September of 2021 to gain more experience in clinical settings.
Dr. Sukhpreet Tamana, PhD, MSc – Research Associate
Dr. Sukhpreet Tamana joined the PSAS Study Team in 2019 as a Research Associate. Before joining the lab, she completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship with the National Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study. Her research focuses on the epidemiology of child health and developmental trajectories (mental health, sleep, chronic disease), delivering targeted interventions, and integrated behavioral healthcare. Dr. Tamana is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University.
Mary Bunka – Research Assistant
Mary joined the PSAS Study Team in February 2019 as a Research Assistant. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia in 2017, where her undergraduate studies involved research courses in Uganda and Poland. Mary’s research interests lie in mental health in marginalized and understudied populations, maternal mental health, and patient-centred public health initiatives. In September of 2020, Mary joined UBC’s School of Population and Public Health as a Research Assistant with the Pharmacogenetics for Depression project.
Aayza Asim – Research Assistant
Aayza was a Research Assistant with the Midwifery Program from September 2020 to April 2021. She graduated from UBC with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. Aayza’s research interests lie in maternal mental health and the impact of social factors on mental health in marginalized and disadvantaged populations. In September of 2020, Aayza started her Master of Public Health degree at UBC and her goal is to expand her knowledge of factors contributing to poor maternal mental health and increase her commitment to health equity.
Jenna Langlois, MSc, BSc
Jenna was a Research Assistant with the Perinatal Wellbeing Research Team within the Midwifery Program from September 2021 to September 2024. She graduated from the Master of Science program in Experimental Medicine at UBC with a focus in addiction medicine in 2024. Previously, she completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Behavioural Neuroscience at UBC. Jenna’s research interests lie in substance use and mental health, particularly in marginalized and disadvantaged populations. Her overall goal is to expand her knowledge of maternal mental health in order to optimize health care delivery.