Celebrating Research Excellence Awards Ceremony 2026 AWARD RECIPIENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Celebrating Research Excellence Awards Ceremony
Studentships & Fellowships
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Geoffrey L. Hammond Lectureship
Peer-Mentorship Excellence Awards
08 Outstanding Achievement Awards
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CELEBRATING RESEARCH EXCELLENCE AWARDS CEREMONY Wednesday, November 18 | 2:00 pm | Chan Auditorium, BCCHR
Watch virtually here
AWARDS CEREMONY Join us in celebrating the accompliments of our colleagues and the positive impact of research taking place on the Oak Street campus. The award ceremony will feature the recipients of the BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute: Outstanding Achievement Awards Studentships & Fellowships Peer-Mentorship Excellence Awards
GEOFFREY L. HAMMOND LECTURESHIP Listen to a special presentation from Dr. Tim Oberlander, Geoffrey L. Hammond Lectureship recipient, on his career and research highlights 3
Geoffrey L. Hammond Lectureship The Geoffrey L. Hammond Lectureship recognizes investigators on the Oak Street Campus who have made a significant impact on improving the health and well-being of children, served as a role model and mentor to junior researchers, trainees, and students over the last 10 years, and provided leadership to the community on the Oak Street Campus.
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GEOFFREY L. HAMMOND LECTURESHIP Dr. Tim Oberlander MD, FRCPC
Dr. Tim Oberlander is the 2026 recipient of the Geoffrey L. Hammond Lectureship in recognition of his contributions to pediatric and perinatal health for more than 30 years. He has been a part of the University of British Columbia (UBC) since 1993, and BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute (BCCHR) since 1995. Throughout his career, Dr. Oberlander and his colleagues have received well over $20 million in research funding and have published over 250 peerreviewed publications. He has also co-edited three books and presented his work to international audiences both within and beyond his field. “It is an incredible honour to receive this award. In recognizing my work, we celebrate a vision that emphasizes the importance of supporting children’s health and development within their communities and recognizes the impact of behavioural and social determinants of child health," said Oberlander. “The research we do here at BCCHR is a collective effort, and I am deeply grateful to the wonderful colleagues, students, and fellows who have supported and inspired this work for many years.”
Investigator, BC Children's Hospital Attending Physician, Complex Pain Service, BC Children's Hospital and BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre Developmental Pediatrician, BC Children's Hospital and BC Women's Hospital & Health Centre R. Howard Webster Professorship in Brain Imaging and Early Child Development Custodian, BCCH Tree of Hippocrates (a real descendent from the original tree)
Dr. Oberlander has made a significant impact within two areas of child development that grew out of his early work at Sunny Hill Health Centre (SHHC). After being hired in 1993, he found himself caring for infants and children with prenatal substance exposure and wondered why some children exposed to similar prenatal risks thrive, while others remain vulnerable. This started a 30-year journey investigating the developmental impact of prenatal exposure to maternal mental health and treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants. Throughout his career, Dr. Oberlander’s research has contributed essential empirical evidence for perinatal mental health care. Of particular note are his early investigations which focused on outcomes experienced by infants as a result of maternal antidepressant exposure. As the children developed, his study showed that maternal depression during pregnancy and early childhood had lasting effects on stress reactivity, cognition, and attention throughout childhood and into adolescence. With this in mind, the focus of Dr. Oberlander’s work changed from simply asking, “does prenatal SSRI exposure affect child development?” to “how do prenatal maternal depression, genetic, and environmental factors affect patterns of development in children of mothers treated with an SSRI antidepressant?” His research informed clinical practice guidelines on SSRI use during pregnancy for the BC Ministry of Health, the Provincial Health Services Authority, and the Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments Clinical Practice Guideline for the Management of Perinatal Mood, Anxiety, and Related Disorders. 5
Around the same time, he started at SHHC, he also worked as an inpatient physician caring for children and youth with developmental disabilities and was faced with writing post-operative pain orders for a youth with cerebral palsy. Although he had fellowship training in developmental pediatrics and pain medicine, he realized that there were no guidelines for assessing and managing pain for children with developmental disabilities. In fact, all he could find were two papers reporting pain insensitivity in young adults with cognitive impairments. “This didn’t make sense,” Dr. Oberlander recalls. “Not expressing pain in a typical way does not mean not experiencing pain. To say someone is 'insensitive to pain' just because they don't express it in a standard, neurotypical way feels completely wrong — it effectively denies their basic humanity." This led to a 30-year long program of studies on the experiences of pain in children with cerebral palsy and autism. Along with his colleagues, Dr. Hal Siden, Dr. Katelynn Boerner, Dr. Ruth Grunau, Dr. Ken Craig, and many others across BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH) and beyond, his work helped challenge those old assumptions and establish that these children experience pain — and deserve equally effective pain care. His research has informed better ways to assess, treat, and advocate for pain, and has helped develop international standards to increase global awareness of pain in children with developmental disabilities. This work also introduced the fundamental idea that the relationship between pain and development is bidirectional. Pain can shape development, and conversely, development shapes how pain is experienced, expressed, and managed, whereby developmental differences — including those associated with cerebral palsy, autism, ADHD, and other neurodevelopmental conditions — can fundamentally shape a child’s pain experience. “Childhood pain needs to be seen as a determinant of developmental health,” Dr. Oberlander observes. His pain research has shaped public policy initiatives, including those set by the Health Standards Organization of Canada. Dr. Oberlander also serves as chair of the Chronic Pain and Climate Change Subcommittee for the International Association for the Study of Pain and has helped revise the global definition of pain. “For more than 30 years, Dr. Oberlander’s work has met the highest standards of scientific rigor and achieved meaningful, sustained impact. His scholarship, leadership, and commitment to mentorship have advanced child health research and strengthened systems of care, ensuring that children across the developmental spectrum are better supported to reach their full potential,” says Dr. Sharon Smile, head of the Division of Developmental Pediatrics, investigator at BCCHR and developmental pediatrician at Sunny Hill Health Centre. Dr. Smile nominated Dr. Oberlander for the award. In 2020, a third phase of his career was launched. With restrictions on research during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Oberlander and Dr. Katelynn Boerner co-developed the “Living Lab at Home” (LLAH) with an Establishment Award from the Brain Behaviour & Development theme at BCCHR. The LLAH is a novel, scalable approach to at-home, real-time data collection. The project expands access to research participation to children and their families across the developmental spectrum, who may not otherwise be able to participate, allowing research to be more equitable and a more accurate representation of BC’s children and youth.
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“Families have told us how the LLAH has allowed them to contribute to child health research in ways they never could because of geographic distance, trauma or anxiety associated with clinical environments, or research methodologies that are not accessible to their unique medical, developmental, or psychiatric needs. Dr. Oberlander has been a tireless champion for the LLAH and what it represents, which has resulted in LLAH methods being implemented in a variety of research studies,” says Dr. Boerner, assistant professor, Division of Developmental Pediatrics, psychologist, Complex Pain Service, BCCH, and BCCHR investigator. Dr. Oberlander’s earliest leadership role was between 1994 and 2006 as the director of fellowship training in Developmental Pediatrics at the University of British Columbia (UBC). In 2012, Dr. Oberlander took on leadership of the BC Children’s Hospital MRI Research Facility, funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation/BC Knowledge Development Fund. He was also co-chair of the Developmental Neurosciences and Child Health cluster (2013–2014) as it transitioned to BCCHR and has been the research lead for SHHC and Division of Developmental Pediatrics since 2015. Since 2023, Dr. Oberlander has been co-chair of the BCCH Green by Nature Committee. Dr. Kayleigh Campbell, who completed a doctorate under Dr. Oberlander's supervision, credits the success of her graduate research to the foundation of collaborative science, passion for discovery, and interdisciplinary expertise that defined Dr. Oberlander's research program. ‟The mentorship and guidance of Dr. Oberlander and the diverse network of researchers and clinicians at UBC and beyond were paramount to my development and ability to integrate novel methodologies into my work.” Dr. Oberlander’s commitment to leadership, mentorship, and advancing child health and well-being has improved the lives of children all around the world. Investigator emeritus and Dr. Oberlander’s colleague since 1993, Dr. Robert Armstrong, says,
‟Dr. Oberlander’s career to date is an exceptional demonstration of the value a clinician scientist brings to advancing science and translating science to change a field of practice. He has been a model for his colleagues and students across the many disciplines involved in the care of children. He has contributed to and benefited enormously from the campus environment that Dr. Geoffrey Hammond and his colleagues, before and after him, have created that make the interface between practice and science possible.” For his career-long impact on health care, Dr. Oberlander will be formally awarded the Geoffrey L. Hammond Lectureship at the Celebrating Research Excellence ceremony on Wednesday, November 18, 2026. The Geoffrey L. Hammond Lectureship is awarded each year to a senior scientist who has made a significant impact on improving the health and well-being of children, provided leadership to the BC Children’s Hospital research community, and served as a role model and mentor to junior researchers, trainees, and students. This award pays tribute to the contributions of Dr. Geoffrey L. Hammond who first served as the Research Institute’s scientific director and then deputy director from 2003 to 2012. Internationally recognized as an expert in steroid hormone action, Dr. Hammond has held many distinguished roles, including professor and Richard & Jean Ivey Chair in Molecular Toxicology at the University of Western Ontario, director of the Cancer Research Laboratories at the London Regional Cancer Centre, and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Reproductive Health. Under Dr. Hammond’s leadership, the Research Institute underwent an amazing period of growth that included strategic recruitment of researchers and integration of state-of-the-art equipment and technologies. He was instrumental in enabling researchers on the Oak Street campus to conduct cutting-edge health research for the benefit of children.
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Outstanding Achievement Awards Celebrating excellence in our talented research community is a significant part of how we recognize the positive impact of research at BC Children’s Hospital. Each year, we recognize research trainees who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in research aimed at improving the health and well-being of children.
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OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS Master’s Student This award recognizes the outstanding achievement of a Master’s Student whose research skills and analytical capacity clearly demonstrate the individual’s potential as a productive member of the scientific community.
Zelyn Lee Doan Research Team
Zelyn Lee is a master’s student and research trainee at BCCHR. Her research focuses on improving early identification of mental health concerns and reducing barriers to care for children and families from underserved and racialized communities. Zelyn led the cultural and translated adaptation of MyHEARTSMAP, a digital mental health screening and resource navigation tool, for Chinese Canadian children and families. To reduce language barriers in pediatric health research, Zelyn is also a collaborator for the Language Barriers in Pediatric Health Research initiative and has helped support the development of the Multilingual Research Team at BCCHR, an initiative designed to improve research participation of people with limited English proficiency. Zelyn is also a fellow with DIVERT Mental Health, Canada’s first multidisciplinary digital mental health research platform and served as a mentor in the 2026 Women+ in Science program at BCCHR.
Doctoral Student This award recognizes the outstanding achievement of a Doctoral student whose demonstrated research ability and capacity for critical thinking exemplify the qualities of a promising future contributor to the scientific community.
Kennedy Borle Austin Research Team
Dr. Kennedy Borle's research aims to improve equitable access to clinical genetic counselling and testing in Canada. Dr. Borle found that almost 40 per cent of the Canadian population may have an unmet need for genetic counselling and that this unmet need is inequitably distributed in the population. She also found that many people feel that they have a clinical need for genetic testing, and that this self-reported unmet need contributed to a sense of dissatisfaction and distrust with the healthcare system. To help address this unmet need, Dr. Borle was awarded a CIHR Health Systems Impact Fellowship working with the BC Ministry of Health to conduct research about integrating genetic counsellors into team-based primary care settings and she is also the Past President of the Society of Genetic Counsellors of BC where she is exploring models of legal regulation for genetic counsellors. Dr. Borle is actively committed to advancing the genetic counselling profession through a variety of volunteer roles and through supervising and mentoring trainees.
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OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS Postdoctoral Fellow This award recognizes the outstanding achievement of a Postdoctoral Fellow whose high academic achievements, personal leadership qualities, and demonstrated research ability show promise of the individual becoming a future leader in health research.
Lauar de Brito Monteiro Verchere Research Team Klein Geltink Research Team
Dr. Lauar de Brito Monteiro’s research explores how immune cells and insulinproducing cells in the pancreas communicate and affect the development of type 1 diabetes in children. Her discoveries have shed light on how inflammation and metabolism influence the survival and function of these cells, with potential to reveal new strategies for preventing or treating diabetes. Since joining BCCHR in 2023, Dr. Monteiro has made several innovative contributions. She discovered that insulin-producing beta cells can transfer mitochondria, the “powerhouses” of cells, to nearby immune cells, an entirely new form of communication that may play a role in diabetes progression. She also developed a cutting-edge, single-cell method to measure how pancreatic cells use energy and build proteins, offering new tools for studying how these cells respond to disease or therapies. Her research at BCCHR is funded by a Breakthrough T1D international fellowship. Dr. Monteiro is deeply committed to mentorship and education, and has received a UBC Co-op Supervisor Recognition Award for her excellence as a Co-op mentor.
Clinical Sub-specialty Resident or Fellow This award recognizes the outstanding achievement of a Clinical SubSpecialty Resident or Fellow, whose research initiatives have been pursued in a conscientious, original, and competent manner, and who has the potential for future academic excellence in their chosen specialty.
Luckshman Bavan Mulpuri Research Team
Dr. Luckshman Bavan completed his orthopedic training and PhD in Musculoskeletal Sciences in Oxford, followed by pediatric orthopedic fellowships at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and BC Children’s Hospital. His current research largely focused on developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), with an emphasis on improving treatment pathways for children and families. He has also contributed to the Canadian DDH Care Pathway Group, working to evaluate surveillance strategies for infants at increased risk of late dysplasia. This led to a prospective study supported by a Canadian Orthopaedic Research Legacy Grant from the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation. His research on Pavlik harness treatment received the Stephen Tredwell Award from the Canadian Orthopaedic Association and is now informing prospective work aimed at defining the optimal duration of harness treatment. Alongside his hip research, Dr. Bavan worked on the use of wearable inertial sensors for pediatric gait assessment and their potential to provide meaningful measures of mobility. Dr. Bavan is currently a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at SickKids and assistant professor at the University of Toronto, where he is continuing to develop a clinically integrated research program in pediatric orthopedics.
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Student & Fellowship Recipients Congratulations to the recipients of the 2026 BCCHR Graduate Studentships and Postdoctoral Fellowships. BCCHR provides research training stipends to highly qualified and skilled individuals who are based at BC Children’s Hospital, and wish to pursue a research career in any health-related research area that has direct relevance to improving the health of children.
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2026 POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS Dr. Erin Williams Postdoctoral Fellow, Sanatani Research Team
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Bertram Hoffmeister Postdoctoral Fellowship Project: “Autonomic consequences of adolescence: advancing evidence-based management of pediatric syncope and palpitations”
Dr. Kheireddin Mufti Postdoctoral Fellow, Loucks Research Team
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Mining for Miracles Postdoctoral Fellowship Project: “Uncovering genomic predictors of inadequate morphine analgesia in Canadian children with cancer”
Every year, BCCHR is able to provide a number of training awards and funding opportunities through the generous support of the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. These funding opportunities enable our researchers to recruit exceptional trainees to the Oak Street Campus and support them in enhancing their knowledge and conducting transformative research that aims to improve the health of children.
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2026 DOCTORAL STUDENTSHIPS Amir Golzan Doctoral Student, Lavoie Research Team
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Doctoral Studentship Project: “Understanding how the gut microbiome shape infants’ immunity and susceptibility to RSV”
David Tan Doctoral Student, Levings Research Team
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Doctoral Studentship Project: “Engineering peptide-MHC specific chimeric antigen receptor regulatory T cells to treat type 1 diabetes”
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2026 DOCTORAL STUDENTSHIPS Farah Jayousi Doctoral Student, Lange Research Team
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Doctoral Studentship Project: “Uncovering proteomic cellular heterogeneity to predict and prevent relapse in pediatric B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia”
Dorsa Arman Moghadam Doctoral Student, Voss Research Team
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Sue Carruthers Doctoral Studentship Project: “Population-level study of developmental outcomes in pediatric congenital heart disease in British Columbia”
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2026 MASTER’S STUDENTSHIPS Ana Acosta Bedon Master’s Student, Friedman Research Team
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Jan M. Friedman Master’s Studentship Project: “Predicting false positives in genomic newborn screening panels using allele frequency and penetrance data”
Cal Rosete Master’s Student, Beasley Research Team
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Master’s Studentship Project: “Immune dysregulation and barrier breakdown: complement C4 in the pathogenesis of Schizophrenia”
Suhail Khalil Master’s Student, Dumont Research Team
BC Children's Hospital Research Institute Master’s Studentship Project: “Smart O2: Closed-loop control of nasally administered oxygen using SpO2 feedback”
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Peer-Mentorship Excellence Awards The BCCHR Peer-Mentorship Excellence Awards recognize excellence in mentorship provided by trainees, staff, and investigators within the BCCHR community. These awards particularly highlight mentorship where individuals have supported peers, or others not directly under their supervision, in order to help build a vibrant and engaged community.
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2026 PEER-MENTORSHIP EXCELLENCE AWARDS
John Shahki Lab Manager & fMRI Research Coordinator, Woodward Research Team
BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute Peer-Mentorship Excellence by a Staff Member Award
Sophia Guan Master’s Student, Hou Research Team
BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute Peer-Mentorship Excellence by a Trainee Award
Dr. Marie Wright Investigator, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute Physician, BC Children's Hospital Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC Department of Pediatrics
BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute Peer-Mentorship Excellence by an Investigator Award
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