Dr. Jennifer Baumbusch
Dr. Baumbusch leads a research programme aimed at improving person- and family-centered care for older adults and people with lifelong disabilities. Jennifer is committed to community-based research principles through active engagement with individuals with lived experience, clinicians, and policy/decision-makers. Her interest in climate resilience grew out of the impact of climate-related weather events on the health and well-being of participants in her ongoing longitudinal, qualitative research projects, as well as her own experiences during the 2021 Vancouver heat dome.
Dr. Maya Kalogirou
Maya Kalogirou, RN, PhD completed a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Baumbusch from January to December 2024. Maya’s research area looks at the intersection between climate change and health, with a specific interest in decarbonizing the health sector. As past president of the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment, she is also deeply passionate about supporting nurses and other health care professionals get on board with climate action. Currently, Maya is on faculty at the University of Alberta (https://apps.ualberta.ca/directory/person/reshef).
Aki Ediriweera
Aki is a medical student at UBC. His research interests include youth and mental health. In his free time, he enjoys running with his dog.
Dr. Christine Meng
Christine is enrolled in the PhD program of Nursing at UBC. Her research focuses on building up meaningful relationships with older adults living with dementia and their caregivers in long-term care homes. She works in the long-term care homes as a registered nurse and wants to pursue an academic career as an independent researcher.
Dr. Lena Richardson
Lena Rebecca Richardson, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with Dr. Jennifer Baumbusch. She is working with Dr. Baumbusch on a photovoice research project around the impact of climate change on the mental health of older adults in BC. She previously was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the SFU Aging in the Right Place Partnership, a mixed-methods research project focused on promising practices around older adult homelessness. Her PhD is in Arts Education from SFU and her M.A. in in Adult Education and Community Development from University of Toronto. She has a strong interest in arts-based approaches and community-based research.
Dr. Jad Brake
Dr. Jad Brake earned a Ph.D. in Medical Anthropology from the University of British Columbia with expertise in qualitative and ethnographic research methods and data analysis. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at the UBC School of Nursing, where he works with Dr. Jennifer Baumbusch on qualitative research examining how older adults experience and respond to heat waves as a result of climate change. Dr. Brake’s doctoral research explored the lived experiences of autistic adults in British Columbia, specifically their experiences and understandings of friendship and social relationships. His interdisciplinary research interests include medical anthropology, autism and disability studies, climate change, the anthropology of friendship and sociality, and healthcare ethics.
Isabel Sloan Yip
Isabel is a research coordinator and supports a variety of projects with Dr. Baumbusch. She is also a social worker with Providence Health Care. Her interests include the impact of larger systems on formal and informal care and the experiences of patients and their families in care settings.