People

Drew B. A. Clark, PhD, HEC-C, RCC

Co-Researchers & Collaborators

Esther Alonso Prieto, PhD

Regional Lead, Northern Health Ethics Service

Dr. Esther Alonso-Prieto is the Regional Lead of NH Ethics Service and an Adjunct Professor at the Faculties of Medicine (UBC) and Nursing (UNBC). She holds a Ph.D. in Psychology and Neuroscience from the University of Louvain, Belgium. She has also completed additional post-graduate studies in Ethics, Health Law, and Adult Education. Throughout her career, she has developed expertise as a clinical researcher in areas such as Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Neurology, and Neonatology and has a track record of publications in those fields. She has a keen interest in rural health ethics, moral distress and ethical dimensions of the use of technology in healthcare. Dr. Alonso-Prieto is currently a member of BC Health Technology Assessment Committee (HTAC), which makes evidence-informed recommendations to the Ministry of Health about public provision of health technologies. She is also a member of the BC Provincial Healthcare Ethics Advisory Team.

Sheila Marshall, PhD

Professor Emerita, University of British Columbia

Elizabeth M. Saewyc, PhD, RN, FSAHM, FCAHS, FAAN, FCAN

Professor, Distinguished University Scholar, and Director of the UBC School of Nursing

Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc is a Professor, Distinguished University Scholar, and Director of the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia at Vancouver, Canada. She also leads the multidisciplinary Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre at UBC. For over 25 years, her research has focused on how stigma, discrimination, violence, and trauma influence adolescents’ health and coping behaviours, and what community and relational protective factors, policies, and interventions can foster resilience and improve health equity and well-being for young people, especially those who are marginalized, such as 2SLGBTQ+ youth.

Kris Smith, MSc, PhD

Ethicist, Vancouver Coastal Health Ethics Services; Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health, University of Victoria

Dr. Kris Smith is a postdoctoral fellow with the Institute on Aging and Lifelong Health, University of Victoria, and an Ethicist at Vancouver Coastal Health. She completed her PhD in Kinesiology and Bioethics at the University of Toronto. Her postdoctoral research pertains to palliative care, oncology, health equity, ethics, and health services. She also explores ways to use arts-based approaches to enhance death literacy and knowledge translation of health equity research. In her clinical ethics role, Dr. Smith supports patients, families, providers, and leaders with compassionate, transparent, empowered decision-making that honours people’s highest values from birth to end-of-life and beyond.

Tammy Molina, MSW, RSW

Regional Practice Leader, Clinical Ethics, Interior Health

Julia Temple Newhook, PhD

Adjunct Professor, Department of Gender Studies, Memorial University 

Julia (she/her) is a cis queer researcher from Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland), and has been leading peer support for families of trans, Two-Spirit, and gender diverse youth for the past decade.

Kaeden Seburn, MSW

Youth Voice Representative & Research Assistant 

Alice Virani, MA (Oxon), MS, MPH, PhD

Executive Director, Clinical Ethics and Spiritual Care Service, Provincial Health Services Authority of BC

Alice is the Executive Director, Clinical Ethics and Spiritual Care Services at PHSA and a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Medical Genetics at UBC. In addition to her work at PHSA, Alice is passionate about the role of ethics at a national level and proudly serves on the Inter Agency Advisory Panel on Research Ethics and the CIHR’s Advisory Committee on Ethics, and chairs the Public Health Ethics Consultative Group for the Public Health Agency of Canada. Alice’s research interests relate to pediatric bioethics, public health ethics and ethical issues in genetics and genomics. Before moving into ethics, Alice was a genetic counselor in the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. She has a masters in Human Sciences from Oxford University, a masters in Genetic Counseling from Sarah Lawrence College, a masters in Public Health from Columbia University, and a PhD in Genetics and Ethics from UBC.

Students & Postdocs

Caitlin Botkin, MSN, BMW, RN

PhD Student

Caitlin (she/her) is a PhD student in nursing at the University of British Columbia and an uninvited settler on the unsurrendered lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) People. She has worked clinically as a registered nurse and registered midwife and currently works as a nurse educator at Trans Care BC, developing resources for clinicians and transgender, Two-Spirit, and non-binary (TTNB) clients. Her master’s thesis focused on support of lactation induction in TTNB people, and her PhD will focus on inequity in healthcare education for students with disabilities. In all her work, she strives to centre decolonial, intersectional, and trauma- and violence-informed principles to contribute to safer learning and healthcare environments.

Elijah Foran, BA

Research Assistant

Elijah Foran (they/them) is a trans and disabled graduate student in the Interdisciplinary Studies program at the University of British Columbia. Their research focuses on healthcare navigation and advocacy for communities at the intersection of transgender identity and disability. They strive to center community-oriented, anti-ableist and anti-oppressive practices in their work. They value creative and accessible approaches to knowledge sharing to spur action and change in their communities.

Rodrigo Sierra Rosales, MSc, MD

Research Assistant

Rodrigo (they/he) is a PhD student at the School of Population and Public Health (UBC). As a child and adolescent psychiatrist in Chile, Rodrigo volunteered and later became the clinical supervisor for Chile’s It Gets Better Project crisis helpline. They also co-led the development of Chile’s first community health centre focused on women and LGBTQ+ people. They moved from Chile in 2021 to complete their MSc in Population and Public Health at UBC, with their thesis examining health equity indicators of a digital sexual health program in BC. Their doctoral research focuses on gender-affirming care provision to youth in Canada.

Adi Ferrara, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2023-2024)

Adi Ferrara received her PhD in Health Sciences at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand. She previously worked for the HIV Vaccine Trials Network in Seattle, Washington (USA), where her passion for tackling healthcare disparities in the 2SLGBTQ+ population was first ignited. Her PhD study concentrated on perceived barriers to healthcare access in New Zealand LGBTTQ+ teens. Adi’s research interests include eliminating barriers to healthcare access in equity-deserving youth populations, through research and resource creations for lay and professional audience (e.g., healthcare providers, 2SLGBTQ+ youths).

Hannah French, MPH

Research Assistant (2023-2024)

Daniel Ji, PhD

Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2023-2024)

Daniel Ji is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre (SARAVYC). He received his PhD in social work with a sub-specialization in Measurement, Evaluation and Research Methodology from the University of British Columbia in 2023. He holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in social work with a child welfare specialization, and a double major in psychology and family studies from the University of British Columbia. He is a registered social worker who currently serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Adolescence and is a past recipient of the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS-D).