Learn more about our people by reading below, or by selecting the specific pages in the drop-down menu above.

Directors

Teresa Liu-Ambrose
Research Director, Falls Prevention Clinic
Assistant Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, UBC

Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose, PhD, PT, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy, and directs the Aging, Mobility and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory. She is also the Research Director of the Vancouver General Hospital Falls Prevention Clinic. Dr. Liu-Ambrose is an associate member of the UBC Brain Research Centre and the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility. 

Dr. Liu-Ambrose received her PhD from the University of British Columbia, Canada in 2004. She completed a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship in the area of cognitive science funded by both Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) and joined the UBC Department of Physical Therapy in April 2006 as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Liu-Ambrose is a recipient of the Royal Society of Canada’s Alice Wilson Award (2006), CIHR Institute of Aging Recognition Prize in Research in Aging (2005 & 2011), MSFHR Career Investigator Award (2006), and CIHR New Investigator Award (2011). Her research focuses on defining the role of exercise to promote healthy aging and prevent cognitive and mobility decline among seniors. Her research has been featured by the New York Times and in the Globe and Mail.

For more information on The Aging, Mobility and Cognitive Function Lab, please visit their website at http://cogmob.rehab.med.ubc.ca.

 

Karim Khan
Medical Director, Falls Prevention Clinic
Professor, Department of Family Practice, UBC

A clinician-scientist in the field of exercise medicine for health, Dr. Khan is a CIHR New Investigator and was a UBC Peter Wall Institute Early Career Scholar. He is internationally recognized for his randomized trials of exercise prescription in patients with osteoporosis and at high risk of hip fracture and for his research into the pathogenesis of tendinopathy.

Geriatricians

Dr. Ima Alimoradi MD, FRCP(C)
Clinical Instructor, Division of Geriatric Medicine, St. Paul’s Hospital

Dr. Ima Alimoradi is a Clinical Instructor at St. Paul’s Hospital. She completed medical school in Iran in 1999, and immigrated to Canada. After training in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics in the United States, she joined the University of British Columbia Division of Geriatrics in 2006. At the same time, she started a Masters in Healthcare and Epidemiology at UBC, focusing on research on falls prevention. She is currently involved in the clinical assessment of elderly fallers at both St. Paul’s Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital Falls Prevention Clinics. Dr. Alimoradi is currently interested in the relationship between falls and osteoporosis.

 

 Dr. Wendy Cook, MD, FRCP(C)
Clinical Instructor, Division of Geriatric Medicine, St. Paul’s Hospital

 

 

 

 

 

 Dr. Larry Dian, MB, BCH, FRCP(C)
Clinical Professor, Division of Geriatric Medicine, Vancouver General Hospital & St. Paul’s Hospital

Dr. Larry Dian is a Clinical Professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at Vancouver General Hospital and St.Paul’s Hospital. He also serves as the Co-Director of the Osteoporosis Centre of British Columbia and Co-Investigator at the Prohealth Clinical Research Centre. His interest is in promoting high quality of care for geriatric patients by working regularly with undergraduate and postgraduate trainees in Medicine, and participating in ongoing research in osteoporosis and falls in the frail elderly. He completed Geriatric Fellowship Training Programs at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles, USA) and the University of British Columbia. He has also served as the Head of the Division of Geriatric Medicine at UBC and Department Head of Geriatric Medicine at Vancouver General Hospital. Dr. Dian is a recipient of the Royal Canadian Legion Fellowship Award for postgraduate studies in the field of Geriatric Medicine, and the Bobby Miller Award for excellence in teaching.

Dr. Ken Madden

Research

Jennifer Davis, PhD
Investigator, Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation; School of Population and Public Health, Department of Physical Therapy

Jennifer Davis, PhD, is a CIHR postdoctoral fellow working with supervisors Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose and Professor Stirling Bryan, Director of the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology and Evaluation. Jennifer has a B.Sc in Honours Physiology, a Masters of Science in Experimental Medicine and a PhD in Health Care and Epidemiology at UBC. Jennifer has received both a MSFHR Junior Trainee Award, MSFHR Senior Graduate Studentship and CIHR Canada Graduate Scholarship and CIHR postdoctoral fellowship for her studies. The aims of Jennifer’s recent work were to: 1) determine which falls prevention strategies provided the best value for money, 2) estimate internationally, the cost of falls, 3) conduct an economic evaluation alongside a randomized controlled trial aimed at combating cognitive decline 4) determine key clinical outcomes that are predictive of health care resource utilization and 5) determine key clinical outcomes that are predictive of changes in health related quality of life. 

Danielle Boyd
Research Coordinator, Falls Prevention Clinic

Danielle Boyd is a UBC Graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Kinetics and a specialization in Kinesiology.  She is currently working as the Research Coordinator for ‘Action Seniors!’, a randomized controlled trial investigating the effect of a home delivered strength and balance retraining program in reducing falls among seniors.

 

 

John Naslund
Research Assistant, Falls Prevention Clinic

 

Clinical & Administrative Staff

 Alison Chan
Geriatrician Assistant, Falls Prevention Clinic

Alison Chan’s research interests focus on falls and fracture prevention in the aging population.  Aside from being a Geriatrician Assistant assessing seniors at the Falls Prevention Clinic, Alison has also assumed the role as Research Coordinator in Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose’s lab at the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility.  Currently she is overlooking a study investigating the benefits of exercise on women experiencing memory problems.

 

 Caitlin Gomez
Clinical Coordinator & Geriatrician Assistant, Falls Prevention Clinic

Caitlin Gomez recently completed a Bachelor’s degree in Human Kinetics at UBC, focusing on Kinesiology and Health Sciences. She is a Geriatrician Assistant at the Falls Prevention Clinic at Vancouver General Hospital, where she also serves as the Clinic Coordinator. Caitlin is interested in Medicine, and hopes to pursue a career in Pediatric Psychiatry or Emergency Medicine.

 

Mika Johnson
Research Assistant & Geriatrician Assistant, Falls Prevention Clinic

Mika Johnson is a recent graduate of UBC, where she earned a Master’s of Science in Human Kinetics investigating the prevention of cardiovascular disease through physical activity. At the Falls Prevention Clinic she serves as a Geriatrician Assisant, and a Research Assistant for ‘Action Seniors!’, a randomized control trial investigating the effect of a home delivered strength and balance retraining program in reducing falls among seniors. Aside from her role within the Falls Prevention Clinic, Mika is a Research Assistant in the lab of Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose at the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, where they are currently investigating the relationship between cognitive function and falls.

 

Trevor Kwan
Research Assistant, Falls Prevention Clinic