Dr. Kevin Afra completed Medical School and Internal Medicine at the University of Calgary, followed by an Infectious Diseases subspecialty at UBC. Kevin went on to obtain a Master of Health Administration from UBC. Kevin is currently the Executive Medical Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship and Infection Control in Fraser Health. His clinical Infectious Diseases practice spans several Fraser Health hospitals.  He is site principal investigator for several clinical trials at Surrey Memorial Hospital. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor with UBC and lead for Sepsis week in the second-year medical school.

Dr Arikan provides clinical care and consultations at Royal Columbian and Eagle Ridge hospitals.

Professor Yossef Av-Gay, PhD, is a microbiologist and a translational infectious disease researcher whose work has focused on uncovering the biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis the causative agent of TB and transforming those discoveries into therapeutics and therapeutic strategies. His research integrates bacterial signaling, host-pathogen interactions, stress survival pathways, and intracellular drug discovery to identify vulnerabilities in Mtb that can be leveraged for improved treatment. 

Over the past 30 years he has built a research program that links fundamental mechanisms to translational applications. He and his team have discovered key mycobacterial signalling proteins, defined host-directed mechanisms of macrophage subversion, characterized thiol-based stress defence pathways, developed intracellular screening platforms, and advanced novel anti-infective approaches toward commercialization and clinical use. This combination of discovery science and therapeutic development has resulted in in over 100 invited presentations, 130 peer-reviewed publications and over 30 patents and patent applications. 

Professor Av-Gay trained students and graduate trainees from six continents. He supervised over 100 undergrad and graduate students in the Microbiology and Immunology and Experimental Medicine programs. He also trained 29 postdoctoral fellows and research associates, as well as four Diploma and MD specialization students. His former trainees hold positions in academia, medicine, industry, and public health.

Yossef Av-Gay, PhD.
Professor 
UBC Infectious Diseases / Microbiology and Immunology

The University of British Columbia- Life Science Institute
Room 2501 -2350 Health Sciences Mall,
Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z3, Canada
Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm Musqueam Territory

Phone 604 603 1806 
http://av-gaylab.med.ubc.ca
twitter @yossiavgay

Dr. Horacio Bach is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia and the Manager of the Proteomic and Antibody Engineering Facility at the Immunity and Infection Research Centre. His research focuses on several topics, including the study of virulent factors from pathogenic Mycobacteria. This topic includes understanding the mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions and the role of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in inflammatory bowel diseases. In addition, Dr. Bach’s lab is engaged in developing single-chain antibodies to neutralize respiratory viruses, targeting the virus before infection and nanoparticle-based antimicrobial agents to fight multidrug-resistant pathogens. Dr. Bach’s lab is also developing rapid tests for diagnosis and environmental surveillance of influenza viruses.  

Research Themes
Immune system, Mycobacteria, Crohn’s disease, host-pathogen interaction, pathogenesis, antimicrobial agents, rapid tests

Sara Belga, MD, MPH, is a clinical associate professor in the division of infectious diseases at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a consultant at BC Transplant, Canada. She graduated from medical school at the University of Lisbon. She completed Internal Medicine, Adult Infectious Diseases, and Transplant Infectious Diseases at the University of Alberta. Dr. Belga joined the Transplant Infectious Disease program for the province of British Columbia in 2019.  She obtained a Master of Public Health from the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, in 2023. She is the director of the Transplant Infectious Disease Research Program at UBC and a member of the Organ Donation and Transplant Research Foundation of BC Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Belga’s research program aims to tackle the challenge of post-transplant infections by integrating new anti-pathogen immune monitoring assays to accurately identify transplant recipients at high risk of infection and examining key associations between infection-related exposures and outcomes based on large data registries.

Dr. William Bowie is a senior faculty member in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia, where he has been affiliated with UBC and Vancouver General Hospital since 1977. His work is driven by a longstanding commitment to advancing the understanding, prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, shaped by an early recognition of the role social and environmental factors play in health. As the first Infectious Diseases physician in the UBC Department of Medicine, he helped build a collaborative foundation that bridges clinical care, microbiology, public health and research, with a focus on sexually transmitted infections and antimicrobial resistance. His contributions span laboratory research, clinical studies and leadership with national and international partners, as well as public health responses from outbreak management to the development of programs in HIV, tuberculosis and vaccination. Across decades of change—from emerging pathogens to rising antimicrobial resistance—he has remained a strong advocate for evidence-based care, health equity and the role of science in policy and practice. Through his teaching and mentorship, he supports learners to approach complex health challenges with curiosity, compassion and a commitment to improving health outcomes in British Columbia and around the world.

Dr. Chanson Brumme is the Assistant Director of the Research Laboratories at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases of the University of British Columbia. Dr. Brumme received his PhD in Experimental Medicine from the University of British Columbia in 2015 and has trained at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, the Broad Institute and Microsoft Research.

Dr. Brumme leads the BC-CfE Laboratory’s precision medicine program, which provides HIV and HCV clinical diagnostic services for clients in British Columbia and across Canada. These services include genotypic drug resistance testing, pharmacogenomic screening and antiretroviral drug level monitoring. The BC-CfE Laboratory is accredited by the Diagnostic Accreditation Program of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (DAP), the College of American Pathologists (CAP) and is a WHO-designated Specialized HIV Drug Resistance Testing Laboratory. Dr. Brumme is also a member of the BC-CfE’s Committee for Drug Evaluation.

Contact info

cbrumme@bccfe.ca
cbrumme@mail.ubc.ca
604-682-2344 x63211

Publications (Google Scholar): scholar.google.ca/citations?hl=en&user=m8D2Y-QAAAAJ
Lab website: bccfe.ca/laboratory-program/

marthe.charles@vch.ca

Dr. Connors is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and a consultant based primarily at St. Paul’s Hospital. He obtained his MD from UBC, Internal Medicine & Infectious Diseases certification from University of Calgary, and an MPH with a focus in Global Health from Emory University. He has a special interest in tuberculosis and other mycobacterial diseases and works with the BCCDC Provincial Tuberculosis Program, on the Vancouver General Hospital Tuberculosis Ward, and with the VGH Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterial Disease Clinic. His clinical and research interests focus on improving infectious disease related health care and prevention services to those currently marginalized in our society and healthcare system. He is a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and actively involved in regional and national education and advocacy work related to Infectious Diseases. 

PubMed bibliography: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/william.connors.1/bibliography/public/
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4109-152X
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/william-connors-MD
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/William_Connors3

Dr. Gregory Deans is a Clinical Associate Professor with the UBC Division of Infectious Diseases. He trained at the University of Manitoba for his Bachelor of Science (BSc), Doctor of Medicine (MD), and Internal Medicine residency. He subsequently trained at UBC for his Infectious Diseases Fellowship and his Master of Health Science (MHSc). He also completed the National CIHR Research Training Program in Hepatitis C. He practices general Infectious Diseases and HIV care in Fraser Health at Surrey Memorial Hospital, Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre, and Peace Arch Hospital.

Positions

Infectious Diseases Consultant, Kelowna General Hospital/Interior Health

Clinical Associate Professor, UBC, Faculty of Medicine

Education

Diploma Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

Infectious Diseases Fellow, University of British Columbia

Internal Medicine Training, University of British Columbia

Doctor of Medicine, Queen’s University 

Honours BSc (Agriculture) University of Guelph

BSc University of Western Ontario

Clinical Expertise

General infectious diseases

HIV Infection

Hepatitis C infection

Home IV Program

Dr. Siu Ting (Jollee) Fung is an Infectious Diseases physician at Vancouver General Hospital. She completed medical school at the University of British Columbia, Internal Medicine residency at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and returned to UBC for Infectious Diseases subspecialty training. For further training in caring for immunocompromised patients with infections in the setting of solid organ transplants and hematological malignancies, she completed an additional Transplant Infectious Diseases fellowship at the University of Alberta. She is joining the Transplant Infectious Diseases group and will be providing consultations to patients across the province. 

Her clinical and research interests include donor-derived infections, viral, fungal, and non-tuberculous infections in transplant recipients and immunocompromised patients. 

Dr Wayne Ghesquiere is a Clinical Infectious Diseases, Tropical Diseases and Internal Medicine consultant in Victoria BC as well as the former section chief for infectious diseases with the Island Health Authority.

Wayne is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine with University of British Columbia. Teaches internal medicine residents and infectious diseases fellows. He is also a lecturer with the Island Medical School Program, UBC. He is an attending physician at the Royal Jubilee and the Victoria General Hospitals in Victoria, BC. He has an inpatient and outpatient practice in infectious diseases.

Wayne is the chair and organizer of the annual Infectious Diseases Update Conference in Victoria which recently completed it’s 27th year. He was the medical director of the Nova Travel Medicine and Immunization Clinic in Victoria.

Current areas of interests include clinical research in Hepatitis B and C antiviral therapies, new vaccines, and teaching. He is a principal investigator of many clinical trials. He has publications in peer-reviewed medical journals including the NEJM, Lancet, Clinical Infectious Diseases, CMAJ, Open Medicine and others.

Vanessa Gow-Lee is a Transplant Infectious Diseases physician with Vancouver Coastal Health. She attended medical school at Loma Linda University, internal medicine residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN (where she stayed an extra year as a chief medical resident), and infectious diseases training at Stanford University in California. In addition, she earned her Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the Gorgas diploma course in Lima, Peru.

Her clinical and research interests include invasive fungal infections in immunocompromised hosts and the prevention & treatment of tuberculosis particularly in the peri-transplant setting.

She is originally from Washington State in the USA and is eager to experience all the outdoor opportunities in British Columbia. Her hobbies include trail running, downhill and cross country skiing, surfing, rock climbing (sport), mountaineering, backpacking, and her cat (Gulliver). She is also always eager to hear new book recommendations.

Dr. Jennifer Grant is a dual trained Medical Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases physician who joined BCCDC in 2023. Her primary interests are in stewardship and rational use of anti-microbials and healthcare resources. She is the program head for bacteriology, chair of the Clinical Therapeutics Committee and ID physician at VGH. Her clinical research focuses on approaches to bloodstream infections as well as translational research in antimicrobial utilization, resistance and communication.

Dr. Jan Hajek

Dr. Jeffrey Joy is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia and in the UBC Bioinformatics and Genome Sciences and Technology Programmes. He is also a Senior Scientist at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) where he leads the Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics Laboratory. 

Dr. Joy is also head of the BC-CfE Phylogenetic Monitoring Initiative, which is a Provincial, National, and International initiative to employ phylogenetic and other evolutionary genetic techniques to focus the public health response to HIV, HCV and other pathogens to areas, and populations that are in most need of public health resources with the ultimate goal of curbing ongoing transmission. He studies, using phylodynamic methods, the population dynamics of various current and emerging infectious diseases in Canada (e.g. HIV, HCV, Influenza, Mumps Virus, Zika Virus, etc.). Dr. Joy is also involved in HIV cure research.

Contact Info:

Dr. Clement Kwok obtained his Doctor of Medicine degree and Infectious Disease fellowship at UBC. He has joined Richmond Hospital as an Infectious Disease physician since 2014. He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Medicine at UBC. Dr. Kwok holds the position of the Chair of Richmond Medical Advisory Committee and was the former Department Head of Medicine at Richmond Hospital.

Gale Ladua was born and raised in Vancouver. She earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of British Columbia. She joined the Division of Infectious Diseases in the UBC Department of Medicine in 2021 as a student researcher. She now works as a clinical research coordinator with the Division of Infectious Diseases working with VCHRI investigator Dr. Sara Belga.

Research Director

Dr. Lester is an infectious disease physician, clinician-scientist, and global health researcher based at Vancouver General Hospital and UBC. His clinical and research interests span general infectious diseases, sexually transmitted infections (STI), HIV, tropical medicine, and global health, with a particular focus on the use of mobile and digital technology (mHealth) to improve patient care.

He completed his MD at the University of Alberta (1999), Internal Medicine residency at the University of Toronto, and Infectious Diseases fellowship training through UBC and the University of Manitoba/University of Nairobi, including a post-doctoral research fellowship in Kenya under Dr. Frank Plummer studying innate immunity and HIV resistance.
Dr. Lester is best known for pioneering the field of mobile health (mHealth). While conducting research in Kenya, he led a randomized clinical trial testing mobile phone text messaging to support HIV treatment adherence. The resulting publication was named Editor’s Choice in The Lancet (2010), influenced global media and policy, and was incorporated into WHO treatment guidelines. This work led him to co-found WelTel International mHealth Society (a non-profit) and WelTel Inc. (a digital health company), which now support patient care programs across Canada, Kenya, Rwanda, and other countries, including applications in HIV care, tuberculosis adherence, COVID-19 response, hospital discharge follow-up, and community safety reporting.

He previously served as Medical Head of STI/HIV Services at the BC Centre for Disease Control (2012–2014), where he led provincial efforts on syphilis control, response to drug-resistant gonorrhea, and HIV testing and linkage to care. He continues to practice as an Infectious Diseases Consultant at Vancouver General Hospital and serves as Co-Director of the UBC Neglected Global Diseases Initiative.

He also hosts the UBC AI for Infectious Diseases Seminar Series through the Lester Lab (Digital Health & AI), a weekly series engaging the ID and Medical Microbiology community in evidence-based discussion of AI’s role in clinical practice, research, and education.

Over his career, Dr. Lester has supervised nearly 300 students and trainees across medicine, public health, computer science, and engineering, delivered over 60 invited presentations internationally, and authored more than 70 peer-reviewed publications, including papers in The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, and Lancet HIV. His awards include the Digital Health Canada Clinical Innovator Award (2020), a CIHR Foundation Scheme New Investigator award, and a Grand Challenges Canada Rising Star in Global Health award.

Dr. Leung is Professor at the University of British Columbia and holds the BC Children’s Hospital Professorship in Global Child Health. He is a graduate of UBC (BSc ’98, MSc ’01) and Wake Forest University (MD ’05). He completed his Residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Washington, and a Fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School. From 2010 to 2014, Daniel lived in Dhaka, Bangladesh, working on diarrheal disease immunology as a joint research fellow of Massachusetts General Hospital and the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). His current research focuses on the immunology, microbiology, epidemiology, and clinical management of diarrheal diseases, as well as the role of the microbiome in mucosal infections. He has mentored over 80 trainees, authored 160 peer-reviewed publications, and is a recipient of the Bailey K Ashford medal from the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene.

Dr. Victor Leung is an infectious diseases physician and medical microbiologist working at Providence Health Care (PHC).  He is the lead physician for both the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program and Infection Prevention and Control at PHC.   He is also a senior consultant for the BCCfE-HIV/AIDs sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections program.  He teaches at UBC medical school and is Clinical professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

Dr. Leung obtained is medical degree and internal medicine residency training from UBC and pursued combined fellowships in Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology at McGill University.  His research interests include developing surveillance systems for nosocomial infections and exploring transmission dynamics of infectious diseases.  He also has interests in implementation science and quality improvement to advance vaccination strategies and antimicrobial stewardship interventions to reduce the practical threats of antimicrobial resistance. 

vleung@providencehealth.bc.ca

Anthony Lieu is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia and a dual-trained Infectious Diseases physician and Medical Microbiologist. He completed his subspecialty training in Infectious Diseases at the University of Calgary, followed by fellowship training in Immunocompromised Host Infectious Diseases at Stanford University. He also completed specialty training in Internal Medicine and Medical Microbiology at McGill University and holds a medical microbiologist position at Vancouver Coastal Health.

Dr. Lieu’s work focuses on transplant infectious diseases, with a particular interest in invasive fungal diseases and molecular diagnostics. He has led and collaborated on translational diagnostic studies, including validation of plasma cell-free DNA assays for non-invasive detection of invasive mold infections. His research has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Juan A. Embil Award for Excellence in Infectious Diseases Research.

His current research interests center on molecular diagnostics and improving early detection of fungal infection in transplant and hematologic malignancy populations. He is particularly interested in bridging clinical microbiology and bedside infectious disease care to enhance patient outcomes.

Contact info : anthony.lieu@ubc.ca

Google scholar : https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=-R4-LPQAAAAJ&hl=en&inst=8389273007308439986&oi=ao

Social Media links : https://blueskydirectory.com/profiles/anthonylieumd.bsky.social

Training Program Director

Dr. Allison Mah is a Clinical Associate Professor in the University of British Columbia Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine. She completed her undergraduate and Internal Medicine training at the University of Alberta before moving to UBC for subspecialty training in Infectious Disease. She completed additional training at MD Anderson Cancer Center with a focus on the care of patients with infectious complications of hematologic malignancy and hematopoietic stem cell transplant. She is a member of the Transplant Infectious Diseases group within the Vancouver Acute Division of Infectious Disease. Dr. Mah is the training program director for the UBC Adult Infectious Disease training program as well as for the Transplant Infectious Disease clinical fellowship. She has an interest in medical education and supporting the career development of junior colleagues as well as building community within the division and more broadly within medicine.

Research Gate Papers

sangita.malhotra@ubc.ca

markanday@fraserhealth.ca

luke.mclaughlin1@vch.ca

robm@mail.ubc.ca

Dr. Yazdan Mirzanejad is a Clinical Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a staff Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine physician at Surrey Memorial Hospital. A graduate of Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS) followed by postgrad training in UBC, U of M, Vanderbilt University and Gorgas Institute of Tropical Medicine. He has devoted over 28 years to clinical care, bedside teaching, and medical education in infectious diseases and tropical medicine in UBC and Fraser Valley. Since 2014, he has served as Site Lead for the ambulatory teaching curriculum at UBC’s Surrey Campus, where he is closely involved in undergraduate and postgrad medical education, learner mentorship, and faculty development.

Dr. Mirzanejad’s academic and clinical interests sit at the intersection of tropical medicine, antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship, severe infection and sepsis, emerging infections, and the health effects of climate change. His work reflects a One Health perspective, recognizing that human, animal, and environmental health are increasingly linked through travel, migration, changing ecosystems, and global antimicrobial pressure. He is particularly interested in translating epidemiologic and microbiologic data into practical, patient-centred decisions at the bedside.

His scholarly contributions include collaborative studies on severe sepsis and septic shock, cholangitis-associated septic shock, Candida septic shock, diabetic foot infection, Lyme carditis, Cryptococcus gattii in British Columbia, extensively drug-resistant Salmonella Typhi, and Canadian antimicrobial surveillance and real-world antimicrobial-use registries including CLEAR and CANWARD. Through these collaborations, he has contributed to clinical research addressing timely antimicrobial therapy, source control, antimicrobial resistance, novel and targeted agents, and emerging infectious diseases in Canada.

As an educator, Dr. Mirzanejad values the exchange of knowledge with learners and colleagues. He has been frequently recognized on the UBC Department of Medicine Honour Roll for Clinical Teaching Excellence for outstanding contributions to undergraduate and postgraduate inpatient teaching and undergraduate outpatient teaching. His teaching integrates clinical reasoning, microbiology, public health, and global medicine, with an emphasis on practical decision-making, patient safety, and humility in the face of complex infectious disease presentations. He has participated in national and international conferences as an organizer and speaker and enjoys connecting with colleagues across cultures and health systems.

Outside medicine, Dr. Mirzanejad is a proud father to a daughter with interests in health care education. He enjoys fitness, green-energy living, healthy cooking, music, film, travel, and learning from the cultures and communities he encounters around the world.

yazdan.mirzanejad@ubc.ca

deborah.money@ubc.ca

Dr. Julio Montaner is a Killam Professor, of Medicine, at the University of British Columbia, the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS Executive Director and Physician-in-Chief, and the Head of HIV/AIDS, at St. Paul’s Hospital, Providence Health Care. He was President of the International AIDS Society (2008-2010) and the UNAIDS Special Advisor on HIV Therapeutics (2014-2017). He is widely recognized as one of the fathers of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), and he went on to pioneer the notion that HAART also stops HIV transmission, which he named “Treatment as Prevention”. He is the architect of the UN 90-90-90 by 2020, and 95-95-95 by 2025 Targets. Currently, he has expanded his efforts to adapt Treatment as Prevention to optimize and accelerate the control of other impactful contagious diseases (including infectious diseases [i.e.: HCV], as well as socially contagious diseases [i.e.: type II Diabetes, COPD, opioid use]), with the ultimate goal to enhance Health Care Sustainability.

Executive Director and Physician-in-Chief, and the Head of HIV/AIDS, at St. Paul’s Hospital

Highly cited articles:

Dr. Montessori certified as a specialist in Internal Medicine at UBC and then continued her training as an Infectious Diseases Fellow with a subsequent Research Fellowship with the Canadian HIV Trials Network.

Her interests include infections in people who inject drugs, with a special focus on HIV and Hepatitis C. She is currently the Head of Infectious Diseases at St. Paul’s Hospital, Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at University of British Columbia, the Associate Medical Director of the John Ruedy Clinic at St. Paul’s Hospital and the Co-Chair of the BC Therapeutic Guidelines Committee for the Treatment of HIV/AIDS . She truly enjoys teaching and lecturing and was awarded the Fay R. Dirks Award for Teaching in 1998 , the UBC Department of Medicine Master Teacher Award for St. Paul’s Hospital in 2016, the Donald M. Whitelaw Award for Best Grand Rounds (SPH) in 2020 as well as the Faculty Award of Excellence for the Infectious Diseases Training Program in 2020. She was recently appointed the Director of Clinical Education at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.

Dr. David Moore is a Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and a Research Scientist at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS.  He completed medical school and a Family Medicine residency at McGill University and a second residency in Community Medicine at UBC. He has been conducting health service and population health research in HIV, other sexually transmitted infections, mental health and substance use since 2004.

Dr. Moore is a co-PI with a team of researchers and community partners implementing a study of HIV, STIs and associated conditions among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver known as Engage. In addition, he supervises the implementation of a study of people living with HIV in BC, the SHAPE Study  and conducts research related to primary care access among marginalized populations in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Google Scholar Publications

Dr. Melanie Murray is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, and the Associate Director of the UBC MD/PhD Program. She completed her MD and PhD at the University of Manitoba, followed by an Internal Medicine Residency and Infectious Disease Fellowship at UBC.

Dr. Murray is a co-PI of the British Columbia CARMA-CHIWOS Collaboration (BCC3) Cohort study (www.hivhearme.ca). This cohort takes a holistic, society to cell, and community centered approach to the study of healthy aging among women living with and without HIV in British Columbia. In addition, Dr. Murray is a BC Co-Lead of the CIHR Pan-Canadian Network for HIV and STBBI Clinical Trials Research (CTN+), and it is through this role that she works to increase investigator and community capacity for sexually transmitted and blood borne infection research in BC and the Yukon.

After completing his Infectious Diseases fellowship at UBC Dr. Oravec moved to Nanaimo where he works full time with the hospital based ID service and part time with the Primary Care Outreach team. Professional interests include general ID, outreach and street medicine, and health equity and social justice work. When not at work he prefers to be climbing rocks, running trails or spending time with friends and family.”

Dr. Shaqil Peermohamed is an Infectious Disease consultant with Vancouver Coastal Health and Regional Medical Director of ASPIRES. He completed his fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Toronto and completed his Master of Public Health through the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, focusing on clinical effectiveness. Building on his outstanding teaching awards and honours list, Dr. Peermohamed is also completing his Clinical Educator Diploma through the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. In his spare time, Dr. Peermohamed enjoys tabletop games and escape rooms.

Laurenna.Peters@fraserhealth.ca

Dr. Katherine Plewes completed her Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases fellowship at the University of British Columbia (UBC), followed by a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at the University of Liverpool, the Clinician Investigator Program at UBC, and a DPhil in Clinical Medicine at the University of Oxford. In 2002, she started working in Southeast Asia with the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) and for the last 15 years has contributed to research focused on the pathophysiology and treatment of severe malaria at clinical field sites in Bangladesh and the DRC. In Vancouver, she is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the UBC Division of Infectious Diseases; Co-director of the UBC Tropical and Geographic Medicine Intensive Short Course; British Columbia designate physician to the Public Health Agency of Canada Canadian Malaria Network; Malaria Subcommittee chair to the PHAC CATMAT, and Vancouver Site Director for the GeoSentinel Global Surveillance Network site.

Dr. Natasha Press is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), in the Division of Infectious Diseases. Her clinical responsibilities include the care of patients at St. Paul’s Hospital, who present with community or hospital acquired infections. She is Medical Lead of the Infection Unit, a 24-bed unit committed to treating patients admitted for infections and in the setting of substance use disorder or HIV.

Dr. Press graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School (1995) and completed her residency training in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia. Following that, she did a research fellowship in HIV clinical trials with the Canadian HIV Trials Network.

Administrative roles have included: Director of the Anal Dysplasia Clinic (2005-2016), Program Director of the Infectious Diseases subspecialty training program (2007-2020), and Medical Lead of the Infection Unit (2025- ongoing).

She was a co-investigator on two clinical trials for treatment or prevention of COVID-19 at St. Paul’s Hospital, in collaboration with her Infectious Disease colleagues.

Teaching awards include the Donald M. Whitelaw Award for Outstanding Grand Rounds, Honour Roll for Clinical Teaching Excellence, St. Paul’s Hospital Graeme C. Copland Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Fay R. Dirks Award for Excellence in Teaching

Robert.reynolds@vch.ca

Dr. Charlotte Rosen is an Infectious Diseases consultant with Vancouver Coastal Health. Originally from Montreal, she completed her Internal Medicine residency at McGill University, followed by subspecialty training in Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology at the University of Calgary. Her dual training reflects a longstanding interest in integrating clinical infectious diseases practice with diagnostic microbiology.

Outside of work, Dr. Rosen enjoys weightlifting, traveling, and spending time with her corgi, Toast.

Kate Salters, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia, and a Senior Research Scientist at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. She is a health services and population health researcher focused on people disproportionately affected by sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, as well as those living with complex mental health and substance use challenges.

Grounded in equity, community engagement, and lived expertise, her research generates actionable evidence to strengthen care delivery and reduce preventable harms. She leads mixed-methods and implementation-focused studies examining integrated, team-based primary care, harm reduction services, and health system innovations designed to improve access, continuity, and outcomes.

Her work integrates patient-reported, administrative, and qualitative data to understand not only whether programs are effective, but for whom, in what contexts, and how they can be sustainably scaled. Committed to meaningful partnership, she collaborates closely with people with lived and living experience, frontline providers, and decision-makers to co-design research that is ethical, responsive, and policy-relevant, advancing more equitable health systems.

Dr. M. Eugenia Socías, MD, MSc, is an Associate Professor in the Division of Social Medicine and associate member in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia, as well as the Clinical Research Program Lead at the BC Centre on Substance Use. With a background in infectious diseases and addiction medicine, Dr. Socías’ research interests focus on health services and clinical research in substance use, HIV and hepatitis C, particularly as they relate to the optimization of health care delivery. She has over ten years of experience in conducting observational and interventional research in HIV, hepatitis C and addiction medicine, and with vulnerable populations. She has published extensively in these areas including over 170 peer-reviewed articles.

UBC Division Head

Dr. Theodore Steiner is a Professor of Medicine and Head of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of British Columbia, as well as an Investigator at BC Children’s Hospital. His research focuses on the intestinal immune system, particularly how immune responses to bacterial components such as flagellin contribute to conditions like C. difficile infection and inflammatory bowel disease. Dr. Steiner also leads clinical and basic science research programs that explore infectious diarrhea, tropical medicine, and adaptive immune responses to pathogens including SARS‑CoV‑2. His work aims to advance novel therapies that modulate gut inflammation and improve outcomes for patients with complex infectious and inflammatory diseases.

Research interests

Basic/translational science

1. Immune responses to C. difficile infection (CDI)  (Funded: Merck, CIHR) Our laboratory examines the role of T-cell immunity in CDI and how it correlates with initial infection, relapsing infection, and response to fecal microbial therapy (FMT or “stool transplant”). We are also examining the role of adaptive immunity and toxin neutralization in mouse models of CDI.
2. Development of cellular therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (Funded: Crohn’s and Colitis Canada) Using a novel technology known as the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), we are developing regulatory T cells specific to bacterial flagellin, a key antigen in IBD. The goal is to obtain regulatory T cells from patients with IBD, introduce the flagellin-CAR, and infuse them back into the patient, where they will home to the intestinal immune tissues and suppress inflammation. We are also examining the potential role of type-1 regulatory T cells (Tr1) in cellular therapy.
3. Role of stress signals in intestinal immunity We have shown that intestinal epithelial immune responses to bacterial products like flagellin are modulated by exposure to stress or danger signals. We are currently using human-derived intestinal organoids (enteroids) to model these responses, and understand the link between epithelial stress responses and development of abnormal anti-commensal adaptive immune responses to drive inflammation in IBD.
4. Modulation of TLR5 signalling in taxonomically diverse flagellins We are examining the molecular mechanisms of flagellin/TLR5 interaction and inflammatory signaling, based on the observation that some flagellins that are targets of robust antibody and T cell responses yet poor TLR5 agonists.
5. Measurement of T cell responses to antibiotics in patients with delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions Using a novel FACS-based T cell activation assay, we are measuring antibiotic-specific T cell responses in patients presenting with allergic reactions to antibiotics (rashes, kidney injury, etc.) to develop a clinically useful test that can determine safety to rechallenge in the future.

Clinical research and expertise

My main area of focus is intestinal infections, including CDI and travel-related diarrhea, particularly in difficult clinical situations, such as CDI in the setting of IBD. I am also certified in Tropical Medicine and see general infectious disease consultations in both inpatient and outpatient settings. As an immunology researcher, I am also very interested in infections complicating biologic therapies for autoimmune diseases.

• Fecal microbial therapy for recurrent CDI I participate in several studies examining the benefits of different routes and types of FMT material for the treatment of recurrent CDI. As the leading provider of FMT in BC, I have performed the procedure on over 150 patients as part of different clinical trials.
• Novel CDI prevention and treatment I have participated as a site investigator on trials of CDI vaccines and new therapeutic agents

Dr. Shannon Turvey (She/her) is a Clinical Associate Professor in Infectious Diseases at UBC.  She completed her medical degree at UBC and holds a Masters in Science and a Masters in Health Administration from UBC.  She pursued Core Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases fellowship at the University of Alberta and worked in Edmonton for 5 years before moving back to the West Coast in 2022.  She has training and experience in program leadership and was previously the medical lead for the Edmonton HIV program.  Her main area of clinical interest and expertise is mycobacterial diseases.  She is the co-lead for the VGH Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Disease Clinic, and she takes care of VGH TB inpatients and BCCDC TB clinic patients.  Her research is clinically focused – she is interested in understanding the patterns and drivers of mycobacterial disease and in improving the care and quality of life of people living with mycobacterial diseases.

Google Scholar: ‪Shannon Turvey – ‪Google Scholar

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-turvey-a41775a/

victoria.weaver@vch.ca

davie.wong@fraserhealth.ca

Dr. Patrick Wong is an Infectious Diseases physician with clinical and research interests in viral hepatitis, including hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as quality improvement initiatives aimed at enhancing access to high-quality care for immunocompromised patients with infections, and optimizing transitions of care from inpatient to outpatient settings. He completed medical school at the University of Saskatchewan, followed by Internal Medicine residency and Infectious Diseases subspecialty training at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He has also completed additional training in physician quality improvement.
Dr. Wong serves as Head of the Department of Medicine at Surrey Memorial Hospital. His leadership interests include enhancing subspecialty medical services and advancing medical education programs, including contributing to the development of the Fraser Health Internal Medicine Residency Program at UBC. His work focuses on advancing clinical excellence, quality improvement, medical education, and patient-centered care.

Clinical Excellence 2019 winner
Dr. Alissa Wright is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC) within the Division of Infectious Disease. Her clinical responsibilities include the care of pre- and post-transplant patients at Vancouver General Hospital and St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. She is a consultant for BC Transplant on infectious disease issues in organ donors and BC Cancer for the care of Leukemia/BMT patients. Her research interests are in the area of infections and prevention of infectious complications for both solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. She has been involved with the VCH Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. More recently, she has been involved with the BC COVID-19 Therapeutics Committee which is focused on creating and updating provincial guidelines for treatment of COVID-19. She also been a co-investigator on two clinical trials for treatment or prevention COVID-19 at VCH in collaboration with her Infectious Disease colleagues

Dr. Wright graduated from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine in 2007. She pursued a general internal medicine residency in Toronto followed by an infectious disease’s residency at UBC. Following that she completed a two-year clinical and research fellowship in transplant infectious diseases and the Compound Host Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard University.

Dr. Wright was recruited to VGH in 2014 as the first transplant infectious diseases trained ID specialist in BC and assumed the role of the director of the Transplant ID Program. Over the last five years she has earned the respect of her main referring services as an excellent clinician. She has also provided numerous services and guidance to the various transplant programs including infection surveillance, diagnostic algorithms, pre-emptive therapy, pre-printed orders, infection control recommendations, management guideline development and regular attendance at transplant-related rounds.

Dr. Wright consistently puts her patients’ interests first and foremost and serves as a powerful patient advocate.

Department of Medicine members honored by VCH as the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic

On May 1st, 2020 we celebrated National Physician’s Day.  At Vancouver Coastal Health, three Department of Medicine members were nominated by their colleagues for being the unsung heroes in both challenging times such as the COVID-19 pandemic, but also whose actions throughout the year contribute to the overall health and well-being of their patients, their peers and their communities.

Bio goes here

Dr. Gannon Yu is a Clinical Instructor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UBC Faculty of Medicine. He earned his MD from the University of British Columbia, completed Internal Medicine residency at the University of Calgary, and Infectious Diseases fellowship at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Yu serves as Division Head of Infectious Diseases for the Coastal Community of Care within Vancouver Coastal Health. His clinical interests include community-based infectious diseases practice and wound care, with a strong commitment to medical education.

Contact: gannon.yu@ubc.ca

Dr. Jason Zou is an infectious diseases physician at Vancouver General Hospital and Clinical Instructor at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He has trained across Canada having obtained his MD at the University of Manitoba, followed by internal medicine residency at the University of Calgary and adult infectious diseases fellowship at UBC. After his subspecialty training, he pursued further training in quality improvement as part of the Excellence in Quality Improvement Certificate Program (EQUIP) at the University of Toronto.

His current areas of focus include multidisciplinary care of bone and joint infections as well as quality improvement within the field of infectious diseases. He also has a passion for teaching and medical education; during his subspecialty training at UBC, he was recognized for his innovative work developing a novel medical education card game with the Canadian Association for Medical Education (CAME) Rising Star award and the UBC Continuing Professional Development Resident Research Award.