OUR TEAM

Led by Principal Scientists Professor Heather McKay, PhD, FCAHS, and Clinical Associate Professor Joanie Sims Gould, PhD, the Active Aging Research Team is a multi-disciplinary collaboration of researchers, knowledge translation specialists, and staff. The Active Aging Research Team is based at the University of British Columbia, within the Faculty of Medicine and is affiliated with the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.

OUR LEADERSHIP

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Heather McKay

-Principal Scientist-
Professor, Faculty of Medicine,
University of British Columbia

Heather McKay, PhD, FCAHS

Professor McKay’s research program investigates health promotion and chronic disease prevention strategies to enhance health at key time points: childhood, adolescence and later life.

Her research evaluates the positive role of physical activity, other lifestyle factors and the built environment on children’s health and older adult physical health, mobility and social connectedness. Through an implementation science lens, she also evaluates scale-up of effective interventions as a means to improve health on a population level. Her work has directly influenced government policy.

Professor McKay is well known for building interdisciplinary teams and connecting with community partners to move research findings into action (knowledge mobilization). She has been in receipt of grants to support these teams, valued at more than $70M. She led the team that was awarded $40M from Canada Foundation for Innovations, donors and government to build the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility (inaugural Director; 2006-16). Professor McKay was recently inducted as a Fellow into the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Her ability to meaningfully engage stakeholders, including government, to take upstream action to improve health was acknowledged through a Knowledge Translation Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and a BC Woman of Distinction Award for Health & Active Living.

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Joanie Sims Gould (she/her)

-Principal Scientist-
Executive Director, Active Aging Society;
Clinical Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia

Joanie Sims Gould, RSW, PhD

Joanie Sims Gould is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia.
 
Sims Gould is a dedicated community-based practitioner and health researcher who applies novel methodological and engagement approaches to understanding broad public health concerns, particularly those related to older adults and “adding life to years”. She works with diverse stakeholders to ensure that her work is inclusive and reflects real needs (and questions). With her strong commitment to knowledge mobilization, Sims Gould ensures that her research findings are ‘brought back’ to stakeholders in the public sphere using dynamic and engaging knowledge translation tools, such as film. She is a Principal Scientist for the Active Aging Research Team and Project.
 
Sims Gould holds degrees in Biology (BSc), Gerontology (BA), and Social Work (BSW & MSW) and an interdisciplinary PhD. She also received post-doctoral training and work experience in two distinct settings – UBC’s Department of Sociology and the Centre for Hip Health and Mobility (CHHM) at Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute with Dr. Karim Khan (Scientific Director of IMHA, CIHR). Sims Gould was recognized for her scholarship with a Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator award and a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar award. This diversity of experience across disciplines and professions and in collaboration with many community stakeholders has uniquely positioned her to address multi-faceted issues in aging and health.
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Farinaz Havaei (she/her)

Assistant Professor, UBC School of Nursing
Founder and Director, UBC HOPE Lab
Scientist, Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes (formerly CHEOS)

Farinaz Havaei, RN, PhD

Dr. Havaei is a registered nurse, an assistant professor of nursing at the University of British Columbia, a health system researcher, a Michael Smith Health Research BC Scholar (2021-2026), and the founder and director of HOPE (healthy outcomes by improving patient and provider experiences) Lab at UBC. Dr. Havaei has a passion for exploring and addressing workplace and policy factors that enable healthy outcomes for providers, patients and healthcare organizations. She is recognized as an emerging leader in health system research and has contributed to policy, practice and media platforms that support knowledge mobilization and research impact. To date, Dr. Havaei’s program of research has received over $8 million in funding support from local, provincial and national funding agencies as primary or co-investigator, resulting in nearly 50 peer-reviewed publications and over 50 conference presentations. Dr. Havaei teaches nursing leadership at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

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Christiane Hoppman

Professor, Department of Psychology,
Associate Dean, Research & Graduate Studies,
Faculty of Arts, University of British Columbia;
Canada Research Chair, Health & Adult Development;
Core Member, Centre for Aging SMART, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute

Christiane Hoppman, PhD

Dr. Christiane Hoppmann is a Professor, Canada Research Chair and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar in the Department of Psychology at  UBC. She is also a core member of the UBC Center for Hip Health and Mobility.

Dr. Hoppmann’s Lab conducts research that examines the influences of social relationships and motivational processes for wellbeing and health across the adult lifespan. The long-term goal of this research is to identify key social and motivational resources that contribute to a successful mastery of challenges across the adult lifespan and to better understand pathways to wellbeing and health. Her projects focus on everyday processes using novel daily life assessments (‘time-sampling’) in combination with stress markers and objectively measured health behaviors. She seeks to better understand how everyday processes accumulate over time and end up shaping longer term health trajectories.

Dr. Hoppmann’s research is very collaborative and typically involves partners from different disciplines, local stakeholders, community organizations, and other Canadian and international universities.

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Dawn Mackey

Associate Professor, Graduate Program Chair,
Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology,
Associate Member, Department of Gerontology, Simon Fraser University;
Core Member, Centre for Aging SMART, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute;
Scholar, Michael Smith Health Research BC

Dawn Mackey, PhD

The goal of my research is to positively impact health, wellbeing, and quality of life for older adults.

Dr. Dawn Mackey is passionate about helping older adults to maintain mobility and independence. In her Aging and Population Health Lab (APHL) at Simon Fraser University, Dr. Mackey and her team are focused on designing, evaluating, and implementing effective strategies to support older adult mobility and health behavior change. Her current areas of concentration are physical activity, falls and injuries, and fatigability.

Dr. Mackey’s research with older adults spans community to long-term care settings. Her work is applied in nature and solutions focused. Her research is embedded in a knowledge exchange framework that supports translation of insights into actions. As such, she engages with stakeholders to design, conduct, and disseminate research to ensure impact.

Dr. Mackey received her BSc Honours and MSc in Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University. She received her PhD in Epidemiology from the University of California, Berkeley, and she continued her training in Epidemiology through a post-doctoral fellowship at the San Francisco Coordinating Centre at the University of California, San Francisco. Now as a faculty member, she is committed to providing outstanding mentorship to her trainees.

Dr. Mackey’s research incorporates methods and techniques from epidemiology, biostatistics, knowledge translation, and implementation science. These include clinical trials, feasibility and proof-of-concept studies, longitudinal cohort studies, causal inference, laboratory experiments, qualitative inquiries, knowledge synthesis, meta-analysis, and formative evaluation.

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Meghan Winters

Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University;
CIHR Applied Public Health Chair,
Gender and Sex in Healthy Cities;
Core Member, Centre for Aging Smart, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute;
Founder & Lead, Cities, Health, and Active Transportation Lab

Meghan Winters, PhD

Meghan Winters is a Professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. She leads the Cities, Health, and Active Transportation Lab (CHATR Lab), with a research focus on how city design impacts mobility, safety, and health, and on equity considerations within cities’ policies and plans.  She and her team work with decision-makers and community groups at the intersection of health, urban planning, and transportation to generate actionable evidence and tools to shape livable, sustainable, and equitable cities. With her PHAC/CIHR Applied Public Health Chair, Meghan is building out the REACH-Cities (REsearch and ACtion for Healthy Cities) program, which aims to promote research, tools, and partnerships that foster increased gender and social equity in our cities.

Meghan leads interdisciplinary and intersectoral teams across the country working in the healthy cities space, such as the INTERACT team, and CapaCITY/E. She has been recognized with the CIHR IPPH’s Trailblazer Award, as an SFU Distinguished Professor, and was a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar.

Out of the office, Meghan aims to spend the maximum time outside, biking, camping, picnicking, and exploring with her family in tow.

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RESEARCH STAFF

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Vicky Alb

ADMINISTRATIVE LEAD

Vicky Alb

Vicky is the Administrative Lead with the Active Aging Research Team at UBC. She brings years of experience in system management, policy development, improving workplace efficiency and effective communication. Motivated by team success, she values building strong working relationships to support colleagues and external partners alike. Vicky is passionate about health initiatives that enhance the physical, mental, and social health of older adults. Outside of work, Vicky enjoys singing with her cover band, golf, and skiing. She is happiest when spending time in the mountains with her family.

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Harveen Basra (she/her)

RESEARCH COORDINATOR

Harveen Basra

Harveen is the research coordinator for the ethnocultural adaption of Choose to Move with the Active Aging Research Team at the University of British Columbia . Harveen is a graduate of Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Psychology program with a minor in Counselling. She comes with over 13 years of experience in health promotion-based community projects through her work with the municipalities and the non-profit sector. Harveen is passionate about serving her community by providing health promotion education and initiatives leading to healthy, inclusive communities. Outside of work, Harveen thrives through movement and music in various physical activities and is keen on travelling around the world to experience and learn about different cultures.

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Laura Churchill (she/her)

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Laura Churchill

Dr. Laura Churchill is a Physiotherapist and Research Associate with the Active Aging Research team at University of British Columbia. Laura completed a MSc and a combined MPT (Master of Physical Therapy) and PhD at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada. Her PhD research focused on the development and evaluation of resources to improve the quality of care for individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Most recently, Laura completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Physical Therapy Program at the University of Colorado with Dr. Jennifer Stevens-Lapsley, where she studied evidence based and technology-enabled solutions for older adults and individuals undergoing total knee replacement. Since 2017, Laura has also practiced clinically as a physiotherapist (with a focus on sport medicine), helping athletes and active community members get back to doing what they love.

With the Active Aging Research Team, Laura combines her clinical and research experience to adapt the Choose to Move program to clinical populations including those with hip and knee osteoarthritis.

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Rebecca Collett (she/her)

COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

Rebecca Collett

Rebecca is a values-driven health and social development communications practitioner. She has almost a decade of experience working to improve the health and well-being of both Canadians and people around the world through strategic communications and fundraising.

Rebecca is motivated by the truth that all people are universally entitled to health, justice, and dignity. Rebecca enjoys finding ways to dynamically share stories about the work of the Active Aging Research Team with the public and key stakeholders. In addition to her role with the Active Aging Research Team, Rebecca is a fundraising and communications consultant for a variety of international health and development NGOs.

Rebecca moonlights as an opera singer. She has performed with the Vancouver Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, and other opera companies, choirs, and orchestras across the country. In addition to her degree in Corporate Communications Management, Rebecca has achieved her Master’s in Music from the University of Toronto. She made her professional debut at age 6 on Sesame Street Canada.

In her spare time, Rebecca keeps active and socially connected by running on the sea wall, playing soccer, and taking her beloved pups Boy George and Matzie to the local dog park.

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Thea Franke (she/her)

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Thea Franke

Dr. Thea Franke is a Research Associate with the University of British Columbia's Active Aging Research Team (AART). She earned her Honors B.A. Specialist in Sociology from the University of Toronto, followed by a Master's in Family Studies and Gerontology from Mount Saint Vincent University, culminating in a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies from UBC. Her doctoral research provided valuable insights into the physical activity, mobility, and social connections of older adults within their built and social environments, employing innovative methods such as accelerometry and GPS monitoring systems over a four-year study period.

Over the last five years, Dr. Franke has directed her expertise toward mitigating modifiable risk factors such as physical inactivity, loneliness, and social isolation among older adults. She has been instrumental in the design, implementation, and scale-up of Choose to Move, an evidence-based, health-promoting intervention aimed at enhancing the physical and social wellbeing of older adults across community settings. In her current position, Dr. Franke is spearheading the development and testing of an implementation strategy intervention to bolster organizational capacity, thereby facilitating broader adoption and implementation of Choose to Move throughout British Columbia.

Dr. Franke excels in the formation and leadership of interdisciplinary teams and oversees operational accounting, including salaries, expense tracking, and reporting, as well as grant compliance for AART's team grants. Her dedication to improving the quality of life for older adults through practical, evidence-based initiatives underscores her significant contributions to the field of implementation science.

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  Christa Hoy (she/her)

      SENIOR MANAGER, PROGRAMS & EVALUATION

Christa Hoy

Christa Hoy is the Senior Manager, Programs and Evaluation with the Active Aging Research Team at UBC. She is driven to help individuals and communities achieve health through physical activity by moving evidence into action. In her role, Christa leads program operations and maintains partnerships with community-based seniors’ service and recreation organizations of all shapes and sizes in communities across BC to implement, adapt, and evaluate Choose to Move.

Christa holds an MSc in Experimental Medicine from UBC. She brings over a decade of experience in program design, project management, program evaluation, partner relations, knowledge translation, and implementation support.

Outside of work, Christa enjoys living an active, car-free life in Vancouver with her young family.

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Hanson Lee (he/him)

COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST

Hanson Lee

Hanson Lee is the Communications Specialist within the Active Aging Research Team. He is a graduate of Simon Fraser University with a major in Communications and minors in Geography and Publishing. He has over 4 years of experience in the health communications field in an academic setting. Hanson is passionate about finding creative ways to effectively tell stories and make research more accessible. In his free time, Hanson enjoys playing tennis and basketball, and creating digital illustrations.

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Heather Macdonald  (she/her)

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Heather Macdonald

Heather Macdonald, PhD, is a Research Associate with the Active Aging Research Team where she supports projects such as Choose to Move through evaluation planning, grant writing, data management, quantitative data analysis, and manuscript preparation. Throughout her career, Heather’s research has focused on promotion of physical activity through effective interventions – first with children and adolescents in the Action Schools! BC study during her PhD, through to older adults in the provincial scale-up of Choose to Move. Through her work on these projects, Heather has gained expertise in implementation and scale-up science, and values being part of a team that aims to narrow the gap between research and practice.
 
Heather also continues to support the legacy of the UBC Healthy Bones Study and ongoing management of the UBC Physical Activity and Bone Health Database, which includes a wealth of data from one of the longest and largest studies of children’s bone health in the world. She applies her expertise in assessment of bone health using advanced three-dimensional imaging tools to describe detailed aspects of bone structure and strength in the growing skeleton and examine how bone adapts to physical activity during adolescence. 
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Lindsay Nettlefold (she/her)

SENIOR
SCIENTIST

Lindsay Nettlefold

Lindsay Nettlefold is a Senior Researcher with the Active Aging Research Team (AART) at the University of British Columbia. With a background in exercise physiology, Lindsay aims to support individuals of all ages to improve and maintain their physical, social, and mental health through physical activity. Specifically, her research focuses on applying and evaluating principles of implementation and scale up science to health-promoting interventions across settings (e.g., schools, communities).

Lindsay is currently working to evaluate Choose to Move, a choice-based physical activity program for sedentary older adults across British Columbia, Canada, with a particular interest in intervention fidelity, adaptation and sustainability during scale-up. Lindsay has a PhD from the Experimental Medicine Program at UBC where she evaluated the scale-up of Action Schools! BC across the province with a focus on physical activity and cardiovascular health in school-aged children. She also completed a Professional Specialization Certificate in Population Health Data Analysis from the University of Victoria.

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Callista Ottoni (she/her)

MANAGER, QUALITATIVE RESEARCH & KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION & EXCHANGE

Callista Ottoni

Callista is Manager, Qualitative Research and Knowledge Translation and Exchange for the Active Aging Research Team. She brings 10 + years’ experience in the process, science and products of knowledge translation. She is well versed in a range of approaches—e.g. community engagement, video, lay language writing, and web-based strategy. Her favourite part of research is interviewing people—she loves to learn from and share experiences of challenge, humor and, resilience. Callista holds a PhD, Interdisciplinary Studies, UBC. For her dissertation research, she used participatory visual methods to explore the social and physical impacts of COVID-19 on the lives of older adults. Callista was awarded UBC’s top doctoral student scholarship (the Killam), a Public Scholars Initiative Award, a Cordula and Gunter Paetzold Fellowship, and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship.

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Douglas Race (he/him)

SENIOR RESEARCH COORDINATOR

Douglas Race

Douglas serves as the Senior Program and Evaluation Coordinator for the Active Aging Research Team at UBC. His early fervour for health and fitness impelled him to pursue a Master’s Degree in Physical and Health Education from the University of Victoria. Douglas is motivated by a commitment to fostering lifelong health-promoting behaviours among individuals, with the aim of enhancing health and mobility across all stages of life, irrespective of factors such as age, race, ethnicity, education, socioeconomic status, disability status, sexual orientation, or geographic location. Douglas is currently working closely with partner organizations and activity coaches to ensure the successful implementation of Choose to Move throughout the province.

Beyond the confines of his professional responsibilities, Douglas can often be found running in forested areas, honing his skills for upcoming trail races, or enjoying camping and travel adventures in the company of his wife and dog.

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Maria Rezende (she/her)

COMMUNICATIONS & DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT ASSISTANT

Maria Rezende

Maria is the Communications and Digital Engagement Assistant with the Active Aging Research Team. In addition to her Marketing Certificate from Douglas College, Maria is an undergraduate student at Simon Fraser University majoring in Communication. She is passionate about engaging with people and creating connections through innovative forms of media. Over the years, she has developed a strong sense of social justice through volunteering with the United Nations’ Girl Up Initiative and in other organizations within her community. In her spare time, Maria enjoys spending time with her family and friends or catching up on the latest movies and TV shows.

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Nabeeha Salim (she/her)

RESEARCH
ASSISTANT

Nabeeha Salim

Nabeeha is a Research Assistant with the Active Aging Research Team. She is currently an undergraduate student at Simon Fraser University, majoring in the Health Sciences. Nabeeha is passionate about health promotion and is dedicated to advancing public health by promoting strategies that not only improve physical activity but also enhance overall well-being and quality of life. She looks forward to learning more about implementation science to effectively translate research into practice. Outside the office, Nabeeha enjoys reading, traveling, and cooking. She loves spending time with family and friends and exploring hidden gems around British Columbia.

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Sara Sitarski (she/her) 

RESEARCH
COORDINATOR

Sara Sitarski

Sara is currently a research coordinator with the Active Aging Research Team at the University of British Columbia. A graduate of Queen’s University’s Health Studies program, Sara is interested in understanding the complex factors that influence health and well-being. She is driven by a desire to generate positive changes in health outcomes through physical activity promotion for people of all ages and abilities. Outside of work, Sara enjoys being active outdoors, travelling around the world and spending time with family and friends. 

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TRAINEES

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Diya Chowdhury (she/her)

POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW

Diya Chowdhury

Dr. Diya Chowdhury is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia's Active Aging Research team. She earned her PhD from the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Health. Her research focuses on understanding the experiences of aging of foreign-born older adults from racialized backgrounds. She specializes in community-based, person-centered research using qualitative methods, exploring various aspects of healthy aging, societal influences on health and healthcare, as well as culturally competent approaches to the health and well-being of older adults

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Giulia Coletta (she/her)

POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW

Giulia Coletta

Dr. Giulia Coletta is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Active Aging Research team at the University of British Columbia. Giulia earned her PhD from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, under the supervision of Dr. Stuart Phillips in the Protein Metabolism Research Lab (PMRL). Her PhD research focused on improving mobility, sarcopenia, mental health, and physical activity in community-dwelling older adults through exercise. Giulia developed and delivered in-person and virtual community-based group exercise programs focusing on resistance training. Giulia's goal is to encourage older people to become more physically active and maintain mobility through exercise.
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COLLABORATORS

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