The BC Generations Project relies on a small team of staff who offer extensive expertise in large cohort studies, data management, biospecimen collection and storage, and research administration.
Dr. Nhu Le
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Nhu Le is currently a Distinguished Scientist in Cancer Control Research at BC Cancer Agency, and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Statistics at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Le’s research interests are primarily in the areas of biostatistics, statistical genetics, measurement errors, and spatial statistics with emphasis on application to occupational and environmental cancer epidemiology, including gene-environment interactions. He has a proven track record with more than 150 peer-reviewed publications in these areas. He has been leading or participating in several large cohort and case-control studies. His current research focus is on the identification of environmental and genetics factors, affecting ovarian cancer risk and survival. Dr. Le has also been very active on the developments of novel statistical methods, especially for mitigating adverse impact from misclassification and/or measurement errors in covariates, as well as for spatial interpolation to improve exposure assessments in cancer impact studies.
Dr. Trevor Dummer
Co-Principal Investigator
Dr. Trevor Dummer is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Population and Public Health and an Affiliated Scientist at the BC Cancer Agency. He is also Co-Principal Investigator for the Atlantic PATH Project, which is regional study partner to the BC Generations Project. Dr. Dummer is a health geographer and Geographic Information Science (GIS) specialist with interests in environmental epidemiology and environment and health interactions, with specific emphasis on the causes of cancer and its prevention. His current projects include evaluating the role of water quality and air quality on cancer risk. He is also involved in studies assessing the role of the built environment (the design and structure of communities) on overweight and obesity.
Dr. John Spinelli
Co-Investigator
Dr. John Spinelli is a Distinguished Scientist and Head of Cancer Control Research at the BC Cancer Agency, Professor in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia, and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science at Simon Fraser University. Dr. Spinelli’s research focus is on the identification of environmental and genetic risk factors for cancer and in gene-environment interactions, particularly for lymphoproliferative malignancies (lymphoma and myeloma) and breast cancer. He is also active in the development of statistical methodology for epidemiology and other areas of health research. Dr. Spinelli is the author of more than 240 peer reviewed publications.
Dr. Tim Lee
Co-Investigator
Dr. Tim Lee received his PhD in computer science in 2001. He is currently a Senior Scientist in Cancer Control Research at the BC Cancer Agency, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Dermatology and Skin Science, University of British Columbia. His research interests include processing and analyzing dermoscopic images and wide-area skin images, developing non-invasive laser speckle techniques for skin cancer detection and determining risk factors of melanoma.
Dr. Angela Brooks-Wilson, PhD
Co-Investigator
Dr. Angela Brooks-Wilson is a Distinguished Scientist in Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at the BC Cancer Agency, a Professor in Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology at Simon Fraser University and a Professor in Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Brooks-Wilson leads a cancer genetics research laboratory at the Genome Sciences Centre of the British Columbia Cancer Agency in Vancouver, BC. Her current work focuses on the genetics of healthy aging and the genetics of susceptibility to cancer, particularly blood cancers, in families and populations. She leads the Genomics, Genetics and Gerontology (G3) Team for the Study of Healthy Aging, in which exceptionally healthy elderly individuals (‘Super-Seniors’) are helping to determine the genetic influences that contribute to healthy aging and protect against age-related diseases.
Eunice Rousseau
Research Project Manager
Eunice Rousseau has been a Research Manager with the BC Cancer Agency since 1994 and the Research Manager of the BC Generations Project since 2008. She has a Diploma in Environmental Health Technology from BCIT and a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology from Simon Fraser University where she studied dietary antioxidant protection in human tissues. She worked on several studies, including the Diet and Breast Cancer Prevention Study and the BC Oral Cancer Prevention Program, before joining the BC Generations Project as Research Project Manager.
Treena McDonald
Project Manager, Biosamples
Treena McDonald has a depth of experience gathered from many years of work on both pulmonary and cardiovascular studies. Ms. McDonald earned a Master’s of Science from the University of British Columbia in 2000 studying cardiomyocyte dysfunction in sepsis. She subsequently went on to manage a genetic study for a cohort of patients with Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, followed by the addition of four more disease cohorts (asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, aortic stenosis and atherosclerosis). Ms. McDonald was also the national coordinator for the Genes and Environment program within Canada’s AllerGen National Centre for Excellence from 2006-2009.
Daryl Armstrong
Programmer/Analyst
Daryl Armstrong maintains the many databases within the BC Generations Project and is responsible for the implementation of online resources, including the development of questionnaires. He previously worked as IT system administrator, database manager and programmer at Terry Fox Laboratory (also part of BC Cancer Research Centre) for more than 15 years.
Calvin Lai
Data Manager
Calvin Lai has extensive experience in data management and statistical methodology for a number of longitudinal cohort studies. With a Master’s of Mathematics in Statistics from the University of Waterloo, his work in health care has included developing a database-driven web application for online recruitment and linking cohort data to external health data sources. Mr. Lai is a Statistical Society of Canada (SSC) certified Professional Statistician (P.STAT.).
Wendy Lam
Administrative Coordinator
Wendy Lam has been with the Cancer Control Research Program of the British Columbia Cancer Research Centre since 2002. She has worked on several studies, including the Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Study, the Breast Tissue Density among Chinese and Western Women Study, Hepatitis B Testing and Vaccination in Immigrants Attending ESL Study. Ms. Lam provides research and administrative support to the BC Generations Project.
Jessica Chu
Research Project Assistant
Jessica Chu first joined the BC Generation Project in 2012 as a co-op student. Since then, she has graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Health Sciences and a minor in Communications from Simon Fraser University. Ms. Chu provides participant and administrative support to the BC Generations Project.
Emeritus leaders
The BC Generations Project would not exist today without strong leadership during its development and start-up. We are grateful for the contributions of those who remain on our team in an emeritus (retired) capacity.
Richard Gallagher
Principal Investigator Emeritus
BC Generations Project
BC Cancer Agency
Clinical Professor Emeritus, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia
Dr. Marilyn Borugian
Director Emeritus
BC Generations Project
BC Cancer Agency