NEBLab, June 2022Principle Investigator
Tamara Cohen, PhD, RD
Tamara, formerly a faculty member and clinical dietetics coordinator at McGill University, is passionate about making the dietitian’s voice heard. She joined UBC in January 2020, as the Director of Dietetics and as Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. It is her belief that Dietitians have a truly unique expertise above and beyond nutrition due to their hands-on training with people. In addition to her roles in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, Tamara also holds roles as Non-Indigenous Cultural Safety Facilitator for UBC’s 23/24, investigator at BC Children’s hospital, external member of Concordia University’s PERFORM Centre, and as external affiliate member of Montreal Children’s Hospital Pediatric Department. All of these roles have and continue to demonstrate her commitment to create a non-judgmental, inclusive working environment where my team all support each other on attaining their goals.
PhD Students
Alysha Deslippe, MSc
Alysha is a PhD Candidate exploring th erole of gender in teen athletes’ food habits. Through her research, Alysha aims to support high schools in helping students navigate their food choices. As a coach and former athlete, Alysha strongly believes that it is important to listen and reflect the voices of both of these groups in her research. With formal training in mixed methods, intervention development and participatory research methods, Alysha uses a combination of techniques like advisory panels in her projects to ensure that community voices guide her. In her free time Alysha can be found on a volleyball court, running around Vancouver or out in the mountains.
Public press releases of Alysha’s work research can be found at UBC PSI & HBIC
Patricia Acosta, MSc
Patricia obtained her Master’s degree in Human Health and Nutritional Sciences from the University of Guelph, where her research evaluated dietary intake of preschool-aged children using a plant-based dietary index. In 2023, Patricia joined the NEB lab to advance her knowledge and gain valuable experiences in nutritional sciences. She firmly believes that research plays a pivotal role in advocating for the availability of resources to support and improve the health outcomes of the population. As such, her PhD, which is in collaboration with the University British Columbia and the Montreal Behavioural Medicine Centre, focuses on the Evaluation of the Impact of Radical Nutrition and Microbiome Changes on Brain Function and Structure (EMBRACE). In Patricia’s free time, she finds joy in travelling, cooking, interior decorating, and reading.
Master’s Students
Andy Bains, BSc
Andy joined the NEB Lab in 2020 to gain more research experience and then decided to pursue a Master’s of Science in Human Nutrition. His interests surround applied nutrition work for weight management. He is currently looking at the effectiveness of a virtual family-based lifestyle intervention for childhood obesity, Shapedown BC, offered by BC Children’s Hospital, compared to in-person intervention. In addition, he is also working with UBC and Health Canada on creating healthier post-secondary dining halls. He enjoys trail running, cycling, delicious foods (especially watermelon) and helping others live healthier lives in his free time.
Maryam Kheirmand, MSc
Maryam is a Masters student who joined the NEB Lab in January 2021. The main focus of her research is to develop appropriate eating habits among adults and help them to achieve a healthy lifestyle or specific health-related goals. Her Masters project describes the development of an innovative app that resembles the 2019 Canada’s Food Guide with the goal of improving adherence to dietary self-monitoring in healthy adults. Maryam enjoys sitcom binge-watching, recipe testing, playing soccer, and hiking.
Oliver Sage, BSc
Oliver is a Human Nutrition Graduate Student in the NEB Lab. His interests are focused on eating behaviour and nutrition for longevity. Working in this lab provides Oliver with the opportunity to share his research with his peers as well as gain insights into their respective nutrition-related research. He is about to begin a study assessing the suitability and acceptability of nutrition education resources created by the Canadian Sugar Institute. This project will help the institute to improve its resources for dietitians and therefore help patients better apply healthy eating habits to their own lives. Oliver likes to write and play music, climb, and go on road trips.
Olivia Wu, BSc, RD, CDE
Olivia is a Masters in Human Nutrition student who joined the NEB lab in September of 2022. Prior to Matriculating at UBC, she worked as a clinical dietitian in an acute care hospital and an outpatient endocrinology clinic in Montreal, Québec. Her current research aims to explore the intersection of sustainable eating patterns and medical nutrition therapy for the management of type 2 diabetes. Olivia’s interest in nutrition stems from a passion for food and the diverse roles that it occupies in our lives: from health, culture, and community, to an intimate connection to the earth upon which we rely. She aspires for clinical dietetics to consider not only improving human health, but also facilitating transitions to more ecologically sustainable and just food systems. In her spare time, she enjoys being in nature (identifying wild plants, fungi, and birds), cycling, pottery, and painting.
Valentina Lurye, BSc, RD
Valentina Lurye is an international student from Israel, who joined the NEB Lab in 2023. She is a Masters student, who is focused on the firs phase of a large research project; “Pregnancy Cards: Conversation Cards for Pregnancy.” The aim is to help pregnant individuals discuss sensitive topics with their prenatal care providers effectively. She has been a registered dietitian since 2010, with her area of expertise being in prenatal nutrition. Recently she obtained full registration with the BC College of Dietitians, qualifying her to practice in British Columbia. In her home country of Israel, she led professional dietetics groups, initiating various projects for both professionals and the general public. The evidence demonstrating that a pregnant mother’s health, nutrition, and stress levels can have a long-term effect on a baby’s future is what sparked her fascination and interest in this field. Outside her professional interests, she is a dedicated runner, sourdough bread baker, and a mom to two lovely boy monsters. When she is able to escape her daily routine, Valentina explores beautiful British Columbia by hiking or Skiing, all while dreaming of getting back to rock climbing.
Research Staff
Celeste Bouchaud. MScA, RD
Celeste is a research assistant in the NEB Lab and is based at Concordia University’s PERFORM Centre in Montreal, Quebec. Celeste first worked with Dr. Cohen during her Master’s degree at McGill University in 2019 focused on a plate-based diet self-monitoring tool. Celeste is interested in promoting health through nutrition behaviour change. Celeste supports various projects in the lab including Observation of family mealtime, Concordance of dietary behaviours between parents and children, iCANPlate, the DATE Study and Cook to PERFORM. Celeste also works as a dietitian. In her free time, she loves cooking, taking pictures and travelling!
Undergraduate Students
Anna Schwerdfeger
Volunteer
Nutritional Sciences
University of British Columbia
Project: Project: Health at Every Size (HAES) based family intervention study to combat childhood obesity.
Elyse Cadette
Elyse is a 5th-year dietetics student at UBC, hoping to pursue a career in maternal and fetal nutrition. Elyse joined the NEB lab in September 2022 and has primarily been working on the iCANPlate app study. iCANPlate is a diet self-monitoring that mirrors the 2019 Canada food guide and helps users to change their eating habits. In her spare time, Elyse likes to spend time outdoors in the sun, try new recipes and travelling.
Narges Bouzari
Narges joined the NEB lab to learn about the behavioural science behind nutrition and eating behaviours and develop her qualitative research skills. She is currently working on the Eating in a Gendered World (EatGen) study which looks at how different social influences impact teens’ food decisions. She has also worked on the Wild berry research cluster and on a paper on compensatory health behaviours. She enjoys working on her art journal, going to the beach, and spending time with her family and friends. She is excited to start in UBC Dietetics undergraduate program in September 2022!
Patricia Angeles
Patricia is a Food, Nutrition, and Health major hoping to pursue a career in dietetics and pediatric nutrition. Patricia joined the NEB Lab in 2019 and has been working on the Protein Cards project which aims to provide bariatric patients with convenient and easy-to-use recipe cards to encourage a protein-rich and nutrient-dense diet after undergoing bariatric surgery. As Patricia continues to work in the NEB Lab, she has helped with other projects such as the E-Scan, iCANPlate, and EatGen studies and has gained a stronger interest in patient care. In her leisure time, Patricia likes to watercolour paint, read books, and (attempt to) cook new recipes.
Past Lab Members
Sorrini Master’s Student – McGill
Project(s): Dyadic Approach to Healthy Eating and Physical Activity study (DATE Study) [PI: JP Gouin, Concordia
Trista Yuan Undergraduate Student – UBC
Project(s): Review of Compensatory Health Behaviours; Intuitive Eating and its Relationship with on Psychosocial Health, Disordered Eating Behaviours, and Physical Activities
Yolanda Wang Undergraduate Student – UBC
Project(s): Environmental Scan and Assessment of Patient Education Materials for Adolescent Bariatric Surgery
Johanna Ulrike Gödde Undergraduate Student, Visiting from Germany
Project(s): Intuitive Eating and its Relationship with on Psychosocial Health and Disordered Eating Behaviours
Rana Madani Civi Undergraduate Student – UBC
Project(s): Development of a Diet Self-Monitoring Tool for Assessing Dietary Behaviours According to the New Canada’s Food Guide (ICANPlate Study)
Alexandra Heidl Undergraduate Student – UBC
Project(s): Various Shapedown-BC studies
Clare Douglas Undergraduate Student – UBC
Project(s): Co-edited and ran statistics on the post-bariatric surgery recipe booklet
Alexandra Soanes Undergraduate Student – UBC
Project(s): Helped across various projects in relation to diabetes
Alicia Walsh Master’s Student – UBC
Project(s): Assisted in a study exploring differences in adolescent boys’ and girls’ perceptions and motivators behind their eating practices
Coralie Bergeron Undergraduate Student – University of Quebec
Project(s): Concordance of dietary behaviours between parents and children study, and the (EatGen) study
Chelsea Harris Undergraduate Student – UBC
Project(s): Wild Berry Research Clusters
Coral Choi Undergraduate Student – UBC
Project(s): Evaluate Effects of a Behavioural Lifestyle Intervention on Children and Youth Living with an overweight condition and obesity (Shapedown BC Program)
Nicole Li Undergraduate Student – UBC
Project(s): Assisted on the iCANPlate project
Daisy Sun Undergraduate Student – McMaster University
Project(s): Helped across various projects
Celina Sheng Undergraduate Student – UBC
Project(s): Post-Bariatric Operation Protein Card Recipe Tool Study
