Dr. Suzanne Vercauteren

Co-Director

Dr. Suzanne Vercauteren is a hematological pathologist at BC Children’s Hospital, who obtained her MD and PhD at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands. She did her residency in hematological pathology at the University of British Columbia. She is the co-Director of BC Children’s Hospital BioBank, the Head of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Childrens and Women’s Hospitals, and the Chair of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for UBC’s Department of Pathology.

Dr. Jonathan Bush

Co-Director

Dr. Jonathan Bush completed his MD and Anatomical Pathology residency at the University of Manitoba before finalizing his training through the Northwestern University-Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago Pediatric Pathology fellowship program. He joined BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital as a Pediatric and Perinatal pathologist, which provided him the opportunity to have an impact on children’s and women’s health by examining tissue samples. As the “gatekeeper” to biologic samples, He was naturally drawn to biobanking, resulting in completing additional training and eventually becoming the co-Director with Dr. Suzanne Vercauteren in early 2021. He has a specific interest in banking and promoting pediatric solid tissue and tumor research.

Veronica Chow

Lab Manager

Veronica is the BioBank lab manager, and has been with the team since 2016. She did her Bachelors in Science at UBC, majoring in Microbiology and Immunology and minoring in Commerce. She also did her Masters in Health Administration thru UBC. In her free time, Veronica likes to stay active thru playing tennis and multi-sport, loves a good restaurant and/or travel recommendation, and occasionally dabbles in reality tv! Ask her about biobank sample requests, and binge-worthy reality TV shows!

Ashton Ellis

Research Coordinator

Ashton graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BSc and majored in Kinesiology. She has been with BioBank since she started as a co-op student in 2015. Outside of work, she likes to stay active, craft, bake, and work on home renovations!

Vi Nguyen

Research Technician

Vi graduated from University of British Columbia with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and is a lifelong learner. In 2019, she joined the BioBank team as a Research Technician and some of her roles include data management, training new team members, processing research samples, and consenting patients. When she isn’t happily biobanking, Vi loves to go on hikes to eat delicious food after, train for Wimbledon (just kidding), and cozy up with a good book when it’s cold. Ask her about sample queries and her garden gnome collection.

Qudrat Aujla

Research Assistant

Qudrat graduated from SFU with a BSc. in Health Sciences and a minor in Gerontology. She started at the BioBank as a Co-op student in 2019 and now works as a BioBank Research Assistant. She is passionate about interacting with patients and about finding ways to increase representation in research by highlighting various social determinants of health. In her free time, she's either watching reality TV, crocheting, learning new languages, or finding the next best skincare product. Ask her about our patient partners and iconic Vine & meme references.

Mackenzie Sturn

Research Assistant

Mackenzie is a fifth year SFU student completing a Biological Sciences major and a Learning and Developmental Disabilities minor. At the BioBank, Mackenzie enjoys learning about research studies and interacting with patients and families. She helps with processing biological samples and consenting patients. In her free time, Mackenzie enjoys hiking, running, and playing the guitar. Ask her about lab processing and the best hiking spot.

Seoyoung Chae

Co-op Research Assistant

Seoyoung is a fourth-year student at UBC studying Behavioural Neuroscience. She has been working with the BC Children’s BioBank team since September 2023 as a Co-op student. Seoyoung has a keen interest in healthcare research for pediatric patients, and she looks forward to contributing to the team’s fulfilling work. In her free time, Seoyoung enjoys going on hikes with her friends. Recently, she started kickboxing and just mastered her roundhouse kicks! Ask her about dry ice and dinosaurs. 

Sue Kang

Co-op Research Assistant

Sue is a fourth year student majoring in Biomedical Physiology at Simon Fraser University. She joined the team in September 2023 and is passionate about research and eager to learn more about the different studies taking place at the BioBank. One day, she hopes to work in health care and is excited to be working alongside numerous scientists, researchers and doctors at the hospital. In her free time, she enjoys working out, reading and being outdoors! Ask her about placentas and alpacas.

Olivia Brigden

Volunteer

Olivia is a student at the University of British Columbia, where she studies a Combined Major in Chemistry, Life Sciences, and Environmental Sciences. She has joined the research team through BCCHR’s INSPIRE Program. Outside of her studies, she enjoys creating her own recipes, having movie nights with her friends, and traveling! Ask her about where inventory is and her best soup recipe.

Former Members

• Tamsin Tarling, Administrative Manager
• Nidhi Arora, Lab Manager
• Adam Velenosi, Research Coordinator
• Thyrza Toledo, Masters Student
• Katey Townsend, Research Technician
• Stephen Fung, Data Programmer/Analyst
• Emma Valentino, International Intern
• Mandy Suen, Research Assistant 
• Rumbidzai Chiwaya, Research Technician
• Yohaan Johnson, Co-op Student
• Heather Van Tassel, Research Assistant
• Diana Farhat, Co-op Student 
• Thomas Soroski, Research Assistant
• Paige Muir, Research Assistant
• David Yang, Research Assistant
• Jasleen Grewal, Summer Student
• Lise Rutherford, Summer Student
• Kendall Plant, Research Technician
• Iryna Kayda, Research Assistant
• Marissa Song, Research Assistant
• Jaeden Moerike, Summer Student/Volunteer
• Rosa Balleny, Volunteer
• Sebastian Kondratowski, Co-op Student