Dr. Jennifer Coelho
Investigator, BC Children's Hospital
Psychologist, Provincial Specialized Eating Disorders Program for Children & Adolescents, BC Children's Hospital
Over the past two decades, Jennifer has specialized in research and clinical work relating to eating disorders and problematic eating behaviours. She received her PhD from the University of Toronto, and went on to complete two post-doctoral fellowships at Maastricht University (the Netherlands) and University of Savoie (France). In her current role, Jennifer provides evidence-based therapies for children and youth with eating disorders, and works to integrate and apply her research findings to improve clinical care for pediatric eating disorders.
When she is not working, Jennifer loves to travel – both within beautiful British Columbia and further afield.
Jaafar Aghajanian
Quality Analyst
Jaafar Aghajanian has worked as the Quality Analyst for the Provincial Specialized Eating Disorders Program for Children and Adolescents, PHSA, since 2019. Jaafar graduated from the UVic School of Health Information Science and is a faculty member in the Department of Medicine, UBC, where he co-teaches courses on research methodology and data analysis.
Jaafar has over 15 years of experience in health research and evaluation, both in Canada and internationally including India, Nepal and Tibet. He is passionate about improving health outcomes and specializes in leading quality improvement initiatives, information systems design and conducting data analyses.
Jaafar enjoys expressing himself creatively in the forms of oil painting and poetry, and tries to stay healthy and sharp by playing tennis, golf, Tai Chi and online chess.
Dr. Pei-Yoong Lam
Investigator, BC Children's Hospital
Pediatrician & Co-medical Director, Provincial Specialized Eating Disorders Program for Children and Adolescents
The Provincial Specialized Eating Disorders Program for Children & Adolescents, based at BC Children's Hospital, employs evidence-based therapies in the treatment of youth with eating disorders. As the co-medical director (Pediatrics) in this program, Dr. Pei-Yoong Lam is involved in creating treatment guidelines for the hospital and the province, and reviewing outcomes of youth receiving treatment in this program. Dr. Lam is also interested in the medical complications in youth who develop eating disorders and how we can better monitor and treat these complications.
Dr. Sharon Hou
Postdoctoral Fellow
Sharon (she/her) is a clinician at BC Children’s Hospital and a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Calgary. Sharon completed her PhD in clinical child and adolescent psychology at the University of Guelph. Her research focuses on social and cultural influences in child development and child health. She is particularly interested in understanding the perspectives and experiences of racialized youth and their families. Much of her work has been shaped by her personal immigration experience and exposure to cultural diversity over her life.
Outside of work, she appreciates a balance of quality time with her beloved family and friends with personal downtime. She loves yoga, plants, and time with her kitten.
Tanya Pardiwala
Research Coordinator
Tanya is a graduate of University of British Columbia (BA). Prior to joining the Eating Disorders Research Team, she was part of the UBC Early Intervention Research group, investigating cognitive development of metacognitive processes in children. Her research interest includes developmental psychopathology, neurodiversity and developing integrative collaborative care models for individuals with clinical comorbidities.
Outside of the lab, Tanya works with the Canucks Autism Network. She loves travelling, hiking, camping and kayaking.