Staff and Students
Seti Boroomand
Project Manager & Operations Lead
seti.boroomand@ubc.ca
Originally from Tehran, Iran, Seti has been a Vancouverite since moving to Canada, residing in the Downtown/Yaletown neighborhood. She completed her PhD in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia and is passionate about translational medical science and laboratory technologies. During her PhD, she was involved in various projects, alongside her own, gaining exposure to many lab techniques. After her PhD, Seti worked briefly at VGH Clinical Microbiology Laboratory as a Molecular Scientist before moving to the Brain Centre, where she established a core facility to support research projects and clinical trials. Seti has now returned to the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine as the Project Manager and Operations Lead of MAPcore. When not at MAPcore, Seti is often watching her son play soccer or chess. She loves coffee and would enjoy a conversation over coffee anytime of the day.
Christine Chow
Senior Research Technician
christine.chow2@vch.ca
Originally from Victoria, BC, Christine completed her Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science at the University of British Columbia. Affectionately named “Lab Captain”, Christine brings 10+ years of immunohistochemistry experience from the Genetic Pathology Evaluation Centre (GPEC). When Christine is not at the helm, she spends her time trying new foods, cooking, baking, and training for running marathons all over the world.
Samuel Leung
IT Manager
Born in Hong Kong (China), grew up in Burnaby (BC, Canada), Samuel completed his Bachelor of Science (Biochemistry & Computer Science) at the University of British Columbia and Master of Science (Computer Science) at the University of Victoria. Samuel is passionate about software and data engineering. Samuel has over 20 years of experience in software development, data management, clinical informatics, and biostatistics. Samuel is excited to join the MAPcore team, to apply his IT/analytics skills to cutting edge life science research. In this spare time, Samuel enjoys playing piano and playing action figures with his son.
Shelby Thornton (She/Her)
Research Technician
shthornton@bccrc.ca
Shelby grew up on Vancouver Island and attended the University of Victoria to receive her bachelors in biochemistry. She found a passion for molecular pathology and research working at the Molecular and Cellular Immunology core at BC Cancer Research Centre. Shelby moved to Vancouver in 2020 when she started working with MAPcore to spearhead SOP development and implementation of multiplex OPAL immunofluorescence and Nanostring digital spatial profiling platforms. Shelby plans to pursue a career in Genetic Counselling. In her spare time, she loves backpacking, hiking, beach volleyball, biking, kayak touring, photography and cooking.
Olivia Sullivan (She/Her)
Research Technician
olivia.sullivan@ubc.ca
Olivia grew up in Mississauga, Ontario and has received both her BSc. in Behavioural Neuroscience and her MSc. in Neuroscience from the University of British Columbia. Olivia’s previous research focused on the role of microglia in neuropsychiatric disease. In her new role as a MAPcore research technician, Olivia hopes to broaden her experiences in research beyond neuroscience and learn the pathological presentation of a wide range of diseases and disorders. Olivia is learning to use HALO AI to score and analyze brightfield and fluorescent images for research and clinical purposes. In her spare time, she enjoys travelling, being outdoors, playing soccer, hiking and reading non-fiction books.
Jocelyn Alicia
Co-op Student
Jocelyn is a Jakarta, Indonesian foreign student presently enrolled in the University of British Columbia and the British Columbia Institute of Technology to pursue a dual honours degree in biochemistry and forensic science. Her desire to further her knowledge in the field of molecular pathology inspired her to become a co-op student on the MAPcore team, driven by her strong interest in the subject of pathology. Jocelyn hopes to combine her love of criminology and her scientific background as a forensic scientist in the future. She likes to read books, go to the gym, listen to podcasts, and spend her free time playing Mario Kart 8 so she can beat her roommate!
Felix Kommoss
MD
Felix completed his medical studies at Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, Germany, after receiving a business degree from Hagen University. Subsequently, he began his training in Anatomical Pathology at the Heidelberg University Hospital in Germany. Currently, Felix is a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia and BC Cancer Research Center in Vancouver. His work focusses on molecular aspects of gynecological cancers, with an emphasis on soft tissue tumors.
Cathy Le
Co-op Student
cathy.le@ubc.ca
Cathy was born and raised in Surrey, B.C. She is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Simon Fraser University. She wanted to explore topics outside of her major and was seeking for her second co-op position. The MAPcore team was the perfect opportunity for her to gain the experience she wanted in a new field. Cathy hopes to continue her studies and be a part of research and development in the health and beauty industry. She enjoys reading, going to the gym, dancing, and watching true crime documentaries. Her recent new hobby is baking.
Core Scientific Leads
Investigators
Alumni
Julie Ho
Yimei Qin
Prabhsevak Johal
Vicky Baek
Navtej Kang
Michelle Ho