Staff
Julie Ho
Lab & Project Manager
Julie.Ho@vch.ca
Julie grew up in Vancouver and attended University of British Columbia to receive her Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology and Master of Health Administration. Julie fully utilizes her expertise in project management and lab accreditation as she established and now oversees the AP Molecular Diagnostics lab at VGH. In addition to this role, Julie also took on the role as MAPcore’s fearless leader and to establish a business model for MAPcore to enable sustained operations as a core facility. When Julie is not working as a ‘woman in STEM’ role model, she enjoys travelling the world.
Shelby Thornton (She/Her)
MAPcore 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.
Christine Chow
GPEC 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.
Yimei Qin
MAPcore Research Technician
yimei.qin@ubc.ca
Yimei originally came to MAPcore as a Direct Studies student from Dr. Anglesio’s lab. After completing her Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science, we eagerly welcomed her back as one of our newest technician team members. Yimei’s main interest in immunohistochemistry has led to her being one of our main users of Leica Bond Rx’s for clinical and research assays (such as multiplex immunofluorescence assays). When Yimei is not expanding her well-developed technical skill set, she can be found reading or on the Vancouver waterways training with her dragon boat team.
Rosemary Vayalikunnel (She/Her)
MAPcore Co-op Student
rosemary.vayalikunnel@ubc.ca
Rosemary grew up in Vancouver and is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in Biology at the University of British Columbia. As a co-op student at MAPcore, she is eager to learn more about research in molecular pathology and work on immunohistochemistry, histology, and image analysis projects. In the future, Rosemary hopes to continue to explore her interests in public health, medicine, and research. In her free time, Rosemary enjoys travelling, camping, and volunteering in her community.
Jasleen Dhillon (She/Her)
MAPcore Worklearn Student
Jasleen grew up in Edmonton, Alberta and is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and a minor in economics at the University of British Columbia. She has peaked great interest in pharmaceutical sciences/medicine especially in maximizing benefits to established therapies and medicines. As a WorkLearn student at MAPcore, Jasleen has gained various lab experiences and skills: such as, H&E, IHC, and microtomy which will help in her journey of becoming a pharmaceutical scientist. In her free time, she enjoys baking, playing her clarinet, skating and playing tennis.
Shuhong Liu (She/Her)
MAPcore Research Technician
Shuhong grew up in China, and completed her PhD in Virology from Nankai University. She is passionate about clinical research and has 15 years of experience with Alberta Precision Labs. Inspired by the advanced pathology technology, she is very excited to join the MAPcore team. Shuhong hopes to bring her expertise to a new environment while also learning new things from her talented and enthusiastic teammates. Outside of work, Shuhong loves cooking, gardening, playing piano, singing, and badminton.
Samuel Leung
Database/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 15 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.
