Our Team

Mahtab Matin completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Midwifery in Iran. She is currently a Ph.D. student of Nursing at the University of British Columbia Okanagan supervised by Dr. Elizabeth Keys. She is interested in sleep science and increasing the health of child-bearing families. During her qualification, she mainly worked on biotic supplementation effects on human health. Mahtab’s doctoral work will focus on an interdisciplinary research project that combines a nursing and midwifery perspective with knowledge about microbiome and neuroscience to discover new ideas about how families of newborns can be supported in their health and wellbeing. Her research will integrate disciplinary knowledge from nursing, medicine, and behavioral health sciences to help advance and disseminate research informed by the lived experiences of infants and their caregivers.

matinma@student.ubc.ca

Sage Thomas is a Registered Nurse, currently enrolled in the Master of Science in Nursing program at UBC Okanagan. His career has focused on community mental health in a variety of settings. Sage is passionate about supporting the mental health of rural children and youth, LGBTQ2S folks, and Indigenous peoples, and he is driven to engage in community-based research going forward.

sathomas@mail.ubc.ca

Samira is currently a Master of Art student in Global Studies.

I am passionate for human health and the prevention of chronic illness and disease through lifestyle modification, diet, and exercise. I am a UBC alumni graduate of Human Kinetics, and a current UBC Okanagan Nursing undergraduate student. My clinical experience and personal business focus has been in exercise prescription, group exercise, exercise therapy, and clinical academic research. My current and future involvement in health includes roles in medical research. Additionally, my goals for future impacts in healthcare are a career as a registered nurse, and a transition into medicine, as well as further medical research.

www.linkedin.com/in/tristen-michael-ramsay-9aa66221b

Quevie’s passion lies on increasing the accessibility of medical resources and public knowledge. She is interested on how technology can narrow the gap of knowledge translation barriers and obtain the services individuals need. Quevie pursues to be well-rounded in her experiences and is currently working / volunteering in multiple fields, such as research, rehabilitation, and community mental health.

queviereinz@gmail.com

Tai-Lin graduated from UBC Okanagan in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science Major in Psychology and Minor in Biology. She is currently working as a research assistant in the SLUMBER Lab. Tai-Lin hopes to pursue graduate studies in psychology.

tailin.michon@ubc.ca

Kyra Jukes is fourth year undergraduate nursing student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.

Kyra’s research interests focus around implementation science in healthcare, epidemiology, immune functioning, stress reactivity, and mental wellbeing.

Niki Soroush-Asghari is currently a fourth year nursing student at UBCO and plans to become a Registered Nurse in 2024. She is a currently an undergraduate research assistant for Dr. Elizabeth Keys and is a part of Dr. Keys’ SLUMBER Lab group. Niki’s research interests surround childhood sleeping patterns and how they manifest through one’s adulthood. She is excited to begin her research journey here at UBCO! In the future, Niki hopes to continue her graduate studies in nursing so she can continue doing research and so that one day she can teach nursing theory courses as well.

nikis890@mail.ubc.ca

Rachael is in her fourth year at the University of British Columbia in Nursing. She is passionate about working with childbearing families and hopes to pursue her nursing career in this setting. In her free time, she enjoys going on hikes, playing basketball, and trying out new cafes in town. 

rachfiyi@student.ubc.ca

Muskan is a fourth year Biology student with a minor in Psychology at UBC. She has keen interest in understanding the intricate connections between health, relationships, and well-being. She hopes to go into the medical field in the future.

Marina Ovsenek Manning received her BA in History from SFU in 2018. She is currently in her fourth year of nursing at UBCO. She has been working in the healthcare industry since she was thirteen years old and has extensive knowledge of administration, food services, housekeeping, and primary and nursing care in Long-Term Care. At a previous position she held the position of CIHI manager and completed the data for a 75 resident care facility. Her interests revolve wound care and the multi pathophysiological effects of wounds.

Nujhat Jahan is a graduate student at the University of British Columbia at Okanagan where she is pursuing her Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies under the theme Power, Conflict and Ideas. Her Research Interests include Gender-based Violence, victim’s trauma and the health sector, and gender inequalities in South Asian society. She learned about the inequalities affecting women’s position during her undergrad as a Criminology student and through opportunities as a research assistant.

Currently her Thesis is based on the Rape victim’s of the 1971 Liberation War in Bangladesh. Nujhat aspires to pursue a career in the academia and go for a Doctoral Degree. She likes to cook, draw and take care of her plants in her free time.

nujh2020@mail.ubc.ca

Kayleigh Boogaart is a third-year Psychology student with a minor in Spanish at UBCO. She is interested in learning about the impacts of sleep on child psychosocial development. In her free time, Kayleigh enjoys dancing, reading, and cooking.