{"id":362,"date":"2022-06-29T11:14:56","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T18:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/slumber\/?page_id=362"},"modified":"2026-01-14T19:10:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T02:10:46","slug":"our-team","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/slumber\/our-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Principal Investigator<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Dr. Elizabeth Keys<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

PhD, RN, CCHN(C)
(she\/her\/hers)

Assistant Professor
School of Nursing
UBC Okanagan <\/p>\n\n\n\n


elizabeth.keys@ubc.ca<\/a>
250-807-8344<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Elizabeth Keys is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing. She has a clinical background in community and public health nursing focused on promoting child and family wellbeing in the community. The goal of her program of research is to promote and maintain infant and parental mental health by supporting parent-child interactions and sleep health. In her research, Dr. Keys examines how innovative approaches and models of care, such as eHealth and precision health, can be leveraged to contribute to sustainable health services transformation that results in real-world improvements in the lives of families. Dr. Key’s research is grounded in the value that genuine community and stakeholder engagement is essential to creating meaningful changes.

For more information about Dr. Keys, please visit her UBC Okanagan faculty page:
UBC Okanagan | Dr. Elizabeth Keys<\/a>

Institute for Health Living and Chronic Disease Prevention page:
IHLCDP | Dr. Elizabeth Keys<\/a>
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Research Coordinator<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Tai-Lin Michon<\/strong>
BSc Psychology
(she\/her)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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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 coordinator in the SLUMBER Lab. Tai-Lin hopes to pursue graduate studies in psychology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

tailin.michon@ubc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Post-Doctoral Fellow<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Dr. Jelena Komanchuk<\/strong>
PhD, RN
(she\/her\/hers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Dr. Jelena Komanchuk completed a PhD in Nursing at the University of Calgary in 2023. As a pediatric nurse, Dr. Komanchuk observed greater health (such as depression) and developmental struggles for children who experienced maltreatment (like abuse and neglect) compared to other children. These observations encouraged her to enter graduate school so she could develop the skills and knowledge to create and evaluate supportive interventions for families who report experiencing adversity. Dr. Komanchuk\u2019s postdoctoral research is focused on understanding and supporting sleep health for foster and kinship families through meaningful community engagement and mixed methods research. Following her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Komanchuk aims to develop a leading-edge research lab focused on supporting the health of children in foster and kinship care.

jelena.komanchuk@ubc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Graduate Students<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Mahtab Matin<\/strong>
PhD Student
(she\/her)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Mahtab Matin completed her Bachelor\u2019s and Master\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

matinma@student.ubc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Samira Kheirdariyar
<\/strong>Masters of Arts Global Studies – Global Health Student
(she\/her\/hers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Samira Kheirdariyar is a dedicated researcher and healthcare professional pursuing her Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies with a focus on Global Health at the University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus. Her current research, supervised by Dr. Elizabeth Keys, explores fathers’ preferences for digital support in transitioning from the NICU to home. With a background in midwifery from Tehran University of Medical Science, Samira brings a wealth of experience in parent-child interactions, infant sleep problems, and infertility issues.  Samira’s diverse experience includes roles as a Pregnancy and Postpartum Health Consultant, Midwife Consultant, and Nurse-Midwife. An accomplished presenter and emerging scholar, she has contributed to book chapters and participated in various academic competitions. In our lab, she focuses on the crucial role of fathers in neonatal intensive care unit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Niki Soroush-Asghari<\/strong>
Masters of Science in Nursing Year 1
(she\/her)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Niki Soroush-Asghari is a Registered Nurse and a thesis-based Master of Science in Nursing Student supervised by Dr. Elizabeth Keys. Her research focuses on the effects of night shift on nurse retention and how sleep health plays a role in nursing students\u2019 transition into the workforce. In the future, Niki hopes to complete a PhD so she can continue doing shiftwork research and so she can develop interventions to improve sleep health in nursing students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

nikis890@student.ubc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Research Assistant<\/em>s<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Arushi Sachdeva<\/strong>
Undergraduate Student
(she\/her)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Arushi Sachdeva is a second-year Psychology student at UBCO with a research interest in how emotional and developmental factors influence sleep. She is particularly curious about the ways in which sleep is linked to overall psychological well-being. Arushi plans to pursue graduate studies in Clinical Psychology, where she hopes to continue exploring connections between mental health and development. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Volunteers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Kayleigh Boogaart<\/strong>
Undergraduate Student
(she\/her)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Kayleigh Boogaart is a fourth year psychology student at UBCO. She is interested on learning about the impacts of sleep on children’s cognitive and psychosocial development. After graduation Kayleigh hopes to pursue graduate studies in psychology.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Nadine Lehr
<\/strong>4th<\/sup>\u00a0year Psychology Student\u00a0
(she\/her)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Nadine is passionate about child development and mental health. She hopes to pursue a career working with children and families while improving access to mental health services. She enjoys spending time in nature, baking, and making jewelry.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Nathan Wong<\/strong>
4th year BSN student
(he\/him)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Nathan Wong (he\/him) is currently a fourth-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing student at UBC Okanagan. He is a volunteer with the SLUMBER Lab and, through his nursing education, has developed a strong appreciation for the role of sleep in health promotion and patient care. Outside of academics, Nathan enjoys art, reading, and staying active through sports such as hiking, badminton, swimming, and snowboarding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Alumni<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Research Coordinator<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n