The class! (Jiyoon Koo not pictured)
Sonja Babovic (student coordinator)
After spending my childhood and teens in Yugoslavia, Serbia, Montenegro and Kuwait, I moved to Vancouver to study Chemistry and Biochemistry at UBC. In my early undergraduate years I dabbled in various extracurricular endeavors, ranging from UBC Orientations to student government to learning new and ancient languages, before finding my niche within essential medicines advocacy. Among my fondest memories I count volunteering with AMS Speakeasy and UBC International House, as well as research in the Terry Fox Lab with Dr. Dixie Mager.
Being a science enthusiast with a social justice inclination, I am interested both in the hard science of drug development, and in harnessing the potential for biomedical research to benefit people of the world. I work with the UBC Chapter of UAEM as an advocate for fair access to lifesaving medicines through reform of university patenting and licensing practices.
I enjoy commuter cycling and farmer’s markets in Vancouver and beyond.
Stephanie Brown I’m a 3rd year Integrated Science integrating Microbiology and Immunology with Nutrition. My interests are centered on the health of individuals and populations, particularly in vulnerablt and under-served communities. The scope of my interest ranges from microscopic cellular processes responsible for disease and immunity to socio-cultural determinants of health and intercultural health practices. I am specifically looking at the role that nutrition plays in preventing disease and promoting good health globally. Apart from my degree, I have been involved at UBC as a research assistant for projects in health advocacy and the ethics of international engagement and service-learning (EIESL). If anyone is interested in learning more about the project or would like to join the dialogue, please feel free to visit http://blogs.ubc.ca/ethicsofisl/ and make a contribution! A strong sense of social justice was cultivated in my childhood through volunteer and advocacy involvement. In Vancouver I help out at shelters that serve the downtown Eastside, and previously volunteered as an assistant in the WHO sponsored PURE health study conducted by SFU.
Apart from school, work and volunteering – traveling and the outdoors are my two true passions. I have traveled to more than 25 countries, and I love experiencing diverse cultures and meeting new people both abroad and at home. On the weekends I’ll most likely be found skiing up in Whistler, surfing in Sombrio, hiking, climbing or road-tripping somewhere to fuel my adventurous side.
I’m really looking forward to learning more about access to essential medicines with everyone!
Harry Chang
Farnaz Changizi
Hello everyone. I’m Farnaz and I am a third year student majoring in Microbiology and Immunology. I moved to Canada 14 years ago and have lived in Vancouver ever since. I have been doing academic research on various projects such as West Nile Virus for the past two years and will be doing one full year of coop starting May 2010. I am participating in this seminar because I am quite sensitive towards the struggles that poverty stricken people must face everyday so I wanted to gain some more insight into the issues responsible for current lack of availability and affordability of essential medicines to the bottom billion people, because I believe that preventable and curable illness is one major reason contributing to the poverty trap in developing countries since it prevents productibility and development by the young. I am also just getting started in Universities Allied for Essential Medicines and this seminar will provide me with an excellent background for contributing to the group’s projects. Furthermore, I am involved with UBC Golden Key Mentoring Program and UBC Astronomy Club and love to play tennis and volleyball on my free time.
Karen Cheshire
I am a third year biochemistry student and I intend to pursue a career in medicine. I have always been interested in health care systems in different nations and am a believer in universal access to health care as a fundamental human right. I am sure my career ambitions will change over time but I would like to work as a doctor in developing nations for at least part of my career. I am interested in global health issues and looking at initiatives to improve medical services in developing nations.
My current pursuits related to health and medicine include my involvement in the UBC Heart and Stroke Club as the Vice President. The club’s mission statement is to provide volunteer opportunities for club members with the Heart and Stroke Foundation and to host our own fundraising events. I also volunteer weekly at Banfield Pavilion Long term care centre in VGH with the physiotherapy department.
Chad Klassen
I completed my undergrad at UVic with a BSc (biology major; microbiology
minor) and I am currently attending UBC part-time as an Unclassified
pre-dental student. Here at UBC I hope to network and stay focused on
laying the foundation for a successful and exciting career in Dentistry
and Global Health. Ultimately, I hope to lead multidisciplinary health
care teams into under served populations to establish culture-sensitive,
environmentally friendly, sustainable health care clinics that will
eventually be replaced by people from their own community.
I enjoy outdoor activities such as camping, boating, SCUBA diving and
snowboarding. I am interested in education, travel, architecture, fashion,
art and cooking. Other than my career, I look forward to experiencing
different places and new people, learning new languages and learning to
play the cello and double bass.
Jiyoon Koo
Hi there! My name’s Jiyoon, and I’m a third year in chemistry. I do quite a bit of stuff outside of school, which I think keeps me sane, or at least tolerable! I am involved in the Undergrad Chemistry Society, where we hold two bucks a beaker. People like to think that we wanted to make a profit off of this thing, which is why we up-ed the priced from buck a beaker. NOT TRUE! We were told by the RCMP that the beers were being sold for too cheap. This sounds like a load of lies, but it’s not, I swear! Anyways, we always have a good time at these events at whatever the price.
I also hail from Boulder, Colorado! It’s a beautiful, rich, and liberal-filled town…And I love it! A lot of my friends are into hiking simply because we have some of the best trails in North America in our back yard. I also fell in love with hiking, biking, camping, and the backcountry in general when I lived there. A couple summers ago, I decided to go on a month long backpacking trip with a group called NOLS, National Outdoor Leadership School. That was probably the best 28 days of my life. There were some setbacks…Like hiking 14 hours straight and not finding our campsite. That day is forever known as “Jiyoon’s 14 hour death march”. Yeah. It was grrrreeeattt.
Other than that, I like finding cool band no one’s ever heard of, singing in the shower, and generally approving my own nerdy-ness through smiling in chemistry lectures.
Sharon May (withdrew from class but still on mailing list!)
Hi my name is Sharon and I’m a 3rd year Cell Biology and Genetics Major. The reason why I wanted to take this course was because I have a keen interest in the area of international health and wanted to meet other students who shared this interest. I’ve always been a bit of a traveler at heart. This past summer I was able to follow a humanitarian surgical team to the Yunnan province in Southern China where I saw over 60 surgical cases. During the course of the trip I witness many lives changed by surgeries which our patients would otherwise not have been able to afford. However, I also realized that there was a lot of red tape our team had to cut through in order to provide our services in China including but not limited to political pressure, cultural and language barriers. Each hoop that our team had to jump through slowed us down and lowered our overall efficiency. It is my belief that if we are able to minimize these barriers either through diplomatic negotiations or strategic planning, medical services were be greatly improved and more accessible to the most vulnerable and under served populations in the world.
Christopher Roach
My name is Christopher (the good looking one) Roach. It’s probably easiest to just call me Christopher or Roach so we’ll know who you’re talking about. I am currently in my 5th year at UBC and am about to finish off my Bachelor’s in Cellular Biology and Genetics. My main area of focus is medical genetics, but I also dabble in biochemistry, cancer, cellular biology, and virology. To help you understand why I am so interested in this course, I’d like to tell you a little bit about my future plans. After finishing my undergrad this semester, I plan on continuing my education in genetics by getting a Masters or PhD in Pharmacogenetics/Pharmacogenomics. If you’re not too familiar with these fields, they study people’s different responses to drugs due to genetic variation(s). Afterwards, I’d like to move into the pharmaceutical industry and eventually get my MBA. Although working/designing drugs is something that definitely interest me and it is where I want to be for the first bit of my career, later on I want to work for said pharmaceutical at an executive level; specifically one which deals with charitable organizations and helping people gain access to their products. Hey… I feel like there’s a course about that…
As for my life outside of school, I like to keep quite busy. Although soccer and hanging out with friends takes up a fair bit of time, my second passion (after school) is non-profit work. At the moment I am a volunteer at Sunny Hill Hospital (a sub-branch of Children’s), a suicide interventionist/crisis counsellor at the Vancouver Crisis Center, and a National Campaign Advisor for Shinerama (if you’re not familiar with it, it’s Canada’s largest post secondary fundraising campaign and raises funds for Cystic Fibrosis). I am also currently the President of the Order of Omega (a Greek System Honor’s Society) and as such, I am in and remain quiet active in my fraternity here at UBC (and don’t worry, I’m not the collar pop’n keg on the lawn type).
I’m really excited to get to know you all as well as start discussion the material. Here’s to a great semester!
Christopher Rosse
Hello my name is Chris Rosse and I am a fourth year Integrated Sciences student integrating Physiology and Pharmacology. I highly enjoy studying the therapeutic use of various drugs on specific and non-specific systems on the human body. Currently, I am doing a Directed Studies in an anesthetic laboratory and so far it has proven be a very fascinating area of pharmacology and I have learned a lot from my lab group.
As a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, I have taken up various leadership roles on campus as well as various sports. I enjoy sports ranging from soccer and basketball to ice hockey and snowboarding. To blow off stress from school I can be found up Grouse Mountain or Whistler where I am either providing first aid as a Ski Patroller or shredding pow pow in gladed trees. When not in Canada, I can be found partying in Cancun, Mexico with friends and working on my tan.
Julia Wu
Hello everyone! My name is Julia and I just finished my third year in Mechanical Engineering at UBC. I chose to study engineering not only because of its exciting concepts and fun applications, but mainly because engineering provides countless opportunities to serve society and help others. I am currently doing co-op at Sorin Mitroflow, a company which produces and manufactures bio-prosthetic heart valves.
Outside of school and work, I enjoy volunteering, playing sports, and exploring the wonderful outdoors. I’ve volunteered at Mount St. Joseph’s hospital as an extended care unit activities co-ordinator and at many schools and organizations as a youth basketball coach. I am also a member or Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and look forward to becoming involved in the EWB events this year. In my spare time, I enjoy playing pretty much all sports (basketball, volleyball, soccer, and ultimate frisbee being my favourites), as well as hiking, snowboarding, and cycling.
I hope to use what I learned in school, work and extra curricular activities to help bridge the gap between the developed and developing nations. Access to essential medicines is a huge factor for the gap. Through this seminar, I would be able to discuss with all of you about the barriers and potential strategies in increasing access to essential medicines in developing countries! It’s exciting that many of us come from different faculties and have different areas of expertise. I can’t wait to learn from all of you!
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