Our research group operates out of Saint Paul’s Hospital in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The diversity of skill sets and experiences allow us to explore issues challenging people living with HIV through multiple avenues. Within our group, we have individuals skilled in epidemiological methods, statistics, and mathematics.
Meet our team below.
Dr. Viviane Lima, PhD MSc
Professor at the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine
Interesting Fact: Viviane loves reading, kayaking, building LEGO, walking her dog Zoe and riding her motorcycle.
Jielin Zhu, PhD MSc
Hasan Nathani, MSc
About Hasan Nathani: Hasan is a member of the EMBARC team and a statistician at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. He holds an MSc and BSc degree in Statistics from Simon Fraser University. Before joining the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, Hasan had worked as a statistician at the BC Centre for Heart Lung Innovation and Fraser Health Authority. His research interests include multilevel modeling, sports analytics, biostatistics and research in epidemiology.
Bronhilda Takeh, MD, MPH
About Bronhilda Takeh: Bronhilda graduated from the UBC MPH program. She was a graduate research assistant at the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and now joins the EMBARC team as an epidemiologist. Prior to pursuing her master’s degree, she worked as a physician in Cameroon, where she supported the delivery of HIV management strategies. Her current research interest focuses on chronic diseases among the aging population of people living with HIV/AIDS.
Interesting Fact: Bronhilda enjoys singing, cooking, and she also has a passion for adventure.
Carly Magee, PhD
About Carly Magee: Carly is an epidemiologist with the EMBARC team and the Epidemiology and Population Health program at the BC Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Carly completed her PhD at the School of Population and Public Health (SPPH) at UBC and a post-doctoral fellowship at the Centre for Advancing Health Outcomes (CAHO) at St. Paul’s Hospital. Her research currently focuses on the impact of physical and mental comorbidities on health outcomes among people with HIV.
Interesting Fact: Carly enjoys hiking, biking and cuddling with her cat.
Jintong Yan, MSc
About Jintong Yan: Jintong graduated from the Statistics program at UBC. She is a member of the EMBARC team and a statistician at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Before pursuing her master’s degree, she worked as a data analyst in China, supporting risk management. Her research interests include statistical modelling, survival analysis, and biostatistical epidemiological research.
Interesting Fact: Jintong enjoys cooking, travelling, and reading, and she adores her little kitten.
Ali Mokhtari, PhD
About Ali Mokhtari: Ali is a mathematical modeler in the EMBARC research group at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. He completed his PhD in theoretical physics at Simon Fraser University. His current interest is in applying mathematical and AI models to predict the dynamics of complex and chaotic systems, with a particular focus on epidemics of infectious diseases. His previous research spans quantum many-body systems, quantum foundations/gravity, and the use of AI in quantum many-body systems and economic forecasting.
Interesting Fact: Ali enjoys watching movies, cooking, adventuring, and engaging in discussions on logic and philosophy.
Felipe Duailibe, MSc
About Felipe Duailibe: Felipe is a research assistant in the EMBARC team. He completed his Master’s in Experimental Medicine at the University of British Columbia. He focused on understanding the impact of syndemic factors on HIV sexual risk among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. Felipe has also contributed to major research initiatives, including COVID-19 therapeutic trials and public health surveillance in Brazil.
Interesting Fact: Felipe is very passionate about videogames. He considers himself a gamer, but not a good one.
Jennifer J. Ormsbee, PhD MSc
About Jennifer J. Ormsbee: Jennifer is an Epidemiologist at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. She has a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alberta, an MSc in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London International Programmes, and a PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Her research interests include mathematical modelling, diabetes, infectious diseases, and data-driven analyses. Currently, her research focuses on HIV treatment and prevention and associated risks for people with, or at risk for HIV.
Xinmiao Wang, MSc
About Xinmiao Wang: Xinmiao is a statistician at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, contributing to the EMBARC research team. She earned her MSc in Statistics from the University of British Columbia and a BSc from Simon Fraser University. Her professional passion centers on applying advanced statistical methodologies and consulting to advance public health research. She currently focuses on enhancing statistical methods and exploring causal inference to deepen our understanding of healthcare challenges, particularly in HIV/AIDS research.
Interesting Fact: Xinmiao enjoys exploring the great outdoors through snowboarding, hiking, and kayaking, and is also enthusiastic about street and food photography.
Clara (Lu) Wang, MSc
About Clara Wang: Clara is a statistician at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. She holds an MSc degree in Statistics from Simon Fraser University and an MSc degree in Mathematics from the Memorial University of Newfoundland. She has been providing statistical support for a variety of cohort studies and research on administrative data. Her research interests include statistical inference, modern statistical modelling, biostatistics and research in epidemiology.
Tian Shen, MSc
About Tian Shen: Tian is a statistician at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. She has a BSc degree from University of New Brunswick and a MSc degree in Statistics from University of British Columbia. Prior to work at BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, she worked in a pharmaceutical company, where she was involved in study design, analyses and modelling for phase I, II, III clinical trials. And after that she worked at Praxis Spinal Cord Institute, where she found her great interests in research and epidemiology. In Tian’s current role, she has worked closely with researchers to provide statically support for different cohorts and administrative data. Her research interests include analysis for clinical trials, statistical modelling, biostatistics in epidemiology and machine learning.
Interesting Fact: Tian enjoys reading, travelling and spending time with her family. Recently, she also discovered her great passion in tennis recently.
Wen Zhang (Wendy), MSc
About Wendy Zhang: Wendy is a senior statistician at the BC Center for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. She holds an MSc degree in Statistics from the University of British Columbia. She has been providing statistical support on various clinical data, survey data and different cohort studies. Her research interests include categorical data analysis, survival analysis, sample size calculation and biostatistics in medicine and epidemiology.
Our students
As key members of our research team, graduate students working under Dr. Lima can build their analytical and research skills through hands-on experience as a Graduate Research Assistant at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Additional opportunities to participate in our research are made to medical students through clinical rotations and elective courses.
To learn more about our current students and past alumni, please explore our Education and Training